Witchcraft, sorcery and the Inquisition : a study of cultural values in early modern Malta

Abstract

The study of the Malta Inquisition tribunal is of relatively recent development. Until the early 1960s interest was mostly directed towards the

Inquisitor's role as an Apostolic Visitor. The opening of the archives to researchers in 1968 has created an unprecedented interest in the Inquisition as a tribunal that was particularly concerned with the control of heretical behaviour on the part of Roman Catholics in Malta and to check other Christian and non-Christian denominations.

Analytical studies have further shown that inquisitorial documentation may serve as the primary source for the study of matters not directly

connected with the history of the institution. Witchcraft, popular beliefs, and even the way of life of other ethnically different communities can be better understood by studying the records of the Inquisition. In the last twenty-five years, a new generation of historians has entered the field, with the result that certain preconceived positions -

which caused sterile polemics among critics and apologists of the institution - have now been largely abandoned. The new development has led

to a different approach, previously ignored, which enabled scholars to broaden their methodology and themes of interest. This situation became possible since historians of early modern Europe and the Mediterranean have become aware that they can learn a great deal from social theory and anthropology. Indeed anthropological theory enabled them, not only to understand the society which they study, but even to appreciate the social function of language, myths, emblems and rituals. The present study is, of course, influenced by this 'new kind of history' particularly since I am convinced that in the history of perceptions, the distinction between history and anthropology is often blurred. The present analysis is restricted to a few basic case-studies at the turn of the seventeenth century when the witch craze was raging throughout Europe. In Malta, as in the case of the Italian peninsula, the Inquisitors

- who retained jurisdiction over witchcraft cases - were far milder than the secular judges of continental Europe. Many suspects were either released or else condemned to relatively minor punishments. The Italian inquisitors seemed reluctant to define 'superstitious' activities as sorcery. Finally, the data studied here shows that knowledge of witchcraft was not only widespread, but oral traditions interacted with elite culture. Over the years in which I have been involved with the Malta Inquisition Tribunal - both as a research assistant and as researcher - I have received help and advice from many people. In particular I should like to thank my Cambridge professors, particularly Peter Burke, Alan Macfarlane and Gilbert Lewis who enabled me to gain invaluable insights into popular culture and values, witchcraft, religious beliefs and popular healing. For improvements on the penultimate version I am most grateful to Dominic Cutajar, and to Manwel Mifsud who translated and commented on the invocations in old Maltese verse. Biagio Vella has kindly checked and improved the Latin translations in the appendices. I also learned a good deal from discussions with Canon J. Azzopardi and Fr A. Bonnici. A word of thanks goes to the staffofthe Cathedral Museum, especially Mr Noel D'Anastas. Prof. Victor Mallia-Milanes gave me the opportunity to prepare a course on popular religious beliefs to BA (Hons) history students. Discussions with the students taking the course did a great deal to clarifY my ideas. A special word of thanks goes to those students who have decided to deepen their knowledge of the Inquisition Tribunal and its impact on Maltese society particularly Noel Buttigieg, Tony Camenzuli, James Debono, Ray Debono, Kenneth Gambin and Godwin

Xuereb. To them all, and especially to my wife Susan, I owe a debt of gratitude for their moral support.

It is hoped that this study may serve to encourage further research in the history of cultural values and beliefs.