List of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller explained

This is a list of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller, including its continuation as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta after 1798. It also includes unrecognized "anti-grand masters" and lieutenants or stewards during vacancies.

In lists of the heads of the Order, the title "Grand Master" is often applied retrospectively to the early heads of the Order. The medieval heads of the Order used the title of custos (Guardian) of the hospital. The title magister (Master) is used on coins minted in Rhodes, beginning with Foulques de Villaret. The first to use the title Grandis Magister (Grand Master) was Jean de Lastic (reigned 1437–1454).^[1] Later grand masters in Rhodes used Magnus Magister (Grand Master).

In 1607 the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II created the Grand Master a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (Reichsfürst).^[2] This grant was renewed by the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II on July 16, 1620.^[3] On March 20, 1607, Pope Paul V granted the Grand Master the style of His Eminence and precedence at the Court of Rome immediately after the cardinals.

In 1880 the title of Fürst (Prince) was recognised in Austria by the Emperor Franz Joseph I.^[4]

On February 2, 1929, the title of Principe (Prince) and the style of Altezza Eminentissima (Most Eminent Highness) were recognised in Italy by King Victor Emmanuel III.^[5]

The style currently used by the Grand Master is:

,^[6]

,^[7]

,^[8]

,^[9]

.^[10]

Numbered lists of the heads of the Order were published beginning in the early 17th century, with updated editions appearing throughout the 18th century.^[11] The numbering of Masters and Grand Masters published in the 1719 Statutes of the Order lists Blessed Gerard as founder without number, Raymond du Puy as 1st Master, and Ramón Perellós (the incumbent as of 1719) as 63rd Grand Master.^[12] The numbering currently used by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta lists Blessed Gerard as 1st Master, Raymond du Puy as 2nd Master, Ramón Perellós y Rocafull as 64th Grand Master, and Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto as 80th Grand Master.^[13]

Knights Hospitaller (Kingdom of Jerusalem)

See also: History of the Knights Hospitaller in the Levant.

	Title	Picture	Name	Time in office	Notes
- /1	Founder and Rector of the Hospital		Blessed Gerard	1099/1113–1118/20	Order established in 1099 and given papal recognition by Paschal II in his bull Pie postulatio voluntatis in 1113
1/2	Guardian		Raymond du Puy	1118/21/23–1160	Succeeded Gerard after Pierre de Barcelona and Boyant Roger served in ad interim capacity. Began the use of the Hospitallers as a military force in the Holy Land and codified rules of conduct for the Order. Introduced the Order's Great Seal.^[14]
2/3	Guardian		Auger de Balben	1160–1162/3
3/4	Guardian		Arnaud de Comps	c. 1162–1163	Historicity uncertain. Arnaud de Comps is today considered by some as a master who never existed, his name having appeared in the chronological lists placed at the top of the statutes, but his rank is still maintained in the lists of the Grand Masters.
4/5	Guardian		Gilbert of Assailly	1163–1169	Supported Amalric of Jerusalem in the Crusader invasions of Egypt
5/6	Guardian		Gastone de Murols	c. 1170–1172
6/7	Guardian		Jobert of Syria	c. 1169/72–1177	Acted as regent for king Amalric of Jerusalem in 1172. In 1174, opposed Miles of Plancy in favour of Raymond III of Tripoli.
7/8	Guardian		Roger de Moulins	1177–1187	Killed at the Battle of Cresson. Commander William Borrel was appointed Grand Master ad interim, and he was killed at the Battle of Hattin, 3 months later.
8/9	Provisor		Armengol de Aspa	1187–1190	Grand Master ad interim during the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, headquarters moved to Acre. Included in the canonical list of Grand Masters compiled in the early modern period. After the capture of Acre and the consolidation of the order, Armengol abdicated, and Garnier de Nablus elected as Grand Master.
9/10	Guardian		Garnier de Nablus	1190–1192	Supported Richard I of England in the Third Crusade.
10/11	Guardian		Geoffroy de Donjon	1193–1202	After his death, succeeded by Pierre de Mirmande as Grand Master ad interim.
11/12	Guardian		Afonso de Portugal	1202–1206	Resigned in 1206
12/13	Guardian		Geoffroy le Rat	1206–1207	First structured the Order by nationality, or Langues.
13/14	Guardian		Guérin de Montaigu	1207–1228	Fifth Crusade.
14/15	Guardian		Bertrand de Thessy	1228–1231	Sixth Crusade.
15/16	Guardian		Guérin Lebrun	1231–1236	Conflict with Bohemond IV of Antioch.
16/17	Guardian		Bertrand de Comps	1236–1240	Barons' Crusade, Headquarters moved to Jerusalem.
17/18	Guardian		Pierre de Vieille-Brioude	1240–1242	Battle of Gaza, conflict with the Templars.
18/19	Guardian		Guillaume de Chateauneuf	1242–1258	Fall of Jerusalem in 1244, headquarters at Acre, Krak des Chevaliers and Margat. Captured at La Forbie in 1244. Jean de Ronay served as Grand Master ad interim, dying in 1250 at Mansurah. De Chateauneuf was released by the Ayyubids on 17 October 1250.
19/20	Guardian		Hugues de Revel	1258–1277	Loss of Krak des Chevaliers in 1271
20/21	Guardian		Nicolas Lorgne	1277–1285	Loss of Margat in 1285. Upon his death, Grand Commander Jacques de Taxi served as Grand Master ad interim until his successor Jean de Villiers arrived in the Holy Land.
21/22	Guardian		Jean de Villiers	1285–1294	Siege of Acre.
22/23	Guardian		Odon de Pins	1294–1296	Headquarters moved to Limisso, Cyprus.
23/24	Guardian		Guillaume de Villaret	1296–1305

Knights of Rhodes

See also: Hospitaller conquest of Rhodes and Hospitaller Rhodes.

	Title	Picture	Name	Time in office	Notes
24/25	Master		Foulques de Villaret	1305–1319	Nephew of Guillaume de Villaret. Resigned at request of Pope John XXII, 1319. Died 1327.
	Anti-Master		Maurice de Pagnac (unrecognized)	1317–1319
25/26	Master		Hélion de Villeneuve	1319–1346
26/27	Master		Dieudonné de Gozon	1346–1353
27/28	Master		Pierre de Corneillan	1353–1355
28/29	Master		Roger de Pins	1355–1365
29/30	Master		Raymond Berengar	1365–1374
30/31	Master		Robert de Juilly (de Juliac)	1374–1376
31/32	Master		Juan Fernández de Heredia	1376–1396	Appointed by Pope Gregory XI. Later supported Antipope Clement VII. Deposed by Pope Urban VI, 1382. Continued as Anti-Master at Rhodes until his death.
32/33	Master			1383–1395	Appointed by Pope Urban VI, 1382.
33/34	Master		Philibert de Naillac	1396–1421
34/35	Master		Anton Flavian de Ripa	1421–1437
35/36	Grand Master		Jean de Lastic	1437–1454	Siege of Rhodes (1444) first use of the title "Grand Master" (Grandis Magister)
36/37	Grand Master		Jacques de Milly	1454–1461
37/38	Grand Master		Piero Raimondo Zacosta	1461–1467
38/39	Grand Master		Giovanni Battista Orsini	1467–1476
39/40	Grand Master		Pierre d'Aubusson	1476–1503	Siege of Rhodes (1480)
40/41	Grand Master		Emery d'Amboise	1503–1512
41/42	Grand Master		Guy de Blanchefort	1512–1513
42/43	Grand Master		Fabrizio del Carretto	1513–1521
43/44	Grand Master		Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam	1521–1534	Siege of Rhodes (1522), headquarters moved to Malta in 1530

Knights of Malta

See also: Hospitaller Malta.

	Title	Picture	Name	Time in office	Notes
43/44	Grand Master		Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam	1521–1534	Headquarters moved from Rhodes in 1530
44/45	Grand Master		Piero de Ponte	1534–1535
45/46	Grand Master		Didier de Saint-Jaille	1535–1536
46/47	Grand Master		Juan de Homedes	1536–1553	Malta was attacked by an Ottoman fleet in 1551. The attack was repelled, but the Ottomans captured the island of Gozo, and later also the order's stronghold in Tripoli. De Homedes began a program to improve the fortifications at Malta.
47/48	Grand Master		Claude de la Sengle	1553–1557	Continued the improvement of fortifications, expanding Fort Saint Michael into a major bastion and completing Fort Saint Elmo.
48/49	Grand Master		Jean Parisot de Valette	1557–1568	Valette became the Order's most illustrious leader, commanding the resistance against the Ottomans at the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.
49/50	Grand Master		Pierre de Monte	1568–1572	Continued the construction of the new capital Valletta. Strengthened the order's fleet, and participated in the Battle of Lepanto of 7 October 1571.
50/51	Grand Master		Jean de la Cassière	1572–1581	Crisis in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. Expulsion of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) in 1581.
	Lieutenant		Mathurin Romegas	1577–1581
	Anti-Grand Master		Mathurin Romegas	1581
51/52	Grand Master		Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle	1581–1595
52/53	Grand Master		Martín Garzés	1595–1601
53/54	Prince and Grand Master		Alof de Wignacourt	1601–1622	Constructed the Wignacourt towers and the Wignacourt Aqueduct. Repelled the last serious Ottoman attempt at capturing Malta in 1614.
54/55	Prince and Grand Master		Luís Mendes de Vasconcellos	1622–1623
55/56	Prince and Grand Master		Antoine de Paule	1623–1636
56/57	Prince and Grand Master		Giovanni Paolo Lascaris	1636–1657	Caribbean possessions
57/58	Prince and Grand Master		Martin de Redin	1657–1660
58/59	Prince and Grand Master		Annet de Clermont-Gessant	1660	Died less than four months after his election, on 2 June 1660.
59/60	Prince and Grand Master		Rafael Cotoner	1660–1663	Commissioned the Italian Baroque artist Mattia Preti to start painting Saint John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
60/61	Prince and Grand Master		Nicolás Cotoner	1663–1680	Siege of Candia + Mattia Preti's work at St John's Co-Cathedral completed.
61/62	Prince and Grand Master		Gregorio Carafa	1680–1690	Renovation of Auberge d'Italie in the Baroque style, improvement of Fort Saint Angelo and Fort Saint Elmo. Ottoman attacks were still expected, but there were no longer any notable engagements.
62/63	Prince and Grand Master		Adrien de Wignacourt	1690–1697	Instituted a widows pension for the widows of those fallen in the Ottoman wars.
63/64	Prince and Grand Master		Ramón Perellós	1697–1720	Organised the Consulato del Mare (Consulate of the Sea). Established relations with imperial Russia. Fought corruption within the Order. Engagement against Ottoman pirates.
64/65	Prince and Grand Master		Marc'Antonio Zondadari	1720–1722
65/66	Prince and Grand Master		António Manoel de Vilhena	1722–1736	Restored the city Mdina, constructed Fort Manoel and significantly improved the fortifications of Malta in general. Built Casa Leoni and Palazzo Parisio, and renovated Verdala Palace. Manoel Theatre (1731). Conducted peace negotiations with the Ottomans, without result. Declared neutrality in the War of the Polish Succession.
66/67	Prince and Grand Master		Ramón Despuig	1736–1741	Improved the fortifications of Mdina, modernised legislation, renovated the Co-Cathedral of St. John. Naval engagements with Ottoman Algeria.
67/68	Prince and Grand Master		Manuel Pinto da Fonseca	1741–1773	Expelled the Jesuits from Malta. In 1753 proclaimed the sovereignty of the Order on Malta and a dispute started with the Kingdom of Sicily under King Charles V. Normal relations were resumed the next year, with the Order retaining de facto control over Malta as a sovereign state.^[15]
68/69	Prince and Grand Master		Francisco Ximénez de Tejada	1773–1775	Rising of the Priests (1775), bankruptcy of the order.
69/70	Prince and Grand Master		Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc	1775–1797	Instituted the Anglo-Bavarian langue and the Russian Grand Priory.
70/71	Prince and Grand Master		Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim	1797–1799	First German elected to the office. Abdicated 6 July 1799 following the French invasion of Malta.

Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Royal Title:	Prince and Grand Master
Realm:	Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Coatofarms:	Coat of arms of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (variant).svg
Coatofarmscaption:	Coat of arms
Type:	Order of Malta
Style:	His Most Eminent Highness
Incumbent:	John T. Dunlap
First Monarch:	Blessed Gerard
Formation:	1099

	Title	Picture	Name	Time in office	Notes
72^[16]	Grand Master de facto		Paul I of Russia	1798–1801	Elected by the Priory of St. Petersburg in September 1798 (before the abdication of von Hompesch). Election not confirmed by Pope Pius VII.
			Nikolai Saltykov	1801–1803	De facto Lieutenant in Saint Petersburg.
73	Prince and Grand Master		Giovanni Battista Tommasi	1803–1805	Appointed by Pope Pius VII. Residence in Messina and Catania.
	Lieutenant		Innico Maria Guevara-Suardo	1805–1814	Headquarters in Catania.
	Lieutenant		Andrea Di Giovanni y Centellés	1814–1821	Headquarters in Catania.
	Lieutenant		Antoine Busca	1821–1834	Headquarters in Ferrara.
	Lieutenant		Carlo Candida	1834–1845	Headquarters moved to Palazzo Malta, Rome.
	Lieutenant		Filippo di Colloredo-Mels	1845–1864
	Lieutenant		Alessandro Borgia	1865–1871
	Lieutenant		Giovanni Battista Ceschi a Santa Croce	1871–1879
74	Prince and Grand Master		Giovanni Battista Ceschi a Santa Croce	1879–1905	Restoration of the office of Grand Master after a 75-year interregnum, confirmed by Pope Leo XIII.
75	Prince and Grand Master		Galeas von Thun und Hohenstein	1905–1931
76	Prince and Grand Master		Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere	1931–1951
	Lieutenant		Antonio Hercolani Fava Simonetti	1951–1955
	Lieutenant		Ernesto Paternò Castello di Carcaci	1955–1962	Constitutional Charter approved by Apostolic Letter of Pope John XXIII, June 24, 1961.
77	Prince and Grand Master		Angelo de Mojana di Cologna	1962–1988
	Lieutenant ad interim		Jean Charles Pallavicini	1988
78	Prince and Grand Master		Andrew Bertie	1988–2008	Constitutional Charter and Code revised by the Extraordinary Chapter General 28-30 April 1997.^[17]
	Lieutenant ad interim		Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto	2008
79	Prince and Grand Master		Matthew Festing	2008–2017	First Grand Master elected under the new constitution of 1997. Resigned in 2017.^[18]
	Lieutenant ad interim		Ludwig Hoffmann-Rumerstein	2017
	Lieutenant of the Grand Master		Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto	2017–2018
80	Prince and Grand Master		Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto	2018–2020
	Lieutenant ad interim		Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas	2020
	Lieutenant of the Grand Master		Marco Luzzago	2020–2022
	Lieutenant ad interim		Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas	2022
	Lieutenant of the Grand Master		John T. Dunlap	2022–2023	Appointed by Pope Francis.
81	Prince and Grand Master		John T. Dunlap	2023–present	First Grand Master following the 2022 revision of the Order's constitution.^[19] ^[20]

See also

• Grand master (order)
• Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)#Herrenmeister
• Grand masters and lieutenancies of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
• Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
• Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus
• List of grand masters of the Knights Templar
• List of heads of state of Malta

References

• Robert Morris, Coins of the grand masters of the Order of Malta: or Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (1884).

External links

• Official site list of Grand Masters
• Official site description of the Lieutenant of the Grand Master

Notes and References

1. Morris (1884), 17 - 19.
2. Gothaisches Genealogisches Handbuch des Fürstlichen Häuser, Fürstliche Häuser Band 2 (Marburg: Verlag des Deutschen Adelsarchivs, 2018), 175.
3. https://books.google.com/books?id=Rt8MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA270 "Del titolo di 'Altezza' del Gran Maestro dell'Ordine Gerosolimitano"
4. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstlicher Häuser Band I (Glücksburg: C. A. Starke, 1951), 178.
5. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/gu/1929/02/02/28/sg/pdf "Regio Decreto 21 gennaio 1929, n. 61"
6. https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Sovereign-Order-of-Malta-Constitutional-Charter-and-code.pdf Constitutional Charter and Code, Title III, Article 12
7. https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Sovrano-Ordine-di-Malta-Costituzione-e-Codice.pdf Carta Costituzionale e Codice, Titolo III, Articolo 12
8. https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Ordre-Souverain-de-Malte-Charte-Constitutionnelle_et_Code.pdf Charte constitutionelle et Code, Titre III, Art. 12
9. https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Souveraner-Malteserorden-Verfassung_und_Codex.pdf Verfassung und Codex, Kapitel III, Artikel 12
10. https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Soberana-Orden-de-Malta-Carta-Constitucional-y-Codigo.pdf Carta Constitucional y Código, Títolo III, Art. 12
11. Bibliography: Friedrich von Hellwald, Bibliographie méthodique de l'Ordre souv de St. Jean de Jérusalem (1885),137f.Examples:Abcontrafeiung aller Großmeister des ritterlichen Johanniter-Ordens, Frankfurt 1611.Chevillard, Jacques-Louis, Les noms, qualités, armes et blasons de leurs Eminences Messieurs les Grands-Maistres de l'Ordre de Saint Jean de Jérusalem, dits de Malte, depuis leur origine jusqu'à présent, — Paris (1697, updated 1741).François Clément, Chronologie historique des grands-maîtres de l'Ordre de St. Jean de Jérusalem in: L'art de vérifier les dates, Paris (1770). Cronologia de i Gran-Maestri dello Spedale del Santo Sepolcro, ec. detti di Malta, dedicated to the then-ruling Grand Master, Ramon Perellos y Roccaful, printed by Domenico de' Rossi in Rome (1709). An updated version of this work was re-published with English translation in 1962.Cronologia De I Gran Maestri Dello Spedale Della Sacra Religione Militare Di S Gio Gerosolimitano E Dell’Ordine Del Santo Sepolcro Oggi Detti Di Malta. (1099 -1962) - Chronology of the Grand Masters of the Hospital of the Sacred Military Religion of St John of Jerusalem and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre now known as the Order of Malta. (1099-1962), translated by Fra John Edward Critien, photography and design by Daniel Cilia, published in collaboration with Heritage Malta (1962), reprinted in 2005, .Horquet, Karl, Chronologie der Grossmeister des Hospitalordens während der Kreuzzüge, Berlin (1880)The etched portraits used in the list below fictional (with attributed coats of arms) are from a French Histoire des Chevaliers Hospitaliers published in 1726: Monsignor l'Abbe de Vertot, Histoire des Chevaliers Hospitaliers de S. Jean de Jerusalem - appellez depuis les Chevaliers de Rhodes, et aujourd'hui les Chevaliers de Malthe (1726).
12. Volume che contiene gli statuti della Sacra Religione Gerosolimitana, Orden de Malta, per Antonio Scionico, 1719,1 - 9 (manual continuation of the chronology to Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc as 69th).
13. Web site: The Grand Masters . orderofmalta.int . Sovereign Military Order of Malta . 14 June 2022 .
14. The Order's Great Seal, or leaden bulla, remained in use, with some modifications, from the 12th century until 1798. Until 1278, when Nicholas de Lorgne introduced a separate conventual bulla, there was no distinction between the seal of the Grand Master and that of the order. The general design of the seal featured, on the obverse, the Grand Master kneeling in prayer before the patriarchal cross. This image was usually accompanied with the sacred letters alpha and omega, which referenced the Second Coming of Christ. The central image was surrounded by a legend with the Master's name followed by the official designation CVSTOS. Barbara Packard, Seals of the Grand Masters, Museum of the Order of St John, 14 October 2015.
15. Book: Zammit. Vincent. Il-Gran Mastri - Ġabra ta' Tagħrif dwar l-Istorja ta' Malta fi Żmienhom - It-Tieni Volum 1680-1798. 1992. Valletta Publishing & Promotion Co. Ltd.. Valletta, Malta. 405–406.
16. Numbering according to the SMOM (website orderofmalta.int as of 2017) implies the recognition of Riccardo Caracciolo as 33rd Grand Master, and of Paul I of Russia as 72nd Grand Master (r. 1798–1801).
17. https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Sovereign-Order-of-Malta-Constitutional-Charter-and-code.pdf Constitutional Charter and Code of the SMOM
18. Web site: Pullella . Philip . Knights of Malta head resigns after dispute with Vatican . Reuters . 23 June 2016 . 25 January 2017.
19. Dunlap's election was made possible by the 2022 revisions to the Order's constitution ordered by Pope Francis, which removed the traditional requirement that the Grand Master be able to prove noble ancestry.
20. Web site: The Order of Malta's new Constitution . 2022-09-03 . orderofmalta.int . Sovereign Military Order of Malta . 2023-05-03.