Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/598

CHAPTER XXII.

THE “LANGUE” OF ENGLAND.

Foundation at Clerkenwell—Introduction of the fraternity into Scotland and Ireland—Destruction of priory at Clerkenwell by Wat Tyler—Restoration by Docwra—St. John’s Gate—Lease of Hampton to Wolsey—Suppression of the lanque by Henry VIII.—Revival by Queen Mary—Ultimate suppression by Elizabeth—Subsequent fate of the Priory, Church, and Gate—Revival of the langue—Its objects and present state—Brief biographies of important members of the old langue.

Before again reverting to the political and general history of the Order during the remainder of its residence in the island of Malta, it may not be uninteresting to enter into some details more particularly affecting the langue of England.

There can be no doubt that amongst the members of Godfrey de Bouillon’s crusading army who joined the establishment of Gerard on the capture of Jerusalem in the year 1099, there must have been a considerable British element, since very early in the next century we find the Order spreading itself over England. The first establishment of the fraternity in this country was certainly that founded by Lord Jordan Briset. The actual date of this foundation is not clear. It has generally been assumed to have taken place in 1101. This year is fixed by the fact that in the first charter of donation by the same benefactor to the adjacent nunnery of St. Mary at Clerkeuwell, which was not later than the year 1102, it was expressly stated that his gift was free from all encumbrances, so that the Hospitallers might claim nothing from them. On the other hand, the Register of deeds and titles to the possessions of the Order in England, dated in 1443, records that Lord Jordan Briset, in the reign of Henry I., about the