Blessed Raymond du Puy de Provence

Raymond du Puy (c. 1083–1160) was a knight from Dauphiné then in the Holy Roman Empire and the second master of the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, from around 1121 until 1160. Officially, he succeeded Blessed Gerard, the founder of the Order, as master. While traditionally cited as the direct successor upon Gerard's death in 1118 or 1120, his assumption of the magisterium was in 1121 or 1123 after one or two interim superiors, Pierre de Barcelona and Boyant Roger. Raymond divided the membership of the Order into clerical, military, and serving brothers and established the first significant Hospitaller infirmary near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Information on Hospitaller activity during Raymond's early years as Grand Master is limited and in those years, the Hospitaller were dedicated to a social mission. The first mention of their assuming a more militant role is related to the Crusader castle built at Bethgibelin, erected by Fulk of Jerusalem in 1135 as part of a string of fortifications to protect the kingdom. It commanded the road from Ascalon to Hebron, and in 1136, the king donated the castle to the Order for them to see to its operation and maintenance. It was under Raymond that the Order took on a more military character. An act of 17 January 1126 gives us the name of a constable of the Hospitallers, a certain Durand, who seems to have military responsibilities. Nineteenth-century depictions also show Raymond in battle as early as 1130 (see Representations below). From 1137 onwards, the Order appeared in the wars that the troops of the kingdom of Jerusalem waged against the Muslims. Attacked from all sides, the kingdom of Jerusalem could hardly stand up to its enemies. Ascalon, because of its position on the seashore on the way to Egypt, was a permanent danger for the Christians, and the enemy made continuous incursions into the southern part of the kingdom.