• The archives of the Knights of Malta
  • Rulers of the island from 1530-1798         
  • Located in the National Library, Valletta
• Ecclesiastical archives
  • Range from the medieval period -20th century       
  • Archives housed in the Cathedral Museum, Mdina
    • The Roman inquisition on Malta (date-1798)
    • University of Malta
    • Universita
  • Other ecclesiastical holdings are located in:
    • Parish archives
    • Religious Orders
  • Other archival collections on the island:
    • National Archives of Malta
    • Law court records at the Banca Giuratale

  What periods of history do they cover?

  The archives of Malta contain materials generated between the 12^th and the 20^th century.  Most of the earliest items (from the 12^th-15^th centuries) come from the archives of the Knights of Malta and pertain to their properties in Syria and their governance of Rhodes.  Some documents pertaining to Malta date from the 14^th century, but most runs of records (and archival series) start in the 16^th century. The archives have the most materials for the 17th, 18th, and 19th century. The documentation for the Order's last two years on Malta (1797, 1798) is almost complete.

  What types of information are in them?

  The Malta archives contain the records of an early-modern theocratic government. Users prepared indexes, registers, and repertories of the materials. Many volumes have been registered. These internal finding aids reflect the interests of the users and show what the archives were used for. They are useful for names, dates, and cases that the users considered particularly important. The archives have not been completely indexed or calendared.

  Research topics

  Archives of the Knights of Malta

  • Crusades (the entire history of crusading, from 1100 until 1798)
  • History of Rhodes (note:  all the Latin documents for the medieval history of Rhodes are located on Malta)
  • History of the Order of Malta
  • History of Malta

  Ecclesiastical Archives

  • History of Malta
    • Land ownership
    • Art
    • Music
    • Architecture
    • Prosopagraphy
    • Demography
    • Daily life

  What do they tell us about the history of the island and the people?

              Researchers are able to reconstruct the history of the islands and the people from the contents of the archives.  But their formation and organization reflect certain principles:

                          1.  The institutions on the island

                                      There is a direct correlation between the government entity and the archives it produces.  While a government might produce archives that are lost, a non-existent government entity can’t produce archives.

                                      For the period 1530 to 1798, there were three major entities on the island, each with its own jurisdiction: The Knights of Malta, the Diocese of Malta (and Gozo), and the Roman Inquisition.  There was a municipal organization, the Universita, but its powers and acts are not well represented.  The ecclesiastical institutions, in comparison, had personnel devoted to record keeping.

                                      This situation gives a unique perspective to Maltese history.  Not only do researchers encounter the normal tensions of having three separate jurisdictions on one comparatively small island, but also there is the possibility of using three completely different sets of materials to research one problem.

                          2.  Conditions on the island

                                      Production and conservation of records presupposes peaceful circumstances.  The bulk of the materials in the collections post date the great siege of 1565.  Before then, conditions were too unsettled on the island to ensure that records would be preserved.

                                      The records that do survive from the earlier period do not mask Malta and Gozo's dependence upon foreign subsidies for survival.  Later records provide unparalleled information for the island's economy and trade.
  
                       3.  The people of the island.

                                      The archives are an excellent source for early-modern demography and prosopagraphy.  In addition, the court cases give amazing glimpses of the lives of ordinary Maltese.

  What periods of history don’t they cover? and why not?

              Archival series begin (and end) with the creation of entities or committees.  The golden age of Maltese historical bureaucracy was the 18^th century.  The last years of the archives of the Knights on Malta (1797-1798) are particularly rich, especially since it seems that the materials were added to the archives without any culling or recopying.  In comparison, the medieval period is not well-represented.  Materials and documents were destroyed, or survive elsewhere. 

              In addition to losses caused by the ravages of time, there's research that can't be conducted yet because documents are unedited or unavailable.

Posted December, 2003
T. Vann
Malta Study Center
Hill Monastic Manuscript Library