The Monks of War

by Desmond Seward

  Like the Order of Malta, the Constantinian Order is now a stronghold of what might be called Italy's 'old establishment'. So too is another dynastic military order, that of SS Maurice and Lazarus, whose Grand Master is Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel, although, unlike the last two, it is not recognized by the Italian government. From having become a national order of merit under the kings of Italy, this has now reverted to its origins and has been transformed into a redoubt for the Piedmontese aristocracy and a focus of sympathy for the House of Savoy. It too has a small British Association, whose President is the Earl of Erroll, hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland.

  Yet another Italian order of this sort, which is showing signs of revival, is that of Santo Stefano in Tuscany, the present Grand Master being the Grand Duke Sigismondo.

  In Germany the Bavarian Order of St George continues to thrive. Its Grand Master is HRH Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria (Stuart Pretender to the throne of England). The Grand Prior is Crown Prince Franz of Bavaria and the commanders are all Wittelsbach princes. The Order has 100 Knights, each with thirty-two quarterings, and supports a hospital. It is very much respected in Bavaria, where a good deal of monarchist sentiment still exists. The Order of St George's headquarters are at the royal palace of Nymphenburg.

  Monks booted and spurred, carrying swords – much about the military religious orders may seem strange and alien. Perhaps this is why their achievements have never received the recognition they deserve, whether as the first properly staffed and officered troops in Western Europe since Roman times, or as colonists and fighting seamen.

  The Knights of today's orders no longer go out to battle but concentrate on their hospitaller calling. So long as they keep their traditions and their patrician character, they will survive. Should they abandon either, however, they will soon die – having lost that cachet which attracts recruits, to fade away as short-lived imitations of the Red Cross. But if the Knights remain steadfast, then they will enter the second millennium to serve Our Lords the Sick for centuries to come.

  APPENDICES: ORDERS OF ST JOHN IN THE MODERN WORLD

  1. The Grand Priory of England

  2. The Order of Malta in North America

  3. The Johanniterorden

  4. The Venerable Order of St John

  5. Self-styled Orders of St John

  APPENDIX I

  THE GRAND PRIORY OF ENGLAND

  The Order of Malta restored its Grand Priory of England in 1993, with the Vatican's permission, after being in abeyance for nearly 450 years. Henry VIII had dissolved the Order in England in 1540, confiscating its property. The Priory had been briefly restored by Queen Mary, only to be have its lands seized again by Elizabeth I in 1559.

  Despite the Reformation, there were always English, Scots or Irish Knights of Malta. Until the end of the eighteenth century most of the Englishmen and Irishmen tended to join the Langue of Italy, while Scotsmen usually joined the French Langues. Titular Grand Priors were appointed, together with titular Priors of Ireland and Bailiffs of Egle.

  Several attempts were made to restore the Grand Priory. The first was by Sir Nicholas Fortescue, a descendant of Blessed Adrian Fortescue, who became a Knight of Justice in 1639; but, although he secured the support of Queen Henrietta Maria, the Civil War put an end to the project. The Duke of Berwick – James II's natural son by Arabella Churchill – who joined the Order in 1687, made a second attempt and was appointed titular Grand Prior by Grand Master Carafa. When his father was deposed, Berwick raised a red-coated force to fight for him in Ireland: it was known as the Grand Prior's Regiment. The Duke was followed as Grand Prior by two of his sons, Lord Peter and Lord Anthony Fitzjames. (At least two-thirds of today's British Knights have Jacobite ancestors, direct or collateral, who fought for the Stuarts in the '15 or the '45, or who served in the armies of the Catholic powers with commissions signed by James III.) The Anglo-Bavarian Langue, established in 1782 and composed mainly of Germans and Poles, was recognized as the successor of the Langue of England but came to an end in 1806. The last titular Grand Prior of England was appointed in the same year, Fra' Girolamo Laparelli, 54th Grand Prior, who died in 1815.

  The Order was never without British Knights, even if not all of them were Knights of Justice. Two prominent examples during the first half of the nineteenth century were Prince Nugent (1777–1862), an Austrian field marshal and titular Prior of Ireland, and the last Catholic Earl of Shrewsbury, who founded a commandery. Sir George Bowyer, Bt., MP, became a Knight of Justice in 1851 and established the Order's British Association in 1875, building the church which is now in St John's Wood. Among its early presidents were Lord Ashburnham and the Earl of Granard, Master of the Horse – from whom Queen Victoria's son, later to be Edward VII, received the honorary cross of a Bailiff Grand Cross in 1882; he wore it during a visit to Malta after his accession to the throne. (His father, the Prince Consort, had also received an honorary cross.) Those in this century have included Lord North, Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent (the last Viceroy of Ireland), the Earl of Iddesleigh, the Earl of Gainsborough, Major-General Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, Sir Peter Hope and Lord Craigmyle.

  In 1946 Pope Pius XII encouraged the Order to restore the Grand Priory of England, but, although six English novice Knights of Justice were available, this attempt too came to nothing. In 1972 the Sub-Priory of Blessed Adrian Fortescue was founded, with Lord Robert Crichton-Stuart as Regent. Subsequent Regents included the future Grand Master, Fra' Andrew Bertie, Fra' Anthony (Viscount) Furness, the Earl of Gainsborough and the present Grand Prior, Fra' Matthew Festing.

  The Order's statutes stipulate that five Knights of Justice, monk-knights, are needed for the erection of a Grand Priory. By 1993 there were seven such Knights in England, together with nearly twenty Knights of Obedience – who make a single promise of obedience instead of taking vows. The new Grand Prior of England, Fra' Matthew, had entered the Order in 1977, taking his solemn vows in 1992. (His father, the late Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing, had also been a member of the Order.) Fra' Matthew is the fifty-fifth in succession to Fra' Walter, who was appointed Prior in 1144.

  APPENDIX 2

  THE ORDER OF MALTA IN NORTH AMERICA

  Several Knights of Malta played a most distinguished role in early Canadian history. They included Samuel de Champlain's first sponsor and three of his comrades. Among them were the first governors of both New France and Acadia (Nova Scotia), the first 'seigneur' in Acadia and the founder of the settlement at La Hève. A Knight was also the first to propose a settlement at Chebucto – now Halifax.

  Aymar de Clermont de Chaste of the Langue of Auvergne, Vice Admiral of France, was appointed Lieutenant-General of New France by Henry IV in 1602 but died the following year, though not before sponsoring Champlain's first exploration of the St Lawrence River. In 1632, on behalf of the Company of New France, the Commander Isaac de Razilly (a kinsman of Cardinal Richelieu) organized an expedition of settlers to Quebec and to Acadia, assisted by Champlain and two other Knights, Marc-Antoine Brasdefer de Chateaufort and Charles-Jacques Huault de Montmagny. A veteran soldier, Fra' Isaac had lost an eye during the siege of La Rochelle and had campaigned in Morocco. During the same year of 1632 he was appointed Viceroy of New France, Governor of Acadia and Seigneur of the Îie Sainte-Croix and of Port-Royal. He wrote to Grand Master Paule, suggesting that a Priory of the Order should be established at Port-Royal (later Annapolis) or at Chebucto, but the proposal was not accepted. He died in Acadia in 1635, being buried at the gate of Fort Sainte-Marie-de-Grâce in his settlement of La Hève. Fra' Isaac had been devoted to Canada which he described as 'an earthly paradise'.

  Chateaufort was interim governor of Quebec from Champlain's death in 1635 until the arrival of Montmagny, the following year. Montmagny – a fine seaman who had fought a notably successful action against the Turks off Rhodes in 1627 – built the second chateau of Saint-Louis, adorning its walls with the order's eight-pointed cross; the battered stone bearing the cross is now on the main
gate of the Château Frontenac Hotel, which stands on the site of the former residence of the Governors of New France. During his governorship, which lasted until 1648, Montmagny's Lieutenant was another Knight, Fra' Antoine Brehaut de l'Isle, who commanded the garrison at Trois-Rivières. Montmagny died in 1653 on the Isle Sainte-Christophe (St Kitts-Nevis), when it was part of the Order's short-lived Caribbean colony.

  Other members of the Order prominent in New France during the seventeenth century were Fra' Hector d'Andigné de Grandfontaine, Governor of Acadia from 1670 to 1673; Fra' Thomas de Crisafy, who commanded Canada's troops and died at Montreal in 1696; and Mgr Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Vallier, who became the second Bishop of Quebec – a prelate whose influence on Canadian Catholicism can be felt even today.

  During the eighteenth century the Commander Constantin-Louis d'Estourmel, a Knight of the Langue of France, commanded the French fleet which carried out an expedition to recapture Louisbourg from the British in 1746. Fra' Félicien de Bernetz, Colonel of the Royal-Roussillon regiment, played a leading role in the defence of Quebec against the English and Americans in 1759. Another Knight of Malta who took an important part in the defence of Quebec was François-Claude de Bourlamaque, Colonel of Infantry. The son of their general, the heroic Marquis de Montcalm, entered the Order in 1744.

  Although there had always been one or two Canadian Knights, the Order's Canadian Association was not founded until 1952. One of its presidents, Quintin Jeremy Gwyn, became Grand Chancellor of the Order and was the first Knight from the New World to be elected to the Sovereign Council. However, the best-known modern Canadian Knight is undoubtedly General Georges P. Vanier (1886–1967) who was Governor-General of Canada at the time of his death, having previously served with great distinction in Canada's army and diplomatic corps. A most saintly man, his cause is being considered for beatification.

  The Canadian Association now numbers about 250 members. So far, it is unique among the Order's Associations in both the Old World and the New in having had a Knight of Justice as its President, Fra' John MacPherson. It concentrates on support for gerontologic institutes and assessment centres besides helping refugees from south-east Asia and eastern Europe. There is also the Quebec Service of Order of Malta Auxiliaries.

  It is not too much to say that a Knight of Malta was largely responsible for winning the American War of Independence. In 1781 Admiral de Grasse made it impossible for the British Navy to relieve Yorktown, ensuring General Cornwallis's surrender. (The Admiral had entered the Order as a boy but did not take vows in order to marry.) Many of the best sailors in the old French Navy, the 'Marine Royale', learnt their seamanship in the Order of Malta's galleys. The greatest of them all, the Bailli de Suffren, was France's other outstanding Admiral during the War of Independence. Among the professed Knights who commanded French ships of the line during that war were Pierre-Louis de Sambuçy and Jean-Louis-Charles de Coriolis d'Espinousse – the latter being one of Admiral de Grasse's chefs-d'escadron at Chesapeake Bay and at Yorktown.

  Over twenty Knights fought in the war, fourteen becoming members of the Society of Cincinnati, founded by George Washington for officers of the American Continental Army and their descendants. One of the Order's Chaplains of Obedience, the Canadian-born François-Louis-Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière, served as a Catholic chaplain in the very largely Protestant Continental Army and received a pension from Congress.

  In 1794 Grand Master Rohan explored the possibility of the Order acquiring a small territory in the United States, his intermediary being Fra' Jean de Cibon of the Priory of Aquitaine, who had been the Order's chargé d'affaires in Paris. In return, the Knights offered to protect all American shipping in the Mediterranean from the still very real threat of Algerian piracy. However, the American minister at Paris, the future President Monroe, proved uncooperative.

  During the nineteenth century, several Knights from the United States entered the Order. The Americans have always possessed an aristocracy though, for historical reasons, it has never been armigerous as in Europe. An American Association was founded in 1927, based in New York, which became renowned for spectacular fund-raising under the influence of the formidable Cardinal Spellman. Today it has over 1,700 members. Among its charitable activities is AmeriCares, which provides aid on a very lavish scale to many countries, especially in Latin America. For many years its President has been J. Peter Grace, who is also an extremely active member of AmeriCares. The senior chaplain is HE Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York.

  The Western Association was formed in 1953, based in San Francisco, and now has 520 members, its president being the Knight of Obedience Peter Nigg. Among many fine works of charity, this association sends large parties of sick on the Order's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes despite the enormous distance and expense. It finances clinics and retirement homes and supports a hospital, the O'Connor Hospital, where it also gives assistance. The two senior chaplains are Mgr John Quinn, Archbishop of San Francisco, and HE Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles.

  The third association in the United States, the Federal Association, was founded in 1974 and is based on Washington. It has 455 members, the President being the Hon. James A. Belson. It supports hospitals and clinics and encourages volunteer hospital visiting on a large scale, besides sending vast quantities of medical aid to Africa, the Caribbean and Central America. It too sends parties of the sick on the Lourdes pilgrimage, regardless of distance or expense. The chaplain is HE Cardinal James Hickey, Archbishop of Washington.

  In January 1989 President Ronald Reagan accepted the Collar of the Order pro Merito Melitensi, which was conferred on him for his firm stand against abortion. The President was invested by the Prince and Grand Master himself, HMEH Fra' Andrew Bertie, at the American Association's annual dinner in New York. This was the first formal acknowledgement of the Order of Malta by a serving President of the United States of America. During a second visit to the United States in 1991, Fra' Andrew was received at the White House by President George Bush.

  APPENDIX 3

  THE JOHANITTERORDEN

  The Protestant orders in Germany, Sweden, Holland, Finland and France, known collectively as the 'Alliance Orders of St John', claim descent from the old Hospitaller bailiwick of Brandenburg. While the Order of Malta cannot accept them as Knights of Malta, it acknowledges them as 'recognized orders of St John' – a formula propounded by the Johanniter themselves.

  During the later Middle Ages the commanders of the Brandenburgh Ballei acquired considerable independence, with the right to elect their own Herrenmeister, whose seat was at Sonneberg from 1428. When the local Hohenzollern ruler turned Lutheran in 1538, most commanders followed suit and married but retained their commanderies, which they bequeathed to their heirs. From the end of the sixteenth century the office of Herrenmeister was generally held by a Hohenzollern. (The Order of Malta recovered five of the commanderies in 1648, so that there was also a Catholic Bailiff of Brandenburg.) During the seventeenth century the Herrenmeister became an ornament of the court at Berlin, commanding the Electress's Life Guards. In 1763 the then Herrenmeister Prince Ferdinand of Prussia, Frederick the Great's uncle, sent responsions (dues from his commanderies) to Grand Master Pinto, which were graciously accepted. Although never recognized as Knights of Malta, the commanders of the Brandenburg Ballei went on sending responsions and in 1787 began to wear the Order's red uniform.

  In 1810 Prussian reformers persuaded King Frederick William III to abolish the Brandenburg Ballei as a 'feudal encumbrance', replacing it by a decoration called the Prussian Order of St John. However, in 1852 Frederick William IV, a romantic with a nostalgia for the Middle Ages, restored the Brandenburg Ballei; in the following year the Ballei's few survivors – none had been created since 1800 – met at Sonneberg to elect the king's nephew, Prince Frederick Karl, as Herrenmeister. He promptly wrote to the Order of Malta's Lieutenant Master, Fra' Philip Colloredo, demanding recognition. When this was refused, he formed a new order, the
'Knightly Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (Brandenburg Ballei)', recruiting 500 members from the noble families of north Germany. By 1890 it had founded nineteen hospitals.

  The fall of the Hohenzollern monarchy in 1918 was a serious blow for the Johanniter, on account of its association with the dynasty. (It had become, and remains even today, a semi-dynastic order.) The Swedish Knights seceded, to form a separate order under their own sovereign. Nevertheless, the main branch survived very well in Weimar Germany, President Hindenburg proudly wearing the Johanniter cross on his uniform at all state occasions, as did many army officers. The climate changed under the Third Reich, Nazi Party members and their families being forbidden to belong to the Order; a dozen of its Knights were hanged in the aftermath of the 1944 plot, martyred for their opposition to Hitler. Then, as a result of the Russian invasion of 1945, the Johanniter lost its hospitals in East Germany where it had originated. It seemed that Sonneberg had gone for ever.

  However, immediately after the war, the Allies were faced by the urgent need to provide emergency services in Western Germany, where hospitals and nursing services had collapsed. Since they found the Red Cross to be largely staffed by former members of the Nazi Party, the Allies turned to the two aristocratic hospitaller organizations, the Order of Malta and the Johanniter Order – the latter's Herrenmeister being Prince Oscar of Prussia, a younger son of the Emperor William II. The Federal Republic followed the Allies' example, recognizing the two orders as charities which had become national institutions. They continue to run jointly the republic's main ambulance service.

  Today the Herrenmeister is HRH Prince Wilhelm-Karl of Prussia, who presides over some 3,000 Knights of the Lutheran or Reformed faith. In addition to the ambulance service, they maintain nineteen old people's homes (sheltering 2,000 souls) as well as fifteen large hospitals with 3,500 beds. Annual government funding is in the region of DM 500 million. Although noble proofs are no longer demanded, most of the Order's senior officers bear names which would have been familiar enough at the old Prussian court. Following the reunification of Germany in 1989, they have recovered many of their hospitals and historic buildings in what was East Germany, including Sonneberg.