Langue (Knights Hospitaller)

Tongues, in the sense of tongue as a synonym for language, were called from the 14th to the 18th century, the country team result divisions of the Order of Malta. They corresponded in its function in the provinces about other religious order.

This form of organization was created at the beginning of the 14th century, when the Order of the island of Rhodes took possession. It was decided in 1301, held at a General Chapter of the Order. First, there were seven tongues: Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon ( Navarre with ), England ( with Scotland and Ireland) and Germany. In the year 1462 itself Castile and Portugal parted from Aragon and formed their own eighth tongue.

Through the processes during the Reformation single reeds were (eg, English and German ) so weakened that they could no longer perform these functions, so that it came to a reorganization. In the 18th century, there was briefly a Bavarian tongue, these included the extinct tongues of Germany and England.

Organization

How can the name of the tabs easy to read, their classification corresponded not really the language boundaries and usually summed Knights and offices of several nations together. So, for example, belonged to the German tongue also all the knights from the Scandinavian countries, as well as from Hungary, Poland and Bohemia.

Each tongue had at least one Grand Priory. The Grand Prior and the packed of the bailiwicks and coming chapter introduced the individual religious divisions. These were in their parish for the management of religious property, maintenance and supervision of charitable works of the Order ( hospitals, etc.) responsible. They had to get the awarding of benefices, such parishes were incorporated to the Order. Not least, the tongues paid financial contributions for the defense of Rhodes ( 1530 Malta) against the Turks and for the entertainment of religious fleet in the Mediterranean.

But they were also directly represented in the Order Center. For one, they sent Teutonic Knights in the General Chapter, on the other hand every tongue was assigned a portion of the fastening on Rhodes for defense. This section had enough to occupy with knights and mercenaries, each tongue. Each tongue had there own house, in the gathered their families and taking meals together. In Malta, later proceed in a similar manner was.

The religious structure after the reorganization of 1301 at a glance

• Tongue of Provence comprises the south of France, with two large priories in Toulouse and Saint- Gilles
• Tongue of Auvergne: Central France, the United priory Bourganeuf
• French tongue: Great Priory France, with northern and western France; 1317 divided into the wholesale priories Aquitaine (Poitiers), France and Champagne
• Tongue of Aragon: The Iberian Peninsula, with large priories of Aragon ( Limestone ), Catalonia, Castile and Leon, Navarre, and Portugal, Division 1462:

• Italian tongue: with the wholesale priories Messina, Barletta, Capua, Rome, Pisa, Lombardy and Venice
• English tongue: with the wholesale priories England, Scotland and Ireland

• German tongue: with the wholesale priories Bohemia, Upper and Lower Germany, Dacia ( = Denmark ), Sweden, Poland and Hungary

Development in the 18th century

Although the English tongue practically ceased to exist since the expulsion of the Order by Henry VIII, the Order was their legitimate existence. George III. of England gave its approval to connect the newly planned Bavarian tongue with the tongue of England and give her the name of "English - Bavarian tongue ". At the official launch of the English- Bavarian tongue between December 1781 and April 1782 with the new Grand Priory of Bavaria ( 1808 repealed by Maximilian I Joseph ) was instrumental in the Vicar General of the Bavarian Grand Priory and later Cardinal John Casimir Häffelin involved.

The French Revolution and the Third Partition of Poland ( Austria, Prussia and Russia) in 1795 also changed the location of the Order of Malta. Tsar Paul was protector of the Priory of Poland and Polish- Russian Orthodox built a priory, which he by religious decisions ( ie before the conquest of Malta by Napoleon in June 1798) joined in 1797 with the English- Bavarian tongue to English- Bavarian- Russian tongue. Later in the Peace of Amiens ( 1802) acted out of France and England, that no member of these two nations was allowed to be a member of a religious order of knights. From the English- Bavarian- Russian tongue thus became the Bavarian- Russian tongue.