Suchergebnisse

This article analyses how Maltese confraternities were set up, their composition and their internal organization. Most were in­clusive and comprised the adult population of the parish, both males and females though a few companies were restricted to the elite or to particular craftsmen. They cooperated with each other and could even allow their members to join other companies, but they could also be great rivals. The Council of Trent had put parish priests at their head, but the brothers contested their leadership and were frequently in dis­pute with them. At the end of the eighteenth century the confraternal movement was in decline in Europe, but in Malta the brotherhoods remained active.

This is the latest publication in the online series of ARX Occasional Papers published by Military Architecture.com. In this 208-page study, Dr. Spiteri examines the design and construction of the last of the major bastioned works of fortification built in Malta by the Hospitaller knights of St John. This Baroque fortress was designed by French military engineers in the early 1720s, to the conventions of the French school of military architecture inspired by the genius of Pagan, Vauban and Cormontaigne. ; N/A

The Council of Trent made the parish priest the head of the parish, but for a long time priests found it difficult to affirm their authority. Chief among their opponents were the confraternities led by the parish elites. This article examines the difficult relations between Don Francesco Maria Xuereb (1769–1801), parish priest of the Maltese parish of Saint Catherine's (in Zejtun), and members of the local confraternity of the Holy Sacrament, who led a revolt against him. The charges levelled against the priest were several, but the <i>Sacra Congregazione dei Vescovi e Regolari</i> found him innocent on all counts. The assistant clergy and the parishioners of Saint Catherine's would not, however, receive him back. When, against the warning of the bishop of Malta, Xuereb returned to his parish, the women took over the church and shut themselves in it, while the men stood outside in protest against the priest. In the end, a coadjutor was appointed to run the parish and when Father Xuereb died in 1801 he was named parish priest to everyone's delight.

This article addresses the Maltese traditional family, taking St. Mary's (Qrendi) as a test case. It results that couples married in their early twenties, while a high proportion of men and women never married at all. Marriage was not popular so that one-fifth of all marriages were remarriages. Very few widows remarried and it was only for some economic reason that they sought another man. There is no evidence though that a high rate of celibacy resulted in flagrant promiscuity even if there is evidence that the Qrendin were not so particular about their sex life. No birth control was practiced within marriage and children followed one another regularly. This brings into relief the parents' unconcern for their offspring's future as well as the inferior status of women because husbands made their wives several offspring. Relations between the spouses were poor so that dissatisfied couples went their own ways.

ABSTRACTThis micro-study examines the Maltese parish of St Mary's (Qrendi) in the second half of the eighteenth century. First it will be argued that – as in many other contemporaneous communities – migration to other parishes made its population extremely fluid. A second interest lies in the extent to which social distinctions and unruly behaviour further disrupted village solidarity. Finally there will be a consideration of the thesis that such unstable elements were counterbalanced by various integrative ties that bound the Qrendin together, such as charity, the obligations of neighbourliness and an intense devotion to the parish, kinship and godparenthood.

This article contains information on the foreign relations between the Kingdom of Naples, Malta and the Catholic church during the second half of the year 700'. ; peer-reviewed

Frans Clappara, The fear of the French Revolution in Malta .
From 1789 to 1798, the fear of a rebellion or an invasion was brewing in Malta. The government took the military measures which were necessary to defend the isle. Grimaldi, who was President of the higher Court of Justice, was promoted at the head of a state criminal congregation : those in favour of the revolution, such as Maltese Chevaliers or foreigners, were banished. The whole nation was panic-stricken, especially when a letter dated on the 19th of May 1792 informed the government that a conspiracy was hatching in Malta. In June 1797, a revolt was discovered. Then, one year after, Napoleon invaded the isle.

Although the Catholic Church claimed to control marriage, in late-eighteenth-century Malta the faithful still considered matrimony to be a personal affair. The study is based upon episcopal court records and parish registers, which reveal substantial numbers of clandestine marriages, contravening the Council of Trent's directives concerning entry into marriage. Couples separated from each other at will, without the Church's consent. A few took other partners, despite the inquisitors' nets. Couples viewed sexual relations as matters for themselves to regulate, and sex outside marriage as not something into which the Church was to intrude. Especially noteworthy in this respect were relations between betrothed, since a man would not marry a woman who could not bear children.

Ciappara conducts a detailed study on Mikiel Anton Vassalli (1764-1829)- a man who foresaw an adventurous, if unfortunate, life. This article follows the footsteps taken by Vassalli from childhood until his final years during which he lived in a "casa sospetta" as was described in a document at the time. Ciappara investigates the reason as to why his house was labelled in such a manner and finds that it was either as a result of his irregular marriage, his lack of Christian faith or his possible Protestant beliefs. ; N/A