Although the Knights Templar is the most recognized type of knight to exist during the Crusades, they are far from being the only type. The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, or the Knights Hospitaller, was a military order whose primary focus was to care for the sick and injured pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.
In the heart of Jerusalem resides the remnants of a 1,000-year-old hospital building that was constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. The building collapsed in the earthquake of 1457 and was discovered in 2013—13 years after excavation began.
Spead out over an area of 150,000 square feet, the building's setup is very similar to that of a modern hospital. Wings that were once organized according to medical condition branch off into smaller hallways and patient rooms. The Great Hall areas are characterized by massive pillars and 20-foot ceilings.
The facility is said to have also doubled as an orphanage. In many cases, newborn babies would be dropped off; if a mother had twins, she would deliver one of them to the orphanage. These orphans were very well cared for and raised to become a part of the military order once they were of age.
Works Cited
- http://www.jewishpost.com/culture/1000-Year-Old-Crusader-Hospital-Building.html
- https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/1000-year-old-crusader-hospital-unveiled-jerusalem-00724
Nice sleuthing to find the recent archaeological evidence.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of an order of knights that focused on the health care of individuals traveling to the Holy Land. I wonder if that since they were an order of knights, did they simply sponsor the hospital? Or did they run it themselves? It's rather funny to think about a fully dressed knight as a bedside nurse!
ReplyDeleteIts shocking to hear that they took in abandoned twins! sounds like a movie waiting to happen. I guess though its a win loose situation if they were still trained as knights...
ReplyDeleteWith all the violence that followed the idea of knights (especially in Song of Roland and the Bayeux Tapestry), I tend to forget that there was actual care provided to the sick and injured, rather than automatic death. It's cool to think that medieval hospitals possibly influenced the set up of modern ones.
ReplyDeleteI love how you brought up the fact that it was just recently recovered. It amazes me that artifacts like this can be found hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of years later. The Knights Hospitaller symbol reminds me of a video I saw of Malta where that symbol seemed to be a lot throughout the island, which is super cool!
ReplyDeleteKnights Hopitaller has some similarities to army nurses. They sounded like they were a part of the war at the time but, when you really looked at what they did it they were just nurses who traveled with the army. I wonder if the reason that they had to drop off one of the twins was just a law or it was just common place because it was too much to handle the two babies.
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