Knights of St Thomas
Encyclopedia
The Hospitallers of St Thomas of Canterbury at Acre, usually called the Knights of St Thomas
was a Christian
Military order
of the Catholic Church. Membership was restricted to Englishmen.
The emblem of the order was a red cross with a white scallop
in the centre and the Knights wore a white habit
.
, after the capture of that city by Richard I of England
and Philip II of France
. After the capture of the city, William, Chaplain to the Dean of St. Pauls Cathedral at London
, formed a small religious order
, its members taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The purpose of the Order was tending to the sick and wounded, and burying the Christian
knights who fell in battle in the Holy Land
. To that, William, as Prior
of the Order, added the purpose of raising funds to ransom captives from the Muslim
armies of Saladin
. The success of the Order enabled it to establish a church and hospital which was dedicated to St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
. Becket was martyred in 1170 and canonized in 1173.
, during the Fifth Crusade
1217–1221. According to Pope Gregory IX
this was done thanks to the indulgence of the existing canons of the Hospital of St Thomas
in Acre. Peter of Roche was the crusader Bishop of Winchester who contributed to the defences of Jaffa and Sidon
. In 1236, Pope Gregory IX
accorded Papal confirmation to the Order, and the Order became known as the Knights of St Thomas Acon (Acre being anglicised to Acon). The Order adopted the rule of the Teutonic Knights
.
For the next 100 years, the crusaders held and defended the city of Acre. During this period, about the year 1279, as the purposes of the Order shifted from that of religious hospitallers to a more military role, the position of Prior
, the Order's religious head, lost its pre-eminent position. After that, the pre-eminent position was accorded to the Master of the Order. They acquired property and privileges, and created a provincial organization in the British Isles, with its headquarters in Cheapside
London
and a subordinate preceptors in Kilkenny
. In 1257 Alexander IV noted that the foundation did not have adequate resources. By 1279 it appealed to Edward I
for funds, and the proposal to merge them with the Knights Templar
seems to have arisen from their financial problems. However, there was opposition from the knights to this both in the Levant
and England. In 1316 members successfully appealed to Edward I against a Templar takeover and also opposed an attempt takeover by the convent of Bonhommes at Ashridge
At the fall of Acre
, 12 May 1291, the Master and nine knights of the Order were killed. Following the battle, the Holy Land
was lost to the Saracen
s, the Order of St Thomas, along with the Order of Knights Templar
, moved their Priory
to the island of Cyprus
where they erected the beautiful St. Nicholas Church at Nicosia
. (The ruins of the Church are still standing and have been recently restored.) However divisions arose between the master in Cyprus and the master of the London HQ. by 1320, with a deteriorating situation in the Levant, Henry of Bedford, the master in Cyprus, came to London and ousted the incumbent master there. When he then appointed a deputy to handle the situation in Cyprus, the brothers there resisted this move. Although this resistance was overcome, within a few years control of the organization had once more reverted to Nicosia. However the financial situation continued to deteriorate with reports of the London premises being reported as being in ruins by 1330 and the order ceased to be a viable military organization with nothing more being heard of the master in Nicosia after 1360.
livery company
at this time – Becket's father, Gilbert had been a mercer. The latter became their patrons, holding meetings there and using the chapel for prayers. The Order was dissolved
in 1538, along with other monastic orders in England, by Henry VIII
.
in 1666. The Mercers Company is the premier livery company
of London
, ranking first in the order of precedence
of the "Great Twelve City Livery Companies".
The second hall, opened in 1676, was destroyed in 1941 during the Blitz
. The present-day Mercer's Hall and Chapel, opened in 1958, are built on the site. It incorporates some of the fixtures, 17th-century woodwork and Victorian stained glass
from the second hall. All that remains of the original Chapel is the recumbent statue of Christ which lies at the entrance to the Mercer's Chapel. The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the only London livery company to have its own private chapel.
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
was a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Military order
Military order
A military order is a Christian society of knights that was founded for crusading, i.e. propagating or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe...
of the Catholic Church. Membership was restricted to Englishmen.
The emblem of the order was a red cross with a white scallop
Scallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...
in the centre and the Knights wore a white habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
.
Foundation
It was established in 1191, at AcreAcre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, after the capture of that city by Richard I of England
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
and Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
. After the capture of the city, William, Chaplain to the Dean of St. Pauls Cathedral at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, formed a small religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
, its members taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The purpose of the Order was tending to the sick and wounded, and burying the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
knights who fell in battle in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. To that, William, as Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of the Order, added the purpose of raising funds to ransom captives from the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
armies of Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
. The success of the Order enabled it to establish a church and hospital which was dedicated to St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. Becket was martyred in 1170 and canonized in 1173.
Militarization
It was militarized by Peter of Roche, the Bishop of WinchesterBishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, during the Fifth Crusade
Fifth Crusade
The Fifth Crusade was an attempt to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt....
1217–1221. According to Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
this was done thanks to the indulgence of the existing canons of the Hospital of St Thomas
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
in Acre. Peter of Roche was the crusader Bishop of Winchester who contributed to the defences of Jaffa and Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
. In 1236, Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
accorded Papal confirmation to the Order, and the Order became known as the Knights of St Thomas Acon (Acre being anglicised to Acon). The Order adopted the rule of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
.
For the next 100 years, the crusaders held and defended the city of Acre. During this period, about the year 1279, as the purposes of the Order shifted from that of religious hospitallers to a more military role, the position of Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
, the Order's religious head, lost its pre-eminent position. After that, the pre-eminent position was accorded to the Master of the Order. They acquired property and privileges, and created a provincial organization in the British Isles, with its headquarters in Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and a subordinate preceptors in Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
. In 1257 Alexander IV noted that the foundation did not have adequate resources. By 1279 it appealed to Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
for funds, and the proposal to merge them with the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
seems to have arisen from their financial problems. However, there was opposition from the knights to this both in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and England. In 1316 members successfully appealed to Edward I against a Templar takeover and also opposed an attempt takeover by the convent of Bonhommes at Ashridge
Ashridge
Ashridge is an estate and house in Hertfordshire, England; part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of...
At the fall of Acre
Siege of Acre (1291)
The Siege of Acre took place in 1291 and resulted in the loss of the Crusader-controlled city of Acre to the Muslims. It is considered one of the most important battles of the time period. Although the crusading movement continued for several more centuries, the capture of the city marked the end...
, 12 May 1291, the Master and nine knights of the Order were killed. Following the battle, the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
was lost to the Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
s, the Order of St Thomas, along with the Order of Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, moved their Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
to the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
where they erected the beautiful St. Nicholas Church at Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
. (The ruins of the Church are still standing and have been recently restored.) However divisions arose between the master in Cyprus and the master of the London HQ. by 1320, with a deteriorating situation in the Levant, Henry of Bedford, the master in Cyprus, came to London and ousted the incumbent master there. When he then appointed a deputy to handle the situation in Cyprus, the brothers there resisted this move. Although this resistance was overcome, within a few years control of the organization had once more reverted to Nicosia. However the financial situation continued to deteriorate with reports of the London premises being reported as being in ruins by 1330 and the order ceased to be a viable military organization with nothing more being heard of the master in Nicosia after 1360.
The End and Dissolution
Having abandoned a military role, they also abandoned the rule of the Teutonic Knights, adopting that of the Augustinians and carrying out charitable work and running a grammar school. Links developed with the MercersWorshipful Company of Mercers
The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in order of precedence. It is the first of the so-called "Great Twelve City Livery Companies". It was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394...
livery company
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
at this time – Becket's father, Gilbert had been a mercer. The latter became their patrons, holding meetings there and using the chapel for prayers. The Order was dissolved
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1538, along with other monastic orders in England, by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
The Worshipful Mercers' Company of London
After the dissolution of the Order, the King offered the hospital and chapel for sale. It was purchased by the Mercers But the buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of LondonGreat Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
in 1666. The Mercers Company is the premier livery company
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, ranking first in the order of precedence
Order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
of the "Great Twelve City Livery Companies".
The second hall, opened in 1676, was destroyed in 1941 during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. The present-day Mercer's Hall and Chapel, opened in 1958, are built on the site. It incorporates some of the fixtures, 17th-century woodwork and Victorian stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
from the second hall. All that remains of the original Chapel is the recumbent statue of Christ which lies at the entrance to the Mercer's Chapel. The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the only London livery company to have its own private chapel.