, gave the
Knights a powerful protector. He assigned Viterbo as a residence for
the Order till a permanent home had been discovered.

Villiers de L'Isle Adam, Grand Master of the Order, was faced with
many difficulties. Remembering the fate of the Templars, he was afraid
that the Order would disperse, and its present helpless condition was
surely tending to disintegration. At this time the war between Charles
V. and Francis I. was at its height, and the quarrel between France
and Spain was reflected within the ranks of the Hospitallers. As the
French and Spanish Knights formed the greater part of the members, the
unity of the Order was threatened by the quarrels between them
that arose out of national sentiment. The Reformation was rapidly
spreading, and was likely to prove dangerous to the lands of the Order
in Northern Europe, and various monarchs were meditating the seizure
of the Hospitallers' estates now that the Order was temporarily
without a justification for its existence.

The Grand Master showed himself a skilful diplomat, as well as a brave
soldier. From 1523 to 1530 the Order remained without a home, while
L'Isle Adam visited the different European courts to stay the grasping
hands of the various Kings. All this time negotiations were proceeding
between Charles V. and the Knights for the cession of Malta. The
harsh conditions which the Emperor insisted upon in his offer made
the Knights reluctant to accept, while his preoccupation with the war
against France made negotiations difficult. Further, the cause of
the Knights had been damaged when the Pope--who had acted as their
intercessor--joined the ranks of Charles's enemies, and Clement
VII. was now a prisoner in the Emperor's hands. In March, 1530, an
agreement was finally arrived at, which was the most favourable
the Emperor would grant. One harassing burden the Knights could not
escape: Charles insisted that Tripoli must go with Malta, a gift which
meant a useless drain upon their weak resources, and which fell
in 1551 to Dragut-Reis and the Turkish forces at the first serious
attack. L'Isle Adam had insisted that he could not take the island
over as a feudatory to the King of Spain, as that was contrary to the
fundamental idea of the Order--its impartiality in its relations to
all the Christian Powers. The only condition of service, therefore,
that was made was nominal: the Grand Master henceforth was to send, on
All Souls' Day, a falcon to the Vicero