Social relationships in mid-sixteenth-century Malta : an analysis through notary Juliano Muscat's register R376/11

Abstract

The themes to be discussed in this paper transpire from the notarial deeds of Notary Juliano Muscat, and in particular register R376/11. This was compiled by Notary Muscat between February and August 1545, although it also includes a number of entries from 1546. In all, 330 separate acts were analysed. The volume, held at the Notarial Archives in Valletta (NAV), is written in Medieval Latin, although some Italian, Sicilian and Maltese words were used as well. Social relations in mid-sixteenth-century Malta were extensive, variable, and constantly changing. Even in a small island like Malta people lived their lives within different social settings which were nonetheless concurrent and overlapping. The nature of the source at hand, that is, the notarial register R376/11, determined the subdivision of this paper into five parts. The first part sets out a framework within which to place the lives and actions of the people who appear in the acts of Notary Muscat. The next part outlines and discusses the merits and limits of notarial acts for historical research, while providing a short biographical sketch of Notary Muscat himself. The discussion then examines social relationships in terms of two dichotomies: Employers and Employees, Masters and Slaves. The final part is concerned with gender issues, and in particular with women's lives, in the belief that notarial records can help to redress the almost complete silence that shrouds women's history in the sixteenth century.