THE HOUSES IN FRANCE were the biggest and richest the Hospitallers had in Europe. St. Gilles was the first priory to be constituted, at the beginning of the twelfth century. By the middle of the century it controlled a vast area extending from Aragon and Catalonia in the south to the low countries in the north. It seems also to have administered the Order's estates in England. St. Gilles' intensive expansion made it necessary to divide the priory into smaller administrative units. Although it would remain the most important priory in the Order's provincial structure, the Hospitallers created new priories in the Iberian peninsula, England, Italy and eastern Europe in the second half of the twelfth century. In the area that today is northern France and Belgium, they established in 1179 the priory of France. During the first half of the thirteenth century they erected a third priory in France, that of Auvergne, which was responsible for the area of the Massif Central. This chapter studies the economic activities of the priories of St. Gilles, France, and Auvergne, from 1187 to 1274, giving an indication of the Order's reaction to crises in the Latin East.

1188–1200: The Aftermath of Hattin

A signif icant change in the attitude of French priories to land and property after Hattin suggests that they were aware of the critical situation in the Holy Land and consequently tried to raise money and goods to be sent eastwards.