The Miscellanea classification of the archives of the Order of Malta : a case-study of selected volumes

Abstract

Classification seventeen, described as Miscellanea, in the Archives of the Order of Malta (AOM) described as Miscellanea contains a number of volumes with documents covering a large number and variety of subjects mostly unconnected with each other. In this dissertation a selected number of volumes have been examined and important items highlighted. These volumes are studied, and for the first time, catalogued to make it possible to identify the important subjects and make it easier for researchers to study further these elusive documents, most of which are not available in other sections of the Archives. An attempt is being made to identify the source of these volumes and how and when they found their way to the collection. In order to do this the origin of the Archives is examined. This history covers a period of some four hundred years and attempts are made to place in context the subjects dealt with in the volumes with the history of the Order of Malta over the same period. A physical examination of each of the volumes was carried out and their contents were then identified and described. An examination of the rest of the Miscellanea volumes was carried out, together with a more detailed study of a few volumes in addition to the nine volumes, the subject of this dissertation. The study does not purport to give a description of the whole classification which amounts to 136 volumes. It is a detailed examination of a sample of nine volumes dealing with seventeenth and eighteenth century material that coincide with an important period of the Order of Malta’s history.