 |
|
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Grand Master of theOrder of St. John of Jerusalem, born 1423; died 1503. He made his first campaigns against theTurks, and fought next under the French Dauphin in awar against theSwiss (1444). It was on his return from this last expedition that he obtained from Charles VII permission to join theHospitallers. The year 1460 found him Castellan ofRhodes, and he soon after became captain-general of the city, which had been the seat of the order since 1309, and was now the chief obstacle to Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean. Mahomet II therefore resolved to subdue it. D'Aubusson, who had been raised (1476) to the Grand Mastership, foresaw the sultan's design, and lost no time in making what preparations he could for the defense. A letter to the houses of his order brought him whatever men and money they could spare. Additional sums came fromSixtus IV and Louis XI, together with some of the bravest soldiers ofItaly andFrance. Yet with all his exertions he was able to muster no more than 450knights and 2,000 auxiliaries. TheTurkish armament, which appeared before Rhodes 23 May, 1480, was overwhelmingly superior in numbers, and was furnished with the best artillery then obtainable. But the example of d'Aubusson's good right arm, and his omnipresence, made heroes of all the defenders. After three months of almost incessant fighting, which cost him 25,000 of his best warriors, theTurkish commander was forced to raise the siege. For this brilliant achievement d'Aubusson received acardinal's hat, and was revered by allChristendom as "the Shield of theChurch." In his subsequent efforts to form a league that would drive theTurks from Constantinople, he failed.
BOUHOURS, Histoire de Pierre d'Aubusson (Paris, 1676; 3d ed., Hague, 1739; tr., London, 1679); MARULLI, Lives of the Grand-Masters . . . of St. John . . . (Naples, 1636); FLANDRIN, History of the Knights of Rhodes (Paris, 1876).
APA citation.Vuibert, A.(1907).Pierre d'Aubusson. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02067b.htm
MLA citation.Vuibert, Arsenius."Pierre d'Aubusson."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 2.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1907.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02067b.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Dick Meissner.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmasterat newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.