over a long periods of time, the popularity of certain symbols seems to rise and fall. Some even take on different meanings although their forms remain essentially the same. The Maltese cross is an excellent example of one of these types of symbols and one whose current popularity begins to eclipse its past uses. It takes its name from the island of Malta and, more specifically, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, better known as the Sovereign Order of Malta, an organization somewhat akin to the Red Cross but with medieval roots in both care for the sick and knighthood. The Order of St. John was founded in Jerusalem in 1099 by the armies of the First Crusade, beginning as a monastic community which was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, offering hospice and medical care to pilgrims in the Holy Land. Soon after however, they also undertook military functions for the protection of the sick and their newly won territory. It was Fra Raymond du Puy, the second head of the order, who introduced the white cross on a red field which even today is their emblem. That this particular cross was known elsewhere is evidenced by another 11th-century use