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Friday, December 26, 2014

The Forgotten Order - The Knights of St. Lazarus

The most famous of the “fighting orders” or militant orders were of course the Knights Templar, and the Knights Hospitaller (Knights of St. John), two orders founded in the Holy Land and, for their age, truly international in character. Although not powerful and largely forgotten, there was a third military order also founded in the Holy Land, the Order of St. Lazarus.

The Order of St. Lazarus evolved from a leper hospital that had existed in Jerusalem prior to the First Crusade. After the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem was established, it became part of the Hospitaller network of hospitals, but by 1142 the Order of St. Lazarus broke away, and by 1147 it was known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem. The Leper Pool and the foundations of the leper hospital run by the Knights of St. Lazarus have been located just beyond the norther wall of Jerusalem.

Critical to understanding the Knights of St. Lazarus is the fact that leprosy was far more common in the East than in Western Europe and the influence of Greek Orthodox ideology on the territories of the crusader states. By the end of the 10th century, the Byzantine clergy had come to see leprosy as a "holy disease" -- its victims were not seen as particularly vile sinner but rather as men and women marked by God's favor. A number of Greek Orthodox legends entailed Christ appearing as a leper. Caring for lepers was therefore seen as an act of great charity that would gain a person credit in heaven.

It is probably not surprising, therefore, that the Order of St. Lazarus grew rapidly in the mid-12th century, eventually having houses in Tiberias, Ascalon, Acre, Caesarea, Beirut, and possibly other cities as well. More surprising, however, is the fact that it began to have military brethren.  

It appears that initially, the role of these armed monks was primarily the defense of the leper hospitals. Some of these military men were undoubtedly former Templars and Hospitallers who had contracted leprosy, because we know that both the Templar and Hospitaller Rules required members with leprosy to join the Order of St. Lazarus. However, secular knights of the crusader kingdoms who contracted the desease were also expected to join the Knights of St. Lazarus. 

Knights already afflicted with disease would have been facing a steady deterioration of their fighting capabilities, however, and it appears that just as some healthy monks and nuns devoted themselves to the care of the sick in the habit of the Knights of St. Lazarus, some healthy fighting men likewise chose to join the Knights of St. Lazarus rather than the more powerful (and arrogant) military orders of the Templars and Hospitallers. This supposition is supported by the fact that there are recorded incidents of the Order of St. Lazarus taking part in military operations – possibly at the Battle of Hattin, and certainly at the Battle of Gaza in 1244, at Ramla in 1253, and during the defense of Acre in 1291.


Meanwhile, in 1265 Pope Clement IV issued a papal bull that commanded all the prelates of the church to assist in transferring the care of all lepers -- male and female -- to leprosariums run by the Knights of St. Lazarus. Pope Clement had taken a strong interest in the care of lepers before he became pope, and had written a set of regulations for leprosariums while still Bishop of Le Puy that included such remarkable features as the right of lepers to elect their own superiors from among their members. As pope, however, he seems to have been most concerned with ensuring that lepers remained segretrated from the rest of society by putting them under the control of the Knights of St. Lazarus. 

Thus after the fall of Acre, the Order of St. Lazarus moved its headquarters to Cyprus, abandoned all military activities, and thereafter concentrated on its mission of providing comfort and care for the victims of leprosy until the mid-14th century. Of all the so-called militant orders, arguably this was the "most Christian."


The Knights of St. Lazarus play a minor role in my three part biography of Balian d'Ibelin:



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6 comments:

  1. This site is really helpful if you are seeking introductory information about the Saint Lazarus Knights. I am wondering if you could provide the list of references/sources used for this site. I am writing an essay on how archaeological evidence in the Levant and Europe provides evidence of how the orders were involved in none militaristic actions, therefore the Leaper Knights would be a great Order to include in my essay.

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    1. Aiden,
      Great topic! I presume you are familiar with Adrian Boas' books? Unfortunately, I'm in the midst of moving at the moment and many of my reference books are packed away and inaccessible. As I wrote this little summary more than three years ago, I'm not exactly sure my main sources, but very likely the excellent book by Timothy S. Miller and John W. Nesbitt, "Walking Corpses: Leprosy in Byzantium and the Medieval West," Cornell University Press, 2014. It's been my main source on the treatment of leprosy in the crusader states. Bernard Hamilton's "The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem," Cambridge University Press, 2000, may also have some mention of the Knights of St. Lazarus, and I would also see if there is any material in Piers D. Mitchell's "Medicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon," from Cambridge University Press, 2004. Hope this helps! Helena

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  2. If you know of any good records of archaeological digs in Jerusalem then that would also be useful :)

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    1. The best sources on this are Boas' works, although there are a number of publications on individual sites as well.
      Boas, Andrian J., "Crusader Archaeology: The Material Culture of the Latin East." Routledge, 1999.
      Boas, Andrian J., "Domestic Settings: Sources on Domestic Architecture and Day-to-Day Activities in the Crusader States," Brill, 2010.

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  3. The order still exist today. Its called
    Military and Hospital Order of st. Lazarus of Jerusalem. As far as I know this order dats back its roots to the order of St. Lazarus.

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