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Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem / MALTA
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In the year 603, Pope Gregory I commissioned a hospital to be built in Jerusalem, to care for the ill and infirm during their pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Two and a half millennia later, we continue to uphold those same values. Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum.
History
With the commissioning of a hospital in Jerusalem by Pope Gregory I, the foundation of the Knights Hospitaller were laid. Over the following centuries, the hospital and it’s staff grew in size and numbers. Throughout the first 500 years of the hospital’s existence, it was sacked and destroyed a number of times, until Grand Master Raymond du Puy formed a militia to provide for it’s defense. The Knights of the Order proved themselves invaluable in numerous battles, including the Siege of Ascalon.
Until the year 1200, the Hospitallers were primarily a civil organization with the aim of assisting the poor and destitute medically, until Fernando Afonso, the ninth Grand Master, made arrangements for the order to militarize. Now split into three groups, the military brothers, the brothers infirmarians, and the brothers chaplains, the Hospitallers began to form into a cohesive fighting force as well.
In the present day, the Knights continue their long-standing tradition of servitude to the people, providing expert medical care and defense to those without the means to heal and protect themselves. While technology has progressed to a mind-boggling degree since the year 603, the Knights remain steadfast in their duties. From aboard their flagship, “Krak des Chevaliers’, the Knights offer numerous medical services to any and all who may arrive, be it on a gurney or by their own power.
Manifesto
The Knights Hospitaller exist to ease the pain and suffering of modern life among the stars. While advancements in technology have provided the means to expand our understanding and control of the cosmos, it has done little to ease the lives of those on the frontiers of Human space. Alien attacks, bandits, accidents and natural disasters still plague the realm.
Though the primary goal of the Order is to render aid where it is needed, whether that aid be medicine, food and water, or general supplies, the Knights maintain a small fleet of fighting ships and competent pilots. These individuals and their vessels are occasionally called upon for Crusades against the Vanduul menace, often to recover damaged ships and their crews, before fighting their way out once more.
Charter
A king may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, ‘But I was told by others to do thus.’ Or that, ‘Virtue was not convenient at the time.’ This will not suffice. Remember that.