The Order of St John, otherwise known as the Knights Hospitaller, was a chivalric and militaristic, order originating in Jerusalem before the first Crusade in 1099. Members pledged an oath to provide hospitality for the sick, injured and poor, while also training as knights for warfare dedicated in their defence of Christianity. Not too long after the first crusade, the Hospitallers began to build up a network of properties and lands across Europe known as Priories and Commanderies.

The Hospitallers probably received their first lands in England and Wales in the 1120s, with the first prior established at Clerkenwell in roughly 1144. The Order possessed properties in every county in England, with the largest concentrations in and around London, as well as in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Kent, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

The headquarters and administrative hub were located at the priory of the Monastic Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem in Clerkenwell. Just north to the City of London.

The priory was in the countryside with acres of land available for use. It was enclosed by an outer wall and was divided into two precincts. For the first 150 years or so, the only buildings were in the inner precinct, while the outer precinct was mostly farmland. The inner precinct was where the prior, subprior, priest, brother knights, brother sergeants, and chaplains lived and carried out their spiritual and military duties.

While also being responsible for the maintenance of the buildings and people, one of the main purposes of the Order was to channel recruits, money and supplies to the East. Clerkenwell was a gathering place before being sent off on campaigns. This meant, that the number of those staying within the grounds fluctuated. Most Hospitaller houses typically had between 1 and 3 resident brothers at a time. Clerkenwell had an average of 7.

While this sounds like a reasonably small number, there would have been times in which there were more. One example of this was in 1237, when Matthew Paris, a monk and chronicler, noted witnessing thirty brother knights and attendants proceeding from the priory and making their way towards London Bridge.

              “Theodoric Prior of the Hospitallers is set to the assistance of the Holy Land

The Templars and Hospitallers dwelling in the western countries, hearing of this misfortune, courageously prepared themselves to avenge the blood of their brethren which had been shed for Christ. The Hospitallers sent their prior, Theodoric, a German by birth, and a most clever knight, with a body of other knights and stipendiary attendants, and a large sum of money, to the assistance of the Holy Land. They, having made all their arrangements, set out from their house at Clerkenwell, in London, and proceeded in good order, with about thirty shields uncovered, with spears raised, and preceded by their banner, through the midst of the city towards the bridge, that they might obtain the blessings of the spectators, and, bowing their heads, and with cowls lowered, commended themselves to the prayers of all.”

(Paris, Matthew (Giles, Rev. J. A., trans.) Matthew Paris’s English History From the Year 1235 to 1273 (London: George Bell and Sons, 1889), p. 63-64. )

When being sworn into the order, it was stressed to the incoming candidates that there were potential impediments to their indictment and the vows they must uphold if successful. If they had a prior vow to another religion, a marital contract, grave debts to a third party or servile status, they were not permitted to proceed.

Furthermore, they were required to be of sufficient age. In 1433, no brother was to be sworn into the order that was under the age of 14 and by 1504 this became 18 years old. If successful, the candidate had to profess themselves free from these impediments and swear to uphold the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They would also then promise to defend Christianity in accordance with the rules and customs of the Order’s hospitaller and military traditions.

In return for obeying these, they were promised bed, bread, water, humble clothing, and the inclusion of their parents in spiritual benefits that were provided by the priory’s masses, offices, fasting, and alms giving.

When it came to the day-to-day activities of the brothers, the routine was strict.

Starting off at midnight, all brothers would wake up and participate in the first prayers of the day, called matins, simply referring to psalms recited in darkness before dawn. This would then be followed by laud’s at 1am, where they recited psalms 148, 149, and 150, which all included the latin word laudate meaning praise. The brothers were then allowed to go to sleep until 7am, where the Prime prayers were said. They were sometimes also called first hour prayers, as they were to be recited at the first hour of daylight.

This was immediately followed by the Missa familiaris, or early mass, for the brother serjeants. Other brethren were not bound to be present, but they could attend if they wished. Everyone else was welcome to go straight to breakfast, in which they would be served bread and wine.

The immediate affairs after breakfast differed based on whether it was a Sunday or not. For the typical Mondays to Saturdays, breakfast immediately led into a morning mass, sometimes called the lady mass, and then the daily chapter. On Sundays, there would be an additional sermon first before the morning mass.

After Chapter, the brethren were then permitted to take a one-hour break for discussions. This was sometimes referred to as parliament, and it was when the brethren gathered in groups in the cloister to discuss spiritual matters or necessary business.

High mass began at 10am, and then at 11am they would sit in strictly enforced silence for their lunch while a selected brother read portions of the scriptures. This meal was then followed by another service in the church, when the Nones prayers were said. This began with the deus in adjutorium, followed by a hymn special to None and three psalms.

While the first half of the day was devoted to prayer, the several hours following Nones were reserved for work, recreation and military exercises. Military brethren, primarily the brother knights and brother sergeants, were expected to attend no less than 3 afternoons a week for gymnastics, wrestling, drills, exercises in arms, and shooting with the crossbow. There was even a prize for marksmanship every 2 months. This was all done in the efforts of improving military efficiency for when brethren were shipped overseas.

When not partaking in military exercises, the brethren were expected to practice hospitality and care for the sick and poor.

At the end of their period of work or exercise, they all then returned to the cloisters and went to the refectory for an afternoon drink before Vespers were said at 5pm in the Winter, or 6pm in the summer.

Dinner followed Vespers. Rules and regulations dictated what they were allowed to eat on which day. For example, the brothers were not allowed to eat meat or fish on a Monday or Wednesday. They were not allowed to eat eggs and cheese on a Friday, or to eat any meat, fish or fatty foods on a Saturday. During Lent, they were not permitted to eat any meat, fish or drink any milk.

Once dinner had ended, the brethren would assemble in the Chapter room for the evening reading, which would then be followed by bread and wine and the final prayers of the day. After compline they would then be expected to rest until Matins at midnight and the routine would repeat.

While following this routine, there were 137 rules and customs the brethren were expected to follow, these were divided into 87 judgements (esgarts) given by the chapter general, and 50 customs (usances) that were considered traditional procedure but were written by brethren without any recorded decision by those higher up. There is a possibility that not all of the customs would have been followed here at the priory, although we wouldn’t be able to know for certain.

Many of the judgements and customs revolve around emphasising the need for the brothers to stick to their vow of chastity, poverty and obedience, although there are of course one or two that don’t seem to quite fit into that. Rule 98 is mostly just giving permission for brothers to eat eggs baked or poached if they don’t like them fried.

“In the house of the hospital it is customary that if the convent have fried eggs, and any brother cannot eat them, he can of right eat eggs baked or poached in water”

There are quite a few rules that revolve around clothing. Making sure the correct clothing, provided by the priory, was worn. For example, rule 133 states that brothers must be eating and drinking with their priory given habit on.

Customs 137, 131, and 132 all revolve around shoes. 137 says that no brother should be “booted with pointed boots and if he do it, and the bailiff complain of it, he should undergo the Septaine”, which was a 7-day punishment involving flogging. 132 says the brothers should not wear sandals, and 131 says they shouldn’t wear shoes at all.

These were most likely written retrospectively, in reaction to brothers being found wearing shoes that were not provided by the priory. This could especially be the case with the pointed boots, which were attached to the knees by chains and likely considered flamboyant and too extravagant for brothers that made a vow of poverty.

Other rules feel quite straightforward in stating preferred behaviour. Brothers were expected to say 150 paternosters a day, to consume their meals in silence, to not have any sexual relations, or to lodge with laypeople in general.

“If a brother sleep in the town one night or more or if he sleep with a woman let him lose his habit, but let the serjeant for the same fault pay the penalty”

Of course, it wasn’t just the religious brethren that could be found within the priory. There were others that lived and worked within the priory too like the servants that lived in the outer precinct. They would typically be required for more menial tasks.

There would be stewards, kitchen staff, those attending to the cleaning and maintenance of the buildings, and just generally performing the daily chores and tasks you would expect. There were also trades people, like farmers, brewers, tilers and industrial workers, who began renting workshops from the priory. A lot of their work would go towards supporting the priory either directly or by trading with Smithfield market and local monastic institutions.

Additionally, a variety of lodgings were built in the outer precinct for tenants to rent. Poorer dwellings were built for the servants and trades people. Houses were built for relatives of knights, and for benefactors of the Order. It was said that at Clerkenwell, there was considerable architectural sophistication, and advanced design. Accommodation growing in number and luxury as the wealth of the Order grew.

While there were occasions of disagreement between the Priory and the tenants, with cases of tenants falling behind on rent or refusing to vacate their leases, the relationship between them was said to appear amicable.

All in all, the priory here at Clerkenwell was incredibly busy from the brothers and priory officials adhering to their strict daily routines, the arrival and leaving of brothers as they prepared and left for military campaigns, and the servants, trades people and tenants who each engaged in activities that allowed the priory to grow and survive as it did. While the Priory was dissolved in 1540, it did so leaving behind the footsteps of people from all different backgrounds, all of whom cared in some way, through little daily actions, in keeping the Order and this priory functioning for as long as they could.

Resources

Jenstad, Janelle and Kim Mclean-Fiander, eds. Civitas Londinvm: The Map of Early Modern London. Victoria: University of Victoria, 2021. (http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/map.htm).

King, E.J., The Knights of St John in the British Empire, (London: St John’s Gate, 1934).

King, E.J., The Rule and Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers 1099-1310, (New York: Ams Press, 1934).

Nicholson, Helen, Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights: Images of the Military Orders, 1128-1291, (Leicester: Leicester Up, 1995)

O’Malley, Gregory, The Knights Hospitaller of the English Langue 1460-1565, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).