Page 270 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

Medicine in the Crusader
Kingdom of Jerusalem

Eran Dolev

Around 1063, the Egyptian caliph allowed Italian merchants from Amalfi to open a hostel near
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christian pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. In around 1080,
Brother Gerard of the Benedictine Order was charged with running the hostel, which began
treating pilgrims in need of medical attention, providing shelter to passersby and medical
care for the needy. His guiding principle was “concern for the spiritual and bodily needs of
the patient; recovery would come from God.” Thus a hospice that was intended to provide
hospitality became a hospital and the “guests” became “patients.”

When the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem on 15 July 1099, they discovered the hospital, an
unknown institution in Europe at the time. Medical practices in the Holy Land were far superior
to those in Europe; the medical system in the Holy Land was an integral part of the medicine
practiced by the Muslims, who had inherited
methods from the Byzantines and from
classical Greek medicine, bringing them to new
heights. The constant intercultural exchanges
between the local population and the European
Crusaders, especially in the field of medicine,
resulted in an improved level of treatment.

Within the hospital, a unique Order of Knights
was established; its members served not only
as soldiers in the Kingdom of Jerusalem,
but also as medical caregivers dedicated to
treating all patients. The brotherhood was
given the name of the Order of St John (after

‫ צילום∫ רן ארדה‬Ʊ∏π∂ ¨‫אבירי ממלכת ירושלים הצלבנית¨ פרט מציור קיר בבית החולים הצרפתי סן לואי¨ ירושלים¨ הרוזן דה פיילא‬
Knights of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem; detail of a wall painting in the St Louis Hospital, Jerusalem by
Count de Piellat, 1896, photo: Ran Erde

Medicine in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem ■ 33e