Of these there were eight--Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Germany, England, Aragon, and Castile and Portugal.

The French element was by far the strongest.

The Order had been founded in that country, and as it possessed no less than three langues, and held the greater part of the high official positions in the Order, it was only kept in check by the other langues acting together to demand their fair share of dignities.

The grand master's authority was considerable, but it was checked by the council, which was composed of the bailiffs and knights of the highest order, known as Grand Crosses.

Each langue had its bailiff elected by itself: these resided constantly at Rhodes.