Malta - The Islands of the Kninghts
Even before I heard of the country of Malta, I was well aware of the existence of the Knights Hospitalier. Back in 2006, I was in a study abroad program in Rome. On one of our walking tours with the class, we stopped in front of a grand palazzo near the Spanish Step. A professor asked us whether we recognized the flag flying above the front portico. It was a red flag with a white cross composed of four inward-pointing arrows. While all of us students have puzzled faces, the teaching assistant Corey whispered on the side: the Knights of Malta. That was my first introduction to the Knights of Malta. As it turned out, we were standing at the entrance of Palazzo Malta, the headquarters and an extraterritorial property of the modern successors to the original Knights Hospitalier. Ever since that moment, the Knights of Malta have been a thing of intrigue.
Chapel of Saint Ann in Fort Saint Angelo.
The history of the Knights Hospitalier is illustrious and goes back to the 12th century. The order began as a charity organization that cared for pilgrims visiting the holy lands. Over the centuries, the order expanded its “services” to providing armed escorts for warning pilgrims. It did not take long until they developed it into a full military force. The order retained its original charitable root while becoming a major regional force. In 1113, Pope Paschal II issued a papal bull to grant the organization the status of an autonomous Catholic order. For some time, Knights Hospitalier and their infamous rival Knights Templar were the main military forces in the region. Together, they built up some of the most formidable fortifications in the holy land.
Fortifications of Senglea.
Fort Ricasoli.
Officially known as the "Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem,” the knights were based in Jerusalem until being captured by the Ayyubid Sultanate in 1187. The knight moved their operation around the Aegean Sea until headquarters on the Greek island of Rhode were finally set up in 1310. By then, the order has become a full-fledged military order in response to repeated sieges from both the Ayyubid Sultanate and the Ottoman Turks. The battle with the Muslim world intensified after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Eventually, the order lost Rhode to the Ottoman Empire after a seven-month siege in 1522.
Knights of Saint John vs. Knights of Malta
In 1530, Pope Clement VII made an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to transfer the Maltese islands and Tripoli under the control of the knights. In addition to granting various privileges to Spain and Spanish-controlled Sicily, the order was to pay an annual tribute of a single Maltese falcon in what is known as the “Tribute of the Maltese Falcon.” Because Malta occupies such a strategic position in the middle of the Mediterranean, the Catholic world banded together to ensure Malta remained in Catholic hands. Malta is considered the last stand against an Ottoman takeover of the Mediterranean. In acknowledgment of the importance of the coastal defense, the administrative center of Malta was moved to the coastal town of Birgu with the Knights arriving at Malta.
Auberge de Castille, the current office of the prime minister of Malta.
Historically, the Knights consist of eight “Langues” of knights from different ethnolinguistic divisions of the Catholic world: the Crown of Aragon, Auvergne, Crown of Castile, Kingdom of England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Italy, and Provence. Each Langues is organized with its own organizational hierarchy and administered from individual headquarters called “auberge.” Indeed, many of the original auberges still exist today. Some even house many important institutions of modern Malta. The most famous would be Valletta’s Auberge de Castille, which houses the office of the Maltese prime minister today. I was very confused about why the prime minister’s office was adorned with Spanish and Portuguese coats of arms, particularly because neither Spain nor Portugal ever ruled Malta. Other notable auberges that survive today include Auberge de Provence (now the National Museum of Archaeology) and Auberge d'Italie (National Community Art Museum).
Pope Pius V, a patron for the construction of Valletta.
Knighthood was an attractive career path for many young European aristocrats back then. It was seen as a decent way to burn their reputation for their future careers. Almost overnight, the small islands of Malta became somewhat of a cosmopolitan playground for young aristocrats and a place where various cultures mingled nearby. The historical alliance and rivalries of various European powers persisted, if not intensified, in the world of Knights Hospitallers. Different factions often brawled, and duels between rivaling knights were not uncommon.
The coat of arms of Grandmaster António Manoel de Vilhena above the main gate of Mdina.
What is particularly fascinating for me is how the local Maltese population fits within the larger story of the Knights. While we are all fascinated by the mystic of the Knights, the stories of Maltese were often overlooked. You would notice that there were no langues for Maltese. Ethnic Maltese were not allowed to be part of the order, even for those in the Maltese nobility class. Having ruled over Rhode previously, many in the order were known to have a colonial mindset. The treatment of Maltese during this period varied from one grandmaster to another. Maltese were mostly manual laborers for the order and were never given any high administrative role in running their homeland.
Auberge de Provence (now the National Museum of Archaeology).
The knights rarely acknowledged the local Maltese’s contribution to the various battles. All the monuments and plaques dedicated to the sieges were dedicated to the knights and did not mention the Maltese. It was even said that Maltese causality was not even given proper burials after the Ottoman siege. After the two-year French occupation of Malta ended in 1800, local Maltese expressed their wish not to return the islands back to the Knights Hospitaller. The National Assembly of Maltese declared King George III the monarch and Malta a self-governing entity as a British Protectorate. It was even more remarkable considering that the devoutly Catholic Maltese would prefer the rules of the protestant monarch over a catholic order.
The second Auberge d'Italie in Valletta, now the National Museum of Fine Arts (MUŻA).
Church of Saint Lawrence, the original mother of the order.
As a Taiwanese, I feel compelled to draw a parallel between the history of Malta and Taiwan. Like Malta, my home country has always had a great affinity for the most recent colonizer (Japan in Taiwan’s case). As island nations, both countries have always been political pawns in the geopolitical games between great powers. From the architecture to school textbooks, the national history of both nations was often written from the perspective of the colonizers. Perhaps it is a time for us to learn about Malta's history and the Maltese people.
The Great Siege of Malta
Without any question, Knights Hospitalier’s greatest single achievement would be the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. Malta may have seen its fair share of battles in its history, but this battle of 1565 with the Ottoman Empire is particularly legendary. This was the Ottoman’s second major attempt to take Malta. In the eyes of many in Christian Europe, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent must have seemed unstoppable. In a few decades, the sultan undertook major military expansion and captured major cities such as Belgrade, even coming as close to the fate of Vienna. The Ottomans began their attack after anchoring their fleet at Marsamxett Bay and launched a coordinated assault on Fort Saint Elmo. The fort fell to the enemy after more than a month's brutal assault. Ironically, the Ottoman causalities on the capture of Saint Elmo were so significant they contributed to the eventual failure of the siege.
Fort Saint Angelo.
Fort Saint Angelo.
Overall, the Knights and the local Maltese conscripts were outnumbered by the enemy roughly ten to one. Words of the Ottoman siege spread quickly among the Christian world. Major European powers scrambled to assemble a coalition of reinforcement to Malta. If Malta were to fall to the Ottoman, the islands would be an ideal base to launch an assault on the heart of Christianity: Rome. Ultimately, it was considered a near miracle that Malta remained in Christian control after the nearly four-month siege. The 1565 siege effectively ended Ottoman expansion toward the west and securely put the sea in Catholic Spain's hands.
Fort Saint Angelo.
The triumph of the Knights Hospitalier is often attributed to one man: Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette. Valette was a French nobleman who had a colorful history with the order. He even served a four-month sentence in the order’s prison in Gozo for disorder conduct. He was elected to be the Grandmaster because of his military leadership. Unlike his predecessors, Valette had no grandiose illusion of retaking Rhode from the Ottoman. Instead, he saw the fortification of Malta as essential to the Knight’s survival. In anticipation of the expected Ottoman invasion, Valette commissioned a network of spies to Constantinople. These spies were instrumental both before and throughout the siege. Aside from his superior military commands, Valette was also known for rallying his troops in the darkest of times through his stirring words and psychological coercion.
Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette.
Even though the siege was a tremendous victory for the knights, roughly a third of the knights and Maltese lost their lives. The battle became one of the most famous battles in history, marking the last battle by “Christian crusaders.” The surviving knights who were fortunate enough to live to tell the tales became heroes of Europe. Voltaire once said: "Nothing is better known than the siege of Malta." In the aftermath, the knights enjoyed unprecedented prestige and wealth. Malta was further fortified with the best military engineers at the time. The fortification we see around the Grand Harbor nowadays looks formidable and has been placed on Malta’s tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Fort Saint Elmo.
Fort Saint Elmo.
For me, the best place to learn about the Knights would be Fort Saint Elmo. Located at the very tip of the Sciberras Peninsula, this fort not only experienced the fiercest bombardment during the siege but was also considered a linchpin for the defense of Malta. Grandmaster Valette instructed their knights that Saint Elmo must be held on at all costs. The knights considered the defense of this fort as their ultimate sacred duty to their Christian faith. It is said that knights destroyed all the religious icons and crosses right after their final prayer in the chapel to prevent desecration by their Muslim enemy. Unsurprisingly, very few remnants of the fort from the 1565 siege remain. The knights and the British restored and expanded the fort in subsequent centuries.
Fort Saint Elmo.
Historic significance aside, Fort Saint Elmo is home to Malta’s National War Museum. The museum presents the story of Malta through the history of warfare. We have been to quite a fair number of military museums; they could be quite boring, to be honest. After all, guns and military regalia do not interest me. But if I were to think of another country where military history is so closely related to its history and identity, it would be Malta. The museum chronicles successive military campaigns dating back to the Arabic rules to the WWII siege by Fascist Italy and Germany.
The exhibit of the 1565 Great Siege of Malta.
Coat of arm of Grandmaster Rafael Cotoner (1660-63).
Model of the original Fort Saint Elmo at the time of the Great Siege of 1565.
Not surprisingly, the siege of 1565 is a marquee exhibit in the museum. The interactive exhibit traced all the actions and the defensive network around the Grand Harbour. Before the construction of Valletta, Fort Saint Elmo was an isolated outpost guarding the entry to the harbor. On exhibit were armor and cannonballs from the siege; it reminded us just how physical and hands-on many of these combats were back in the day. Seeing these historical artifacts gave us a physical dimension that we could not have from simply reading historical accounts.
Saint John's Co-Cathedral
Today, Grandmaster Valette’s claim of fame is probably not the Great Siege of 1565. Instead, he is most remembered as the founder of the capital that bears his name today. Valletta, the modern capital of Malta, was conceived right after the great siege. Following a perfectly rigid grid plan with uniform architecture, Valletta was conceived with the clinical efficiency of a military camp; it reminded me of Lisbon’s Baixa neighborhood, another city set up by a military general. It was said that Valletta was the first city to be laid out on paper since the fall of the Roman Empire. Valletta may be the most enduring architectural legacy of Grandmaster Vallette, but unfortunately, he did not live to see its completion.
The main entrance of the co-cathedral.
The main nave of the co-cathedral.
The main nave of the co-cathedral.
Valletta's Saint John's Co-Cathedral is the best spot to learn about the knights today. After the completion of Valletta, the knight set up their capital here. Grand Master Jean de la Cassière constructed this church as a convent, eventually becoming the order's mother church. From the outside, the church is spartan, like a military citadel. Common legend holds that the architect modeled the structure after a former church in Rhode, the former home of the order. The church interior was austere for the first century of its existence. In 1664, Grandmaster Raphael Cotoner instructed the interior to be richly decorated to “rival any church in Rome.”
Today's interior is a dazzling explosion of Baroque symbols and gilded motifs by Italian painter Mattia Preti. Because the interior was decorative within such a short period of time, the design is unusually cohesive for a building of this scale. The ceiling of the main nave is decorated by massive murals depicting the life and martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of the order. Of course, the various grandmasters made cameo appearances in the story. Along the nave are eight individual chapels, each dedicated to one of the eight “langues” of the Knight Hospitaller. Walking through the cathedral was like a mini-tour of continental Europe. In addition to the motif of the Maltese cross, each chapel is also cloaked with nationalist symbols such as France’s fleur-de-lis and the vine grape of Provence. Naturally, each chapel also houses the tombs of various grandmasters elected from their own langues.
Impressive mural over the front entrance.
The motif of Maltese Cross.
One of the most memorable funeral monuments in the church is that of Grandmaster Raphael Cotoner in the Chapel of Aragon. It stands out because of the figure of an African and Muslim slave looking up to the grandmaster from the base of the monument. Although it is not politically correct, this monument reminds us of the fact that slavery was a prominent feature of Malta during the knight’s rule. While slavery had been in Malta since antiquity, slavery reached its zenith under the Knights Hospitalier.
Most of Malta’s slaves were either of Jewish or Muslim origins and were captured in the knight’s various military forays and periodic raids along the coast of North Africa. Their demand for slave labor stemmed from the need to maintain their navy’s galley. Surprisingly, around a fifth of the slaves during this period were Christian. It was remarkable to think that a Catholic order would have no issue with holding Christian slaves. The practice of slavery ceased with the arrival of the Napoleonic rules. The abolition was officially codified when Malta was converted into the Crown Colony of the British Empire.
The main entrance of the co-cathedral.
African slave at the base of the tomb of Grandmaster Raphael Cotoner.
Funny enough, the most memorable part of the cathedral for us was the works of the infamous Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. He is one of those painters that any student of Western art history would know. Known for using dramatic lighting and vivid human expression, Caravaggio was extremely influential on some of the greatest artists of the Baroque age, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Rembrandt, and Peter Paul Rubens. Indeed, the word "Caravaggisti" or "Caravagesques” came to describe a whole school of artists who took inspiration from his technique of illuminating humanity with dramatic spotlights and dark shadows.
Besides being groundbreaking artistry, Caravaggio lived an eventful life. After murdering a nobleman in Rome, he fled to Naples and then Malta. In Malta, he earned the patronage of Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt and was promptly knighted into the order. He was given the most coveted commission: the massive altarpiece, The Beheading of St John the Baptist. Not only is this the largest painting the artist has ever done, but it is also the only painting that puts his signature on it. His volatile personality got into trouble just a year later. He got into a brawl with a fellow knight and was sentenced to imprisonment. In an ironic twist of fate, Caravaggio received his sentence in the shadow of his own painting. Being quite a rebel, he escaped Malta with some inside help.
Caravaggio’s Saint Jerome Writing (1607-08).
Speaking of Caravaggio’s colorful stories, I do have to applaud the cathedral for having a wonderful audio guide system. I have always considered charging admission for accessing an active place of worship to be slightly off-putting. At €15 per adult, a visit to the cathedral is not inexpensive. But considering how much people seem to be willing to spend on visiting one of those commercialized “torture museums,” €15 is not certainly justified given the astronomical cost of preservation and upkeep. Overall, I would consider this co-cathedral one of Malta's two must-see cultural sights (the other being Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum).
Knights of Malta Today
After capitulating Malta to the Napoleonic forces, the Knights were in political exile across continental Europe. Curiously, the highest concentration of knights could be found in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The knights elected Tsar Paul I to show gratitude for a safe harbor. They may not be odd until we consider that the Russian tsar was Russian Orthodox. It was a strange pick for a Catholic order. While never recognized by the Vatican, Paul I made major changes to the order and created a separate Russian Grand Priory. In the subsequent decades, the order lost the prestige and influence it once enjoyed. When the Swedish Crown offered the island of Gotland in 1806, the order refused because it would have meant they conceded the loss of Malta.
It may surprise some… but the Knights Hospitaller remains the Sovereign Military Order of Malta or SMOM. Of course, being a Catholic organization, the order also goes by its fancy name: Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and Malta. As the name implies, the order has always been a sovereign separate from the Holy See. Like before, the grandmaster is elected among the members and not appointed by the Pope. And it was not unusual for the grandmaster and the pope to be at loggerheads with each other. One of the most famous instances was the dispute between Pope Francis and Grandmaster Matthew Festing over the issue of contraceptives. When the pope requested Festing’s resignation, many in the order accused him of violating the order’s sovereignty.
Today, the SMOM operates out of a Palazzo Malta in Rome, and they have several extraterritorial properties throughout the city. But notably, they are not technically the territory of the order. This gives the order the unique distinction of being a sovereign nation without territory. And like any tiny nation, SMOM cherishes its quirks by issuing its own postal stamps and currency. The order also maintains an official “diplomatic” relationship with about 110 nations, notably the Holy See and the Republic of Malta. The order also enjoys observer status or representation at multiple intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations. For a Taiwanese like myself, I could only shake my head at how SMOM somehow got more recognition than my home country.
The extraterritorial area of SMOM at Fort Saint Angelo.
Embassy of SMOM to the Republic of Malta.
Nowadays, the order returned to its original roots by providing medical and ambulance services worldwide. Even though it no longer has a standing army, the order retains all the traditional pomp and circumstance with elaborate ceremonies and regalia. In Malta, the SMOM maintains an embassy in Valletta and has a 99-year lease of the upper section of Fort Saint Angelo.
The knights made their indelible mark on Malta from the impressive fortification to the passion for Catholicism. Interestingly, today, the Maltese love of rabbits came from the knights’ period. It was said that rabbit hunting was reserved for the aristocratic knights at the time. So when the French booted the knight, local Maltese saw eating rabbits as a special privilege. Even though the Maltese did not necessarily cherish the 268-year reign by the Knights Hospitaller, the order gave Malta a unique identity. All the military sieges certainly hardened the Maltese identities. Unsurprisingly, the flags of the order still fly in many villages across Malta today.
