Customer Reviews

Knight Hospitaller (2): 1306-1565 (Warrior) (Pt.2)

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The Knights Hospitaller is one of the Ospery warrior collection and it is a wealth of information on the who, what, where and why of the Knights Hospitaller, the lesser known but equally important order of knights that fought for the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the Cursades. Do not let the comic book look fool you the illustrations are just a minor part of the excellent writing, research information and pictures that the authors put into place for their work. It is a must for anyone who wants the most accurat information on the oldest surviving western military order.

This book is a hardcover edition of Osprey's twin warrior titles on the Knights Hospitaller - unfortunately lacking in the color plates. It details the origins, equipment, battle tactics, and daily life of these Knights from their orgins as an order of charitable, hospital-running monks in Jerusalem to their days as a band of pirates harassing the Ottoman Empire throughout the Mediterranean. Overall it makes for informative reading, though it is written by the unsympathetic, Islamophilic David Nicolle.

KNIGHTS OF JERUSALEM: THE CRUSADING ORDER OF HOSPITALLERS, 1100-1565
DAVID NICOLLE
OSPREY PUBLISHERS, 2008
HARDCOVER, 224 PAGES, $25.95, APPENDICES, GLOSSARY, ILLUSTRATIONS


To some they were the "Chosen Knights of Christ"; to others, they were simply "pirates bearing crosses," the Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta, Order of St. John, Knights of Malta, and Chevaliers of Malta; French: Ordre des Hospitaliers) was a Christian organization that began as an Amalfitan hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1018 to provide care for poor, sick, or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the Western Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, it became a religious/military order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defense of the Holy Land. The Hospitallers evolved into one of the great military forces of the Crusades, fighting the Islamic enemy alongside their brothers and rivals, the Templers. After the fall of the Holy Land, the Order moved to Rhodes and pursued a naval crusade, regarded by the Ottomans and Venetians as simple high-seas pirates. Eventually they wound up on Malta, where they remained for more than 250 years, surviving the famous great siege of 1565, until finally ousted by Napoleon in 1798. When the Knights ceased to be associated with any one place, it gave rise to successors in existence until the present including the Sovereign Order of Malta. The KNIGHTS OF JERUSALEM: THE CRUSADING ORDER OF HOSPITALLERS, 1100-1565 immerses the reader in the lives of these holy warriors, not only giving a history of the order, but delving into their techniques for recruitment and training, and even their battlefield tactics. This book is intended as an introduction to the Order for academics working in other fields, as well as the interested general reader. It also considers the Order's activities away from the frontiers of Christendom: its economic activities and its relations with patrons and rulers throughout Europe, as well as its hospital work and its religious life. It's a fascinating story, and KNIGHTS OF JERUSALEM: THE CRUSADING ORDER OF HOSPITALLERS 1100-1565 wraps it up with a satisfying epilogue: the Hospitallers have survived to this day as a charitable order, having returned to their original mission: caring for the sick.


Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida

I enjoyed this book, it part of series that Osprey did as seprate books that were combined into one book.

It is full of infomation abouth the Hospitallers for the years 1100 to 1565, and I found that it was a good read and full of infomation, that I didnt have access to before.

My only gripe is that it lacks the color plates that were in the previous books, this is a bit of shame.

My copy was the hardback edition, and I am sure that I will get many years out of this fine book.

A great buy for people trying to understand the fighting order of the Hospitaller. It details the castles they possessed during the crusades and their battles against the islamic knigdoms. The book itself starts with the foundation of the order in 1080 and then goes on to explain their tactics and strategies in holding on to their claims in Jerusalem. In the begining of the book is a detailed layout of the timeline of the order and like all other osprey books it contains 10 well drawn and fully colored pages of the equipment and dress of the Knights.

This is a great book for artist's trying to draw these knights and for historians who want to find out more about the the Order of the Hospital of St.John or simply put the Hospitallers, and the artist herself should get a reward for the stunning accuricy and talent put in the pictures.

KNIGHTS OF JERUSALEM: THE CRUSADING ORDER OF HOSPITALLERS 1100-1565 provides a review of one of the more famous Crusading orders of medieval times. It considers the lives and military roles of the Knights Hospitaller in detail from their origins to their many conflicts. Black and white illustrations and color photos and drawings throughout spice a lively survey especially recommended for high school to college-level collections strong in medieval history.

Everyone knows about the Knight templer but the Hospitalliers were just as interesting....if you are in the Rawson family, you can read about Sir John Rawson here in Rhodes.....well written