hospital

In the Middle Ages many monastic orders and orders of knighthood maintained hospitals for the sick. In the 12th century a separate order was formed to care for the sick in the Holy Land, this was the Saint Lazarus order. In Hungary they had about 1200 hospitals. The Order of the Temple was formed in the Holy Land to protect pilgrims. They wore a white apron with a red cross on it. The predecessor of the Order of Knighthood in Malta was the Johannite order, or the order of Crusaders. Their emblem was a white cross on either a black or a red apron or banner. The order had settled in several European countries in the 12th century. In Hungary their first hospital was set up during Géza II;s reign in Esztergom.

TI