Let us look back through the centuries and listen to the voices of the men of the Order, as they defended the faith from Islam, and then against internal enemies at the Reformation. Follow in their footsteps as they held back that tidal wave of Islam from a tiny island fortress.

The Knights Hospitalers have remained true to their founding principles and humility and dedication to the task at hand has meant that they have not taken the time to tell their story. For centuries they were too busy fighting for the very survival of Christian Europe to record their own heroic feats. Indeed many knights individual acts of bravery have been lost to history, as have the records of the order itself. Many precious records and archives were lost as they evacuated the Holy Land, then removed themselves from Rhodes. Finally when the island of Malta fell to Napolean the French carried off and then lost many records and material.

The result is that we have often relied on those outside our order to tell our story and record our history. In many instances they were not our friends, or had their own agenda. At other times though well meaning did not have access to the information necessary and the personal insights required to write a rounded and complete history of the Order.

At times the Order has stepped into the shadows of history and worked like many other Institutions in privacy and concerned with internal affairs. In these periods the Order disappears from wider national histories and often for a body so used to making and shaping history such a period of sabbatical is often misinterpreted as a dissolution or disbandment. Others have formed themselves in our name and have trued to steal the name and legacy of the Order, true history is the enemy of such men.  Their attempt to re-write it, or to write themselves into it has often prompted the Order to produce official histories. These often address particular questions or issues of the day, and indeed in our day there have never been more misinformation and malevolent comment about the Order.

Our present efforts to record and present our history are not reactive to such threats but rather seek in a positive modern way to outline the history and ongoing work of our Order. It is aimed at all those who have a genuine interest in the history and heritage of the Knights Hospitalers, those Black Knights of St. John who made their home on Malta. It is for those who have a wider interest in chivalric organisations and may even have joined one believing it to be the true descendant and line of our Order. We wish to present the information and let men and women make up their own minds.

The Virtual Museum is a great first step to learn more, we have collated and catalogued hundreds of items and will over the coming weeks and months add to the collection. So join us on this Virtual Crusade for Knowledge and march once more into battle as we learn what it was like to be a knight in the Holy Land, or one of the defenders of Malta during the Great Siege. If you are inspired by our history then come and join us and let us make history together.