ABSTRACT
Two manuscripts have come to light which relate to the hospital of St John in Jerusalem in the 1180s, one a version in Old French of the statutes of Roger des Moulins, the other a description by a pilgrim who was treated in the hospital. Nevertheless, an understanding of the doctors' role is crucial to defining the nature and function of the hospital in the later twelfth century. Amalfitan merchants founded the hospital in the eleventh century and there were continued links with southern Italy. The typikon is unique in the detailed information it gives about the organization of the great hospital founded by Emperor John Comnenus and his empress Irene of Hungary. An essential difference between the Jerusalem hospital and possible Eastern models is that they were conceived and established according to a plan, while it evolved in response to a unique set of circumstances.
