Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim: Difference between revisions
Sundostund (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
|||
| (5 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
|native_name_lang = |
|native_name_lang = |
||
|honorific-suffix = |
|honorific-suffix = |
||
|image = Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, 71st and last Grand Master of the Hospitallers of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (French School, 18th-century).png |
|||
|image =Fra_Ferdinand_von_Hompesch_G.M._Palace.jpg |
|||
|imagesize = |
|imagesize = |
||
|smallimage = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.--> |
|smallimage = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.--> |
||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
|monarch = |
|monarch = |
||
|predecessor = [[Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc]] |
|predecessor = [[Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc]] |
||
|successor = [[Paul I of Russia]] ''(de |
|successor = [[Paul I of Russia]] ''(de iure ecclesiae)'' |
||
|birth_date = 9 November 1744 |
|birth_date = 9 November 1744 |
||
|birth_place = [[Zülpich|Bolheim]], [[Electorate of Cologne]], [[Holy Roman Empire]] |
|birth_place = [[Zülpich|Bolheim]], [[Electorate of Cologne]], [[Holy Roman Empire]] |
||
| Line 65: | Line 65: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
'''Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, O.S.I.''' (9 November 1744 – 12 May 1805) was the 71st [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]] of the [[Knights Hospitaller]], formally the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, by then better known as the Knights of Malta. He was the first [[ |
'''Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, O.S.I.''' (9 November 1744 – 12 May 1805) was the 71st [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]] of the [[Knights Hospitaller]], formally the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, by then better known as the Knights of Malta. He was the first [[Germans|German]] elected to the office. It was under his rule that the Order lost the island of [[Hospitaller Malta|Malta]] to [[First French Republic|France]], after ruling there since 1530. This effectively marked the end of their sovereignty over an independent state, dating from the time of the [[Crusades]]. |
||
==Life== |
==Life== |
||
===Early career=== |
===Early career=== |
||
Hompesch was born in the village of Bolheim, now part of the town of [[Zülpich]] in the [[Eifel]] region. He received the [[baptismal name]]s of '''Ferdinand Joseph Antoine Herman Louis'''. He was admitted to the Knights Hospitaller on 10 July 1761, at the age of 14. For this, he needed to obtain a [[dispensation (canon law)|dispensation]] from the [[Holy See]], serving as a [[page (occupation)|page]] to the [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]] [[Manuel Pinto da Fonseca]].<ref name="porter438">[[Whitworth Porter]], ''A History of the Knights of Malta'' (London: Longman, Brown, Green, 1858), v.2, 438.</ref> By 1768, he had been promoted to the rank of [[castellan]] |
Hompesch was born in the village of Bolheim, now part of the town of [[Zülpich]] in the [[Eifel]] region. He received the [[baptismal name]]s of '''Ferdinand Joseph Antoine Herman Louis'''. He was admitted to the Knights Hospitaller on 10 July 1761, at the age of 14. For this, he needed to obtain a [[dispensation (canon law)|dispensation]] from the [[Holy See]], serving as a [[page (occupation)|page]] to the [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Master]] [[Manuel Pinto da Fonseca]].<ref name="porter438">[[Whitworth Porter]], ''A History of the Knights of Malta'' (London: Longman, Brown, Green, 1858), v.2, 438.</ref> By 1768, he had been promoted to the rank of [[castellan]]. In 1770, he advanced to the rank of lieutenant, responsible for the inspection of ships and fortifications of the Order. In 1774 he was given responsibility for the island's [[munition]]s. |
||
In late 1775, Hompesch was appointed as the Order's ambassador at the court of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] in [[Vienna]], a post he held for the next 25 years. |
In late 1775, Hompesch was appointed as the Order's ambassador at the court of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] in [[Vienna]], a post he held for the next 25 years. In 1776, he was raised to the rank of Knight Grand Cross, making him a member of the Standing Council of the Order. During this period, he made efforts to re-unite the Protestant [[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)|Bailiwick of Brandenburg]] with the Order. These efforts were unsuccessful, largely due to the opposition of the German knights.<ref name="porter438" /> |
||
In the following years, he received charge of the [[Commandry (feudalism)|commandery]] in Rothenburg (1777), followed by those in [[Herford]] (1783), [[Basel]] and [[Dorlisheim]] (1785), Sulz, [[Colmar]] and [[Mülhausen]] (1786) as well as [[Villingen]], in the [[Black Forest]] (1796).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Galea|first1=Michael|title=A hamlet called Hompesch|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110724/life-features/A-hamlet-called-Hompesch.377250|access-date=11 October 2014|work=[[Times of Malta]]|date=24 July 2011}}</ref> He was appointed Grand [[Bailiff]] of the German [[Langue (Knights Hospitaller)|langue]], based in [[Brandenburg]], in 1796.<ref name="porter438" /> |
|||
[[File:Malta - Fgura-Zabbar - Hompesch Arch 06 ies.jpg|thumb|[[Hompesch Gate]] in the city of [[Żabbar]].]] |
[[File:Malta - Fgura-Zabbar - Hompesch Arch 06 ies.jpg|thumb|[[Hompesch Gate]] in the city of [[Żabbar]].]] |
||
| Line 78: | Line 80: | ||
===Loss of Malta=== |
===Loss of Malta=== |
||
In 1798, Hompesch was warned that the [[Mediterranean campaign of 1798|French fleet]] that was sailing to Egypt under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] intended to attack Malta as well. He disregarded the warning and took no action to reinforce the island's defenses.<ref>Porter, 443-444.</ref> On 6 June 1798, the advance squadron of the French fleet reached Malta. One ship was permitted to enter the harbour for repairs. On 9 June the main fleet arrived. The French commander Napoleon had a force of 29,000 men against Hompesch's 7,000. Bonaparte demanded free entrance to the harbour for the entire fleet with the rationale being to gain water provisions. Hompesch replied that only two ships at a time could do so. Napoleon saw it as a provocation and ordered the invasion of the Maltese Islands. |
In 1798, Hompesch was warned that the [[Mediterranean campaign of 1798|French fleet]] that was sailing to Egypt under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] intended to attack Malta as well. He disregarded the warning and took no action to reinforce the island's defenses.<ref>Porter, 443-444.</ref> On 6 June 1798, the advance squadron of the French fleet reached Malta. One ship was permitted to enter the harbour for repairs. On 9 June the main fleet arrived. |
||
The French commander Napoleon had a force of 29,000 men against Hompesch's 7,000. Bonaparte demanded free entrance to the harbour for the entire fleet with the rationale being to gain water provisions. Hompesch replied that only two ships at a time could do so. Napoleon saw it as a provocation and ordered the invasion of the Maltese Islands. |
|||
[[File:Hompesch Tari 1798 2070482.jpg|thumb |
[[File:Hompesch Tari 1798 2070482.jpg|thumb|290px|A 30 [[Tarì]] coin of Ferdinand, dated 1798.]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
On 10 June, the French fleet began disembarking.<ref>Porter, 445.</ref> The French forces were supported by a local insurrection of Maltese, many of whom wished to get rid of the Knights.<ref>Porter, 447.</ref> The rules of the Order prohibited fighting against fellow Christians and many of the French members of the Order did not want to fight against the French forces. Hompesch capitulated on 11 June. |
|||
| ⚫ | The following day a treaty was signed by which the Order handed over sovereignty of the island of Malta to the government of the [[French Directory]]. In return, the French Republic agreed to "employ all its credit at the [[Second Congress of Rastatt|Congress of Rastatt]] to procure a principality for the Grand Master, equivalent to the one he gives up".<ref>Porter, 451.</ref> Hompesch was also promised an annual [[pension]]. |
||
===Final years=== |
===Final years=== |
||
On 18 June 1798, Hompesch left Malta for [[Trieste]],<ref>Porter, 457.</ref> where he established a new headquarters for the Order. On 12 October he addressed a letter to foreign governments in which he protested against the taking of Malta by the French.<ref>Pierredon, I, 171.</ref> He published a second manifesto from Trieste on 23 October.<ref>Pierredon, I, 238.</ref> On 6 July 1799 he sent two letters, one to the Holy Roman Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]], the other to Emperor [[Paul I of Russia]], in which he abdicated as Grand Master.<ref>The full text of each letter is re-printed in Pierredon, I, 240-241.</ref> He sent no letter of abdication to the pope as required by [[canon law]], nor did the pope accept his abdication. He |
On 18 June 1798, Hompesch left Malta for [[Trieste]],<ref>Porter, 457.</ref> where he established a new headquarters for the Order. On 12 October he addressed a letter to foreign governments in which he protested against the taking of Malta by the French.<ref>Pierredon, I, 171.</ref> He published a second manifesto from Trieste on 23 October.<ref>Pierredon, I, 238.</ref> On 6 July 1799 he sent two letters, one to the Holy Roman Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]], the other to Emperor [[Paul I of Russia]], in which he abdicated as Grand Master.<ref>The full text of each letter is re-printed in Pierredon, I, 240-241.</ref> |
||
He sent no letter of abdication to the pope as required by [[canon law]], nor did the pope accept his abdication. He settled in [[Ljubljana]]. On 7 May 1801 and again on 20 September 1801, Hompesch declared that his 1799 letters of abdication had been written for him by the government of the Holy Roman Emperor, that he had been forced to sign them, and that therefore his abdication was invalid.<ref>Pierredon, I, 242.</ref> In 1804, he moved to [[Montpellier]] in France, where he died penniless one year later of asthma.<ref>Porter, 460.</ref> He is buried in the Church of Saint Eulalie in Montpellier.<ref>{{cite news|title=200° anniversary of the death of Grand Master von Hompesch |url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/news/39998/200-anniversary-of-the-death-of-grand-master-von-hompesch/?lang=en |access-date=11 October 2014 |work=Order of Malta |date=10 May 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020081109/http://www.orderofmalta.int/news/39998/200-anniversary-of-the-death-of-grand-master-von-hompesch/?lang=en |archive-date=20 October 2014 }}</ref> |
|||
== Notes == |
== Notes == |
||
| Line 113: | Line 122: | ||
[[Category:1805 deaths]] |
[[Category:1805 deaths]] |
||
[[Category:People from the Electorate of Cologne]] |
[[Category:People from the Electorate of Cologne]] |
||
[[Category:Grand |
[[Category:Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller]] |
||
[[Category:Knights of Malta]] |
[[Category:Knights of Malta]] |
||
[[Category:Deaths from asthma]] |
[[Category:Deaths from asthma]] |
||
Latest revision as of 02:45, 16 November 2024
His Most Eminent Highness, Fra Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, O.S.I. | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller | |
| In office 17 July 1797 – 6 July 1799 | |
| Preceded by | Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc |
| Succeeded by | Paul I of Russia (de iure ecclesiae) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 November 1744 Bolheim, Electorate of Cologne, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 12 May 1805 (aged 60) Montpellier, Hérault, First French Empire |
| Resting place | Montpellier, Hérault, France |
| Nationality | German |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Order of Saint John |
| Years of service | 1761–1799 |
| Rank | Grandmaster |
| Battles/wars | French invasion of Malta |
Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, O.S.I. (9 November 1744 – 12 May 1805) was the 71st Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, formally the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, by then better known as the Knights of Malta. He was the first German elected to the office. It was under his rule that the Order lost the island of Malta to France, after ruling there since 1530. This effectively marked the end of their sovereignty over an independent state, dating from the time of the Crusades.
Life
[edit]Early career
[edit]Hompesch was born in the village of Bolheim, now part of the town of Zülpich in the Eifel region. He received the baptismal names of Ferdinand Joseph Antoine Herman Louis. He was admitted to the Knights Hospitaller on 10 July 1761, at the age of 14. For this, he needed to obtain a dispensation from the Holy See, serving as a page to the Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca.[1] By 1768, he had been promoted to the rank of castellan. In 1770, he advanced to the rank of lieutenant, responsible for the inspection of ships and fortifications of the Order. In 1774 he was given responsibility for the island's munitions.
In late 1775, Hompesch was appointed as the Order's ambassador at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, a post he held for the next 25 years. In 1776, he was raised to the rank of Knight Grand Cross, making him a member of the Standing Council of the Order. During this period, he made efforts to re-unite the Protestant Bailiwick of Brandenburg with the Order. These efforts were unsuccessful, largely due to the opposition of the German knights.[1]
In the following years, he received charge of the commandery in Rothenburg (1777), followed by those in Herford (1783), Basel and Dorlisheim (1785), Sulz, Colmar and Mülhausen (1786) as well as Villingen, in the Black Forest (1796).[2] He was appointed Grand Bailiff of the German langue, based in Brandenburg, in 1796.[1]
On 17 July 1797 Hompesch was elected Grand Master, which made him a Prince of the Church. As Grand Master, he raised the towns of Żabbar, Żejtun and Siġġiewi to the status of cities.
Loss of Malta
[edit]In 1798, Hompesch was warned that the French fleet that was sailing to Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte intended to attack Malta as well. He disregarded the warning and took no action to reinforce the island's defenses.[3] On 6 June 1798, the advance squadron of the French fleet reached Malta. One ship was permitted to enter the harbour for repairs. On 9 June the main fleet arrived.
The French commander Napoleon had a force of 29,000 men against Hompesch's 7,000. Bonaparte demanded free entrance to the harbour for the entire fleet with the rationale being to gain water provisions. Hompesch replied that only two ships at a time could do so. Napoleon saw it as a provocation and ordered the invasion of the Maltese Islands.
On 10 June, the French fleet began disembarking.[4] The French forces were supported by a local insurrection of Maltese, many of whom wished to get rid of the Knights.[5] The rules of the Order prohibited fighting against fellow Christians and many of the French members of the Order did not want to fight against the French forces. Hompesch capitulated on 11 June.
The following day a treaty was signed by which the Order handed over sovereignty of the island of Malta to the government of the French Directory. In return, the French Republic agreed to "employ all its credit at the Congress of Rastatt to procure a principality for the Grand Master, equivalent to the one he gives up".[6] Hompesch was also promised an annual pension.
Final years
[edit]On 18 June 1798, Hompesch left Malta for Trieste,[7] where he established a new headquarters for the Order. On 12 October he addressed a letter to foreign governments in which he protested against the taking of Malta by the French.[8] He published a second manifesto from Trieste on 23 October.[9] On 6 July 1799 he sent two letters, one to the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, the other to Emperor Paul I of Russia, in which he abdicated as Grand Master.[10]
He sent no letter of abdication to the pope as required by canon law, nor did the pope accept his abdication. He settled in Ljubljana. On 7 May 1801 and again on 20 September 1801, Hompesch declared that his 1799 letters of abdication had been written for him by the government of the Holy Roman Emperor, that he had been forced to sign them, and that therefore his abdication was invalid.[11] In 1804, he moved to Montpellier in France, where he died penniless one year later of asthma.[12] He is buried in the Church of Saint Eulalie in Montpellier.[13]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Whitworth Porter, A History of the Knights of Malta (London: Longman, Brown, Green, 1858), v.2, 438.
- ^ Galea, Michael (24 July 2011). "A hamlet called Hompesch". Times of Malta. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ^ Porter, 443-444.
- ^ Porter, 445.
- ^ Porter, 447.
- ^ Porter, 451.
- ^ Porter, 457.
- ^ Pierredon, I, 171.
- ^ Pierredon, I, 238.
- ^ The full text of each letter is re-printed in Pierredon, I, 240-241.
- ^ Pierredon, I, 242.
- ^ Porter, 460.
- ^ "200° anniversary of the death of Grand Master von Hompesch". Order of Malta. 10 May 2005. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
Further reading
[edit]- Galea, Michael. Ferdinand von Hompesch, a German Grandmaster in Malta: A Monograph. Malta: Deutsche Gemeinde, 1976. There is an expanded version in German by Joseph A. Ebe, entitled Ferdinand Freiherr von Hompesch, 1744-1805: letzter Grossmeister des Johanniterordens/Malteserordens auf Malta (Paderborn: Melitensia, 1985, ISBN 3-9801071-1-6).
- Hompesch and Malta: A New Evaluation, edited by Maurice Eminyan. San Gwann, Malta: Enterprises Group, 1999. ISBN 99909-0-237-2.
- Ferdinand von Hompesch, der letzte Grossmeister auf Malta: Ausstellung im Maltesermuseum Mailberg. Mailberg: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Maltesermuseum Mailberg, 1985.
- Pierredon, Michel de. Histoire politique de l'Ordre souverain de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem (Ordre de Malte) de 1789 a 1955. 2eme ed. Paris: Scaldis, 1956-1963.
External links
[edit]- Bibliography
- Portraits of Grandmaster Fra Ferdinand Hompesch
- Coins of Grandmaster Ferdinand Hompesch
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
