Fra' Jean l'Evesque de la Cassière (1502 – 21 December 1581) was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1572 to 1581. He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order (now Saint John's Co-Cathedral) in Valletta, Malta, and is buried in its crypt.
La Cassière had earned acclaim for his bravery in the battle of Zoara in Northern Africa where he had saved the colours of the Order. He was Grand Prior of the Order's Langue of Auvergne when he was elected on 30 January 1572 to succeed Pierre de Monte as Grand Master.
The early years of his reign as Grand Master were marked by numerous disputes and quarrels between the Order and Bishop of Malta Martín Royas de Portalrubio over the latter's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. These disputes were unprecedented in the history of the Order since it had arrived in Malta in 1530 with a grant of virtual sovereignty from Emperor Charles V. La Cassière was unable to resolve the matter, which was finally submitted to Pope Gregory XIII who in turn appointed Pietro Dusina as Inquisitor, a step that La Cassière initially supported but later ended up causing resentment within the Order.[1]
A second major conflict arose in 1575 with the Republic of Venice, when Hospitaller galleys seized a Venetian ship that carried goods for Jewish owners. Venice was outraged, and the Order soon faced the threat of having all of its property on Venetian territory confiscated. Again it required the intervention of the Pope, as well as the payment by La Cassière of complete compensation, to resolve the dispute. And again, there was much discontent among the knights over this perceived rebuke to their assumed right to confiscate any property of non-Christians.
The third and most serious cause of discord within the Order during La Cassière's rule was triggered by King Philip II of Spain who managed to arrange the appointment of one of his close relatives, 17-year-old Archduke Wenzel (Wenceslaus) of Austria (son of Emperor Maximilan II, Philip's cousin), to the Grand Priory of Castile and Leon and the Bailiwick of Lora. Outraged by the king's interference, the Castilian knights of the Order openly rebelled against this appointment. In response, the Pope ordered them to apologize publicly before the Grand Master and the General Convent for this insubordination.
These events further fuelled resentment within the Order and the General Convent against La Cassière, who was widely perceived to be the cause of these problems and humiliations. It eventually broke into virtual mutiny on 11 July 1581, when the Convent deposed La Cassière and placed him in confinement in Fort St. Angelo. This meant that Mathurin Romegas, former Grand Prior of Toulouse and the Order's most celebrated naval hero, who had been elected Lieutenant to the Grand Master in 1577, was now the de facto Grand Master.[2]
The Pope immediately sent a special envoy, Gaspare Visconti, to investigate and, simultaneously, to administer the Order until the dispute could be settled. La Cassière and Romegas were both summoned to Rome to explain their conduct and plead their case. La Cassière arrived in Rome on 26 October 1581 and, on orders of Pope Gregory XIII, was treated with much deference and ceremony. By contrast, Romegas was treated with extreme coldness and much disdain. He died, alone and with broken spirit, within a week, on 4 November 1581. La Cassière was honorably acquitted of all charges against him and restored to the position of Grand Master. He did not live long enough, however, to enjoy his triumph, dying in Rome on 21 December 1581 at the age of seventy-eight. His body was transferred to Malta and buried in St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.[3]
Literatureedit
Jean de la Cassière and the Battle of Zoara are featured in Falcon's Shadow: A Novel of the Knights of Malta by Marthese Fenech (BDL Publishing, 2020, ISBN978-9918210442) the second novel in Fenech's Siege of Malta trilogy.
Referencesedit
^Grima, Joseph F. (2 August 2020). . Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 14 September 2020.
^Dandria, David (19 June 2011). "An eventful year for the Order of St John in Malta". Times of Malta. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
^Dandria, David (26 June 2011). "1581 affair ended by death, diplomacy". Times of Malta. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
External linksedit
Coins of Grand Master Jean de la Cassière 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
jean, cassière, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jean de la Cassiere news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Fra Jean l Evesque de la Cassiere 1502 21 December 1581 was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta from 1572 to 1581 He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order now Saint John s Co Cathedral in Valletta Malta and is buried in its crypt Jean de la CassiereGrand Master of the Order of Saint JohnIn office 30 January 1572 11 July 1581MonarchKing Philip IPreceded byPietro del MonteSucceeded byMathurin Romegas de facto In office October 21 December 1581Preceded byMathurin Romegas de facto Succeeded byHugues Loubenx de VerdallePersonal detailsBorn1502Auvergne FranceDied21 December 1581Rome Papal StatesResting placeSt John s Co CathedralMilitary serviceAllegianceOrder of Saint JohnBattles warsGreat Siege of Malta La Cassiere s coat of arms La Cassiere had earned acclaim for his bravery in the battle of Zoara in Northern Africa where he had saved the colours of the Order He was Grand Prior of the Order s Langue of Auvergne when he was elected on 30 January 1572 to succeed Pierre de Monte as Grand Master The early years of his reign as Grand Master were marked by numerous disputes and quarrels between the Order and Bishop of Malta Martin Royas de Portalrubio over the latter s ecclesiastical jurisdiction These disputes were unprecedented in the history of the Order since it had arrived in Malta in 1530 with a grant of virtual sovereignty from Emperor Charles V La Cassiere was unable to resolve the matter which was finally submitted to Pope Gregory XIII who in turn appointed Pietro Dusina as Inquisitor a step that La Cassiere initially supported but later ended up causing resentment within the Order 1 A second major conflict arose in 1575 with the Republic of Venice when Hospitaller galleys seized a Venetian ship that carried goods for Jewish owners Venice was outraged and the Order soon faced the threat of having all of its property on Venetian territory confiscated Again it required the intervention of the Pope as well as the payment by La Cassiere of complete compensation to resolve the dispute And again there was much discontent among the knights over this perceived rebuke to their assumed right to confiscate any property of non Christians The third and most serious cause of discord within the Order during La Cassiere s rule was triggered by King Philip II of Spain who managed to arrange the appointment of one of his close relatives 17 year old Archduke Wenzel Wenceslaus of Austria son of Emperor Maximilan II Philip s cousin to the Grand Priory of Castile and Leon and the Bailiwick of Lora Outraged by the king s interference the Castilian knights of the Order openly rebelled against this appointment In response the Pope ordered them to apologize publicly before the Grand Master and the General Convent for this insubordination These events further fuelled resentment within the Order and the General Convent against La Cassiere who was widely perceived to be the cause of these problems and humiliations It eventually broke into virtual mutiny on 11 July 1581 when the Convent deposed La Cassiere and placed him in confinement in Fort St Angelo This meant that Mathurin Romegas former Grand Prior of Toulouse and the Order s most celebrated naval hero who had been elected Lieutenant to the Grand Master in 1577 was now the de facto Grand Master 2 The Pope immediately sent a special envoy Gaspare Visconti to investigate and simultaneously to administer the Order until the dispute could be settled La Cassiere and Romegas were both summoned to Rome to explain their conduct and plead their case La Cassiere arrived in Rome on 26 October 1581 and on orders of Pope Gregory XIII was treated with much deference and ceremony By contrast Romegas was treated with extreme coldness and much disdain He died alone and with broken spirit within a week on 4 November 1581 La Cassiere was honorably acquitted of all charges against him and restored to the position of Grand Master He did not live long enough however to enjoy his triumph dying in Rome on 21 December 1581 at the age of seventy eight His body was transferred to Malta and buried in St John s Co Cathedral in Valletta 3 Literature editJean de la Cassiere and the Battle of Zoara are featured in Falcon s Shadow A Novel of the Knights of Malta by Marthese Fenech BDL Publishing 2020 ISBN 978 9918210442 the second novel in Fenech s Siege of Malta trilogy References edit Grima Joseph F 2 August 2020 It happened in August Mgr Pietro Dusina s arrival in Malta in 1574 Times of Malta Archived from the original on 14 September 2020 Dandria David 19 June 2011 An eventful year for the Order of St John in Malta Times of Malta Retrieved 19 November 2014 Dandria David 26 June 2011 1581 affair ended by death diplomacy Times of Malta Retrieved 19 November 2014 External links editCoins of Grand Master Jean de la Cassiere Archived 2014 11 05 at the Wayback Machine Preceded byPierre de Monte Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller1572 1581 Succeeded byHugues Loubenx de Verdalle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean de la Cassiere amp oldid 1173669346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
