Great was the honour and reverence in which these simple monks were held ever after by the Crusaders; for was it not common talk that these holy men had themselves subsisted on the coarsest and most repulsive fare in order that the food in the hospice should be both pure and abundant? Fired by this fine example of Christian charity, several noble gentlemen who had been tended in the hospice gave up the idea of returning to their own countries, and consecrated themselves to the Hospice of St. John, and to the service of the pilgrims, the poor, and the sick. Among these was Raimond Dupuy. The great Prince Godfrey de Bouillon fully approved of the steps taken by these gentlemen, and for his own part contributed to the upkeep of the hospice the seigneurie of Montbirre, with all its dependencies, which formed a part of his domain in Brabant. His example was widely copied by the Christian princes and great nobles among the Crusaders, who enriched the hospice with many lands and seigneuries, both in Palestine and in Europe. All these lands and properties were placed unreservedly in the hands of the saintly Gerard to do with as he would for the advancement of his work. In 1118 Gerard died in extreme old age; “he died in the arms of the brothers, almost without sickness, falling, as it may be said, like a fruit ripe for eternity.” The choice of the Hospitallers as his successor was Raimond Dupuy, a nobleman of illustrious descent from the Province of Dauphiny, and it is he who first held rule under the title of Grand Master. In all charity and loving kindness the life of Gerard had been passed, the brethren of St. John occupying themselves merely in tending the sick, in helping the poor and the pilgrims; but Raimond Dupuy was a soldier of the Cross, and he laid before the Order a scheme by which, from among the members thereof, a military corps should be formed, vowed to a perpetual crusade against the Infidel. This, in full conclave, was carried by acclamation, and the most remarkable body of religious warriors that the world has ever seen then came existence.