The Mediterranean context of the art and architecture of medieval Malta, 1091-1530

Abstract

This thesis studies the Mediterranean context of art and architecture in the Maltese Islands between 1091, when they made their first contact with the newly imposed Norman government of Sicily and South Italy, and 1530, when they passed under the control of the Knights of St John. The latter date opened a new chapter in the Latinisation and Europeanisation process of the islands that marked a point of departure from the Medieval way of life of the time bracket covered by the thesis. A primary concern has been to establish a meaningful politico-economical and socio-religious context to the art and architecture of a period that can be loosely called Late Medieval. This was a time when the islands where very much a melting pot of cultural cross-currents blowing from Islamic North Africa and Latin Christian Europe. The coming together of these different and often antagonistic cultural traditions lie at the root of the Maltese national identity. This thesis also shows that influences came not only from Sicily, South Italy and North Africa, but also from more distant Mediterranean regions and sometimes from quite unexpected sources.