Fra' Claude de la Sengle (1494 – 18 August 1557) was the 48th Grand Master of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

, from 1553 to his death in 1557. His successor was Fra' Jean Parisot de Valette. A native Frenchman, Sengle, then

Bailli A bailiff (, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his bailiwick ...

of the French langue of the Order, was heavily involved in the battles of the Knights in the Mediterranean and in North Africa against the Ottoman corsairs led by admiral Turgut Reis, and particularly in the struggles for Djerba and Tripoli. Isla coa

Sengle had considerable impact on the military strengthening of Malta, notably by initiating in 1554 the development of the city of

Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...

, which was later named after him and uses his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. He also expanded Fort Saint Michael into a major bastion and completed

Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo () is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort Tigné and Fort Ri ...

, which had been begun by his predecessor, Grand Master Juan de Homedes y Coscon. Later on, Charles V wanted to grant Mehdia to the Order, but the commission that was set up decided that it would be too expensive to maintain. Therefore, Charles V ordered the Viceroy of Sicily, Juan de Vega, to destroy it to prevent Muslim occupation. Vega did burn Mehdia, but he retaliated against Malta for not accepting the city and prohibited exportation of wheat to the island. To combat this, Sengle brought the engineer Vincenzo Vogo to Malta to upgrade the mills so that the population would not starve. The Valletta tornado probably occurred during Sengle's reign in 1555 or 1556, although some sources say that it occurred in 1551. According to some sources, four galleys named ''Santa Fè'', ''San Michele'', ''San Filippo'', and ''San Claudio'' capsized in the tornado and help arrived from abroad for the Order to acquire new galleys to replace them. In 1557, Prior François de Lorena commanded five of the Order's galleys and they engaged a Muslim fleet off

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. They were defeated, and many people died. The remaining galleys arrived at the

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour (; ), also known as the Port of Marsa, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, and fortifications. Description The h ...

on 17 June, and Sengle and many others wept when they heard about the loss of loved ones. After this defeat, Sengle's health deteriorated, and he retreated to Boschetto. He died on 18 August 1557 at

Mdina Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...

and was buried in the Chapel of St Anne within Fort St. Angelo. His heart was buried in the Church of the Annunciation, outside Rabat. Later in the 16th century his remains were moved to the crypt of St. John's Co-Cathedral in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

References

External links

Coins of Grandmaster Claude de la Sengle
at coinsofmalta.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sengle, Claude de la Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller 1494 births 1557 deaths Knights of Malta 16th-century French people Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral