THE CHANGING POSITION OF THE SERVING BROTHERS AND THEIR CARITATIVE FUNCTIONS IN THE ORDER OF ST JOHN IN JERUSALEM AND ACRE, ca 1070-1291 D. G. DUCHESNE M.Phil Degree Medieval Studies University of Sydney June 2008 v iiv An Abstract Study of the serving brothers of the Order of St John and of the way in which the original idealism of their hostel in Jerusalem was altered by forces of change has been neglected. The ultimate result of these forces was to change the main ideology of the brotherhood into an organisation which was dominated by knights and their desire to defend the Catholic Faith and the Crusader states. The importance of the original brothers and their position within the growth of the Order of St John changed. They became second class citizens in their own Order and this has been largely overlooked. In order to appreciate how this development took place it is necessary to trace the changing circumstances of the serving brothers within the various stages of the history of the Order and the way these affected their caritative service to pilgrims, the poor and the sick. The purpose and ideals which formulated the Hospice of St Mary of the Latins are the essential beginnings of such a study. Following the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099, the Hospice launched into a different phase of its history. The number of poor sick pilgrims visiting Jerusalem and being accommodated in the hospice or hospital, eventually forced the Hospital to become independent from its mother monastery. However, this became possible only after Pope Paschal II settled the problems of church and state experienced in the early years of the Kingdom. ivi iii An Appreciation It is with deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks that I acknowledge my indebtedness to the Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Sydney, for the guidance and help that has been afforded to me over the past years. The consideration given to me over my serious illness and the twelve months recuperation period, which followed was much appreciated. In this regard my thanks are due to Professor M. Clunies Ross for her patience and understanding as well as her encouragement and advice. My supervisor and teacher Associate Professor John Pryor has been my constant inspiration and guide and without his assistance this thesis would not have been completed. His assistance and encouragement as well as his great knowledge of the medieval period has always been a source of wonder to me. When Professor Pryor was on a sabbatical six months overseas Dr Carole Cusack stepped in and very willingly offered her assistance as supervisor and adviser for which help I am greatly indebted. Dr Cusack has also offered her assistance in reading the thesis. Thanks are also due to Dr Piers Mitchell for his assistance to me while he was in Australia. Without the services offered by the Fisher Library, this thesis could not have been written. I am particularly grateful for the efforts of the Inter Library Loans section of the Library. May I add my personal appreciation for my wife’s patience during the time of writing this thesis. iii T A BLE O F CO N T EN T S Page Pr ef ace i An A ppreciation ii Table of Contents iii A bst r act iv Introduction vii Chapt er 1 Important Sources and A uthors 1 Chapter 2 Hospitaller Origins c. 1170-1099 40 Chapt er 3 Early Crusader Period 1100-1113 72 Chapt er 4 The Expanding Order 1114-1154 97 Chapt er 5 The Rule of Raymond du Puy 120 Chapt er 6 The Hospital and Contemporary Rules 144 Chapt er 7 The Changing Course 1120-1187 165 Chapt er 8 Controversy and Diplomacy 1160-1187 183 Chapt er 9 The Religious Life of Service 209 Chapt er 1 0 The Hospital 234 Chapt er 1 1 The M edical Work 258 Chapt er 1 2 The Serving Brot hers in A cre 296 Conclusion 321 Bibliography 334 v iiv An Abstract Study of the serving brothers of the Order of St John and of the way in which the original idealism of their hostel in Jerusalem was altered by forces of change has been neglected. The ultimate result of these forces was to change the main ideology of the brotherhood into an organisation which was dominated by knights and their desire to defend the Catholic Faith and the Crusader states. The importance of the original brothers and their position within the growth of the Order of St John changed. They became second class citizens in their own Order and this has been largely overlooked. In order to appreciate how this development took place it is necessary to trace the changing circumstances of the serving brothers within the various stages of the history of the Order and the way these affected their caritative service to pilgrims, the poor and the sick. The purpose and ideals which formulated the Hospice of St Mary of the Latins are the essential beginnings of such a study. Following the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099, the Hospice launched into a different phase of its history. The number of poor sick pilgrims visiting Jerusalem and being accommodated in the hospice or hospital, eventually forced the Hospital to become independent from its mother monastery. However, this became possible only after Pope Paschal II settled the problems of church and state experienced in the early years of the Kingdom. ivi vii Introduction From the time the Order of St John became dominated by its military wing little attention has been given to the original reason for the foundation of the Order. The fact that without the idealism and contribution of the Order before the advent of the knights the later history would not have taken place, has largely been ignored. A great deal of research and writing has concentrated on the knights; however, the nursing and medical contribution of the brethren has slipped into a very definite second place. This emphasis on the knights of the Order has resulted in a failure to appreciate fully the contribution made by the brothers in their Hospitals in Jerusalem and Acre. Despite the complicated events of the two hundred years or so of the Order in the Holy Land, the work of a ministry to destitute pilgrims and the poor was maintained throughout this period with only a short interval in the middle. The fall of Jerusalem caused a period of insecurity for the work until Acre was recaptured and its Hospital re-established. In order to understand the organisation of the work of the Hospital it is necessary to delve into the evolution of its charitable endeavours. A difficulty arises however in trying to identify those brethren who spent most of their time in running a service for pilgrims. This was because in the first half of the twelfth century the Order was made up not only of brothers, some of whom became military brethren, but also of others who spent most of their time in some kind of service within the Hospital. Early in the second half of the century the Pope gave permission for the Order to include priests among the brethren. These were accepted, although not granted privileges. As time passed the number of military viii brethren increased and they became isolated in part from the work within the Hospital. Early in the history of the Hospital and at various times most of the brothers assisted in the actual work of nursing. However some military brethren were stationed in casales, areas of land with houses and villagers, or at outposts within the Crusader states. When the Hospital was separated from St Mary of the Latins, its mother-monastery, the work of the Hospital increased and the brother in charge assumed a larger responsibility and importance in the Kingdom. As the military brethren became more involved outside the Hospital, the brethren serving at home became specialists in their work. The term ‘serving brothers’, is here understood to refer to those brethren who spent most of their time nursing in the Hospital, or working at other duties. Only after the Statutes of Alphonso were composed in 1206 were the military brethren termed Knights of the Order and a clear distinction made between them and other brethren. In the past, scholars have not approached the Order from the point of view of the changing position and ministry of the serving brothers to the poor and pilgrims. E. J. King exemplified this neglect when he wrote, long ago now, that those who actually served within the Hospital should “scarcely be regarded as properly speaking members of the Order”.1 He was drawing attention to the opinion of Abbé de Vertot who, referring to later Statutes, thought that those who were servants of office for common drudgery were of 2 so little consequence that it was not proper to trouble the reader with them. 1 King, Knights Hospitaller, pp. 71-72. 2 Abbé de Vertot, Histoire des Chevaliers Hospitaliers de St Jean de Jérusalem (Paris, 1842). ix Contrary to this, the actual ministry within the Hospitals at Jerusalem and Acre was most important from the points of view of charity, medical expertise, and also the history of the Order. The foundation bulls, letters and Statutes have a very different emphasis on the achievements of those brethren who established the original Order and who carried on their responsibilities despite difficulties and opposition. To give due consideration to what may be termed the inner working of the Hospital in both Jerusalem and in Acre, it is necessary to place the evidence available within the overall history of its existence in the Holy Land.