Jean Parisot de la Valette (Gascon Jean de la Valette Parisot)

Description

Jean is a tall caucasian male with slightly curly light brown hair. He has handsom features but his face is unemotional. His weight is average for his height (6'2"). Jean's body conveys a sense of endurance rather than great strenght.

Biography

Born: 1494 into a noble Provencial family
Died: 1568 in Malta, buried in the capital city that bears his name
Education: received education common to most nobles plus education provided by the Order of St.John

Personality

He was described as a calm and unemotional man (although he wept at the plight of several trapped knights during the 'Great Siege'). la Valette was driven by an almost fanatical religious belief - his life being dedicated to the Knights of St.John. His year as a galley-slave shaped his strong will as well as giving him an incredible endurance and strenght.

Life Events

At the age of 20 he joined the Knights of St.John (of Jerusalem and Rhodes). He remained in the order until his death at the age of 74, never once having returned to his Provencal family home. His life was consumed by almost continous warfare with the 'infidel', the Ottoman Turks. During his long career with the Order of St.John la Valette occupied almost all of the important positions including Governor of Tripoli, General of the Fleet and finaly in 1557 Grand Master. As a captain of his own vessel la Valette excelled capturing many Turkish ships. During the siege of Rhodes, during which la Valette fought, the Knights were forced from their Aegean base. After a temporary stay in Rome the Knight Hospitaliers were granted the island of Malta by Phillip II of Spain in 1530. It was almost 30 years later when la Valette was to become Grand Master of the demoralised order. With the prospect of the Turks attacking their new home la Valette rebuilt the island's defenses (employing Michelangelo's assistant as the engineer). The Turks, under the rule of Suleyman 'the Magnificent', ruled an empire that extended from Baghdad to Budapest to Algiers, their main opponent in the Mediterranean were the Knights who hampered their shipping. A large fleet of over 180 main vessels left Constantinople in 1565 carrying 35,000 troops. la Valette had less than 9,000, under half of which were professional soldiers and only about 800 actual Knights. The 'Great Siege' lasted four months and saw the defeat of the Turks. Under the leadership of the 70 year old la Valette the Knights stopped the westward expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Between the period of the great siege and his death the new Maltese capital, Valetta, was built in honour of Jean de la Valette.

Skills

Personality Questions

Would your character prefer a game of chess or a game of football?
he would rather play chess
If your character found a wallet in the street, would they return it?
he would return the wallet (chivalrous)
Would your character be more likely to be the life of the party or to quietly observe the goings-on?
he would be the observer
Would your character be found on the top of a pyramid of people or on the bottom?
he is ambitious, but only to a certain extent, leader of a small loyal group.
Pretending to be your character, rank the following statements in order of truth. Leave out statements that are false about your character.
F. I always tell the truth
B. I am physically above average
A. Other people listen to what I say
C. I am clever with my hands