Guillaume Caoursin is undoubtedly one of the most important writers of his times. Born in 1430 in Flanders to a family of Rhodian origin, Caoursin followed significant studies and is considered one of the most cultivated, brilliant, and clever persons living in Rhodos. He became a doctor of the University of Paris, and later appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Order. He carried out many diplomatic assignments, wrote the chronicle of the siege of 1480, encoded the laws of the Order and translated them in French.

In 1379, Grandmaster Juan Fernandez d’Héredia decides to have many ancient Greek philosophers – such as Plutarch – translated in the Aragonese language, and in 1510, Emery d’Amboise orders that the citizens of Rhodos should pay a fee in order to call “Magister scholarum” Matheus Laurus in Rhodos to teach their children Greek and Latin.

In the same period, visual arts, such as painting and sculpture flourish. The latter can be divided into three currents: west-european, Byzantine (Palaeologean, of poorer artistic value) and the “eclectic” which is mainly a combination of the two.

Conclusion

The Rhodians lived in a place open to all social, economic and artistic currents and their variations, during late-Gothic era to early Renaissance. Their society proves bold enough to accept and assimilate anything that seems of benefit and suits a multi-cultural European city.

The Battles

In 1453, Constantinople falls in the hands of the Ottomans and, as a result, the enemy in now constantly “ante portas”. The Grandmasters enforce the fortifications of the city, the ports and the country fortresses in the strongest way possible, gathering, at the same time, supplies in food and weapons.