Lord or Patron? The Cardinal Protector of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem from the Sixteenth to the Early Eighteenth Century

Abstract

Since the 13th century the cardinal protector was an important component of the mechanism governing the relationship between religious orders and the Holy See, although this figure has only partially been investigated in historical literature. His functions ranged from the resolution of conflicts among friars to general interventions in favour of monastic families’ interests and privileges. Over the centuries, the Hospital, too, engaged a number of cardinals to represent the Knights and the Convent in the Curia. There was a highly specific process by which these cardinals were appointed: through its reconstruction, and biographical research on some of the men who held the post, it is possible to achieve an understanding of the extent to which the Hospital followed similar mechanisms to those of other religious orders and how much, on the other hand, they laid claim to a unique independence.