Jean Parisot de la Valette
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Jean Parisot de Valette (born in 1494[?] died in Malta, 21 August 1568) was born into a noble family in Quercy. He was a Knight of St. John all his adult life, joining the order in the Langue de Provence, and fought with distinction against the Turks at Rhodes. He became Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem on 21 August 1557.
Biography
Little is known about de Valette's early life. Universally referred to as "La Valette," he was never actually called that during his lifetime. (The mistake arose some decades after his death when people began to confuse him with the city named in his honor, "La Valletta.") Although his birth year is usually given as 1494, both chroniclers of the Great Siege of Malta, Francisco Balbi and Hipolito Sans, say he was 67 at the time, implying that he was born in 1498.
In 1538, while on Malta, de Valette was sentenced to four months in a guva (a hole in the ground) on Gozo for nearly beating a layman to death, and he was subsequently exiled to Tripoli for two years to serve as miltary governor. Upon his return he was punished again for bringing a nigro slave not libel for servitude. In 1554 de Valette was elected Captain General of the Order's galleys. In that capacity he won a name that stood conspicuous in that age of great sea captains. In 1557, upon the death of the Grand Master Claude de la Sengle, the Knights, mindful of the attack that was sure to come, elected La Valette to be Grand Master.
He fought to repulse the Turks at the Great Siege of Malta (1565) when he was already at an advanced age, perhaps the same age as his adversary Suleiman the Magnificent. As a result of the order's victory he gained much prestige in Europe, but he declined the offer of a cardinal's hat in order to maintain independence from the papacy. During the siege La Valette proved to be a severe, cold and resourceful commander. Passionately religious, devoted body and soul to his Order and faith, Jean de Valette was prepared to suffer all to the death rather than yield a foot to the hated infidel.
After the great siege, he commissioned the construction of the new city of Valletta in 1566, laying the first stone with his own hands. Valletta remains the Maltese capital to this day. He died peacefully in 1568 before the completion of the city. His tomb (in the form of a sarcophagus) can be found in the Crypt of the Co-Cathedral of St. John, situated within the walls of Valletta. The inscription on his tomb says: "He Was The Shield Of Europe."
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