De primordiis et inventione sacrae religionis Hierosolymorum
1097CMaxima inter plerosque hactenus dubitatio fuit, unde et a quibus Hosp. Ierosolimorum primordium sumpserit. Quidam vana sompnia ingerentes deliramenta pocius quam veritatem confinxisse videntur; veteres enim historias longissime ab invicem separatas, composito quodam glutineo conjunxerunt. Quorum vanas fabulas hoc loco mihi referre cura non est; sed ad rei veritatem, id quod de sacris annalibus decerpere potui, et quae conjectura et ratione assequi, non praepositae rei seriem in medium adducam.
Sacram Jerosolymorum religionem ita principium habuisse reputo: Cum exactis, mortuo Alexandrio Philippo Macedonum rege, de urbe Jerusalem prophanis gentibus Machabeorum opera ad a. p. et 1098Clibertatem, populus proclamasset, ingentia bella a finitimis regibus cum Iherosolimis gesta sunt. Tandem, volente Domino, cum Machabeus urbem, arcem, et templum de prophanatis gentium manibus vendicasset, et ad bellum iterum gerendum exeundum esset, prius compositis in urbe Jerosolima rebus, magna manu in hostes Machabeus profectus est. Cumque multi de populo Dei ferro cecidissent, multique vulneribus debiles facti essent, Machabeus in urbe Iherosolimitana, xenoduna, hoc est pium locum et debilium constituisse dicitur; cui loco ingentes argenti et auri dragmas, ad expiandas defunctorum animas transmisit; ibique, ut miserabilibus receptaculum, et defunctis piaculum constitueretur, imposterum decrevit. 1099AVolventibus deinde annis, cum religiosa clarissimi Machabei institutio levaretur, usque ad salutaris nostri tempora processum est; ipseque Jhesus Christus humile non dedignatus hospicium, multum pietatis opera monstravit. In eodem profecto, cum nullius rei possessor existeret, dicente illo: « Volucres coeli nidos, et vulpes habent foveas. Filius autem hominis non habet quo reclinet caput suum. » non inmerito hunc locum ipsum incoluisse existimare possimus: si enim discipulos monebat omnia in communi habere, nec de crastino esse sollicitos, si absque calceis et pera discipulos esse volebat, quis dubitet Magistrum talia monentem, omnia habuisse communia, humilemque locum inhabitasse?
1099BHiis igitur rationibus confirmati, confidenter dicere possumus hunc locum communem et humilem coelestis Imperatoris habitaculum fuisse. Hic discipulorum pedes Magister lavit, eosdemque presbyteros fecit, suique corporis preciosissimi memoriam reliquit. Hic Petro Ecclesiae potestatem et claves tradidit. Hic Veteris Testamenti finis, et Novi initium fuit. De hoc loco acenti ( sic ), ad gloriosissimam passionem, ut nostrae carnis fieret redemptio, Christus profectus est. Hic post ejus passionem discipuli cum Maria matre ejus, confugientes, admirandae Resurrectionis revelationem habere meruerunt, et post quadraginta dies promissum Spiritum sanctum acceperunt. Hic, post gloriosam ascensionem, sanctum primum concilium 1099Chabitum est, fideique simbolum ad duodecim factum. Cumque gloriosi principes Christianae fidei, inter se ad praedicandum, provincias sortiti essent, septem viros elegerunt, qui pauperum et Hospitalis curam habituri essent; quibus Stephanum primum martyrem praepositum constituerunt. Et quia gloriosus novae legis praecursor Joh. Baptista, Christi baptismum praedicans, ab Herode nuper decollatus erat, cujus vitae testimonium cuncti admirabantur: et quia hiis locis natus et usque ad infantiae annos educatus erat, ob venerandam ejus memoriam Hospitalis patronum appellaverat; subsedentibus postmodum temporibus, cum magna inter homines de fide opinio esset, plurimi in societate pauperum discipulorum 1099DDomini conferebant; et ut participes orationum fierent, venditis rebus suis, ante pedes apostolorum precia ponebant, communem cum illis vitam ducentes.
Verum, cum Christianae fidei devotione crescente, hujus sacrae domus facultates longe multiplicatae essent, qui eas tuerentur, conducti milites constituti sunt, ut et facultates Hospitalis domus, sub fratre Raymundo, a quo Regula postea constituta est, tuerentur, atque paganos repellerent: ipsi namque sacerdotes sacris mysteriis et praedicationibus occupati, ea quae milites factitabant exercere non poterant; verum cum in tantam vesaniam, impellente avaricia, milites elati essent, ut se facultatum Hospitalis professores constituerent, sacerdotesque negligerent; 1100Aproinde decretum est, ut et ipsi milites Hospitalis participes fierent, et Christianam religionem defenderent; unde et ipsi, pro nomine Christi pugnantes, ante pectus crucem gestare instituerunt. Crescente deinde apud Orientem perfidia, fide deficiente, factum est ut Hospitale a Saracenis occupato, Christi milites undique dispergerentur. Cumque in Acra et Sarrya nullum amplius refugii locum haberent, in altum ascendere coacti sunt: prima eis navigatio in Cyprum fuit, insulam Iherosolimis propinquam. Ibi a Christianis principibus recepti, contra prophanas gentes, pro Christi nomine, pugnare non destiterunt. Multis deinde annis Rhodiorum insula Constantinopolitanis rebellis facta est; non valentibus ipsis, ob ingentes Rhodiorum copias, 1100Bin ditionem vendicare insulam, ipsam Jherosolimitanis militibus occupandam concesserunt. Milites vero, paratis manibus, instructis copiis, Rhodum navigantes, brevi dierum spacio in suam potestatem redegerunt; duplicique praesidio muniti, ex Cypro et Rhodo adversus nostrae fidei inimicos bella gesserunt et gerunt.
Qualiter domus Hospitalis S. Johannis Jerusalem fuit primo inventa voluntate Domini nostri Jesu Christi.
Omnibus praesentibus et futuris notum facimus, quod domus Hospitalis S. Johannis Baptistae et pauperum Jerosolimitanorum fuit incepta a principio, tempore primi Julii Caesaris, imperatoris Romani, et tempore Antiochi principis Antiochiae; ille qui 1100Cfecit omnia, et suus Filius benedictus nobis mittat Spiritum sanctum, qui omnes tres unum sunt in adjutorium sit, quod nos possimus dicere et retrahere de Latino in grammaticam, ita et taliter quod sit laus praedicto sancto Johanni Baptistae.
Supradicto enim tempore fuit quidam presbyter, et dominus aliorum presbyterorum in Jerusalem, qui vocabatur Melchiar; qui fregit sepulchrum David, et ex eo extraxit magnum thesaurum, videlicet aurum et vestimenta preciosa, quae ibidem fuerant posita ab aliis regibus post Davidem regem, de quo quidem facto, dictus Melchiar fuit accusatus, coram principe Antiochiae, qui tunc temporis erat dominus et dux in Jerusalem, ex praecepto Julii 1100DCaesaris: Antiochus vero de hoc fuit valde turbatus, et cogitabat intra se qualiter posset honestius justiciam ministrare de furto supradicto. Et secunda nocte sequenti, jacendo in lecto, cogitabat multum quid faceret de tali re: et postquam satis cogitavit, obreptus fuit a sompno, et tunc angelus cepit ejus spiritum, et eundem portavit super montem Calvarii. Cui Rex regum apparuit, et dixit. « Antioche, non ponas manum super istum sanctum presbyterum, et non effundas ejus sanguinem; quoniam in isto loco, quem tibi monstravero, tu et ipse debetis facere unam domum pietatis et misericordiae, communem omnibus pauperibus ibidem advenientibus. Et ego praecipio tibi, Melchiar, quod totum illum thesaurum, qui fuit extractus de sepulchro 1101ADavidis, ponatur in aedificio mansionis pauperum; quoniam Spiritus sanctus ubi vult spirat. » Eadem nocte, ipse manifestavit se sancto presbytero Melchiar, et dixit eidem: « Vadas ante montem Calvarium, et ubi tu invenies fundamentum aedificatum, ibidem facite mihi unam domum fortem et firmam, quoniam in eadem recipi multae mansiones gentium, quia qui pauperes recipit, me recipit. » Et quando de mane in aurora diei ille presbyter descendit de monte Calvario, obviat principi, et incoeperunt adinvicem loqui, quomodo Dominus noster Jesus Christus unicuique ostenderat bonam viam, et illud quod Dominus noster ostenderat ambobus multum placuit et eorum toto concilio; et quod ille sanctus presbyter donabat se et 1101Btotum illud quod invenerat de thesauro in sepulchro David ad constructionem dictae sacrae domus causa serviendi pauperibus toto tempore, sicut scriptum reperitur in libro de Machabaeis.
Quando Judas Machabaeus vidit et cognovit bene, quod bona res erat orare pro mortuis, misit in Jherusalem XII dragmas argenti, et quod offerantur Hosp. pauperum quod ipsi rogarent pro mortuis, et placeret Melchiar stabilire fratres ad serviendum pauperibus mansionis. In illa sacra domo, quam diximus, venerunt de omnibus partibus mundi multi pauperes et infirmi, qui fuerint recepti et benigniter pertractati propter misericordiam Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Princeps Antiochenus praedictus, quando obiit, donavit sacrae domui praedictae Jerosolimitanae 1101Cmagnam partem bonorum suorum.
Nos facimus vobis notum unum magnum miraculum, quod auscultare debent omnes in Deum credentes. Dominus noster Jhesus Christus apparuit Zachariae prophetae una die, quando faciebat sacrificium Deo, et in illa hora Filius Dei apparuit sibi, et dixit: « Melchiar, frater tuus transivit de hoc seculo, et anima ejus est in paradiso, ex quo ego praecipio tibi, et filio tuo, et uxori tuae quod vos veniatis in Jerusalem, et serviatis mihi et pauperibus meis donec Julianus de Roma veniat in Jerusalem. » Quando Zacharias complevit sacrificium, quod ipse faciebat Deo, in parte fuit multum laetus, et in parte fuit multum stupefactus. Et quando venit in domum suam, dixit uxori suae et filio plorando 1101Dillud quod Dominus illis praeceperat. Et omnes tres Deo gratias egerunt, et quanto citius potuerunt, iverunt Jerusalem, et reddiderunt se et sua Deo et Hospitali pauperum, et servierunt multum benigne et longo tempore Hospitali praedicto.
Adhuc evenit aliud grande miraculum, videlicet, quod Accamanus imperator Romanus, cum quibusdam aliis honestis viris, causa recipiendi omagium a Judaeis; accidit quando fuerunt in mare prope unam insulam Crethii, quae vocatur Rhochas, puppis eorum navis fracta est, et omnes qui supererant fuerunt perditi, excepto Juliano Romano, qui per Filium Dei ad terram fuit exportatus 1102Abenigniter. Et quando Julianus vidit infortunium quod evenerat, interrogavit Dominum, « Quis estis vos qui extraxistis me de isto periculo? » Et Dominus noster respondit et dixit: « Ego sum Filius Dei, qui ordinavi te Hospitelarium domus pauperum Jerusalem, et in futurum veniam corporaliter in illa domo; » et benedixit ei. Ille Julianus recepit ad gaudium benedictionem Domini nostri; et venit in Jerusalem ad sanctum Zachariam, ubi ipse Zacharias et alii fratres receperunt eum pro patre. Subsequenter, quando Dominus noster venit in terram, pro salute humani generis, et voluit manifestare gloriam suam populo, vocavit apostolos suos et discipulos; et venit in Jerusalem, sicut praedixerat per sanctum 1102BSpiritum provisoribus mansionis Hospitalis. Et existens homo corporalis de praesenti, fecit miraculum praesentibus suis discipulis, et apostolis faciebat salutem animarum. Deus qui fecit magna bona huic domui, quod ipsemet voluit se ostendere eis, extendit manus suas supra suos apostolos et pauperes mansionis praedictae; et tunc dixit: « Qui vos honorabit, me honorabit, et qui vos recipiet, me recipiet. Maledicatur homo qui spernet unum de illis. » Notum facimus quod ista est mansio in qua Dominus noster dixit illi sapienti homini: « Tu amabis Deum ex toto tuo corde, et ex toto tuo cogitamine, » et alia multa secundum quod in Evangelio reperitur. Item ista est domus in qua abscondiderunt se apostoli, et clauserunt portas, 1102Ctimore Judaeorum, quando Dominus noster Jesus Christus fuit crucifixus. In ista sancta domo, venit virgo Maria et sanctus Johannes evangelista ad Dominum nostrum, quando ipse erat in cruce pro nobis peccatoribus, et dixit sancto Johanni,: « Vide hic matrem tuam. » Et postea dixit matri suae: « Vide hic filium tuum. »
Adhuc est ista domus Hospitalis, in qua venit Jhesus in octavo die suae resurrectionis, portis clausis, et intravit in medio suorum discipulorum, et dixit eis: « Pax vobis. » Et ostendit eis manus et pectus, sed Thomas non erat cum illis, quando Jesus venit. Et discipuli venerunt ad sanctum Thomam, et dixerunt ei: « Nos vidimus Dominum nostrum. » 1102DEt Thomas respondit et dixit. « Ego non credo. ego non tango, et video foramen clavorum manuum suarum et pedum, et misero manum meam in pectore suo. » Prope istos octo dies, sicut sanctus Johannes evangelista testatur, quando discipuli erant in ista sancta domo, et sanctus Thomas cum eis, venit Jhesus, clausis januis, et dixit: « Pax vobis. » Et dixit Thomae: « Mitte huc digitum tuum in foramen manuum mearum et mei costatus, et noli esse incredulus, sed fidelis. » Et in illa sancta domo recognovit sanctus Thomas suum Creatorem. Cui Dominus noster dixit: « Quia tu me vidisti, credidisti. Beati sunt, qui non viderunt et crediderunt. »
Eodem tempore Ananias et Saphira dimiserunt 1103Aseculum, et donaverunt se societati Christi et discipulorum: et quia non reddiderunt Deo et sacrae domui Hospitalis et pauperibus, et non portaverunt ad pedes discipulorum illud quod habebant, mortui sunt subitanea morte; et sanctus Petrus non permisit poni eorum corpora in cimiterio, ymmo fecit eos sepiliri extra, tanquam excommunicatos. Et tempore quo Deus misit nobis apostolos et discipulos suos ad praedicandum, et illi erant antiqui, sicut sanctus Stephanus, qui fuit primus martyr, et Philippus prothomartyr, Nichauome, Thymocenn Permanan, Nycholaus Antiochenus. Isti custodiebant domus Hospitalis et serviebant pauperibus ex praecepto Domini nostri Jesu Christi. In isto tempore erant in eodem loco multae et diversae generationes 1103Bhominum; aliquando Graeci, aliquando Caryseni, qui tenebant civitatem Jerusalem et terram promissionis; et hoc, non obstante quod dicta domus esset in magna paupertate, tamen recipiebant pauperes et infirmos. Et quando venit finaliter quod Saraceni habuerunt domum Jerusalem, et Graeci perdiderunt; unus servulus Jesu Christi, qui vocabatur Conradus, custodiebat sanctam domum hospitalis, et elemosinas, quae dabantur sibi a Saracenis, ipse donabat pauperibus, et serviebat eis benigniter.
Eodem tempore, quando Deo placuit quod Christiani haberent terram promissionis, Godfridus de Boylon, et magna multitudo barenorum et peregrinorum, qui fuerint instructi per divinam gratiam 1103Cet praedicationem, venerunt per longas terras, per montes et valles, et per terram Romaniae, in Antiochiam; et obsederunt eam, et virtute Dei ceperunt eam. In illa, perfidorum Saracenorum magnam multitudinem perimerunt. De qua iverunt ultra ad civitatem de Trypoly, et ceperunt eam. Et exinde ceperunt Acrys: et inde iverunt ad terram Jerusalem. Et in eorum exercitu habebant tam magnam famem, quod quasi non habebant panem ad comedendum. Tunc ille Conradus, qui serviebat pauperibus Hospitalis Jerosolimitani, quolibet die ter vel quater, ponebat de pane in suo gremio, et desuper muros terrae projiciebat panem Christianis, loco lapidum; et iste Conradus, qui custodiebat pauperes Hospitalis fuit accusatus coram Soldano. 1104Aper Saracenos qui custodiebant muros. Et Soldanus praecepit Saracenis, qui accusaverunt eum, quod quando projiceret panem Christianis, ipsum caperent et ducerent eum sibi, cum toto pane, et aliter eum non credebat. Deinde venit una dies Conradus vel Gerardus faciebat uti solebat, projiciendo panem Christianis; et Saraceni, cum pane quem habebat in gremio, ipsum ceperunt, et duxerunt eum coram Soldano: et quando Saraceni monstrabant panem Soldano, tunc ille panis, virtute Dei, efficiebatur lapis. Et quando Soldanus vidit maliciam Saracenorum, dimisit stare Conradum, et praecepit sibi, ut sine timore Christianos, ut consueverat, debellaret. Et quando Conradus, vel Gerardus, audivit istud, quolibet die projiciebat panem Christianis Dei.
1104BEt Godfridus de Boylen stetit tantum, cum exercitu suo, ante Jerusalem, quod ipse cepit civitatem et interfecit multos Saracenos, et habebat magnum gaudium de victoria habita, quam Deus dederat eis et venerunt ad sanctum sepulchrum Domini nostri, cantando, et gratias Deo reddendo. Deinde iverunt ad omnia alia loca. Et deinde barones diviserunt possessiones Jerusalem, et donaverunt dicto Conrado, vel Gerardo, magistro dicti Hospitalis Jerusalem, magnam partem possessionum, ad honorem sancti Johannis Baptistae, patroni ejusdem Hospitalis. Deinde, tempore dicti magistri Conradi, vel Gerardi, Deus multiplicavit multum dictam mansionem Hospitalis de redditibus, possessionibus et dominationibus per regnum Jerosolimitanum. 1104CEt quando Conradus fuit mortuus, anima ejus ivit in paradisum. Et frater Raymundus de Puy fuit subrogatus ejusdem, loco ejus; et ad laudem Dei aedificavit casalia, mansiones et castra; et melioravit multum mansionem de magnis possessionibus.
Ille frater Raymundus fecit stabilimenta mansionis Hospitalis, quae in eadem domo servantur adhuc; et regulam; et a papa Innocentio secundo fecit ipsam confirmari, etc.
Deus Creator omnium liberet fratres Hospitalis ab omnibus malis et eorum peccatis, et eis concedat gratiam veniendi ad coelestem gloriam cum omnibus eorum benefactoribus, Amen.
On the Beginnings and Founding of the Sacred Order of Jerusalem
1097CThere has been until now the greatest doubt among very many as to whence and from whom the Hospital of Jerusalem took its beginning. Certain men, thrusting forward empty dreams, seem to have fabricated ravings rather than the truth; for they have joined together, with a kind of contrived glue, old histories separated from one another by the widest distance. It is no care of mine to set down their empty tales in this place; but, for the truth of the matter, I shall bring forward into the open what I have been able to cull from the sacred annals, and what I can attain by conjecture and reasoning — not the sequence of the matter as it has been set forth.
I judge that the sacred order of Jerusalem had its beginning thus. When, upon the death of Alexander Philip, king of the Macedonians, the profane nations had been driven out of the city of Jerusalem by the work of the Maccabees, and the people had proclaimed for the ancestral faith and 1098Cfor liberty, huge wars were waged with the men of Jerusalem by the neighboring kings. At length, by the Lord's will, when the Maccabee had claimed the city, the citadel, and the temple out of the profaned hands of the nations, and had to go out to wage war once more, first setting affairs in order in the city of Jerusalem, the Maccabee set out against the enemy with a great force. And when many of the people of God had fallen by the sword, and many had been made feeble by wounds, the Maccabee is said to have established in the city of Jerusalem a xenodochium — that is, a holy place for the feeble; to which place he sent over immense drachmas of silver and gold, for the expiation of the souls of the dead; and he decreed that there, for the time to come, a shelter should be established for the wretched and an atonement for the dead. 1099AThen, as the years rolled on, while the religious foundation of the most illustrious Maccabee was being raised up, the progress reached even to the times of our Savior; and Jesus Christ himself, not disdaining the humble lodging, showed there many works of piety. Indeed, in that very place — since he was the possessor of nothing, as he himself says: « The birds of heaven have nests, and the foxes have holes; but the Son of Man has not where to lay his head » — we may not undeservedly reckon that he dwelt in this place itself. For if he admonished his disciples to have all things in common, and not to be anxious about the morrow; if he wished his disciples to be without shoes and wallet — who would doubt that the Master who admonished such things had all things in common, and dwelt in a humble place?
1099BConfirmed, therefore, by these reasons, we may confidently say that this common and humble place was the dwelling of the heavenly Emperor. Here the Master washed the feet of his disciples, and made those same men presbyters, and left behind the memorial of his most precious body. Here he handed over to Peter the power and the keys of the Church. Here was the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. From this place acenti ( sic ) Christ set out to his most glorious passion, that the redemption of our flesh might be accomplished. Here, after his passion, the disciples, taking refuge with Mary his mother, were counted worthy to have the revelation of the wondrous Resurrection, and after forty days received the promised Holy Spirit. Here, after the glorious ascension, the first holy council 1099Cwas held, and the symbol of the faith was made in twelve parts. And when the glorious princes of the Christian faith had allotted the provinces among themselves for preaching, they chose seven men who were to have the care of the poor and of the Hospital, over whom they set Stephen, the first martyr. And because the glorious forerunner of the new law, John the Baptist, preaching the baptism of Christ, had lately been beheaded by Herod — the witness of whose life all men marveled at — and because he had been born in these places and brought up there until the years of his childhood, for the sake of his venerable memory they had named him patron of the Hospital. In the times that settled thereafter, when there was a great repute of the faith among men, very many brought their goods into the fellowship of the poor disciples 1099Dof the Lord; and, that they might be sharers in the prayers, they sold their possessions and laid the prices before the feet of the apostles, leading a common life with them.
But when, as devotion to the Christian faith grew, the resources of this sacred house had been multiplied far and wide, soldiers were hired and appointed to guard them, so that they might both guard the resources of the house of the Hospital, under brother Raymond, by whom the Rule was afterwards established, and drive back the pagans; for the priests themselves, being occupied with the sacred mysteries and with preaching, could not carry out what the soldiers habitually did. But when the soldiers, driven by avarice, had been lifted up into such madness that they set themselves up as the professed masters of the Hospital's resources and neglected the priests, 1100Ait was thereupon decreed that the soldiers themselves should also become sharers in the Hospital, and should defend the Christian religion; whence they too, fighting for the name of Christ, established the practice of bearing the cross before the breast. Then, as faithlessness grew in the East and faith failed, it came about that, the Hospital having been seized by the Saracens, the soldiers of Christ were scattered on every side. And when they had no place of refuge any longer in Acre and Syria, they were compelled to put out to the open sea: their first voyage was to Cyprus, an island near to Jerusalem. There, received by the Christian princes, they did not cease to fight against the profane nations for the name of Christ. Then for many years the island of the Rhodians was in rebellion against the men of Constantinople; and since these were not strong enough, on account of the vast forces of the Rhodians, 1100Bto claim the island into their dominion, they granted that it should be seized by the soldiers of Jerusalem. And the soldiers, with hands made ready and forces drawn up, sailing to Rhodes, brought it into their power within a short space of days; and, fortified with a double stronghold, from Cyprus and from Rhodes, they waged and still wage wars against the enemies of our faith.
How the house of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem was first founded by the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We make known to all, present and to come, that the house of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist and of the poor of Jerusalem was begun from the beginning in the time of the first Julius Caesar, the Roman emperor, and in the time of Antiochus, prince of Antioch. May he who 1100Cmade all things, and his blessed Son, send us the Holy Spirit — who, all three being one, may be our help — that we may be able to tell it and to draw it back from the Latin into grammar, in such a way and in such manner that it may be praise to the aforesaid St. John the Baptist.
For in the aforesaid time there was a certain priest, and lord over the other priests in Jerusalem, who was called Melchiar; who broke open the sepulchre of David, and drew out of it a great treasure, namely gold and precious garments, which had been placed there by other kings after David the king. And for this deed the said Melchiar was accused before the prince of Antioch, who at that time was lord and leader in Jerusalem by the command of Julius 1100DCaesar. But Antiochus was greatly troubled at this, and pondered within himself how he might more honorably administer justice concerning the aforesaid theft. And on the second night following, lying in his bed, he pondered much what he should do about such a matter; and after he had pondered enough, he was overtaken by sleep, and then an angel took his spirit and carried it up onto the mount of Calvary. There the King of kings appeared to him and said: « Antiochus, lay not your hand upon this holy priest, and do not shed his blood; for in that place which I shall show you, you and he are to make a house of piety and of mercy, common to all the poor who come there. And I command you, Melchiar, that all that treasure which was drawn out of the sepulchre 1101Aof David be laid out in the building of a dwelling for the poor; for the Holy Spirit breathes where he wills. » That same night he made himself manifest to the holy priest Melchiar, and said to him: « Go before the mount of Calvary, and where you find a foundation built, there make me a house strong and firm; for in it are received many dwellings of the nations, since he who receives the poor receives me. » And when at morning, in the dawn of day, that priest came down from the mount of Calvary, he met the prince, and they began to speak with one another, how our Lord Jesus Christ had shown to each of them the good way; and what our Lord had shown pleased them both greatly, and all their council; and that that holy priest was giving himself and 1101Ball that he had found of the treasure in the sepulchre of David for the building of the said sacred house, for the sake of serving the poor for all time, as is found written in the book of the Maccabees.
When Judas Maccabeus saw and knew well that it was a good thing to pray for the dead, he sent to Jerusalem twelve drachmas of silver, and that they should be offered to the Hospital of the poor, that they might pray for the dead, and that it should please Melchiar to establish brothers to serve the poor of the dwelling. Into that sacred house of which we have spoken there came from all parts of the world many poor and sick, who were received and kindly treated for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. The aforesaid prince of Antioch, when he died, gave to the aforesaid sacred house of Jerusalem 1101Ca great part of his goods.
We make known to you one great miracle, which all who believe in God ought to hear. Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Zacharias the prophet on a certain day, when he was making sacrifice to God; and in that hour the Son of God appeared to him and said: « Melchiar your brother has passed from this world, and his soul is in paradise; wherefore I command you, and your son, and your wife, that you come to Jerusalem, and serve me and my poor until Julian comes from Rome to Jerusalem. » When Zacharias had completed the sacrifice which he was making to God, in part he was very glad, and in part he was greatly astounded. And when he came into his house, he told his wife and his son, weeping, 1101Dwhat the Lord had commanded them. And all three gave thanks to God, and as quickly as they could they went to Jerusalem, and gave themselves and their goods to God and to the Hospital of the poor, and served the aforesaid Hospital very kindly and for a long time.
Yet another great miracle came to pass, namely, that Accamanus, the Roman emperor, with certain other honorable men, for the sake of receiving homage from the Jews — it happened, when they were at sea near a certain island of Crete which is called Rhochas, that the stern of their ship was broken, and all who were left aboard were lost, except Julian the Roman, who was carried to land by the Son of God 1102Akindly. And when Julian saw the disaster which had happened, he asked the Lord: « Who are you who have drawn me out of this peril? » And our Lord answered and said: « I am the Son of God, who have ordained you Hospitaller of the house of the poor of Jerusalem, and in time to come I shall come bodily into that house; » and he blessed him. That Julian received with joy the blessing of our Lord, and came to Jerusalem to holy Zacharias, where Zacharias himself and the other brothers received him as a father. Thereafter, when our Lord came upon earth for the salvation of the human race, and willed to manifest his glory to the people, he called his apostles and disciples, and came to Jerusalem, as he had foretold through the Holy 1102BSpirit to the providers of the dwelling of the Hospital. And, being at that time a bodily man, he worked a miracle in the presence of his disciples, and by the apostles he was working the salvation of souls. God, who did great good things to this house, in that he himself willed to show himself to them, stretched out his hands over his apostles and over the poor of the aforesaid dwelling; and then he said: « He who honors you will honor me, and he who receives you receives me. Cursed be the man who despises one of them. » We make it known that this is the dwelling in which our Lord said to that wise man: « You shall love God with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, » and many other things according as is found in the Gospel. Likewise this is the house in which the apostles hid themselves and shut the doors, 1102Cfor fear of the Jews, when our Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified. Into this holy house the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist came to our Lord, when he was upon the cross for us sinners, and he said to St. John: « Behold here your mother. » And afterwards he said to his mother: « Behold here your son. »
This, further, is that house of the Hospital into which Jesus came on the eighth day of his resurrection, the doors being shut, and entered into the midst of his disciples, and said to them: « Peace be to you. » And he showed them his hands and his breast; but Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. And the disciples came to St. Thomas and said to him: « We have seen our Lord. » 1102DAnd Thomas answered and said: « I do not believe. I do not touch, and I see the hole of the nails of his hands and of his feet, and I shall put my hand into his breast. » Near these eight days, as St. John the Evangelist testifies, when the disciples were in this holy house, and St. Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, and said: « Peace be to you. » And he said to Thomas: « Put your finger here into the hole of my hands and of my side, and be not unbelieving, but faithful. » And in that holy house St. Thomas acknowledged his Creator. To whom our Lord said: « Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed. »
At the same time Ananias and Sapphira left 1103Athe world, and gave themselves to the fellowship of Christ and of the disciples; and because they did not render to God and to the sacred house of the Hospital and to the poor, and did not carry to the feet of the disciples what they had, they died a sudden death; and St. Peter did not permit their bodies to be laid in the cemetery, but rather had them buried outside, as excommunicate. And in the time when God sent us his apostles and disciples to preach, and they were of the ancient sort — such as St. Stephen, who was the first martyr, and Philip the protomartyr, Nichauome, Thymocenn Permanan, Nicholas of Antioch. These kept the houses of the Hospital and served the poor by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. In that time there were in the same place many and diverse races 1103Bof men — sometimes Greeks, sometimes Caryseni, who held the city of Jerusalem and the land of promise; and this notwithstanding that the said house was in great poverty, yet they received the poor and the sick. And when it came about finally that the Saracens had the house of Jerusalem, and the Greeks lost it, one little servant of Jesus Christ, who was called Conrad, kept the holy house of the Hospital; and the alms which were given him by the Saracens he gave to the poor, and served them kindly.
At that same time, when it pleased God that the Christians should have the land of promise, Godfrey of Bouillon and a great multitude of barons and pilgrims, who had been instructed by divine grace 1103Cand by preaching, came through long lands, over mountains and valleys, and through the land of Romania, to Antioch; and they besieged it, and by the power of God took it. In it they destroyed a great multitude of the faithless Saracens. From there they went on to the city of Tripoli, and took it. And thence they took Acre; and from there they went to the land of Jerusalem. And in their army they had so great a famine that they had almost no bread to eat. Then that Conrad, who served the poor of the Hospital of Jerusalem, three or four times a day would put bread in his lap, and from above the walls of the land would throw the bread down to the Christians in place of stones; and this Conrad, who kept the poor of the Hospital, was accused before the Sultan 1104Aby the Saracens who guarded the walls. And the Sultan commanded the Saracens who had accused him that, when he should throw the bread down to the Christians, they should seize him and bring him to him, with all the bread, and otherwise he did not believe him. Then came a day when Conrad — or Gerard — was doing as he was accustomed, throwing bread down to the Christians; and the Saracens seized him, with the bread which he had in his lap, and led him before the Sultan; and when the Saracens showed the bread to the Sultan, then that bread, by the power of God, was made stone. And when the Sultan saw the malice of the Saracens, he let Conrad go, and commanded him that without fear he should fight the Christians, as he had been accustomed. And when Conrad, or Gerard, heard this, every day he threw bread down to the Christians of God.
1104BAnd Godfrey of Bouillon stood so long with his army before Jerusalem that he took the city and killed many Saracens, and he had great joy at the victory obtained, which God had given them; and they came to the holy sepulchre of our Lord, singing and rendering thanks to God. Then they went to all the other places. And thereafter the barons divided the possessions of Jerusalem, and gave to the said Conrad — or Gerard — master of the said Hospital of Jerusalem, a great part of the possessions, in honor of St. John the Baptist, patron of that same Hospital. Then, in the time of the said master Conrad, or Gerard, God greatly multiplied the said dwelling of the Hospital in revenues, possessions, and lordships throughout the kingdom of Jerusalem. 1104CAnd when Conrad was dead, his soul went into paradise. And brother Raymond du Puy was appointed to succeed him in his place; and to the praise of God he built farmsteads, dwellings, and castles; and greatly improved the dwelling with great possessions.
That brother Raymond made the ordinances of the dwelling of the Hospital, which are kept in that same house even now; and the Rule; and he had it confirmed by Pope Innocent II, etc.
May God, the Creator of all things, deliver the brothers of the Hospital from all evils and from their sins, and grant them the grace of coming to heavenly glory with all their benefactors. Amen.