The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Ordo
Militaris et Hospitalis Sancti Lazari Hierosolymitani) is an order of
chivalry originally founded at a leper hospital after 1098 by the
crusaders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was established to treat
leprosy, its knights originally being lepers themselves.
The symbol of the Order is a green eight-pointed Maltese Cross. It is believed to have given rise to the use of the green cross as the universal symbol for retail pharmacies worldwide. The word lazarette, in some languages being synonymous with hospital, is believed to also be derived from the hospitaller Order of St Lazarus.
The symbol of the Order is a green eight-pointed Maltese Cross. It is believed to have given rise to the use of the green cross as the universal symbol for retail pharmacies worldwide. The word lazarette, in some languages being synonymous with hospital, is believed to also be derived from the hospitaller Order of St Lazarus.
