Quintinus' 'Insulae Melitae Descriptio' (1536) and later writers

Abstract

The influence of Quintinus' Insulae Melitae Descriptio (Lyons, 1536) on writings about Malta has been immense, as has recently been shown. Johannes Quintinus Haeduus, a priest and a Knight of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, wrote what is known to be the first long printed description of Malta during his stay there from 1530 to 1536. Only a few years after its publication, Quintinus' description started to leave its mark on scholars and other writers writing about Malta, even down to the present century. Because of the rarity of copies of the book, quite a few writers of the nineteenth century appear not to have known of him, while earlier writers were obliged to follow others in quoting Quintinus or referring to him. Modern facilities, however, have made Quintinus' book more accessible to scholars, while research in the manuscripts of the Order has provided further information about Malta.