The introduction of this book, amongst other things, presented the current state of understanding on the Prior of St John in England. It drew attention to a number of current orthodoxies derived from general assumptions about the Hospitallers' role in Western Europe which this book has tested through thematic studies on the Priors' crown roles. Crusade historians are universally agreed that the main role of a provincial prior was to govern his priory well on behalf of the Order and to maximise its contributions to maintain brethren serving in the East. It is further supposed that the Priors of England always had a close relationship with the English crown. Finally, the current historical orthodoxy is that the Priors were in constant battle to fulfil their Hospitaller duties, especially over the payment of responsions, and commentaries by modern historians present the crown–Hospitaller relationship as one of friction. All these assertions contain elements of truth, but they need qualification and refinement. The individual chapters of this book have challenged these orthodoxies and indicated how they need to be reviewed.

The chapters are arranged to mirror the chronological development of the Prior of St John's role in service to the crown. The English Priors probably always had a financial role in England, both as a source of income to the crown as a provider of loans, and as a collector and keeper of both lay and ecclesiastical taxation. In the thirteenth century, they generally took a back seat to the Templars in financial relations with the crown (Chauncy’s appointment as treasurer of England being the exception), but after the suppression of the Templars, the Hospitallers inherited not only the Templars’ possessions but also their responsibilities and duties. Two further Priors became treasurers of England, a position no master of the Templars had held.