Knights of Malta, 1523-1798

The Lothian Prize Essay for 1920

On January 1, 1523, a fleet of fifty vessels put out from the harbor at Rhodes for an unknown destination in the West. On board were the shattered remnants of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, accompanied by 4,000 Rhodians. They were leaving the home their Order had possessed for 212 years, and were sailing out to beg from Christendom another station from which to attack the infidel once again.

The Knights of Rhodes -- as they were called at the time -- were the only real survivors of the militant Order of Chivalry. This volume tells their tale and history on the isle of Malta -- through the order's dispersion 1798.