Bull of Pope Alexander IV, 1259

Note from the compiler: This article contains the full Latin text of the bull of Pope Alexander IV (1259) and my provisional translation of the document. Source: Auguste Coulon, Les Registres d'Alexandre IV (Paris, 1953), vol. 3, fasc. 7, p. 57.

2938. Anagni, 11 aout 1259.

Fratribus militibus Hospitalis S. Johannis Jerosolimitani chlamyde nigra et, in bellis, superinsigniis militaribus utendi facultatem concedit.
(REG. 25, f. 217, an. V, c. 172.)

Magistro et fratribus Hospitalis Sancti Johannis Ierosolimitani.

Cum ordinem vestrum omnipotens Deus in Ecclesia sua velut columpnam immobilem super obedientie basem erexerit ad fulcimentum necessarium Terre Sancte, cujus estis athlete incliti, robusti pugiles et propugnatores electi, et pro cujus defensione ad preliandum prelia Dornini contra sui blasfemos nominis salvivice crucis vos armis insignibus accinxistis, cum etiam vos sitis populus Dei egregius, gens magnifica et strenua multitudo justorum, consilium et congregatio fortium Regis regum, in quorum reve ra manibus gladii sunt ancipites et ardentes lucerne ad faciendam vindictam in nationibus et scrutandam Domini civitatem, digne ipsum ordinem et vos tanquam Christi milites in quibus suscitavit Dominus in illis partibus fortium Machabeorum spiritum, et aliorum veterum earundem partium bellatorum congruis intendimus roborare favoribus et condignis gratiis adaugere illaque vobis concedere que ad incrementum vestre religionis dicteque Terre subsidium redundare noscuntur. Sane quia intelleximus quod inter fratres vestri ordinis milites et alios nulla distinctio per aliquam indumentorum diversitatem, sicut in plerisque aliis consimilibus sit religionibus, observatur, propter quod contingit quod multorum nobilium qui, mundi relictis illecebris, sub ejusdem vestre religionis habitu eligerent insistere predicte Terre presidio erga prefatum ordinem caritas refrigescit, nos cupientes ut idem ordo continuis, auctore Domino, amplificetur commodis, et votivis concrescat augmentis, presentium vobis auctoritate concedimus ut unanimiter statuere ac deinceps inviolabiliter observare possitis apud fratres [quod] milites ejusdem ordinis clamidem nigram deferant, ut ab aliis ejusdem ordinis fratribus discernantur. In bellis autem sive in preliis utantur juppellis [suppellis] et aliis superinsigniis militaribus, que sint coloris rubri, et in quibus etiam crux albi coloris sit in vestri vexilli modum assuta, ut in hujusmodi uniformitate signorum animorum idemptitas evidenter appareat, et ex hoc per consequens salus proveniat personarum. Nulli nostre concessionis etc.

Dat. Anagnie, III idus augusti, anno quinto.

The Granting of Armor to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
by Pope Alexander IV (1259)

To the Master and brethren of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

Just as Almighty God established your Order within His Church as a pillar resting upon the foundation of obedience for the necessary defense of the Holy Land—wherein you are renowned athletes, mighty warriors, and chosen champions, and for whose defense you have girded yourselves with the symbol of the Cross to wage holy war against the infidels in the name of God;
And since you are distinguished servants of the Lord, a renowned people and a zealous multitude of the righteous—a council and assembly of the mighty men of the King of Kings, bearing the righteous two-edged sword and the radiant fire in the pursuit of truth among nations and for the sake of the Heavenly City;
We intend to foster with fitting favor and enrich with due gifts this worthy Order and you, the knights of Christ—in whom the Lord has instilled the spirit of the mighty Maccabees and other ancient warriors of those lands—and we intend to grant you that which shall contribute to the advancement of your Order and the defense of the aforementioned [Holy] Lands.
And whereas we understand that among the brethren of your Order there is no distinction in attire between the knights and the others, unlike in other similar orders, and for this reason many nobles—who forsake the temptations of the world, resolving to set out for the defense of the aforementioned [Holy] Lands under the aegis of your Order—encounter this arrangement [of uniform dress] and find their zeal dampened;
We... Desiring that your Order grow—with the help of the Almighty—through continuous and increasing donations, we grant you the authority, with the consent of those present, to unanimously decree and thereafter steadfastly enforce among the brethren that the knights of the said Order wear a black mantle, thereby distinguishing them from the other brethren of the Order. In war and battle, however, they shall wear a surcoat (*suppellis*) or other *cote d'armes* of red, bearing a white cross sewn upon it—matching the colors of your banner—so that through this uniformity of symbols, the distinction of their souls may be made manifest, ensuring the salvation of those who hold such distinctions in high regard.

Written at Anagni, on the 11th of August, in the fifth year [of our pontificate].

Bull of Pope Alexander IV, 1259

Fratribus militibus Hospitalis S. Johannis Jerosolimitani chlamyde nigra et, in bellis, superinsigniis militaribus utendi facultatem concedit. (REG. 25, f. 217, an. V, c. 172.)

The Granting of Armor to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem by Pope Alexander IV (1259)

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Fratribus militibus Hospitalis S. Johannis Jerosolimitani chlamyde nigra et, in bellis, superinsigniis militaribus utendi facultatem concedit.
(REG. 25, f. 217, an. V, c. 172.)

The Granting of Armor to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
by Pope Alexander IV (1259)