288 - VERTOT, Abbé. History of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem.

VERTOT, Abbé. History of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem. A reference work on the Knights of Malta by Abbé Vertot. Paris: Published by Babuty, 1772. In-12 (16.5 x 9.5 cm), marbled tan sheepskin, ribbed spine decorated with gilded panels and fleurons. Marbled edges. Contemporary binding. 7 vols. (of 7), uncollated. Cracks at the ends of the jaws; losses on several cap covers. Rare foxing. This is the most complete new edition, as it has been expanded by two volumes compared to the original in-12 edition in five volumes (1726, the same year as the four-volume in-4 edition). In addition to the history of the Order up to the year 1725, it contains a Treatise on the Government of the Order, a dissertation on two historians, and a discourse on the Alcoran (Qur’an) (vol. 5). Volume 6 is entirely devoted to the statutes of the Order. Volume 7 contains the names of all the knights, arranged by region of origin and language, along with a description of their coats of arms. A treatise on the history of the Knights of Malta from the founding of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem at the end of the 11th century until the appointment, in 1722, of Antoine Manoel de Villhena, the 65th Grand Master of the Order, to whom the work is dedicated. Undoubtedly the historian’s most famous and finest work on a highly sought-after subject; this work was written at the request of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, which wished to highlight its chivalric annals. Abbé Vertot achieved success with his very first work, which Madame de Sévigné and Bouhours praised for its style, and this success, which he enjoyed everywhere, never waned. Thus, the Order of Jerusalem, which was seeking a historiographer, turned to him in his old age. The work was published in 1726, when the author was already ill and frail. The work is notable for its imaginative and stylistic qualities, tempered by more in-depth research than in the author’s previous works. The book also serves as a history of the Crusades.