Translation of the text of the mausoleum of Raymond of Perillos in Malta

 

RAYMOND PERELLOS
Sixty-third Grand Master in Malta (1697-1720)

Thanks to one of our Spanishs correspondents, we received this Latin document, on the mausoleum of Raymond Perellos-Roccaful, in the Co-cathedral of St John, in the Maltese capital of Valetta. This church contains all the tombstones of the grandmasters of the order. But Ramon is buried elsewhere, as there is only a mausoleum in the chapel of the Aragon alliance. These are inscriptions found on it.

D.O.M.
EMINENTIS PRINCIPI FR. D. RAYMUNDO PERRELOS DE ROCCAFULL
CLARISSIMO GENERE NATO, ET VIRTUTUM SUFFRAGIO AD MAGNUM
MAGISTERIUM ERECTO: QUI OMNIBUS AEQUE CARUS, MAGNORUM ETIAM
PRINCIPUM PRAECONIIS COMMENDATUS ; ET PRAETER CAETERAS ANIMI
EGREGIAS DOTES, JUSTITIA PRAECIPUE ET CARITATE CONSPICUUS, MIRARI
AB OMNIBUS POTUIT, PARITER ET AMARI. APPRIME MUNNIFICUS,
NULLIUS MERITA SINE PREMIO DIMISIT : ERGA CHRISTI PAUPERES
SUMME MISERICORS EORUM CUSTOS VERIUS VOLUIT ESSE QUAM DICI.
ERGA DEUM ET SUPEROS VERE RELIGIOSUS, ASSIDUIS FUNDENDIS
PRECIBUS, TEMPLI PRETIOSA SUPELLECTILI, MINSITRIS INSIGNI HABITU
DECORANDIS MAGNOPERE INTENTUS, SUI PENE VISUS EST OBLIVISCI,
QUI DEMUM PORTU AEDIFICIIS ORNATO, ADDITIS PROPUGNACULIS, QUA-
TUOR NAVIBUS BELLICIS AUCTA CLASSE, MAGNA NON SEMEL PECUNIA-
VI IN COMMUNE BONUM ELARGITA, ITA UT SUUM EXHAUSISSE AERARIUM
CREDI POTUISSET. TER CONTENA AUREORUM MILLIA PUBLICI AERARII
RATIONIBUS INFERENDA, POST XXIII ANNOS OPTIMI PRINCIPATUS, PIE
MORIENS, RELIQUIT ; OBIIT DIE X JAN. M DCC XX AETAT. SUAE LXXXIV.

« D.O.M.
To the Most Eminent Prince, Brother Dom Raymond Perellos De Roccafull, born from a very illustrious family, and led to the Grand Magistry by his virtues: who, equally dear to ail, honoured and praised by the greatest Princes, and, besides the other best qualifies of his soul, he is chiefly remembered for his justice and his charity, he also knew how to be admired by ail. Very generous he never allowed any service without being rewarded. He preferred to be the true guardian of the poor of Merciful Christ rather than only carrying the name.
He seemed to forget himself entirely, full as he was, with a sincere Religions disposition towards God and the Saints, entirely dedicated in spreading among them continuous prayers, in adorning their temples with precious vases, their ministers with magnificent robes. After having embellished the entrance of edifices, enlarged the fortifications, increased the navy by four vessels; after having, more than once, given large sums of money for the general welfare, in such a way that one could have believed his personal treasury exhausted; he died piously after twenty-three years of a glorious reign and left three-hundred-thousand gold scudi to the public treasury. He died on January l0th, 1720 at the age of eighty-four.

We also received another document, on the life of Ramon de Perellos-Roccaful, describing his function as Grand Master of the order, from 1697 to 1720. The text reveals that he was a generous man, rightful, but at the same time hard when it came to warfare..

- - - - - - -

"Three days after the death of Wignacourt Raymond Perellos-Roccaful, an Aragonese Bailiff of Negroponte was elected Grand Master.
The sea hunt was continued in earnest and on October 8th, 1700, Maltese ships captured the Turkish vessel ‘El-Binghen’ and several others all loaded with precious goods.
In spite of all this, however, several Moslem vessels sneaked through the constant sea patrol of the Knights. The Turks landed in various parts of Sicily and captured several merchant ships.
The Grand Master, following the advice of Bailiff Zondadari, assembled several galleys and sent them in pursuit of the pirates.
These were attacked. During the battle they lost a large vessel armed with eighty guns which fell into the hands of the Order.
As the Grand Master wanted to increase his sea power he ordered the construction of three vessels: the ‘Saint-Raymond’, the ‘Saint-Joseph’ and the ‘Saint-Vincent’ which he paid for out of his own pocket.
Finally in 1706, the new ships went out to sea on their maiden cruise, met three Tunisian ships, captured one of them, and put to flight the two others. This ship was then added to the others with the new name of ‘Sainte-Croix’.
The Commander of Langon, nicknamed ‘the terror of the Moslems’ penetrated with his ship through an Algerian Fleet and succeeded in bringing food and ammunition to a Spanish garrison at Oran, which was then being besieged by the Turks.
In spite of ail this Oran fell to the Turks some years later and the Grand Master was so upset by this news that he fell so seriously ill as to ask for the last Sacraments.
Fortunately he recovered and resumed his activities.
Several landings at Gozo were attempted by the Moslems but they were all repulsed by the valiant Langon who lost his life during the third one.
Such a prosperity provoked the jealousy of the Viceroy of Sicily who stopped sending corn to Malta. The Knights, however, succeeded in buying their corn from the East.
Little by little the Inquisitor went so far as to order that the carriage of Perellos was to stop whenever and wherever that of the Inquisitor was met so as to give him precedence. He also violated the Sacra Infermeria, which the Grand Master himself only entered after having laid down his marshal’s baton at the entrance.
In the beginning of 1719 the Grand Master fell ill and overwhelmed with fatigue and his advanced age he could not overcome his illness. He died on January l0th, 1720, in his eighty-fourth year, after reigning for twenty-three years.
He was buried in the Chapel of Aragon, in the Conventual Church of St. John"