CODE | LIA5028 | ||||||||||||
TITLE | Administrative History and Archives of the Order of Saint John in Malta and Europe | ||||||||||||
UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Library Information and Archive Sciences | ||||||||||||
DESCRIPTION | The study-unit provides a coherent overview of the administrative history of the offices and the archives of the Order of Saint John preserved in Malta and Europe with a particular focus on the early modern age. Through the centre-periphery dialectic, the unit focuses on an overview of: the processes of formation, accumulation, and management of the archival material; the administration, functioning, chancery practices, internal and external relationships of the offices of the Order; the gap between statutes and regulations and the archival procedures. A general survey of provenance and archival dispersion occurred after 1798 will be also discussed to face access and research issues. Case studies and site-visits are included. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims to familiarise students with the archival procedures and administrative functions of the central convent, the Langues, and the peripheral priories and commanderies of the Order of Saint John. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Comprehend, define and distinguish the institutional hierarchy of the Order of Saint John in its totality between centre and periphery; - Identify and reconstruct the main archival procedures occurring in the different Hospitaller offices and in the institutions involved; - Demonstrate deep knowledge of statutes and regulations and identify the gap with chancery and archival practices; - Identify the archival material of the Order in Malta and other European holding institutions; - Analyse and compare the Order and its archival heritage with other contemporary institutions to determine similarities, differences and uniqueness. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Relate the records with their archival context and creators; - Investigate the gap between rules and archival procedures; - Read critically the primary sources from an archival perspective; - Identify and create access to dispersed records; - Be able to examine the institutional and administrative history of the Order and critically assess how its documentary heritage has shaped the archival history of Malta and many European countries. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Catalogues of the records of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the National Library of Malta, voll. I-XIII (1964-1990). - Vanesio, V. (2022). Rediscovering the archival history of the order of Saint John: the proofs of admission of the Langue of Italy (c.15-c.18th). Cahiers de la Méditerranée, 104, 27-50. - Gullo, D. (2022). Identifying the Knights. Database management and authority files for Person and Family Names in HMML’s Reading Room. Cahiers de la Méditerranée, 104, 15-25. - Vanesio, V. (2023). Tracing Hospitaller archival fragments (16th-18th century). Some preliminary remarks. In Zozaya-Montes, L. (ed.), Los archivos y documentos de la Edad Media a la Contemporánea en Europa y América (estudios de caso). Gijón: Trea. Supplementary Readings: - Bonnici, A. (1991). Il fondo "Malta" della segreteria di stato nell'archivio segreto Vaticano. Melita Historica, 10(4), 375-411. - Burgassi, V., & Vanesio, V. (2017). L'Albergia della Lingua d’Italia a Malta: l’avventurosa storia di un palazzo e delle sue carte (secoli XVI-XIX). Nuovi Annali Della Scuola Speciale per Archivisti E Bibliotecari, 31, 163-190. - Buttigieg, E. (2014). The sovereign military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta – a general history of the Order of Malta. In P. Deles, & P. Mrozowski (Eds.), The Orders of St John and Their Ties With Polish Territories (pp. 15-43). Retrieved from https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/38852. - Camilleri, M. (2008). The chancery of the Order of St. John : "una delle officine più importanti del Nostro Sagr'Ordine”. In Farrugia, C. (Ed), Guardians of memory: Essays in remembrance of Hella Jean Bartolo Winston (pp. 157-191). - Camilleri, M. (2014). The Archives of the Order of Malta. AOM 6520-6577: a Case of Irrespect des Fondes?. In Azzopardi, J., Scientia et religio: Studies in memory of Fr George Aquilina OFM (1932-2012) scholar, archivist and Franciscan Friar (pp. 39-54). - Camilleri, M. (2002). The Pie Postulatio Voluntatis Papal Bull of 1113. A Diplomatic and Paleographical Commentary. In Cortis, T., Freller, T., and Bugeja, L. (Eds.), Melitensium Amor. Festschrift in honour of Dun Gwann Azzopardi (pp. 17-36). - Camilleri, M. (2006). The National Library of Malta’s Manuscript Collection. In Camilleri, M., and Vella, T. (Eds.), Celebratio Amicitiae: Essays in honour of Giovanni Bonello (pp. 45-60). - Delsalle, P. (2018). A history of archival practice (Procter, M., Trans.) (only chapters 8, 9, 10); - Luttrell, A. (1966). The Hospitallers’ Historical Activities: 1291-1400. Annales de l’Ordre Souverain militaire de Malte, 4, 126-129. - Luttrell, A. (1967). The Hospitallers’ Historical Activities: 1400-1530. Annales de l’Ordre Souverain militaire de Malte, 25, 145-150. - Luttrell, A. (1968). The Hospitallers’ Historical Activities: 1530-1630. Annales de l’Ordre Souveraine Militaire de Malte, 26, pp. 57-69. - Luttrell, A. (1970). Notes on the chancery of the Hospitallers of Rhodes: 1314-1332, Byzantion, 40, 408-420. (Available on Hydi); - Luttrell, A. (1998). The Hospitallers’ Early Written Records. In France, J., and Zajac, W. (Eds.), The Crusades and their Sources: Essays presented to Bernard Hamilton (pp. 136-137). - Luttrell, A. (2003). The Hospitallers’ Earliest Statutes. Revue Mabillon, 75, 9-22. - Luttrell, A. (2017). The Hospital’s privilege of 1113: texts and contexts. In Schenk, J. and Carr, M. (Eds.), The Military Orders. Culture and Conflict in the Mediterranean World (pp. 3-9). - Russo, F. (2020). The Court of the Monastic Principality of Malta. Crusades, 18, 193-212; - Various, (1964-). Catalogue of the records of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in the National Library of Malta. - Vanesio, V. (2014). Il valore inestimabile delle carte. L’archivio del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta e la sua storia: un primo esperimento di ricostruzione. Collectanea Bibliothecae Magistralis, 2, 51-70. Retrieved from: https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Collectanea-II.pdf - Vann T. M., (1998). Hospitaller Record Keeping and Archival Practices. In Nicholson, H. (Ed.), The Military Orders. Welfare and Warfare (275-285). - Zammit, W. (2013). Notizie sopra l’origine ed avanzi della Biblioteca della Sagra Religione Gerosolimitana: an unknown work by Agius de Soldanis, Bibliothecae, 2, 149-187. doi: https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2283-9364/5622 - Zammit, W. (2015). Written text in Early Modern Malta. Forms & Dissemination Patterns. Malta Historical Society, 4, 75-113. Online sources: - HMML. Malta Study Center website. Retrieved from: https://hmml.org/research/msc/ - HMML. Malta Manuscripts. Retrieved from: https://hmml.org/collections/malta/ - HMML Reading Room. Retrieved from: https://www.vhmml.org/readingRoom/ - HMML Museum. Retrieved from: https://www.vhmml.org/museum. Additional readings will be provided according to the case studies. |
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STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Visit and Seminar | ||||||||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | Valeria Vanesio |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |