Fra' Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464 – 21 August 1534) was a prominent member of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

and later

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Having risen to the position of

Prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of the ''Langue of Auvergne'', he was elected 44th Grand Master of the Order in 1521. He commanded the Order during Sultan Suleiman's long and bloody Siege of Rhodes in 1522, when 600 knights and 4500 soldiers resisted an invading force of about 100,000 men for six months,L. Kinross, ''The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire'', 176 but eventually negotiated the capitulation and the departure of the knights on New Year's Day 1523 to

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. He then led the Order during several years without a permanent domicile—first Kandi on

, then successively

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and finally

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

and the North African port city of Tripoli as fief for the Order from Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and established the Order, henceforth known as the ''Maltese Knights'', in their new base. The Order arrived on the island on 26 October 1530 on their flagship, the '' Santa Anna''. L'Isle-Adam took formal possession of the islands on 13 November, when the silver key of the capital

Mdina Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...

was given to the Grand Master. Despite this, the Order settled in the coastal town of

Birgu Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...

and made it their capital city. They settled in Fort Saint Angelo, which served as both a fortification and as a palace. The city was fortified and eventually Auberges for each of the Langues were built. Despite this, the Grand Master and the Order still hoped that one day they would recapture Rhodes (in fact the Order decided to make Malta their permanent home only after the Great Siege 35 years later). L'Isle-Adam died at the Our Lady of Jesus convent (''ta' Ġieżu'') in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

, Malta on 21 August 1534. He was buried in the Chapel of St Anne within Fort Saint Angelo, but was reburied in the crypt of Saint John's Co-Cathedral in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

in the late 16th century. Culverine of Philippe Villiers de l Isle Adam 1525 1530 Rhodes 140mm 339cm 2533kg iron ball 10kg Abdul Aziz to NIII 1862.jpg,

Culverin A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but the term was later used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the French (from " grass snake", follo ...

with the arms of L'Isle-Adam,

. Caliber: 140mm, length: 339 cm, weight: 2533 kg, ammunition: 10 kg iron ball. Remitted by Abdul-Aziz to

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

in 1862. Stemma di villier de l'isle adam 02.JPG, Coat of arms of L'Isle Adam in Odos Ippoton, Rhodes Prise de Malte en 1530.jpg, ''Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam takes possession of the island of Malta, 26 October 1530'' by René Théodore Berthon. Malta - Valletta - Triq il-Merkanti 10 ies.jpg, Former mural at '' Is-Suq tal-Belt'' showing L'Isle-Adam's arrival in Malta Malta-Valletta-GrandMastersPalace1.jpg, Coat of arms of L'Isle Adam at the Grandmaster's Palace.

References

External links

Coins of Grandmaster Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
{{DEFAULTSORT:L'Isle-Adam, Philippe Villiers De Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller Knights of Malta 1464 births 1534 deaths People from Beauvais 15th-century French military personnel 16th-century French people 16th-century soldiers Rhodes under the Knights Hospitaller Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral

See also

References

External links