Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE HST2009

 
TITLE Medieval Malta

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 6

 
DEPARTMENT History

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit studies medieval Maltese history, introducing the different aspects of life in the Maltese islands from the end of Antiquity to the establishment of the Order of St John. It includes the following components:

(1) 'Malta and Sicily': The different aspects of the relationship between the Maltese islands and Sicily in the medieval centuries, including: the Byzantine period; Muslim Sicily and Malta; Malta and the Normans of Sicily and Southern Italy; Malta in the Norman Regno; the Counts of Malta; Malta under Frederick II and Charles of Anjou, the War of the Vespers and Malta; the Maltese Islands and Aragonese Sicily; Malta and Sicily in the central Mediterranean context up to 1530.

(2) 'Social and Cultural Changes': The social and cultural changes and developments in medieval Malta, including: the early records of medieval Christianity in Malta; the Muslim period of Maltese history; the debate on Maltese medieval history, historiography and the sources; the end of Islam; society in the Maltese islands in the later Middle Ages; the Jews of Malta; culture and education at Mdina and elsewhere, and the languages of medieval Maltese history.

(3) 'Political and Economic Developments': Aspects of local administration in the medieval period; municipal government in the Maltese islands; the royal administration of Malta and Gozo; the defence of the Maltese islands; agriculture and the local economy in medieval Malta; the development of the medieval settlement pattern; and the financial aspects of medieval Maltese history.

Study-Unit Aims:

- To offer students insights into the history of Malta and Gozo in the Middle Ages, from a variety of angles, including political, social and economic developments, commercial connections, as well as cultural and religious changes;
- To make students aware of different approaches to Maltese medieval history;
- To make students aware of the key thematic debates in the subject;
- To emphasize the interconnections between Malta and Sicily in the medieval period;
- To alert students about varying interpretations of the surviving documentary evidence relating to the history of Malta and Gozo in the Middle Ages.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Explain the key thematic debates in medieval Maltese history;
- Highlight how this field of study has evolved, within the broader context of Maltese and medieval history;
- Describe the principal developments in medieval Malta and Gozo, and the interconnection between different developments, in the broader picture of central Mediterranean history;
- Compare developments on both islands, within the context of the history of Sicily;
- Analyze critically the different approaches to Maltese medieval history.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Read critically and selectively and make sense of a range of historical sources;
- Write advanced historical essays with a clear structure and logical presentation of arguments;
- Demonstrate an awareness of different types of structural changes across time;
- Evaluate the role of individual interpretation and analysis in the formulation of historical knowledge.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Documentary Sources of Maltese History (Malta University Press, 1996 to date)

- Charles Dalli, Iż-Żmien Nofsani Malti (Malta, 2002)
- Charles Dalli, Malta. The Medieval Millennium (Malta, 2006)
- M.Buhagiar, The Christianisation of Malta (Oxford, 2007)
- A.T.Luttrell (ed), Medieval Malta. Studies on Malta before the Knights (London, 1975)
- A.T. Luttrell, The Making of Christian Malta (London, 2002)
- Godfrey Wettinger, The Jews of Malta in the late Middle Ages (Malta, 1985)
- Godfrey Wettinger and Mikiel Fsadni, L-Għanja ta’ Pietru Caxaru (Malta, 1983)

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM2 Yes 50%
Assignment SEM2 Yes 50%

 
LECTURER/S Charles Dalli

 

 
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Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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