The social and religious history of a Maltese Parish : St Mary's Qrendi in the eighteenth century [book review]

Abstract

A writing of history 'from below', this work focuses on the humble lives of common people within the micro-setting of a small village in eighteenth-century Malta. It marks a departure from traditional chronological narratives of surface events, background institutions and power classes, and directs its attention to the obscure and unsung masses who emerge in vivid snatches through the pages of this book. Rather than embracing literary evidence at face value, the author digs up a wealth of quantitative data from a wide range of archival sources, and analyses it against that of other eighteenth century communities in order to project a picture of how common people lived and inter-acted within the cultural, religious and social milieu of a Maltese village community.