Early in 2024 we will be launching a new podcast series featuring new research into the history of the Order of St John in the later medieval and early modern periods – when the Order was headquartered on Rhodes and Malta, and our priory here in London was built. Each episode begins as we take an item off the shelves from our historic library collection in the West Tower of St John’s Gate, and explore different aspects of our history that it leads us to investigate.

Over the course of the six episodes we’ll be taking a closer look at subjects ranging from indulgences, to pilgrimage, charitable donation and care for the sick – the hospitals for which the Order has been rightly famed from its inception to the present day. If you are now wondering what an indulgence actually is, what the real purpose of pilgrimage was, or even what the medieval equivalent of a food bank looked like, we’ll be answering these questions and more besides.

Our host is Dr Stephen Mossman of the University of Manchester, whose ongoing research into the history of the Order has drawn on the manuscripts and early printed books in our library. We’ll travel across Europe, from London to the Holy Land by way of Rhodes and even Strasbourg, meeting the literary witnesses to the lives of the men and women who joined, supported, or were helped by the Order in past times. There will also be shorter instalments online to introduce some of the other great treasures on our library shelves.

This project builds upon the cataloguing of the historic library that a generous donation to the Museum recently made possible, as we look to unlock the stories that our library contains and make them accessible in new ways. The podcast series has been funded by the British Academy as part of Stephen’s research into the history of our Order in the German-speaking lands, a subject on which his own book should be published and join the shelves of our library in not too many years.

We would love to hear from you, our listeners! We will be recording a special podcast at the end of the series to answer your questions – so if there is anything that comes to your mind to ask, whether about the history, the books themselves, the Museum or anything else, or any other feedback or commentary you would like to give, do please write to us at museum@sja.org.uk and we’ll do our best to answer!