Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

Fra' Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464 – 21 August 1534) was a prominent member of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes and later Malta. Having risen to the position of Prior of the Langue of Auvergne, he was elected 44th Grand Master of the Order in 1521.

Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Grand Master of the Order of Saint John
In office
1521 – 21 August 1534
MonarchKing Charles II
Preceded byFabrizio del Carretto
Succeeded byPiero de Ponte
Personal details
Born1464
Beauvais, France
Died21 August 1534 (aged 69–70)
Rabat, Malta
Resting placeSt. John's Co-Cathedral (originally buried at Fort St. Angelo)
NationalityFrench
Military service
Allegiance Order of Saint John
Battles/warsSiege of Rhodes
Letter from King Henry VIII to Grand Master l'Isle Adam, 1530

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,[1] but eventually negotiated the capitulation and the departure of the knights on New Year's Day 1523 to Crete.

He then led the Order during several years without a permanent domicile—first Kandi on Crete, then successively Messina, Viterbo and finally Nice (1527-1529). In 1530 de L'Isle-Adam obtained the islands of Malta and Gozo and the North African port city of Tripoli as fief for the Order from Emperor Charles V 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 was given to the Grand Master. Despite this, the Order settled in the coastal town of Birgu 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).[2]

L'Isle-Adam died at the Our Lady of Jesus convent (ta' Ġieżu) in Rabat, Malta on 21 August 1534.[3] He was buried in the Chapel of Saint Anne within Fort Saint Angelo, but was reburied in the crypt of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta in the late 16th century.[4]

  • Culverin with the arms of L'Isle-Adam, Rhodes. Caliber: 140mm, length: 339 cm, weight: 2533 kg, ammunition: 10 kg iron ball. Remitted by Abdul-Aziz to Napoleon III in 1862.
  • Coat of arms of L'Isle Adam in Odos Ippoton, Rhodes
  • Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam takes possession of the island of Malta, 26 October 1530 by René Théodore Berthon.
  • Former mural at Is-Suq tal-Belt showing L'Isle-Adam's arrival in Malta
  • Coat of arms of L'Isle Adam at the Grandmaster's Palace.

See also

References
  1. L. Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire, 176
  2. "Philippe Villiers de l' Isle-Adam". South African Relief Organisation of the Order of Malta. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  3. "Grand Master L'Isle Adam's room open for viewing". Times of Malta. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  4. Mallia-Milanes, Victor (2008). The Military Orders: History and heritage. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 62. ISBN 9780754662907. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
Preceded by
Fabrizio del Carretto		 Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
1521–1534		 Succeeded by
Piero de Ponte
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