The 'Supernatural' and the Roman Inquisition : magical and superstitious perspective of Maltese Society, 1793-1795

Abstract

Choosing the Roman Inquistion as the basic foundation to depict the characteristics of Maltese society, would be a suitable foundation to help understand the past from the horse's mouth. Through the documents found in the Mdina Archives. The idea of superstitious and 'Supernatural' believes among the Maltese society is an ongoing characteristic. Through the inquisitorial proceeding I tried to point out that the tribunal had a major role in trying to control the people from the use of spuernatural practice. However, it would not be out of place to impose the question; if it did succeed, since both supernatural and religious believes were deeply intertwined within the Maltese culture. I venture to say 'no'; since most of the believe were passed on from generation to another. Through these proceedings we can reconstruct the fears and believes of Maltese society who was continuously controlled by the church. Therefore from these inquisitorial documents, we do not only come across people practicing magic but also those who denounced themselves in recoursing for such practice. Ultimately, the major dilemma for the church was the misuse of religious believes since the Maltese used to intertwine prayers with magic. Therefore when it comes to such reconstruction, the Mdina Archives offer us a treasure trove of information that helps us to cast an insight on the life of Hospitellier Malta, even on such theme. Unfortunately due to time restrictions and length restrictions, I only had the opportunity to delve deeply into few case-studies. There were some cases where I went through them fairly rapidly. While there were others that remained unnoticeable. Even though my research is a bit limited but I intend to reconstruct a small aspect of life in the late eighteenth century through this particular theme, as the surviving documents have allowed me.