The Hospitallers and the Grand Harbour of Malta : culture and conflict

Abstract

The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Among the various events organised was a grand pageant on the river Thames; despite the rain, the royal family, the participants and the crowds ranged along the banks of the river enjoyed the sights, colours, sounds and motions of the event. To these would need to be added the sense of touch and smell which no doubt the direct participants experienced. The splendid work of craftsmanship encapsulated in the royal barge, the Gloriana, was at the heart of the show. It was this spectacle which inspired this study of the Grand Harbour of Malta (or Porto Generale ) 2 as a space which was used by the Hospitallers for similar events. For instance, on 9 June 1624, Grand Master Antoine de Paule ceremoniously took possession of Birgu (Vittoriosa) in a ritual known as a possesso . Previous grand masters had staged entries into Malta’s old city, Mdina; de Paule, apart from entering Mdina opted to invent and add a new tradition, a ceremonial entry of the grand master into the maritime town of Vittoriosa. He crossed over from Valletta to Vittoriosa ( Figure 18.1 ) accompanied by many boats; upon landing he mounted a horse and proceeded to enter through the gate of the city. All the while, the thunder of artillery could be heard in the air and happy, animated people ‘men, women and young women’ ran into the streets, windows and terraces to greet him. A spectacular triumphal arch was erected in Vittoriosa’s main square for the grand master to pass under; poems in praise of de Paule were read out and music was played on a variety of instruments. He then proceeded down to the quay where he was greeted by soldiers fi ring their muskets and all galleys and vessels in the harbour fi red their artillery which was an ‘amazing and joyful thing’ to behold. He then embarked on his gondola ( gundula ) to return to Valletta amid the joyful expressions of the population. De Paule felt so happy on that day that his skin was fl ushed and given that his hair and beard were white, this was even more visible. 3 This was a triumphal event captured in an equally triumphant account of de Paule’s possesso: all proceedings were centred on his person, and it was a largely land-based event, even if always within close proximity to the sea. The magisterial possesso of Vittoriosa became a fi xture in the calendar of grand masters who followed de Paule. It continued to evolve, becoming more sea-focused in later times and a key ritualistic nexus connecting the two sides of the Grand Harbour. The account of this event contained within it various elements which captured the centrality of culture and confl ict to Hospitaller lives through sights, sounds, touch and smells. In other words, a sensual experience which was meant to engross participant and spectator in the very widest possible of ways. ‘Culture’ is here understood in the sense of sea-borne rituals while ‘confl ict’ is evident in a symbolic language representing the incessant war against Islam, and the two are mutually reinforcing. Rituals could also form part of, or be addressed to, particular confl icts within the ranks of the Order itself.