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M19 - Chevalier hospitalier

ref. M19

EK castings - M19 - Chevalier hospitalier,  1248-59
 
The Ioannites (members of the spiritual knighthood of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem) are descended from a hospital founded around Jerusalem in about 1070. His patron was elected Saint John the Baptist. The Order Brotherhood was engaged in the care of sick and injured pilgrims, not only in Palestine and Syria. Hospitals were built in several European cities, from where the pilgrims most often started their hard way, incl. in Constantinople. All those in need received medical care. For the poor, free meals were arranged, and the educational home at the hospital provided shelter for the foundlings.
All members of this spiritual-knightly order were divided into three categories: knights, priests and servant brothers (sergeants or squires). The eight-pointed white cross on a black cloak symbolized the Johannites. Already in the XIII century, going on a campaign, the Hospitallers dressed in red robes with a white cross.
The highest, privileged layer of Johannites was knights. The brothers (sergeants) performed work on the hospital and were used as infantrymen. At the head of the Order was a great master. Influential persons were the great chancellor, the great preceptor or treasurer, the great hospital, the great marshal, etc. To solve the most important issues, the general chapter was periodically convened.
When the Moslems conquered Jerusalem in 1187, the Hospitallers were forced to move to the island of Cyprus. Having created a strong state and a powerful fleet, the Order provided the control of Christians over most of the Mediterranean Sea and was the foremost boundary of Catholic Europe in the East.