Respondió dignamente la Orden que reconocida como Estado por todas las naciones cristianas y por los soldanes turcos, sólo dependía de la Santa Sede; que el Gran Maestre jamás la haría tributaria ni súbdita de nadie, y que la religión de Rodas estaba no por mujeres, sino por hombres que temían á Dios y sabían llevar la espada.[73] [73] _La Soberana Orden militar de San Juan de Jerusalem ó de Malta, por un Caballero de la Orden_, Madrid, 1899; p. 31. This peril that was ever threatening Rhodes may have suggested to Martorell that it would offer a favorable field for the exploits of Tirant. And we are inclined to believe that the siege of Rhodes conducted by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444, is the real historical event upon which Tirant’s relief expedition is based. Some time prior to that date the Grand Master de Lastic, being aware of the fact that the sultan was planning to make a supreme effort to capture Rhodes, sent ambassadors to most of the rulers in Europe to implore help, but, like the King of France in _Tirant lo Blanch_, they did not respond. The attack on Rhodes was made in the month of August, 1444. Let us quote Vertot’s version of the event. Une flotte considérable du Sultan parut de nouveau à la hauteur de l’Isle de Rhodes, et y débarqua dix-huit mille hommes d’infanterie, sans compter un gros corps de cavalerie et de Mamelus, qui faisoient la principale force des Egyptiens. Ces Barbares sans s’arrêter à aucune des Places de l’Isle, marchèrent droit à la Capitale, et l’assiegèrent, pendant que leur flotte tenoit la mer pour le port et empêcha qu’on n’y jettât du secours.[74] [74] _Op. cit._, pp. 214 and 215. There are no details of this siege on record. Vertot deplores this fact, but he consoles himself by saying: “Ces Chevaliers sçavoient mieux se servir de leur épée que d’une plume.” However, the records give the general information that the siege lasted forty days; that the fortifications were bombarded by many pieces of heavy artillery; that many assaults were made which were always repulsed; and that, after having lost the greater part of his men, the Saracen commander gave orders to raise the siege. In the discussion of the relation between Muntaner’s _Chronica_ and _Tirant lo Blanch_, we have intimated that Tirant’s landing at the castle of Rhodes was copied in a general way from Roger de Flor’s successful attempt to bring relief to the besieged city of Messina. In the analysis we have remarked that Tirant waited at the castle of Saint Peter for favorable weather conditions to run the blockade. This castle was built on the shores of Asia Minor, in or about the year 1402, under the direction of the Grand Master de Naillac; consequently the date of the siege of Rhodes in _Tirant lo Blanch_ cannot be assigned to a period before that year. CHAPTER IV TIRANT JOINS THE EXPEDITION OF THE KING OF FRANCE AGAINST THE INFIDELS