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Description: | It was very important for the future career of a Knight to be accepted into the Order at as early an age as possible, since seniority (which depended on the date of profession) was one of the qualifications taken into account for promotion to high-ranking positions. The usual age of enrolment was sixteen and young Knights could start their novitiate in the convent before their twenty-first birthday, however, there were ways of enrolling as a Page even earlier; at twelve, or even at birth, by permission of the Chapter General, Papal dispensation, or through sheer nepotism, though enrolling as a Page or 'under age' meant paying at least double the usual fees. Different to members enrolled at a minor age, Pages resided in Malta under the supervision of the Conventual Chaplain, though they were allowed to return home for a short break on their fifteenth birthday. Despite this, it was still enormously popular to enrol as a Page, since it was a short cut to seniority; Pages could take their profession at sixteen, while other novices could take it only at eighteen. Grand Masters originally had eight Pages, but by 1631 could have sixteen, this number eventually rising to twenty-four. Pages and Knights of Minority wore a smaller cross than professed Knights. | Subjects: | portrait (Page of a Grand Master) | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: French School Æ Attributed to | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8603... | Go to resource |
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