Chapter 1 The Hospitallers’ Institutions 1 St. John of the Collachium 1.1 Historical and Archaeological Investigation The church of St. John of the Collachium, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, has been in ruins since it was destroyed by a large explosion in 1856; only some of the eastern and northern parts of the foundations are now visible (Figs. 4a, 4b). Bearing that in mind, the reconstruction of its history, based mainly on written sources, has been supported by limited visual evidence confined to the few ar- chaeological remains and the valuable 19th-century depictions by the Flemish Colonel B. E. A. Rottiers (1828) and the French artist Eugène Flandin (1858).1 Additionally, the excavations by the Italian architect Pietro Lojacono and, later on, by the 4th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities have enabled the reconstruc- tion of at least the basic structure of the church. Construction appears to have started almost immediately after the settle- ment of the Order on Rhodes, during the years of the Master Foulques de Villaret (1305–1319).2 Based on a manuscript by the monk Eleuthère,3 Rottiers reports that the Master laid the foundation stone in 1310, on the feast day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. It seems, though, that the existence or authenticity of this manuscript—if it ever existed—is highly dubious.4 The completion of the works may have occurred under the command of the Master Hélion de Villeneuve (1319–1346), as his coat of arms was found over a gate in the north wall of the church, along with those of the papacy and the hospital.5 The church and all its affairs and belongings were controlled by the Grand Prior of the Convent—prior ecclesiae S. Johannis—who served as the senior Hospitaller priest on Rhodes, in charge of the Order’s ecclesiastical matters. He 1 Rottiers 1828; Flandin 1858. 2 Rottiers 1830, 301; Sommi Picenardi 1900, 81; Gabriel 1923, 169; Lojacono 1936b, 254; Ntellas 2007, 371, 374. 3 Concerning Eleuthère, see Lacroix 1853, 158–159; Sathas 1868, 178–179. 4 Biliotti and Cottret 1881, 164–165; Deliyannis 2013, 6. 5 Sommi Picenardi 1900, 83; Stefanidou 2001, 71. Luttrell gives the extract of a version of The Chronicle of the Deceased Masters elaborated in 1367–1383, mentioning the Conventual church as constructed during Villeneuve’s time; Luttrell 2003b, 32, 191. © Sofia Zoitou, 2021 | doi:10.1163/9789004444225_003 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.Sofia Zoitou - 9789004444225 Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:52:11PM via free access 14 Chapter 1 Figure 4a Remains of the church of St. John of the Collachium, Rhodes. View from northeast Figure 4b Remains of the church of St. John of the Collachium, Rhodes. View from the north Sofia Zoitou - 9789004444225 Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:52:11PM via free access The Hospitallers’ Institutions 15 was a member of the Order’s Council and could come from any of the Order’s langues.6 The earliest extant written evidence is found in the chapter general’s stat- utes of November 4th, 1314, where it is defined that, “The Conventual church should be served by the Prior of the Convent, five Hospitaller priests, four secu- lar priests, two deacons, two subdeacons, four acolytes and two sacristans, and that the service be held as in l’iglise maistre at Acre.”7 It is thus evident that by that time the functional aspects of the church had already been regulated. An additional testimony that corroborates this conclusion is the tombstone of a woman who died in 1318, found in the underground passageway beneath the sanctuary;8 and on March 1st of the same year an assembly took place in the church so that a delegation to the pope could be designated.9 It is no surprise that the construction of St. John would have been undertak- en as soon as possible; the Conventual church played a central role in the reli- gious and administrative life of the Order, whose essentially religious character was constantly intertwined with it: all members had to observe the canonical hours of prayer and to follow the established and continually updated liturgi- cal calendar.10 As the sources indicate, the Conventual church was the location where all official religious ceremonies took place, as well as the regular and emergency meetings of the chapter general—the highest legislative authority of the Order—and the election of the Grand Master.11 Likewise, the liturgical habits associated with St. John are documented early on; the 13th statute of the third chapter general under Hélion de Villeneuve (September 13th, 1332), refer- ring to the anniversary celebration of Rhodes’ conquest by the Hospitallers on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, delineated that a solemn procession ought to take place around St. John, leading to an altar—perhaps a chapel— dedicated to the Virgin.12 As stated in the 135th custom, the processions to 6 The Franciscan Jean Thenaud, who stopped on Rhodes in 1512 during his pilgrimage to Palestine and Egypt, reported that the Grand Prior bore a miter and a pastoral staff, as would a Latin bishop: “[…] estait une magnifique et belle eglise de Sainct Jehan Baptiste au palays, et le grant prieur d’icelle avoit myttre et baston pastoral;” Schefer 1884, 131. For information and lists concerning the successive priors of the Convent at Rhodes, see Paciaudi 1755, 356–370; Ferris 1866, 149–150; Sommi Picenardi 1900, 93–95. 7 Luttrell 2003b, 174. 8 Lojacono 1936b, 266; Luttrell 2003b, 43. 9 Luttrell 2003b, 176. 10 Luttrell 1993, 75–76, 80–81; Luttrell 200a, 105–106; Legras and Lemaître 1991, 83–94. 11 Bosio 1630, 362. For a description of the Grand Master’s election by Pero Tafur (1436–1437), see Pérez Priego 2006, 284–286. 12 “Quodque Rhodi sacra ara, idest altare, in honorem virginis erigatur, ubi capellanus frater ad hoc deputatus die qualibet missam celebret in tante victorie memoriam atque debitam recordationem. Die quoque assumptionis quotannis illuc omnes fratres processionaliter Sofia Zoitou - 9789004444225 Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:52:11PM via free access 16 Chapter 1 take place at the Conventual church must have been numerous; they included the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, the Ascension, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the Assumption, and all feast days that occurred on a Sunday.13 The material aspects of the edifice have been deeply affected through time. After the huge explosion of 1856, the Ottoman authorities buried the remains and built a school on the site, evidently using architectural members of the church’s ruins in the construction of its foundation.14 During the Italian occu- pation, the location was excavated under the supervision of Pietro Lojacono; two excavations were conducted in an attempt to reveal the remaining founda- tions, the first in 1932 and the second in 1934.15 Lojacono was initially guided by Flandin’s prints, which depict accurate topographical information. However, even after the second excavation works, the determination of the precise size and position of the church remained highly partial, since the explosion of 1856 had blown up even the substructures.16 Still, graphic representations were possible (Figs. 5, 6a, 6b, 7).17 Kleovoulou Square was constructed between the school and the palace in this period. After 1989, when heavy rain caused the eastern embankment of the school to collapse, systematic excavations were conducted by the 4th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.18 St. John was a three-aisled rectangular basilica with a transept about 25 me- ters long and a rectangular, cross-vaulted apse. The overall length was 48–50 meters, 15–18 meters wide, the nave measured 6.9 meters wide, and the south aisle 4.15 meters. Four ribbed vaults topped the transept and the sanctuary, rest- ing on the outer walls and on compound piers. The aisles were roofed in tim- ber, the lateral ones single pitched, while the elevated nave had a keel-shaped roof that developed into a coffered barrel vault. They were separated by two arcades with pointed arches bearing openwork tracery trefoils inscribed within ecclesiam sancti Ioannis lustrando accedant et missa solemnis cantetur;” Stabilimenta, De ecclesia 16. The erection of this altar was designated in 1311; Luttrell 2003b, 173–174. 13 “Processiones solemnes in ecclesia hospitalis fieri solent his tantum diebus: videlicet purificationis virginis Marie, ascensionis domini, nativitatis sancti Ioannis Baptiste, as- sumptionis beate Marie virginis et quolibet die dominico. Aliis autem fieri non consuevit processio, nisi festa inciderint die dominico;” Stabilimenta, De ecclesia 7. 14 Kasdagli 1995, 821. 15 Lojacono 1936b, 247–274. 16 Idem, 252. 17 Idem, pls. 2a, 3, 4a, 5a. 18 Kasdagli 1990, 511–514; Kasdagli 1991, 497–499; Kasdagli 1992, 670–671; Kasdagli 1993, 569–570; Kasdagli 1994, 815–816; Kasdagli 1995, 821–823; Sigala 1997, 1150; Psarologaki 2001–2004, 379–381. Sofia Zoitou - 9789004444225 Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:52:11PM via free access The Hospitallers’ Institutions 17 Figure 5 St. John of the Collachium, plan oculi that lightened the spandrels, with four granite columns of ancient origin on each side, their diameter measuring about 55 centimeters and the distance between them around 6.35 meters. The columns’ capitals were Corinthian and Doric, and, according to one of Rottier’s depictions, only the first column on the left rested on a base, while the capital of the first on the right bore the cross of the Order (Fig. 8).19 Excavations in 1995 revealed further bases, one of which bore an ancient Greek inscription, attesting that these components were spolia.20 According to a document dated 1334/1342, there was a suggestion to enlarge the church so that it could accommodate all the Convent’s brethren.21 The con- jecture that the western wood-roofed wing was constructed initially22 and that 19 Rottiers 1830, 300–301; Rottiers 1828, pl.