Everyday life in Qrendi : a Maltese village during the Late Middle Ages and the period of the Knights

Abstract

The small village of Qrendi, sited in the southern region on the island of Malta, has a long history which is tied to the prehistoric temples of Ħagar Qim and Mnajdra dating back to around 3600 B.C. A number of hamlets grew in the area, each comprising a small number of homesteads. Carendi, as the village was called during the Middle Ages, was one of the localities featuring jointly with the neighbouring hamlet of Ħal Lew (Maltese version or Casal Leu, old version), in the Militia list for 1419-1420. This list included those men who were expected to do guard duties along the coast, a service known locally as the maħras (from tħares – to look/ guard). All men between the age of 16 and 65, except for the clergy, were required to do one night unpaid watch duty per week. Three-man squads were detailed to garrison one of the posts on the coast or else perform sentry duties on the walls of the main town of Mdina. In the Qrendi area during the fifteenth century there were two maħras posts, these being that at Wied iż-Żurrieq, then known as Xutu, and the second at Petra Negra some distance away from Mnajdra Neolithic temples. In later years the Order of St John built the Ħamrija Tower close to this maħras post.