Hugues de Payens, received in audience by
Pope Honore II., was sent by the Pontiff to the Peers of the Council, then
assembled at Troyes in Champagne; the Council approving of so charitable an
enterprise, the Order was formed, and Bernard, known as "Saint" Bernard,
drew up the code of regulations by which it was to be governed. The
movement spread, and many princes and nobles returned to the Holy Land in
the train of de Payens and his companions.
So famous did the Order of St. John become, that in 1133 Alfonzo, King of
Navarre and Arragon, who called himself Emperor of Spain, carried his zeal
so far as to bequeath to the knights his kingdoms of Navarre and Arragon:
this, however, was naturally and hotly contested in these places, and
Raimond Dupuy, who attended a Council to regulate the matter, was content
to compromise on certain lands and benefits being allocated to those whom
he represented.
On August 15th, 1310, the knights, under the Grand Master, Fulke de
Villaret, conquered the Island of Rhodes and established themselves there,
and from this time onward, while they held the island, were known as the
Knights of Rhodes. No sooner were the knights firmly established in Rhodes
and the fortifications placed in a proper state of repair, than a tower was
built on the highest point of the island, of great height, from which a
view could be obtained of the sea and the surrounding islands, and from
which information could be signalled as to the movements of any vessels
which were observed.
Pages:
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305