https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/9632 2026-04-07T18:44:50Z 2026-04-07T18:44:50Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/19138 2017-06-23T11:37:33Z 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Aspects of marriage in the Maltese Islands in the second half of the sixteenth century (c. 1560-1580) Abstract: The study of marriage allows the student of history to look at various topics and so makes for an interesting way through which to study a society. The sources used for this dissertation were those of the Adami Collection from the National Library of Malta and various notarial documents from the Notarial Archives in Valletta (NAV)1 for the period between 1560 and 1580. This allows this study to look at both the demographic aspect as well as focusing on the legal aspect of marriage. The first chapter of this work looks at the contributions to the field of gender studies and marriage both in Europe and locally, and then gives an overview of the sources used to conduct the study. The second chapter looks at the information derived from parish records and puts forward a number of patterns which emerge from these sources. The third chapter discusses the rites and rituals involved in the celebration of marriage and then delves into the legal aspects which become apparent from the notarial contracts, such as inheritance patterns. The fourth chapter looks at marriages amongst the wealthiest classes of society, whilst the fifth chapter looks at peasant marriages, remarrying widows and orphans. The sixth chapter takes a deeper look at some of the goods which can be found within the trousseaus in notarial contracts; through material culture there can be a study of change and continuity. For the sake of convenience throughout this work some words were used in an abbreviated format: Titles: Cle. = Clericus Don. = Donnus/ Donna Eg. Not. = Egregius Notarius Fra. = Frater Hon. = Honorabilis Magr. = Magister Mag. = Magnificus/ Magnifica No. = Nobile Rev. = Reverendus Ven. = Venerabilis Description: M.A.HISTORY

2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10325 2017-09-26T08:19:05Z 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The military engineer Frà Antoine Etienne de Tousard (1751-1813) : a loyal hospitaller or traitor? Abstract: This study is divided into four chapters as follows: Chapter 1 introduces the period during which Antoine Etienne Tousard sojourned on Malta. The political ordeal faced by the Order of St John, following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, caused a schism with France. Therefore, this chapter succinctly explains the impact of the French Revolution on the Order and introduces Grand Master de Rohan’s diplomatic campaign, towards which Tousard contributed. It also introduces Antoine Etienne de Tousard and his family roots. Chapter 2 traces the military education and training of Antoine Etienne at the École de Mezieres and the changes that his engineering corps experienced pre-and-post revolution. Tousard’s employment in this service-arm of the French army was crucial for his decision making in the final years of the Order on Malta. In addition, this chapter discusses the manner with which Tousard was invited to serve on Malta in 1791, his military contributions to the Order and Malta, including his best piece of defensive bulwark, (Fort Tigné) and the novel fortification design which he borrowed from his contemporary General Jean Le Michaud d’Arçon. While it brings out Tousard’s connection with this celebrated general, the chapter queries why a military engineer, who dedicated himself to the defence of the Order, was accused of being a traitor to the same Order. The answer to this is approached in chapter 3. Chapter 3 describes Tousard’s reluctance to prolong his stay on Malta and his difficulty in returning to France. Tousard’s diplomatic work under de Rohan is explained and considered as Tousard’s display of loyalty towards his Order at a time of great political turmoil. It also relates the engineer’s involvement in the defence of the island a few weeks prior the Republicans’ arrival and his seemingly negative attitude before the capitulation of the island. The chapter also analyses documented proof, both from primary and secondary sources that have cast doubt on Tousard’s loyalty to the Religion. It also, briefly, outlines Tousard’s military career and contributions to the French army following his departure from Malta. Chapter 4 deals with Tousard’s final years, including his highest achievements, his family tragedy, and his demise in Hamburg. It is then followed up by a conclusion regarding the allegations of Tousard’s treachery to the Order. The presence of Antoine Etienne de Tousard in the archives of the Order of St John, conserved at the National Library of Malta in Valletta is rather limited. He is mentioned in the minutes of the Order’s Congregation of War records, the petitions to the Order, the proofs of nobility, and in a few Library Manuscripts- apart from secondary sources which have included him in accounts of the loss of Malta. Historical studies on hospitaller fortifications, particularly those by Dr. Stephen C. Spiteri, have also referred to Tousard as an important contributor to the military architecture of late eighteenth-century Malta. For this reason, most of my supportive research has been conducted in Parisian archives, namely, the National Archives in Paris and Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the military archive at the Chateau de Vincennes in the section Armée du Terre, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France at the François Mitterrand and the Richelieu sites, as well as, the Bibliotheque Mazarin. The personal collection of one of Antoine Etienne de Tousard’s descendants, Bruno Revol, has also been crucial for the compiling of Tousard’s biographical details, portraits, and family roots. Unfortunately, a number of Tousard’s memoires and reports are only referred to without being quoted from extensively, owing to the prescribed word limit of this dissertation. As a military engineer, Tousard drew up numerous plans of his fortification works, however, only a handful are presented in this work as most of his plans (particularly those he executed in his later campaigns) have not, as yet, been traced. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD.

2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10320 2017-09-29T10:32:34Z 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The practical and symbolic dimensions of edged weapons for the Hospitallers, in particular swords, 1530-1798 Abstract: The theme of this dissertation stems from my interest in the European martial arts, triggered by a fairly modern revival of the study of the fight techniques of medieval and early modern Europeans. The sword, being a central element for the Hospitaller Order was a common side-arm in early modern Europe. Interest in the martial arts of the knights brings certain aspects of history back to life where a sword is used again for its original purpose, albeit in a controlled and non-lethal environment. As a physiotherapist, my knowledge on human movement helped me look at this facet of history from a different angle. Studying objects from the past, like Hospitaller swords from the angle of a practitioner (through the practice of historical fencing) helps give insights to the characteristics of the weapons and the persons who wielded them. This form of historical study turned out to be multifaceted, including the study of the objects themselves, Hospitaller swords, in their various forms. Some of them were purely ceremonial while others were actual weapons designed to pierce flesh. This also necessitated research in the fields of metallurgy, weapons classification and museum conservation. The swords' use in their social form as icons of freedom, masculinity, justice and nobility led to another facet of the study: their social history through the study of objects used in the past. This aspect of the symbolism of swords is closer to the grassroots of Hospitaller society, reflecting in its own way a slowly changing early modern Europe. The symbolism of swords proved to be challenging to cover in such a short study because of the wide spectrum of the Order's religious and chivalric nature as well as the nobility of its members. Thus, the studying of visual art as evidence involved using pictures as subjects of metaphoric study but also as visual windows into the past where anything from fashion trends to fighting techniques involving swords complemented textual research. The symbolic power of a sword also led to the investigation of the literary functions of the sword as a concept with various representations and meanings where the sword was used as a metaphor, to inspire, swear upon or make peace. The attempt to study so many facets of a historical object has uncovered a vast range of dimensions which for convenience's sake can be grouped into the practical and symbolic, but in reality fan out into multiple levels many of which have been explored here. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD.

2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10318 2017-08-22T08:49:35Z 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Hospitaller commandery of San Giovanni Battista of Ragusa in the 17th and the 18th centuries : its state and development Abstract: The scope of this dissertation was an attempt to reconstruct the commandery of St John of Ragusa, as vivid and realistically as possible, from whatever archival material is available. The main source remains the Archives of Malta at the National Library. There are six codici still available, containing miglioramenti or parts thereof of the commandery of Ragusa, spanning a timeline between 1630 and 1795, together with three cabrei dated 1666, 1746 and 1796. Another extensive source comes from archival material at the University of Palermo including volume 379 of the Comenda del Magione. This source also contains detailed pen and colour graphical representations of the outlying members of the commandery. Both these archives, although sketchy over particular decades because of loss, provide a basis on which to attempt to build an image, blurred in parts, of this Hospitaller tenuta in the Ragusan hills. Of considerable help were other primary and secondary sources which helped to fill in some gaps that were left after the two main archives were used. This dissertation is certainly not being presented as a full and complete last word on the commandery of Ragusa. Time constraints were certainly a problem, as well as the many attempts at deciphering badly written Italianized Latin compounded by the degradation and oxidation of ink on acid paper; despite these limitations, an attempt was made at trying to resurrect the commandery of Ragusa from the dusty pergamena. An effort was also made to animate, as much as possible, the various commanders administering the estate, their way of life, their mind-set, and their supporting cast as well. The same effort was attempted with the tenants of the estate and its procurators. This treatise is divided into several chapters. The first chapter deals with the various structures that made up the Hospitaller Order, together with their functions, with special reference to the commandery, which was the basic unit of the Order. Once this basis has been set, chapter two describes the foundation of this particular estate, followed by a portrayal of its first years of administration of this estate up to the death of the founder and the turbulent time that ensued, in chapter three. Chapter four outlines a particular processo dei miglioramenti of St. John of Ragusa in 1669 when the estate was under the administration of fra Francesco Maria Gabuccini. This description is given in some detail as it was an essential step in the progression of the incumbent in his cursus honoris. The next chapter deals with the progress of the commandery through the various years until the end of the eighteenth century when the Order imploded. This chapter shows the growth of the commandery, in the income accruing from rents and leases as well as actual physical size. Finally, chapter six attempts to depict the remnants of the commandery at the current time. It is an investigative attempt to reveal and uncover what was left of the commandery and its various members for posterity. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD.

2014-01-01T00:00:00Z