Helen Nicholson is one of the leading scholars of medieval military religious orders. Her books are well known for providing new theories and insight into the history of the military orders, and The Knights Hospitaller is no exception. Though the nature of Dr. Nicholson's work is academic, and one that no scholar of the military orders should be without, her writing is uncluttered by jargon and un-translated items, making it accessible to all.
The Knights Hospitaller covers the history of the Order from its inception to the loss of Malta in 1798 and beyond to the standing of the Order in the present day. Dr. Nicholson does not look at this history in isolation, but rather sets the context for the Order's working by detailing pertinent events and mindsets over the course of the five hundred years of history the book covers. However, in doing so, the work raises some questions that are not answered by Dr. Nicholson. For instance, in discussing the Order's misty founding, Dr. Nicholson dismisses the claim made by William of Tyre that the Order was originally dedicated to St. John the Almoner, without really saying why or drawing any conclusions as to why William would have made this up. Though Dr. Nicholson seems to favor an Amalfian origin to the Order, there is no reason given not to believe that the Order was, at some point in its early days, dedicated to St. John the Almoner.
Despite a few missing answers, which may have been beyond the scope of the work, The Knights Hospitaller is an excellent introduction for anyone curious in learning more about medieval military orders. Dr. Nicholson has once again provided a book that is well worth the time taken to read it.
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