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Dieudonné de Gozon

1346-1353

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Brief Biography

Dieudonné de Gozon, from Languedoc in France, governed the Knights of Rhodes from 1346 to 1353.

Sources: Order of Malta: The Grand Masters; Wikipedia: Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller. Further reading.

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Life and service to the Order

The Order aided the Armenian kingdom during his tenure. The famous story that he slew a dragon on Rhodes is a later legend, not an established historical event.

Rhodes provided the Order with a new island headquarters after its departure from the Holy Land. Its masters balanced hospitaller service, maritime defence and the government of a fortified Mediterranean state.

Historical context: Order of Malta, The Grand Masters; History of the Order.