The entrance to the Muristan, a neighborhood inside the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. The term muristan is based on the Persian word for “hospital.” The remains of the Crusader complex were found here. Note the silver dome of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint John the Baptist up the street.
A public hospital once stood near the place where Jesus was crucified. It offered free care to all, staffed by salaried medical professionals who conducted morning and evening rounds. Patients were roomed by sickness, severity, and sex. In addition to eleven wards, the four-acre complex housed an onsite library, orphanage, school, stable, and even an ambulance service. One Muslim eyewitness described the facility as “very beautiful.”*
A German pilgrim visiting during the Crusader period noted that 2,000 people were treated daily in this state-of-the-art facility. The ill were served by men and women of a Christian order sworn to poverty and chastity. They operated under a profound ethos: that the suffering—including Jews and Muslims—should be regarded as Christ himself. They were the Knights Hospitallers, or the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem.**
Over two centuries of conflict (1098–1291), the order’s original mission of healing became increasingly obscured by militancy. Measured in deeds alone, it is often difficult to distinguish the “benevolent” Hospitallers from their more bellicose brethren, the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights.
The east window at St Andrew's at Temple Grafton, England, depicts the medieval orders of the Knights Templars (center left) and Hospitallers (center right). On the far left, a knight hosts a pilgrim with Jacobian hat, staff and gourd. On the far right, knights tend to the sick. This stained glass art is the work of Frederick Preedy and dates to 1875. This is a detail of an image posted here (accessed 11/26/2021).
The Hospitallers in Hispānia
When the stronghold of Acre (known in Spanish as San Juan de Acre) fell in 1291, the Crusades in the Levant effectively ended. The Hospitallers fled, but their mission continued in Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, and Iberia (Spain).
In Iberia, the order had received extensive land grants along the Camino Francés, which served as a de facto boundary between Christian and Muslim Spain. These estates were used to recruit men and raise resources—especially horses—for the international effort. Managing these properties meant that members of the Hospitallers were as likely to be found on estates as they were in castles, churches, or hospitals.*** With their vast wealth and legal immunity (accountable only to the Pope), the Hospitallers became a challenge for the Spanish crown to manage, though never quite the headache the Templars proved to be.
Hospitaller commanderies in Europe, ca. 1300. A commanderie is the basic unit of the order. Note the concentration of sites in NE Spain circled in green. Detail of image from here (accessed 11/27/2021).
The Ruins of San Juan de Acre
Bob and I followed the marked trail around the reservoir of La Grajera. It was a lovely path. My new walking stick struck the ground rhythmically, tink—tink—tink. We mounted a rise and were treated to a vista of well-tended vineyards with folds of blue-green hills beyond.
We passed through the planted rows and followed a bridge over a modern highway. Just beyond, the knob occupied by the village of Navarrete swelled.
Approaching the knob of Navarrete. The province of La Rioja is famous for its wine.
My stomach reminded me of the need for a breakfast more serious than the bread and coffee of our Logroño hostel. The red roofs of Navarrete looked promising.
I was still thinking about flakey tapas when two structures caught my eye.
The first was a winery—Bodegas Corral—a regular stop on regional tasting tours. Many of the grapes from the surrounding fields undoubtedly met their fate here. It’s big wine country.
The second was a set of ruins in the grassy field fronting the winery. The wall stubs were low-slung. Recent restoration efforts were obvious.
These low-slung wall stubs were all that remained of another hospital complex associated with the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, or the Knights Hospitallers. Even the name itself was evocative. San Juan de Acre was the name given by Spanish-speaking Christians to coastal Acre, the last Crusader stop on their exit from the Heartland in 1291. The name was stuck to this place as well.
The remains of the church as it appears today. The winery stands behind. That’s the front door (opening) on the right.
A Portal Preserved
The hospital is long gone, and only the foundations of the chapel remain. Built around 1185, the ruins show a transition from Romanesque to Gothic styles. The footprint is a semi-octagonal Greek cross, and archaeologists believe a spindle staircase in the corner once led directly into the adjoining hospital.****
This Spanish hospital stood for nearly 500 years (12th–16th century), founded—according to a 1568 report by María Ramirez—to care for peregrinos. The difference was that these pilgrims were not bound for Jerusalem, but for Santiago de Compostela. This site gives testimony to the ongoing ministry of the Knights Hospitallers and to the memory of their Holy Land experience.
Left: Plan made at the end of the first season of digging in 1990. Image from “La Iglesia del Hospital de San Juan Acre (Navarette) by M.P.P. Mayoral (see below). Right: painting of the structure by Valentín Carderera as it appeared in 1865. The image on the right is from here (accessed 11/29/2021).
The chapel stood as late as 1865, but in a dangerous state of collapse, it was eventually demolished. However, before it was erased, its magnificent portal and windows were moved to the nearby Navarrete cemetery, where they now serve as a noble entrance.
Bob and I took our pictures, then headed into the red-roofed village to find that second breakfast.
¡Buen Camino!
The rebuilt chapel façade is used today as a cemetery portal. Note the repeating ornamental arch-bands or archivolts. Image by Carmelo Peciña as posted here (accessed 11/29/2021).
*For more on the remains of this Jerusalem institution see the article here (accessed 11/27/2021). For an introduction to the medical care offered in this place, see the article here (accessed 11/27/2021).
**An excellent treatment of the Hospitallers in the Heartland is found in the work by J. Riley-Smith, The Knights Hospitaller in the Levant, c. 1070-1309. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
***Anthony Luttrell “The Aragonese Crown and the Knights Hospitallers of Rhodes: 1291-1350.” Pages 1-19 in The English Historical Review 76/298 (Jan 1961).
****A preliminary report of the archaeological work was published by María del Pilar Pascual Mayoral, “La Iglesia del Hospital de San Juan Acre (Navarrete).” Pp. 275-278 in II Semana de Estudios Medievales (1992).
We have a full slate of Bible Land trips ready to launch in 2022. Check out a complete list by clicking here or peruse under the heading “Find your Trip.” For more information on how to join one of these trips or if you are interested in helping to craft a unique trip for your own group, church, or school, contact me at markziese@gmail.com.