Modern Indo-European project introduced to country I didn't even know existed

Monday, June 16, 2008

Flags of Knights Hospitaller in St. Peter's Castle, Bodrum, Turkey   (from left to right : Fabrizio Carretto (1513-1514); Amaury d'Amboise (1503-1512); Pierre d'Aubusson (1476-1503); Jacques de Milly (1454-1451)


Weird, I thought I knew every country and half-country in Europe like the back of my hand. Liechtenstein, San Marino, Transnistria, all those. It turns out there's an official country that doesn't even own territory called the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

And please, no quips like "Everybody and their dog knows about the Sovereign Military Order of Malta." Sometimes you just miss a country. Anyway, here is some basic information from Wikipedia:

It takes its origins from the Knights Hospitaller, an organization founded in Jerusalem in 1050 as an Amalfitan hospital to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, it became a Catholic military order under its own charter. Following the loss of Christian territory in the Holy Land, the Order operated from Rhodes (1310-1523), and later from Malta (1530-1798), over which it was sovereign.

Although this state came to an end with the ejection of the Order from Malta by Napoleon, the Order as such survived. It retains its claims of sovereignty under international law and has been granted permanent observer status at the United Nations. SMOM is considered to be the main successor to the medieval Knights Hospitaller.

Today the order has 12,500 members, 80,000 permanent volunteers, 13,000 medical personnel including doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and paramedics. The goal is to assist the elderly, the handicapped, refugees, children, the homeless, those with terminal illness and leprosy in five continents of the world, without distinction of race or religion.[2] Through its worldwide relief corps, Malteser International, the Order is also engaged to aid victims of natural disasters, epidemics and armed conflicts.

I also love their habit:

A Conventional Chaplain of the Order in 21st century habit
A Conventional Chaplain of the Order in 21st century habit

So, back to the subject: dnghu.org had an announcement today that the project and its grammar had been presented to the Sovereign Order of Malta. Here's part of the post:
We contacted the recently elected Grand Master in the hope that PIE revival be supported by the Order, because it could be another way to help unite Europeans under our common values and culture, being easier for them to take such ‘linguistic policy’ decisions than for any other European state, as it cannot directly affect their citizens. If any measures are adopted, it would nevertheless be meaningful for Europe and the European Union. The Grand Master accepted the present and said he was “delighted to have it” and the he “would read it with interest”.
Sounds good to me. I'm very curious as to what the response is going to be.

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