Membership

To become a Knight of the Order one had to prove an unblemised, noble and catholic parentage. Maltese nobles were not allowed to become Knights, though any Maltese could join the order as a Man-at-Arm, retainer or cleric.

Conduct and Vows

The Knights had to take the following vows

• Poverty
• Chastity
• Obedience
• Never to wage war against any other Chrsitian nation
• Never to gamble and incur debts
• Never to shrink from battle
• Never to lower the Order's flag
• Never retreat
• Never to surrender
• Never to ask for quarter

The Order took these vows very seriously, as this incident illustartes;

In july 1570, whilst cruising in the vicinity of Malta, heedless of the warning of the Trukish fleet lying nearby, Chevalier Jean Francois de St. Clement was surprised by an overwhelming force leb by Lucciali, a Trukish general. Clement fled ignominiously after losing three ships -the Capitana, the San Giovanni and the Sant'Anna - only the Santa Maria della Vittoria escaped capture. In the disaster that followed, eight knights and large number of largely Maltese soldiers and sailors, persihed.

A general outburst of indignation ensued on the island, and on his return to Malta, St. Clement barely escaped being lynched. He was tried, found guilty, and was stripped of his habit. Condemned to death, he was strangled in prison, and his body, enclosed in a sack filled with stones, was thrown into the sea a few miles outside the Grand Harbour.

Orgainisation

Membership of the Order was divided into three main grades namely: Knights of Justice who were aristocrates from all over Europa. They wore the eight pointed white cross on a black background (now know as the Maltese Cross) on their chest.

The second grade was that of the Conventual Chaplains who, although not necessarily of noble lineage, had still to be of "respectable origins". They worked in the hospitals, the churches, in the galleys and as clerks.

The third grade was that of Sergeants at Arms. They served as soldiers and nurses and were recruited from the common people.

The Knights were further grouped into langues or "tongues". These were Provence, Auvergne, France, Aragon, Castile, Italy, Germany and Egland. During the c16th after the Reformation, the English arm ceased to exist as an effective force, as only a few Knights stayed on disobeying their Protestant King. However a joint langue of England and Bavaria was instituted in 1784.

The Order was governed by a Grand Master who was elected by a council for life. All the members of the Order owed allegiance only to him, and he in turn owed allegiance only to the Pope. He also had absolute authority.