The Shield and the Sword

An authoritative history of the Knights of St. John, from Jerusalem to Malta, told by the bestselling author of The Great Siege.

Known by many names through their centuries-long career, The Knights Hospitaller of Saint John dedicated themselves to defending the poor and sick. First formed in Jerusalem during the Crusades of the eleventh century, the Order of Saint John grew in wealth and power rivaled only by the Knights Templar. They survived exile from the Holy Land, settling first in Rhodes and then in Malta, which they famously defended against the Ottoman Empire’s epic invasion of 1565. Even after losing Malta to Napoleon Bonaparte two centuries later, the Order of Saint John continued its mission.

Ernle Bradford, whose bestselling book The Great Siege recounts their historic battle for Malta, follows the Knights of Saint John through centuries of war, politics, rivalry, and perseverance in The Shield and the Sword.

Ernle Bradford was born in 1922 and died in 1986. He was a noted British historian specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics. Bradford was an enthusiastic sailor himself and spent almost thirty years sailing the Mediterranean, where many of his books are set. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, finishing as the first lieutenant of a destroyer. Bradford lived in Malta for a number of years. He did occasional broadcast work for the BBC, was a magazine editor, and wrote many books, including Hannibal, Paul the Traveller, Julius Caesar: The Pursuit of Power, Christopher Columbus, and The Mighty Hood.

Foreword
Acknowledments
Chapter 1 – Crusaders
Chapter 2 – The Order of St John
Chapter 3 – Crusaders in the East
Chapter 4 – Eternal Warfare
Chapter 5 – The Armoured Men
Chapter 6 – An End and a Beginning
Chapter 7 – Crusaders in Exile
Chapter 8 – An Island Home
Chapter 9 – Rhodian Spring
Chapter 10 – Death to Dragons
Chapter 11 – The Wind and the Sea and the Ships
Chapter 12 – From Fire comes Fire
Chapter 13 – Siege
Chapter 14 – Peace and Power
Chapter 15 – By Order of the Sultan
Chapter 16 – The End of a Dream
Chapter 17 – ‘Two Fine, Large Harbours’
Chapter 18 – Knights and Corsairs
Chapter 19 – Opponents
Chapter 20 – Attack
Chapter 21 – The Territory of the Knights
Chapter 22 – Aftermath and City
Chapter 23 – Lepanto and Malta
Chapter 24 – Seventeenth Century
Chapter 25 – More Medical than Military
Chapter 26 – Decline…
Chapter 27 - …and Fall
Chapter 28 – A Phoenix from the Ashes
Appendix I – The Order Since the Loss of Malta
Appendix II – List of the Grand Masters of the Order
Appendix III – A Military Glossary
Appendix IV – Select Biography

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The Shield and the Sword

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials