Order of Saint James of Altopascio
Encyclopedia
The Order of Saint James of Altopascio , also called the Knights of the Tau (Cavalieri del Tau) or Hospitallers of Saint James, was a military order
, perhaps the earliest Christian institution to combine the protection and assistance of pilgrims, the staffing of hospitals, and a military wing. According to American historian Ephraim Emerton
, who produced the first systematic study the Order, "the fame of the house drew visitors, both well and sick, received women in childbirth and infants . . ."
, a town on the Via Francigena
in what is now Tuscany
. The earliest datable reference to a hospital edificatus in locus et finibus ubi dicitur Teupascio ("built in the place called Teupascio") is from 1084. Ludovico Muratori thought Teupascio to be an eighth-century corruption of the Latin
Altopassus. The variants Taupascio and Topascio have led some to suppose a relationship between the (alternative) name of the town and the Order sometimes known as "of the Tau", after their symbol, which would once have been a common sight in the town. This derivation is highly unlikely, however, and the name appears to be Germanic
in origin.
According to the Order's own tradition it was founded between the Palude di Fucecchio, the Lago di Sesto, and the forest of Cerbaie towards 1050 by twelve citizens of nearby Lucca
, a tradition which is preserved in a couple of lines of poetry appended to the Italian
version of its rule:
Probably the "choir of twelve" refers to the founding twelve members (brethren, friars, fratres), not to twelve founders. In his Memorie di Pescia, Francesco Galeotti wrote that the Order was the founded by a rich and pious personaggio (individual). The Order was dedicated to James the Greater and Egidius. Its head was initially a rector
, later a grand master
(magister generalis), custos (custodian), warden, and eventually even bore the title Signore d'Altopascio (Lord of Altopascio).
Originally the Order was composed of a few canons charged with caring for pilgrims on their way to Rome
or the Holy Land
, via Italy, but later it extended its concern to the Way of Saint James. Their headquarters were in the church of the same name, San Giacomo dell' Alto Passo. Their Great Hospital dedicated to Saint James at Altopascio (Domus Hospitalis Sancti Iacobi de Altopassu) is first mentioned in a bull
of Innocent III
from 1198, though he refers to earlier grants to the hospice by the Bishops of Lucca, whose names indicate that it existed as early as the third quarter of the century. In 1244 the hospice of Altopassus received a confirmation of its properties in Italy from the Emperor Frederick II as part of a program of support for institutions looking after the miserabiles (unfortunate). The emperor forbade the imposition of any tax on the Order or any interference lay or ecclesiastical with its property. The movement of goods as part of the Order's regular business was to go unhindered.
The lands from which the Order drew its income were found throughout Tuscany: in the Valdarno
(bull of Anastasius IV
of 1154), Valdinievole
(bull of Alexander III
of 1169), and Pistoia
and Prato
(aforementioned bull of Innocent III of 1198). Eventually the Order spread throughout Tuscany
and Italy
, reaching first Naples
, Sardinia
, and Sicily
. The Order was eventually internationalised and had reached as far as the Rhône
in Provence
by the end of the twelfth century. It received endowments in Bavaria
, Burgundy
, the Dauphiné
, England
, Flanders
, France
, Germany
, Lorraine, Navarre
, Portugal
, and Savoy
. Each separate body was called a mansio
(plural mansiones) on analogy with the Roman relay stations and hospitals abiding by the Order's rule were called obedientiae. Grants to the mansiones of money and land and, in the later Middle Ages, tithe
s were supervised by the grand master. The heart of the Order was always in Tuscany, however, as its close relationship with the great families of the Republic of Florence
shows. There is evidence that in the sixteenth century the Order was exchanging lands in such a way as to build up a compact territory of holdings nearer Altopascio.
The church and hospital of Saint-Jacques-du-Hault-Pas in Paris
, subject to the Great Hospital, was founded by Philip IV of France
.
on 18 January 1459 along with five other religiones (religious orders). Their property was transferred to the fledgling Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem
founded by that same bull:
The suppression, however, was imperfectly carried out, or perhaps was never carried out at all. The Order certainly retained some Italian property until, on 14 March 1587, Sixtus V
, at the request of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, merged the Order of Altopascio with the Order of Saint Stephen
. In France it was finally absorbed into the Order of Saint Lazarus
in 1672.
in 1239, and was based on the rule of the Knights of Saint John and, more generally, the rule of Saint Augustine
. The rule was requested by the brethren. It is unknown if they abided by a different rule before 1239. The Latin rule is preserved in the Archives nationales
on twenty-one 8½"x6" pages. It was first published (in part) by the antiquarian Giovanni Lami
between 1741 and 1754 and edited (entirely) by Pietro Farfani in 1864 in Italian. A Pescia
n document of 1358 still referred to the order as "living under the Rule of Saint Augustine".
By a comparison with the Hospitaller rule it is clear that the first twenty-five chapters of the Altopascian rule correspond to the first nineteen chapters from the Hospitaller rule of Raymond du Puy (from 1125–53). Chapters 30–37, which deal with the proper burial of deceased brethren, are probably adapted from the additions made by Jobert of Syria
to the Hospitaller rule between 1177 and 1181. Chapters 39–45 are concerned with the care for the sick and were added to the Hospitaller rule by Roger de Molins in 1181 or 1182. Chapters 47–52 and 76 are derived from the later usances (customs) of the order of Saint John, with chapters 49–52 prescribing the ceremonies for the initiation of brethren and confrati (affiliated persons). Chapters 53–75 are a selection of later Hospitaller esgards (judgements), probably chosen for their relevance to the Altopascian situation. They deal primarily with crime. Chapters 26–29, 38, 46, and 77–96 are not based on the Hospitaller rule.
, in his Defensor pacis, criticised the Papacy for trying to classify as many persons as possible as clerici (clergy), and appears to say that the Order of Altopascio was lay, but the Pope wished to classify it as clerical. Chapter 64 of the Order's rule, however, does refer to brothers who are "priest or deacon or of any other clerical order". If the trend reported by Marsiglio continued, the ratio of clerical to lay brethren may have increased in the late Middle Ages. Pierre Hélyot
, having seen certain tomb effigies of some brethren bearing the insignia of ordination, calls the Order the Chanoines Hospitaliers de S. Jacques du Haut-Pas ou de Lucques (canons hospitaller of Saint James of Altopascio or of Lucca).
The knights (cavalieri) of the Order were established by chapter 93 of its Rule, which is an almost verbatim copy of a paragraph of a set of Hospitaller regulations drawn up at Margat
in 1204–06. The knights are only mentioned once else in the Rule, in chapter 78, where the process of electing a grand master is described. The prior of the Order is to select from the brethren a priest (frate preite), a knight, and a servitor (also sergent, servente), who will form the electorate and choose a master. Emerton casts doubt on the military nature of these knights, suggesting instead that they were lay noble religious. He points out that the Rule omits all of the Hospitallers' references to horses, arms, and armour.
Besides the priest and knight there is another special position in the order, singled out for is involvement in the election of the master: the servitor, who was subordinate to the regular brother. The servitors were not allowed to fighting among themselves, to refuse work, or to spend the night in town without permission. Strict penalties were prescribed, but their pay was never withheld and they appear to have been hired workers. They were under the direction of the brethren, but performed the majority of menial tasks.
, usually white on a black field, the vertical arm of the tau being always pointed at the bottom and the crossbar either square at the ends or else concave or notched like a Maltese cross
, the result being called a croce taumata. These peculiarities have suggested to some historians that it represents an auger and an axe or hammer and thus carpentry
, probably to be associated with bridge-building and road maintenance. The aforementioned edict of Frederick II contains one obligation placed on the order:
The Order's rule, however, does not mention the maintenance of bridges or roads. A similar tau-like symbol or cross was venerated at the same time by the Franciscans. It may have symbolised perfection, since taf was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet
.
and even advised a "hearty diet" during Lent
for the ill. For "our lords (domini, signori) the sick", as the Order's patients are called in the Rule, beds must be large with separate sheets and coverlets, each patient was to have fur cloak and woolen cap for use in the commons area (per andare ad luogo commune). Cribs and cradles were to be provided for newborns.
The Order was not an order of fratres pontifices ("pontifical, i.e. bridge-building, brethren") and was not heavily involved in bridge-building. Hélyot, in examining the origins of certain bridges associated with hospitallers in the Rhône valley, ascribed their construction to the Order of Altopascio, whose members he calls religieux hospitaliers pontifes ("bridge-building hospitaller religious"). Hélyot went so far as to associated the famous Saint Bénézet with the Altopascians. Henri Grégoire, writing in 1818, cast doubt on the thesis and Emerton rejected it as groundless while admitting that the Provençal hospitals may well have been associated with Altopascia. Besides the bridge at Fucechhio which is known from the imperial edict of 1244 to have been charged to the Order's care, other bridges may have been maintained in Italy where the Via Francigena crosses the Arda
, the Elsa, the Taro
, and the Usciana.
provides an English translation of the Papal bull granting the Order a rule:
He also provides a translation those chapters (30–37) concerning the death and burial of members:
He also provides a translation of chapter 45, about the care of the sick:
He also provides a translation of chapter 64, based on Hospitaller esgard 10, which concerns crimes by members:
He also provides a translation of chapters 67–70 and 72 on the relationship between friars (fratres) and servitors:
He also provides a translation of chapter 93, the only one concerned with knighthoods:
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...
, perhaps the earliest Christian institution to combine the protection and assistance of pilgrims, the staffing of hospitals, and a military wing. According to American historian Ephraim Emerton
Ephraim Emerton
Ephraim Emerton, Ph. D. was an American educator, author, translator, and historian prominent in his field of European medieval history.-Life and career:...
, who produced the first systematic study the Order, "the fame of the house drew visitors, both well and sick, received women in childbirth and infants . . ."
Foundation
The Order was founded by Matilda of Canossa between 1070 and 1080 at AltopascioAltopascio
Altopascio is a comune in the Province of Lucca in the Tuscany region of Italy with a population of c. 13300.-History:Already inhabited in Roman times, Altopascio gained in importance due to its Spedale for the pilgrims who travelled on the Via Francigena, leading from France to Rome...
, a town on the Via Francigena
Via Francigena
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route...
in what is now Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. The earliest datable reference to a hospital edificatus in locus et finibus ubi dicitur Teupascio ("built in the place called Teupascio") is from 1084. Ludovico Muratori thought Teupascio to be an eighth-century corruption of the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Altopassus. The variants Taupascio and Topascio have led some to suppose a relationship between the (alternative) name of the town and the Order sometimes known as "of the Tau", after their symbol, which would once have been a common sight in the town. This derivation is highly unlikely, however, and the name appears to be Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
in origin.
According to the Order's own tradition it was founded between the Palude di Fucecchio, the Lago di Sesto, and the forest of Cerbaie towards 1050 by twelve citizens of nearby Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, a tradition which is preserved in a couple of lines of poetry appended to the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
version of its rule:
|
|
Probably the "choir of twelve" refers to the founding twelve members (brethren, friars, fratres), not to twelve founders. In his Memorie di Pescia, Francesco Galeotti wrote that the Order was the founded by a rich and pious personaggio (individual). The Order was dedicated to James the Greater and Egidius. Its head was initially a rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, later a grand master
Grand Master (order)
Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...
(magister generalis), custos (custodian), warden, and eventually even bore the title Signore d'Altopascio (Lord of Altopascio).
Originally the Order was composed of a few canons charged with caring for pilgrims on their way to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
or 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...
, via Italy, but later it extended its concern to the Way of Saint James. Their headquarters were in the church of the same name, San Giacomo dell' Alto Passo. Their Great Hospital dedicated to Saint James at Altopascio (Domus Hospitalis Sancti Iacobi de Altopassu) is first mentioned in a bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
of Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
from 1198, though he refers to earlier grants to the hospice by the Bishops of Lucca, whose names indicate that it existed as early as the third quarter of the century. In 1244 the hospice of Altopassus received a confirmation of its properties in Italy from the Emperor Frederick II as part of a program of support for institutions looking after the miserabiles (unfortunate). The emperor forbade the imposition of any tax on the Order or any interference lay or ecclesiastical with its property. The movement of goods as part of the Order's regular business was to go unhindered.
Expansion
In time the Order came to be charged with safeguarding the roads and the bridges from brigands. The Order also had a bell named "La Smarrita" that was rung each night from a half hour before sunset to a half hour past to help guide any pilgrim wandering in the woods to safety. This custom was still reported in the time of Lami. They maintained a ferry service on the Arno River:in the territory of FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and on the high road to Rome, where formerly a heavy tribute was exacted. This road has now been made free by members of the aforesaid Great Hospital and of other hospitals affiliated with it. So that at present all pilgrims and others freely pass there without payment.
The lands from which the Order drew its income were found throughout Tuscany: in the Valdarno
Valdarno
The Valdarno is the valley of the river Arno, although it does not apply to the entire basin of the river. The usage of the term generally excludes Casentino and the valleys formed by the major tributaries, such as the Val di Chiana, the Val d'Ambra , The valley of the Sieve, namely Mugello, the...
(bull of Anastasius IV
Pope Anastasius IV
Pope Anastasius IV , born Corrado Demetri della Suburra, was Pope from 1153 to 1154.-Early life:He was a Roman, son of Benedictus de Suburra, probably of the family of Demetri, and became a secular clerk. He was created cardinal-priest of S. Pudenziana by Pope Paschal II no later than in 1114...
of 1154), Valdinievole
Valdinievole
Valdinievole or Val di Nievole ") is an area in the south-western part of the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy. The saint Allucio of Campigliano was born to a wealthy, landed family in the Valdinievole and he ministered to the poor and travellers there.-Geography:The area is made up of 11...
(bull of Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
of 1169), and Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...
and Prato
Prato
Prato is a city and comune in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city is situated at the foot of Monte Retaia , the last peak in the Calvana chain. The lowest altitude in the comune is 32 m, near the Cascine di Tavola, and the highest is the peak of Monte Cantagrillo...
(aforementioned bull of Innocent III of 1198). Eventually the Order spread throughout Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, reaching first Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. The Order was eventually internationalised and had reached as far as the Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
by the end of the twelfth century. It received endowments in Bavaria
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
, Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
, Flanders
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
, Lorraine, Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and Savoy
County of Savoy
The Counts of Savoy emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, from the collapse of the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles in the 11th century....
. Each separate body was called a mansio
Mansio
In the Roman Empire, a mansio was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.-Background:The roads which traversed the Ancient World, were later surveyed,...
(plural mansiones) on analogy with the Roman relay stations and hospitals abiding by the Order's rule were called obedientiae. Grants to the mansiones of money and land and, in the later Middle Ages, tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s were supervised by the grand master. The heart of the Order was always in Tuscany, however, as its close relationship with the great families of the Republic of Florence
Republic of Florence
The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...
shows. There is evidence that in the sixteenth century the Order was exchanging lands in such a way as to build up a compact territory of holdings nearer Altopascio.
The church and hospital of Saint-Jacques-du-Hault-Pas in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, subject to the Great Hospital, was founded by Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
.
Suppression
The Order was suppressed by the bull Execrabilis issued by Pius IIPope Pius II
Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
on 18 January 1459 along with five other religiones (religious orders). Their property was transferred to the fledgling Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem
Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem
After the taking of Constantinople by the Turks , Pius II founded the Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem. The purpose of these knights was to defend the Island of Lemnos which Cardinal Louis, Patriarch of Aquileia, had recaptured from Mohammed II. The island was to be their headquarters from which they...
founded by that same bull:
Further, we suppress and annul their former ordinances (ordines), the names of their associations, their titles of priority (priorales) and other dignities, and we decree that henceforth they shall be called, held, and named as of that military order of Saint Mary of Bethlehem. Moreover, in this order there shall be brethren and knights and priests as also in the aforesaid Order of Rhodes [Knights of Saint John], and the head of the aforesaid Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem shall be the Master, elected by the brethren in the same way (pariformiter) [as in the Order of Rhodes].
The suppression, however, was imperfectly carried out, or perhaps was never carried out at all. The Order certainly retained some Italian property until, on 14 March 1587, Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
, at the request of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, merged the Order of Altopascio with the Order of Saint Stephen
Order of Saint Stephen
The Order of Saint Stephen is a Tuscan dynastic-military order founded in 1561. The order was created by Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. The last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader of the order was Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737...
. In France it was finally absorbed into the Order of Saint Lazarus
Order of Saint Lazarus
This article concerns the order of knighthood named after Saint Lazarus. For other uses of the name Lazarus, see Lazarus .The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an order of chivalry which originated in a leper hospital founded by the Knights Hospitaller in 1098 by the...
in 1672.
Rule
The Order's rule, the Regola dei Frati di San Jacopo d'Altopascio, was promulgated in ninety-six chapters by Gregory IXPope 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...
in 1239, and was based on the rule of the Knights of Saint John and, more generally, the rule of Saint Augustine
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
. The rule was requested by the brethren. It is unknown if they abided by a different rule before 1239. The Latin rule is preserved in the Archives nationales
Archives nationales (France)
The Archives nationales preserve the national archives of the French state, apart from the archives of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as these two ministries have their own archive services, the Service historique de la défense and the Archives diplomatiques...
on twenty-one 8½"x6" pages. It was first published (in part) by the antiquarian Giovanni Lami
Giovanni Lami
Giovanni Lami was a jurist, Church historian, and antiquarian. Born at Santa Croce sull'Arno in 1697, he studied at the University of Pisa and obtained his doctorate of law in 1719. He was the prefect of the Biblioteca Pallavicini at Genoa and later president of the Biblioteca Riccardiana at...
between 1741 and 1754 and edited (entirely) by Pietro Farfani in 1864 in Italian. A Pescia
Pescia
Pescia is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy.It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the homonymous river.-History:...
n document of 1358 still referred to the order as "living under the Rule of Saint Augustine".
By a comparison with the Hospitaller rule it is clear that the first twenty-five chapters of the Altopascian rule correspond to the first nineteen chapters from the Hospitaller rule of Raymond du Puy (from 1125–53). Chapters 30–37, which deal with the proper burial of deceased brethren, are probably adapted from the additions made by Jobert of Syria
Jobert of Syria
Jobert of Syria was the seventh Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1172 to his death, which is assumed from his disappearance from history to have occurred in 1177. He succeeded Cast de Murols , while Cast's predecessor, Gilbert d'Aissailly, who was still living, had been deposed...
to the Hospitaller rule between 1177 and 1181. Chapters 39–45 are concerned with the care for the sick and were added to the Hospitaller rule by Roger de Molins in 1181 or 1182. Chapters 47–52 and 76 are derived from the later usances (customs) of the order of Saint John, with chapters 49–52 prescribing the ceremonies for the initiation of brethren and confrati (affiliated persons). Chapters 53–75 are a selection of later Hospitaller esgards (judgements), probably chosen for their relevance to the Altopascian situation. They deal primarily with crime. Chapters 26–29, 38, 46, and 77–96 are not based on the Hospitaller rule.
Composition
The Order's members appear to have been mostly laymen. References in the Order's rule to fees paid to priests for their services imply that these priests were not members, since the Order's rule elsewhere prohibits private property. In 1324 Marsilius of PaduaMarsilius of Padua
Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua (Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; (circa 1275 – circa 1342) was an Italian scholar, trained in medicine who practiced a variety of professions. He was also an important 14th century political figure...
, in his Defensor pacis, criticised the Papacy for trying to classify as many persons as possible as clerici (clergy), and appears to say that the Order of Altopascio was lay, but the Pope wished to classify it as clerical. Chapter 64 of the Order's rule, however, does refer to brothers who are "priest or deacon or of any other clerical order". If the trend reported by Marsiglio continued, the ratio of clerical to lay brethren may have increased in the late Middle Ages. Pierre Hélyot
Pierre Helyot
Friar Hippolyte Hélyot, T.O.R., was a Franciscan friar and priest of the Third Order of St. Francis and a major scholar of Church history. He was born at Paris in January 1660, supposedly of English ancestry....
, having seen certain tomb effigies of some brethren bearing the insignia of ordination, calls the Order the Chanoines Hospitaliers de S. Jacques du Haut-Pas ou de Lucques (canons hospitaller of Saint James of Altopascio or of Lucca).
The knights (cavalieri) of the Order were established by chapter 93 of its Rule, which is an almost verbatim copy of a paragraph of a set of Hospitaller regulations drawn up at Margat
Margat
Margat, also known as Marqab from the Arabic Qalaat al-Marqab is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the Knights Hospitaller...
in 1204–06. The knights are only mentioned once else in the Rule, in chapter 78, where the process of electing a grand master is described. The prior of the Order is to select from the brethren a priest (frate preite), a knight, and a servitor (also sergent, servente), who will form the electorate and choose a master. Emerton casts doubt on the military nature of these knights, suggesting instead that they were lay noble religious. He points out that the Rule omits all of the Hospitallers' references to horses, arms, and armour.
Besides the priest and knight there is another special position in the order, singled out for is involvement in the election of the master: the servitor, who was subordinate to the regular brother. The servitors were not allowed to fighting among themselves, to refuse work, or to spend the night in town without permission. Strict penalties were prescribed, but their pay was never withheld and they appear to have been hired workers. They were under the direction of the brethren, but performed the majority of menial tasks.
Symbols
The symbol of the order was the letter tauTau
Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 300.The name in English is pronounced , but in modern Greek it is...
, usually white on a black field, the vertical arm of the tau being always pointed at the bottom and the crossbar either square at the ends or else concave or notched like a Maltese cross
Maltese cross
The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
, the result being called a croce taumata. These peculiarities have suggested to some historians that it represents an auger and an axe or hammer and thus carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, probably to be associated with bridge-building and road maintenance. The aforementioned edict of Frederick II contains one obligation placed on the order:
It is our will and command that the hospice and its brethren build and maintain upon the public pilgrim's highway near Ficeclum on the White Arno, at the most convenient point, a bridge for the service of travellers, and this without let or hindrance from any person whomsoever. But if, in case of flood or other accident, they shall be without a bridge, it is our will that they provide a ferry-boat for the free transportation of pilgrims, and it shall be unlawful for any other person to keep any boat there for passengers, whether for hire or not.
The Order's rule, however, does not mention the maintenance of bridges or roads. A similar tau-like symbol or cross was venerated at the same time by the Franciscans. It may have symbolised perfection, since taf was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
.
Activities
The care of the sick was the primary mission of the Order. The Rule required four physicians and two surgeons attached to the hospital. The Rule exhibits "an enlightened conception of the needs of the sick that would do credit to any modern institution". It laid down the principle of primum non nocerePrimum non nocere
is a Latin phrase that means "First, do no harm". The phrase is sometimes recorded as .Nonmaleficence, which derives from the maxim, is one of the principal precepts of medical ethics that all medical students are taught in medical school and is a fundamental principle for emergency medical...
and even advised a "hearty diet" during Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
for the ill. For "our lords (domini, signori) the sick", as the Order's patients are called in the Rule, beds must be large with separate sheets and coverlets, each patient was to have fur cloak and woolen cap for use in the commons area (per andare ad luogo commune). Cribs and cradles were to be provided for newborns.
The Order was not an order of fratres pontifices ("pontifical, i.e. bridge-building, brethren") and was not heavily involved in bridge-building. Hélyot, in examining the origins of certain bridges associated with hospitallers in the Rhône valley, ascribed their construction to the Order of Altopascio, whose members he calls religieux hospitaliers pontifes ("bridge-building hospitaller religious"). Hélyot went so far as to associated the famous Saint Bénézet with the Altopascians. Henri Grégoire, writing in 1818, cast doubt on the thesis and Emerton rejected it as groundless while admitting that the Provençal hospitals may well have been associated with Altopascia. Besides the bridge at Fucechhio which is known from the imperial edict of 1244 to have been charged to the Order's care, other bridges may have been maintained in Italy where the Via Francigena crosses the Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
, the Elsa, the Taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
, and the Usciana.
Text of the Papal bull of 1239
Ephraim EmertonEphraim Emerton
Ephraim Emerton, Ph. D. was an American educator, author, translator, and historian prominent in his field of European medieval history.-Life and career:...
provides an English translation of the Papal bull granting the Order a rule:
- Gregory, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, to the Master and Brethren of the Hospital of Altopascio in the Diocese of Lucca, Greeting and Apostolic Benediction!
- It is the practice of the apostolic see to respond favorably to pious requests and to grant its kindly favor to the sincere prayers of its petitioners. Wherefore, beloved sons in the Lord, we have inclined our ear to your petition and have decided to grant to you and to your successors by these presents the Rule of the Brethren of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, to be observed forever in the Hospital of Altopassus and in all its dependent houses, the privileges previously granted by the apostolic see to your hospital to remain in full force.
- We do not intend, however, that through this grant the Master and Brethren of the Hospital of Jerusalem shall acquire any rights or jurisdiction whatsoever over your hospital or its [subsidiary] houses. Let no one, therefore, encroach upon this our grant or act in rash opposition to it. If any one shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and his blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul.
- Given at the Lateran on the 5th day of April in the 13th year of our pontificate.
Selection of chapters from the Rule, 1239
Emerton provides an English translation of chapter 20 of the Altopascian rule, concerning punishment for the holding of private property:- If any brother at the time of his death shall have any property which he has concealed from the Master, he shall be buried without divine service as a person excommunicate. And if during his life concealed money shall be found upon him, it shall be hanged about his neck and he shall be stripped and soundly flogged through the Hospital of Saint James at Altopascio or any other house where he may belong, by a clergyman, if he be a clergyman, and by a layman, if he be a layman. And let him do penance for forty days and fast the fourth and sixth days of the week on bread and water.
He also provides a translation those chapters (30–37) concerning the death and burial of members:
- Where the body of a brother of the Hospital shall be buried, there let his name be written in the calendar, and after thirty days let there be an anniversary day for him forever. If in the church where the trecennario [memorial service of thirty days] is celebrated there are three priests, let one celebrate the trecennario and the two others sing the masses for the day. If there are two priests, the service of the trecennario is to be divided between them, and the fees also. In a church where there is only one priest another is to be called in from outside to perform the trecennario, and when this is completed he is to receive as a gratuity (caritatevilemente [sic]), one bezant and a shirt and a new pair of breeches, according to the custom of the House. But, if no [outside] priest can be found, the priest of the House alone may perform the trecennario, celebrating mass daily for the dead, excepting on Sundays and holy days, and then let a special commemoration for the dead brother be made; but, after thirty days, let the number of thirty days on which only special masses are said for the dead brother be completed, and then let the priest have the aforesaid gratuity.
He also provides a translation of chapter 45, about the care of the sick:
- Finally, besides the daily care and watchfulness which the brethren of the Hospital are bound to exercise with zeal and devotion toward the needy poor, as toward their masters, it is added in Chapter General that in each corridor (rutga), i.e., ward (piazza) of the house of the Hospital, where the patients lie, nine servitors shall be placed at their service, who, under the orders of the brethren, shall bathe the heads and feet of the sick and dry them with towels. They shall keep them tidy (forbano), shall make their beds, bring them their meals, and supply them carefully with drink, and, in general, whatever is needful and useful for the sick they shall obediently do.
He also provides a translation of chapter 64, based on Hospitaller esgard 10, which concerns crimes by members:
- If any brother, being priest or deacon or of any other clerical order, shall commit any offense, and this shall come to the knowledge of the Prior or the Master, the brethren whom the Prior shall select for the court shall judge with righteous judgment and shall impose a penance of seven days or even of forty according to the gravity of the fault, just as in the case of other brethren who are not in holy orders. For, seeing that we are all of one religion and all, both clergy and laymen, make the same profession, it seems unfitting that there should be any distinction between brethren within the Hospital. Wherefore it is ordered that, as we live under one rule, so also we ought to be subject to the same judges of the rule.
He also provides a translation of chapters 67–70 and 72 on the relationship between friars (fratres) and servitors:
- If a friar shall strike a servitor, and this shall come to the knowledge of the Prior of the House, let him do penance for seven days. If blood flows, except from the nose, let him do penance for forty days; but, if the servitor dies from the wound, the friar shall lose his habit and shall be sent to Rome to our lord the pope for his penance. After that, if he receive letters from the pope and ask for mercy, he may be received back, saving the justice of the house, and shall do penance for forty days.
- If a servitor assaults a friar, and the friar reports it to the Prior, let the servitor do penance. But, if he shall call the friar a thief or a fornicator or a malefactor under the house rules (della casa), and cannot prove the charge, let him be severely flogged by the friars, first through the house, then to the door, and out of the house; nevertheless, let him be paid what is owing to him.
- In the case of a servitor who quits without permission and then returns to make amends, if his service is paid at the discretion of the Hospital (ad caritate), first let him do penance and, for the time since the beginning of the year, let nothing be reckoned to him. But if he is serving on contract (ad convenzione), after he has done his penance, let the time of his actual service be reckoned to him, and at the end of the year, let him be paid his price, that is, what is due him.
- If a servitor steals property of the Hospital, even a whole loaf of bread, or shall sell the same, and it be clearly proven, let the stolen property be hanged about his neck, and let him be soundly flogged through the house to the door, and at the door let him be given a loaf of bread and be discharged, and let him have what he has earned—but, this at the discretion of the Prior and the friars.
- Servitors may not testify against a friar except on a charge involving penance of seven days. If they have the presumption to attempt this on a charge of forty days' penance, they shall not be heard. If they try to testify to a crime for which a friar would lose his habit, they shall not be believed—unless he be caught in the act—which God forbid!
He also provides a translation of chapter 93, the only one concerned with knighthoods:
- Let no one demand to be made a knight while he is in the Hospital, unless this had been promised him before he took the habit of a religious, and then only if he has reached the age at which he might have become a knight if he had remained in the world. Nevertheless the sons of noblemen, especially if they have been brought up in the Hospital, when they have reached military age, may, with the consent of the Master and[/or] of the Prior (coinandeor, comandatore), and with the approval of the brethren of the House, be invested with the insignia of knighthood.
An incident at Pescia in 1358
Emerton also provides an English translation of Giovanni Lami's retelling of an incident involving the Order and the city of Pescia in 1358:- At that time the Grand Master was Messer Jacopo da Pescia. He accepted as brethren of the Order many citizens of Pescia who were married men and who took the habit to escape the payment of taxes and avoid doing guard duty, to the very great detriment of the community. When the commune perceived that the greed (ingordigia) of these friars was over great it deputed a magistrate to see that the commune was protected and to take such action as was best for the service of God and of the public. This magistrate, having heard and well considered what these friars had been doing, gave orders that they should be driven out of Pescia and its territory and should not be allowed to enter it. He made proclamation that whoever had any claim against the Master and his friars should bring it before the chancellor of the community, and that no person should work the properties of the friars or cause them to be worked, under heavy penalties. He sernt messengers to the [papal] legate, to the Signoria of Florence and to Messer Andrea da Todi, the papal collector, to notify them of his action. The result of this policy of the commune was that the Master and the friars refrained from taking married men as brethren, but when an occasion arose for receiving such the Master wrote to the commune commending himself, the friars, and the hospitals to the protection of the same. This letter was read in the Grand Council and referred by it to the above-mentioned magistrate for the necessary action. After due consideration of the whole matter he decided that certain married men of Pescia were not and could not be brethren of that Order, but were subject to the jurisdiction of the commune of Pescia. Messer Andrea da Todi, the papal collector, also gave orders that the Master should not in future receive any married person, and that those friars who were married should have no vote in the chapter.
Further reading
- Archivio Storico Italiano, ser. IV, vol. XVI (1885), I26.
- Contains a record of Altopascian documents at Lucca.
- Léon LeGrand, "Les Maisons-Dieu, leur Statuts au XIIIe Siècle", Revue des Questions Historiques (July 1896).
- Contains a note analysing and summarising the elements of the Altopascian rule.
- Pietro Fanfani, Regola dei frati di S. Jacopo d'Altopascio (Bologna: Press Gaetano Romagnoli, 1864).
- An Italian translation of the Order's rule.
- Nikolaus Paulus, Indulgences as a Social Factor in the Middle Ages, trans. J. Elliot Ross (The Minerva Group, 2001 [1923]).
- Contains a long chapter on bridge-building which deal extensively with Order of Altopascio.
- Duane J. Osheim (1983), "Conversion, Conversi, and the Christian Life in Late Medieval Tuscany," SpeculumSpeculum (journal)Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies is a quarterly academic journal published by the Medieval Academy of America. It was established in 1926. The journal's primary focus is on the time period from 500-1500 in Western Europe, but also on related subjects such as Byzantine, Hebrew, Arabic, and...
, 58:2, 368–90.
- Duane J. Osheim (1983), "Conversion, Conversi, and the Christian Life in Late Medieval Tuscany," Speculum
- Description of converts to the religious life, with much citing of Altopascian documents.