Table of Contents

Chivalric Orders and their spiritual roots • The Hospitallers in the twelfth century • The Order of St John in the lands of Germany and the East – the beginning • The consequences of the Second Crusade and the activities of the benefactors • The territory of the grand priory of Germany • The territory of the grand priory of Bohemia-Austria • Poland, Hungary, and Dacia • The bailiwick of Brandenburg – a special case • Section II • The Hospitallers in the Late Medieval Times • The Order and its rule • Power, statutes, and organization • The Order in Rhodes and the period of new orientation • The establishment of the German langue • The forming of the structure and administration • Section II • From Rhodes to Malta • Transformation and continuity of an institution • Aspects of continuity • The Order of St John in Malta and its involvement in European politics • The rule of the Order – forms and effects • The Maltese guerre de corse as an aspect of identity and glory. Legends, facts, and problems • The German langue in the period of Reformation • Section IV • The last splendour of an Order – the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries • New horizons and a dangerous road • The German langue in the period of absolutism • A fragile façade of glory • New acquisitions • Section V • The German langue as victim of the winds of change – and the resurrection • A victim on the chessboard of diplomatism • The resurrection • Appendix I • Sites in Malta connected with the German langue • Appendix II • The dignitaries of the German langue• Bibliography.