The Hospital, Rhodes

The Conventual Hospital was one of the most  important and impressive buildings on Rhodes. It was one of the major hospitals of the Mediterranean and remains the best preserved of the Order's hospitals. As recorded by the memorial inscription above the front entrance, work began on the 15th July 1440 and also that Grand Master Fra' Antonio Fluvian (1428-1437) (whose arms are held above by two angels carved in relief), donated 10 000 florins to the costs.

The imposing facade reflects the importance that the Order always regarded their duty towards the sick and the poor. The original doors of richly carved cypress  were removed in 1836 as a gift from the Ottoman sultan to King Louis Philippe 1 of France who had them hung in the Hall of the Crusades at Versailles. 

The entrance leads through a ribbed and cross vaulted passage into a large square courtyard surrounded by a two storeyed gallery with ribbed cross vaults on the ground floor and flat wooden ceilings on the upper level. This arrangement is said to have derived from Byzantine xenodochia (hospices), or caravanserei in which central courtyards are surrounded by arcaded two storey cloister as at Rhodes. Around the courtyard at ground level are vaulted storerooms. Access to those on the east and north sides are from the street outside and were rented out as shops to provide an income for the resident clergy. Access to the storerooms on the other two sides is from within the courtyard.

A wide stone staircase to the left of the entrance leads from the courtyard to the upper storey where the medical departments were located. On the north and west sides of the upper storey are small simple rooms, each with a fireplace, where ill brethren or other noble patients could be treated. (Unlike in the Holy Land, at Rhodes the Order did not maintain a separate establishment for sick brethren.)The entrance to the large hospital ward is on the upper gallery immediately above the entrance passage.

The Great Ward is 51m long and 12.5 m wide and divided down the length of the hall into two by a colonnade of octagonal stone pillars. The plain capitals are embellished with the heraldic device of the order of St John and of grand master d'Aubusson in alternation. Some of the original roof timbers survive on which are found the arms of the Hospital's founder Fluvian and also those of de Lastic and d'Aubusson. Along the two long sides of the ward are small vaulted cubicles built into the thickness of the walls; the result of concealed buttresses which served as privvies. Great wards such as this are based on the European hospitals, the hotels-Dieu. A large fireplace would have taken some of the chill away in the winter or more likely a provide a place for patients to huddle and feel some warmth in winter.

The great ward could probably accommodate 100 patients; each of whom had his own bed surrounded by a curtain and had his food served from a silver platter and slept at night between clean sheets. On admission a patient had to say confession and take Holy Communion and make their will in the presence of a chaplain and a scribe.

The Hospital was described by Czech pilgrim John Lord of Lobkowitz in 1493 when he and his servant were put up there and fed on white bread and wine:

        "That house, the Infirmary, is all built of cut stone and the inside is a straight square. and windows great and broad all around, that there is little wall between these windows: but one window next to the other, so that one may look into the house, and all of it is finely painted. Now the Master of Rhodes had endowed that house, that any man being Christian, of whatever lowly or great rank, who shall come there, if he be sick and ask it for God's sake, should at once be taken in; and there he is at once provided with medicine and other necessities, to wit food and drink and bedclothes. If an impatient person, he is given a room of his own; and if any lesser man, then there is a fine hall, and in it made beds in double row, and on some on them sick people are lying. And these beds are well made with clean white bedclothes, and on each bed there is a red cloth blanket, for there it is not as cold as (in Bohemia). And near each of these beds a door opens upon the balcony; and there too he has a privvy."

       "Also it is ordained that, each of the sick has a servant, that looks after him and serves him, whatever he needs. Also two doctors are ordained for this, sworn leeches, who look after the sick twice each day: once in the morning and once again in the evening. And there are these doctors having in the morning examined his water......

         "Further the same doctors write a paper, what sort of dish should be given him, and when; and there these officials appointed for this must so provide this, what time these doctors write and order it. And those things are entrusted to three men: one Knight of the Order and two clerks, all of them being on oath for this. Also at that time i saw the sick were served their meals in silver dishes, and they drink too from silver spoons. And none need pay anything for his stay there, except freely of his goodwill gives anything to the servant that has waited upon him."

The administration of the hospital was established on Rhodes in the form it would take until the loss of Malta. In 1440 the year that the construction of the hospital began, the Order issued a detailed set of statutes which were probably the first major revision of the Hospital's regulations since those of 1182. This and subsequent legislation controlled the inspection of stores, appointment of chaplains, confession and prayer, diet and clothing, precautions against fraud, alms and bequests. 

The Hospitaller of the Langue of France (magnus hospitalarius) was in overall charge, although he remained accountable to the Grand Master and the Council, and ultimately to the General Chapter for important decisions and for the confirmation in office of his subordinates. The Infirmarian, (infermarius) also from the Langue of France was in charge of the day to day running of the hospital. He received the patients, visited them in their beds and ensured that they received the treatment prescribed by the doctors. A scribe recorded the notes and also recorded the testimonial wishes of the sick.

The Order employed professional doctors who were expected to visit the wards twice a day and one of them had to be on duty at night. The doctors always attended the sick under the supervision of the infirmarian and eight brothers, one from each langue at the Convent. They were accompanied by a scribe who together with the infirmarian, noted down the doctors prescriptions and saw that they were properly observed. the hospital also employed two surgeons.

In 1445 the Master, somewhat exceptionally employed a Jewish doctor, Jacunda Gratiano, fiscius et professor actis medicine, to practice in the Conventual hospital after having taken an oath on the Jewish scriptures.

For their part the patients were not allowed to question the doctors decisions nor change their prescribed diet. Patients were also obliged to be silent, to desist from playing cards or dice and refrain from reading books not associated with the christian religion.

Besides those who were sick or ill the hospital also treated causalities of war. in 1445, following the Egyptian attack on Rhodes, certificates of mutilation were issued so that those who for example had had a hand amputated in the hospital would not be regarded as criminals.

Half way along the ward, opposite the door and above the main entrance below is the polygonal apse of the chapel. A chaplain, later the prior of the hospital, administered the sacraments and coordinated the religious life of the institution. Every morning the chaplains processed through the great ward and celebrated Mass before the altar in the small three sided Gothic chapel.

The chaplains were charged with administering holy Communion and the Last Rites to the sick and singing the Requiem Mass in the event of a death. Every evening at sunset the chaplains gathered in the great ward to recite the great prayer for 'Our lords the Sick.'

                               'Seigneurs Malades,

                                pries pour pais que Dieu la monde de ceil du terre.

                               Seigneurs Malades,

                               pries pour le fruit de la terre que Dieu le multiplie entelle

                               maniere que sancte eglise en sort serv ie et le people

                               soutenou.

                               Seigneurs Malades,

                               pries pour l'apostell de Rome et pour les cordennaus et pour les

                               patriaches et pour les arcevesques et pour les evesques et les

                               prelate...........'

They prayed too for all Christian kings, pilgrims, captives and benefactors. (The ancient custom  of parading the responsions in front of the sick had been discontinued by 1340.)

                                                  

A small door in the southern corner of the Great Ward leads into a second smaller chamber with a polygonal column in the middle, supporting two arches that in turn supports the wooden roof. It is thought that this room served as a refectory. 

      

There was a fully stocked pharmacy with an elaborate system for the storage and checking of the quality of the drugs and medicines. All poisons were kept under lock and key.

Pharmacy jars from Rhodes 

( St John's Gate, Clerkenwell)

Pharmacy jars bearing the arms of Grand Master Fra' Phillipe Villiers de l'Isle-Adam

(1521-1523)

(St John's Gate, Clerkenwell)

In addition to his responsibility for the Conventual Hospital the grand hospitaller was also head of those services that the Order provided for the poor, for widows and orphans and those struck by misfortune in general. Since the 12th century the office of the elemosinaruis looked after the homeless. The General Chapter of 1182 outlined measures that could be taken for the relief of the poor. Penniless newly weds for instance were given a gift on their wedding day and prisoners released from jail money to start a new life. The Hospital was to provide subsistence for thirty paupers including five clerics and that anyone who needed it was entitled to food, bread and wine three times a week. Every Saturday during Lent, thirteen paupers, including three clerics  were fed clothed and given a small sum of money. The elemosinarius also oversaw a team of workers who repair old shoes and clothes for the poor. The General Chapter of 1182 also decreed that orphans were to be brought up in the hospital.

The Order also provided a service responsible for measures promoting public health and the prevention of epidemics which were frequent and virulent in the Middle Ages. Domini sanitatis were set up in 1503. Two health commissioners, one Latin and one Greek wee elected annually to impose strict measures against the plague which included control of landings from shipping and on occasion forty days of isolation, segregation measures for lepers and measures to keep rubbish out of the sea.

 A second smaller entrance to the Hospital  leads from the Street of the Knights via a marble staircase to the upper storey. The original wooden doors were carved and bore the coat-of-arms of Grand Master Fra' Pierre d'Aubusson.  An inscription carved in the stone above the entrance states that Fra' Pierre Clouet, an official of the Order completed the hospital in 1489.

In spite of the great expense of maintaining such a magnificent establishment, the Conventual Hospital was of the greatest importance to the Order of St John not only as a religious obligation and source of ideological strength but also as a symbolic showpiece to impress visitors from the West who would take back with them the resulting image and in doing so helping to justify the Order's extensive possessions and privileges across Europe.

Stavrou Lambrou Tower, Piskopi (Tilos)

The Order of St John granted the islands of Piskopi (Tilos) and Kalkia to Borello Assanti of Ischia at two hundred florins a year. It does not appear that he became a vassal of the Order but the terms of the contract made clear that he had to provide the guard service. The Order reserved the superior lordship of the island while the falcons of the island were reserved for the master as were the rights over shipwrecks. Assanti was also constrained from exacting any service from the islanders that had not been exacted by the Order in the past.

The tower at Stavrou Lambrou is built on an eerie high above the tallest sea cliffs on Piskopi. It is the strongest naturally fortified site on the island.

Stavrou Lambrou Tower

Despite being protected by the castle and towers, its small size and isolated position meant that Piskopi was vulnerable whenever the power of the Turks was in the ascendancy. In 1457 the Turks raided Piskopi together with the islands of Nisyro, Lerro and Kalymno and the village of Archangelo on Rhodes. In 1505 Kamel Reis the Ottoman admiral sacked Piskopi, Lango, Symie and Lerro. Piskopi remained part of the Hospitaller state until the siege of 1522 finally ended  their rule over the Dodecanese.

Agrosikia Tower, Piskopi (Tilos)

Agrosikia Tower on the small island of Piskopi (Tilos) stands in the hills above the bay of Livadhia in the southeast of the island on the edge of a steep precipice.  The small tower consists of an encircling wall without a gate, entry must have been by ladder which would have been pulled up once the guard was safely inside.

In 1344 an allied fleet of Hospitaller, Papal, Cypriot, French and Venetian galleys used the indented coastline of Piskopi to ambush Yakshi, emir of Marmora in the strait between Piskopi and the Negropont mainland. In an engagement that lasted nine days, the allies outsailed and outfought the Turks who lost over 100 vessels.

Megalo Choria Castle, Piskopi (Tilos)

Piskopi 'lookout' took its name from its mountains on which the Knights of St John built seven castles and watchtowers, most of them with commanding views over the surrounding seas. Piscopi or Tilos  is 14.5 kilometers long from northeast to southwest and about 8 kilometers at its widest point. It is about halfway between Rhodes and Lango (Cos) and 15 kilometers southeast of Nisyro (Nisyros).

The most important fortified stronghold was the castle on the summit above the present day village of Megalo Chorio. In the Knight's period the villagers lived within the castle walls as protection from pirates. The hillside had been the site of an ancient settlement and parts of the fabric of the castle, in particular the lower courses, the gatehouse and the corner towers were largely constructed from reused Classical masonry.

From the castle are clear views across the sea to Nisyro. The garrison kept watch over the channel and lit a beacon as a signal to Rhodes and the other islands if any shipping was seen passing through the strait.

The need for strong defensive positions to protect the population was emphasized c 1317 when Orcan, son and successor to Osman considered Rhodes to be defenseless in the absence of the rival masters and the division of the Order and descended on Rhodes, in the process capturing Piskopi. He used the island as a depot  for the settlers he brought in his train and sailed on to Rhodes. However Orcan's fleet was defeated by the Vicar-General Gerard de Pins and the Turkish colonists on Piskopi were either put to the sword by the victorious knights of sent into slavery.

Archangalos, Rhodes

The village of Archangalos between Rhodes Town and Lindos was raided by the Ottomans in 1457 together with the islands of Episokopi (Telos), Nisyro (Nisyros) and Calymno (Calymnos). That was the year after Constaninople had fallen to the Ottomans and the threat to Rhodes had increased dramatically.  Under the instructions of Fra' Jacques de Milly (1454-1461) the Knights of Rhodes built a castle on a hill near Archangalos, incorporating parts of the pre-existing Byzantine fortress, to provide a safe refuge for the Greek villagers.

d'Amboise Gate, Rhodes

The most impressive gate in the fortifications of Rhodes was built by Grand Master Fra' Emery d'Amboise and completed in 1512. The d'Amboise Gate is in the north-east of the town, beneath the Palace of the Grand Masters and was the point of entry from Pheraclos, Lindos and the west of the island.

 The d'Amboise Gate is approached by a road that crosses a bridge of three arches that span the moat.  The gate is defended by two massive cylindrical towers, and it is afforded further protection by covering fire from  the powerful St George's Bastion to the south.

The d'Amboise Gate was not only the most monumental of Rhodes's gates, it led to the most complicated entry into the town that comprised three separate lines of defence.  Within the thickness of the wall the vaulted road makes an S-bend, passes through a second gate, crosses an exposed terreplein, crosses a second moat over a further bridge, and finally, passes through the third gate before entering  the town.

Above the entrance is a marble plaque with a relief of an angel holding the coats-of-arms of the Order and of Fra' Eylon d'Amboise with the inscription: DAM-BOYSE MDXII. After damage sustained in the Siege of 1480 the gate underwent repairs during the rule of  Grand Masters del Caretto and de l'Isle Adam whose coats-of-arms are also on display.

Narangia Castle, Lango (Cos or Kos)

Lango (Cos or Kos) is the second largest island, after Rhodes, in the Dodecanese archipelago. It had been a part of the Byzantine Empire, held by a duke until 1290 and was inhabited by a largely Greek population. Although Venetian expeditions against the island were defeated by the Greeks, with Turkish help, in 1283 and again in 1284, there had been a degree of Venetian penetration, unlike on Rhodes.

However Vignolo de Vignoli the Genoses pirate was to claim that he had been granted Lango and the nearby island of Lerro by the Byzantine emperor and in May 1306 sailed to Cyprus to visit the Convent of the Order of St. John with a proposal to mount a join conquest of Lango, Rhodes and other islands. De Vignoli's suggestion was well received by the Order, looking for new opportunities in the aftermath of the fall of Acre (1291).

A small force of Hospitallers and Genoese landed successfully on Rhodes in June 1306 but the town itself  held out, with the help of reinforcements from Constantinople.  It was to surrender eventually in August 1309. However in June 1306  two Hospitallers with fifty armed men managed to land successfully on Lango and  went on to capture the town and the castle, which had been in Greek hands.

However in October 1309  intelligence from Crete reached Venice indicating that Lango had been captured by a Venetian force. When Master Fra' Foulques de Villaret reached Rhodes from the West with an invasion force in mid 1310 it seems that the Hospitallers retook Lango and Lerro later on that year. However in the turmoil surrounding  the deposition of Master Fra' Foulques de Villaret in mid 1317  the Hospitallers lost control of Lango between mid 1317-1318, probably as a result of a rebellion from the Greek population.

On 1st March 1319 Pope John XXII at Avignon granted the commandery of Lango to the German knight Fra' Albert von Schwarzenburg, should he recover it from the Turks who he evidently believed to be in possession of the island. Later it was understood that it was the Greeks who had taken back control. Fra' Helion de Villeneuve, master of the Order (1319-1346) retook Lango in 1136.

The main stronghold on Lango was the castle of Narangia built on a rocky island at the entrance to the Mandraki or harbour of the main town.  Originally the castle was separated from the mainland by an inlet of the sea crossed by a drawbridge. The original castle, rectangular in plan with four circular corner towers was built by the Venetian Fantino Guerini, governor of Lango (1436-53) and completed in 1478 by the Genoese  governor Edoardo de Caramdino (1471-95).

 The entrance to the original castle and now the inner enciente is known as the Carmadino Gate, his name is engraved on the lintel. The castle incorporated masonry from Askeplion and other ancient Hellenistic buildings. The ceiling of the corridor uses ten granite columns that probably came from an early Christian basilica that was destroyed by an earthquake in 469.

 The Turks laid siege to the castle in 1457 during  the magistry of Fra'  Jaques de Milly. On 3rd June a  fleet of one hundred and fifty seven ships arrived off the coast and landed 16 000 soldiers. However after twenty three days they lifted the siege and sailed away. The Turks launched another concerted attack  in 1477 at the beginning of the magistry of Fra' Pierre d'Aubusson but this too was repulsed.

However in the aftermath of the Siege of 1480 when the Turks used gunpowder artillery and after the damage caused by the earthquake of 1493 the knights decided to strengthen Narangia Castle. Work began on the construction of an outer enciente, on three sides of the original castle in 1495 under the direction of magister and hero of the siege Fra' Pierre d'Aubusson (1476-1503), continued under Fra' Amoiury d'Amboise (1503-1512) and was completed in 1514 by Grand Master Fra' Fabrizio del Caretto (1513-1521).

The design of the outer enciente is adapted to the technological challenges produced by new era of gunpowder artillery.  The walls are low and very thick designed to withstand bombardment and in each of the four corners are massive bastions, or platforms for playing the defensive artillery.

 Before the outer enciente had been completed in 1506 seven Egyptian flutes , extremely fast long narrow galleys with large sails attacked Lango. A pair were sent ahead as scouts, but two of the Order's galleys appeared from behind a promontory, cutting them off, whereupon, the Mamelukes beached their vessels and fled inland. The brethren put a crew aboard the flutes, and managed to lure the other Egyptian vessels into a bay where the remainder of the Order's galleys lay in wait, and all the flutes were captured and their crews sold into slavery.

The Bailiff of Lango was supposed to maintain a garrison of twenty-five Hospitallers, ten Latin men-at-arms, one hundred Turcopoles, a doctor, an apothecary and adequate medical supplies. The Bailiff was also expected to maintain a galley with twenty six oars, fully manned and equipped, ready to sail as part of the Order's battle fleet. With the division of the brethren at the Convent into national langues the administration of Lango became the prerogative of the Langue of Provence in whose charge it remained until 1356. In that year the monopoly was abolished and its government thrown open to the whole Order. Every knight who went out to Rhodes to serve had to spend a year on Lango, or provide a proxy in his stead as part of his accumulation of seniority, vital for his eligibility for promotion.

Although Lango was not on a major sea route, shipping did sometimes pass by and the island was on the route from Constaninople to Alexandria. The strategic value of the island lay in its favorable position from which the Hospitallers could control the neighbouring islands. The island also provided a forward base from which the Order could mount forays against the mainland. The Hospitallers used a system of fire and smoke signals which allowed them to communicate news of enemy sightings from Lango to Rhodes and in the other direction. Lango is a fertile island that produced grain, wine, olive oil and fruit in abundance. This produce made a great difference during the famine of 1347 when it was exported to Rhodes.

In June 1522 as the Emperor Sulieman began the siege of Rhodes he also sent troops to besiege Lango and the fortress of St. Peter (Bodrum), to prevent them form sending reinforcements to Rhodes. At the end of December 1522 the Knights were forced to capitulate and withdrew from all their outlying castles and they left Lango for the last time in January 1523.

Lindos, Rhodes

The Acropolis of Lindos  was one of the first castles to be captured by the Order of St.John during their long campaign to conquer Rhodes. Initially the Knights had been concerned only to disrupt the pirates who used the island's harbours to attack Christian shipping in the Aegean. In 1306 Master Foulques de Villaret, who had been the Order's first Admiral , sailed for Rhodes (from Cyprus) with two galleys and some transport vessels carrying 35 Knights and 500 infantry. En route they were joined by a Genoese buccaneer Vignolo de' Vignoli and two more galleys. The city of Rhodes  easily beat off their assault but in November they managed to capture the fortress of Philermo.

                                    

                                                                                

The Knights of St.John reacted with great speed to the catastrophe that befell the Order of the Temple. In September 1307 Clement V confirmed the Hospitallers in their possession of Rhodes, only a few weeks before Philip IV moved against the Templars. The pope made the grant to Villaret in person who had traveled to the papal court where he was to spend the  two years trying to raise a crusade to complete the conquest of the island.

                                     

Meanwhile in October, 1307, the Hospitallers captured the fortress of Lindos. The stronghold occupies a triangular outcrop of rock with harbours on two sides and only accessible form the north. This easily defensible position had meant that Lindos was settled as early as 2500 BC and by 1000 BC there was a temple to Athena. Lindos became one of the three important cities on the island whose citizens founded colonies at Naples in Italy and Gela on Sicily. After the three cities combined to found the city of Rhodes in 408 BC Lindos lost its importance. However during the Byzantine era the acropolis was maintained as a fortress.

                                                 

Once the Hospitallers had taken Lindos they took advantage of the existing fortifications to turn it into one of their strongest castles on Rhodes. The castle was large enough to accommodate the citizenry and their livestock and possessions when the Turks raided the island, which happened frequently. Lindos also housed a prison where malefactors and knights who had fallen foul of the Rule were incarcerated.

                                                

Master Foulques de Villaret at the head of a small crusade completed the conquest of Rhodes in 1310. The occupation of the island minded the Pope to grant the Hospitallers most of the Templar's estates in 1312. In a few years de Villaret had led his Order from the depth of despair following the loss of the holy Land to a position of unprecedented wealth and power. It seems that this dazzling trajectory effected his judgement. Seemingly secure in his pre-eminent position on Rhodes he adopted the dictatorial ways of the despot, he was accused of womanizing and of drinking. Things came to a head for him in 1317 when the brethren rebelled, led by the elderly and embittered Draper, Fra' Maurice de Pagnac who tried to murder him. But de Villaret managed to escape, to the acropolis of Lindos where he was besieged by his fraternal enemies who elected de Pagnac Master in his stead.

                                      

In 1319 Pope John XXII confirmed Fra' Foulque as Master but immediately induced him to abdicate and he retired to a commandery in Languedoc. Fra' Maurice was sent to defend the Order's properties in Armenia, and under papal direction the Order elected Fra' Helion de Villeneuve as their new Master. But Fra' Foulques legacy was that the members of his Order would become known as the Knights of Rhodes, for two hundred years.

Monolithos, Rhodes

The castle of Monolithos on the east coast of of Rhodes is the most  spectacularly sited castle on the island. Built on the instruction of Grand Master Fra. Pierre d'Aubusson, before the Turkish invasion of 1480, Monolithos was thrown up on the foundations of an earlier, Byzantine fortress. While Monolithos is in a ruinous condition, the curtain walls are in a fairly good state of repair and contain the remains of two chapels, dedicated to Saints George and Pantelemion. The Castle of Monoithos was never captured before the Knights withdrew their garrison, prior to leaving Rhodes in 1522.

Castle of Chysocheria, Calymno

The castle of Chysocheria on the island of Calymno (Kalymnos) was built by the Knights of St John after they occupied the island following the conquest of Rhodes c1310.The castle occupies a strategic hilltop with clear views over the bay of Pothia and in the other direction inland to the Castle of Chora. The castle was built on the ruins of ancient and Byyzantine strongholds. The local, Greek, population were obliged to work on the construction of the castle, to their evident dismay. In 1445 the plebs and populus produced a document of uncertain provenance, written in Greek, claiming that they were not obliged to work on the castle. A legal debate followed at Rhodes after which it was decided that the population did in fact owe castle service, but were free of all other obligations.

The castle of Chysocheria was the headquarters of the Hospitaller castellan, the island's governor. The castle's defences were put to the test in 1457 when the island, together with the islands of Nisyro, Lerro, Piskopi and the castle of Archangelus on Rhodes were subjected to large-scale Turkish raids. Further significant  raids followed in 1460. The castle eventually surrendered to the Turks in 1522.

The castle takes its present name Chysochera, from a hoard of gold coins that were discovered  under the church of Panagia Chrysocheria (Virgin of the Golden Hands) within the castle walls. The other church within the walls of Chrysocheria is dedicated to St. George.