Inquisitor Angelo Durini on Hospitaller Malta, 1760-1766 : historical insights from his memoirs and correspondence

Abstract

The present dissertation examines in some detail the important insights provided by Durini's ‘Memorie’ (memoirs) and his ‘Corrispondenza’ (correspondence) with Rome between 1760, when he came to Malta, and 1766, when his term of office expired. Owing to the important time factor, the word limit imposed by our Department, and the nightmarish approach of our final examinations, I have had to leave out completely any consideration of any of the trials (the ‘Processi’, or Court proceedings) of the Inquisition during Durini's term. The dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first deals with the Inquisitor in general and his Tribunal. It endeavours to trace the general history of the institution, the composition of the Tribunal, who and what the Inquisitor was, and the role he played in Malta not only in that capacity, but also as Apostolic Delegate. Chapter two surveys the Inquisitor's task. His primary role was that of a judge in his court. It also discusses the type of cases the Inquisitor presided over. The third chapter focuses on Durini's perceptions of the Church on Hospitaller Malta during his years as Inquisitor. It discusses the customs, practices, and certain laws that governed the administration of the universal Catholic Church and how these applied to Hospitaller Malta. The last chapter centres round the relationship that the Inquisitor had with the other two leading authorities on the island - the Grand Master and the Bishop. This triangular relationship often turned sour, at times on petty matters. Instead of cooperating with each other, most of the time they ended up struggling against one another for more power, to assert one's privileges and position. The main focus of the dissertation lies on Inquisitor Durini's memoirs and his correspondence with Rome. These have been the main primary sources I have consulted during my research at the Archives of the Inquisition in Mdina, Malta. The memoirs were written in the form of a diary. Durini diarized all his major and minor observations on Malta, together with the experiences he had which had apparently left an impact on his life as Inquisitor and Apostolic Delegate. The memoirs are voluminous, covering the whole six years in one thick volume. There are two volumes of his correspondence - one is a collection of the drafts of the out-going letters he addressed to the Secretary of State (‘Secreteria di Stato’) in Rome; the other contains the original correspondence he received from Rome. The three are in manuscript form and they are all written in Italian. Collectively, they are a mine of information, providing insights not only on major events on or around Malta (that was not perhaps of much direct interest to the Inquisitor), but also on minor, often (by today's standards) petty, trivial faults committed either by the Grand Master, in his capacity as Head of Stale and a religious Order, or by the Bishop, responsible for the administration of the Church on the island, or indeed acts of omission by the same dignitaries or their representatives. The fact that most of the issues that emerge in these documents are precisely petty or trivial renders these sources more interesting and useful for the historian [...]