The Archives of the Order of St. John
(The Knights of Malta)

 An electronic finding aid for the archives of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Valletta, prepared by Theresa M. Vann and sponsored by  The Malta Study Center, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.
The microfilms are held by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library; the originals are located in the National Library of Malta, Valletta.  The collection is available to qualified researchers; reproduction of images requires the consent of the National Library of Malta

The archives of the Sovereign Military Order of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta in the National Library of Malta contain materials dating from the 12th century until 1798. During this period of time the nomenclature of the Order varied, according to the location of the central convent of the Order:

As the Order of the Hospital, Hospitallers, or Knights of the Hospital

• Latin Kingdoms (Jerusalem, Acre) (1095 )-1291
• Cyprus 1291-1309

 As the Knights of Rhodes

• Rhodes 1310 (?)-1522

As the Knights of Malta

• Malta 1530-1798

The archive contains 19 series, with the documents numbered sequentially from Section 1 through Section 17. The number sequence restarts with Treasury Series A and Treasury Series B.

The earliest document in the archives is the papal bull of 1103 recognizing the Order. The Original Documents in Section 1 represent some of the best charter sources for the history of the crusades in the 12th- and 13th-century Latin East.  Section 2 (Libri conciliorum), Section 4 (Chapters General), and Section 5 (Libri bullarum) document the central convent's administration of the order and its properties in Rhodes and the Levant from the 14th through early 16th century.  These three series continue into the Malta period, which is the best represented era in the archives.  The records of the major offices of the Order are preserved for that period. This includes the Treasury (Section 6) the Hospital (Section 11) the Navy (Section 12) and the Conventual Church (Section 13).

• AOM 1-AOM 72 Section 1, Original Documents
• AOM 73- AOM 254 Section 2, Libri conciliorum
• AOM 255-AOM 279 Section 3, Libri conciliorum status
• AOM 280-AOM 315 Section 4, Chapters General
• AOM 316-AOM 633 Section 5, Libri bullarum
• AOM 634-AOM 1125 Section 6, The Treasury
• AOM 1126-AOM 1181 Section 7, Papal Bulls and Briefs
• AOM 1182-AOM 1199 Section 8, Suppliche
• AOM 1200-AOM 1648 Section 9, Correspondence
• AOM 1649-AOM 1712 Section 10, Statutes and Ordinances
• AOM 1713-AOM 1758 Section 11, The Hospital
• AOM 1759-AOM 1934A Section 12, The Navy
• AOM 1935-AOM 2084B Section 13, The Conventual Church
• AOM 2085-AOM 2240 Section 14, Langues
• AOM 2241-AOM 5258 Section 15, Proofs of Nobility
• AOM 5259-AOM 6382 Section 16, Visitations
• AOM 6383-AOM 6576a Section 17, Miscellaneous, Repubblica Francese, Miscellanea Generale (1530-1804)-- Miscellaneous documents, with some records of post 1798 French Administration. Individual titles are posted in the on-line catalogue. This section will soon be available on the website.
  
  Treasury, Series A
  Treasury, Series B

Related links:

• Hospitaller Sources.  A project that provides calendars and editions of sources relating to the history of the Knights on Rhodes (1310-1522) with some later documents.  Posted by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Sarnowsky, University of Hamburg
• Stabilimenta Rhodiorum militum. The Statutes of the Order of the Hospital of St John. A preliminary version of the text from National Library of Malta, Libr. 244. © Jürgen Sarnowsky, Hamburg / Steffen Patzold, Hamburg (1999/2000)