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S22 | Knights Hospitaller Archives: Malta (Patreon)

Published:
2022-08-14 10:52:21
Edited:
2022-08-14 10:56:04
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

During her family holiday in Malta this summer, Time Team's Producer/Director Emily Boulting took the opportunity to carry out a spot of research. Even better, she filmed it for us!

For over 250 years, Malta (an island nation in the Mediterranean) was the main powerbase of the Knights Hospitaller, and many of the order's records are still held today at the national Bibliotheca, Valletta.

Often digging in the archives can be as productive as digging in the ground. Amazingly, with the help of library staff, Emily tracked down the 500-year-old records for our site, situated somewhere on Welsh borders, 2,000 miles away!

Files

Malta Archives: Knights Hospitaller Site

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Comments

Ryan Cole

Why do they use pillows to hold the books? Is it because a normal lectern would be too rough on the delicate documents?

Mel Blunt

To protect especially the spine of the book

Ryan Cole

Ok, that makes sense. I've just never seen that before.

Nigel Bell

(effusive thanks left in YouTube comments section). 😊

Jonathan Sturm

Hmmm… I could smell those pages. I’m surprised you weren’t required to wear cotton gloves.

Carl Johnson

I too wondered about the cotton gloves. Very exciting to know if those pages contain the helpful details for the dig.

Alex Huxley

Highly recommend Roger Crowley's book EMPIRES OF THE SEA. Much is an account of the great siege of Malta in 1565. No quarter given on either side, truly shocking brutal battle.

Doug Lucey

What fun ... poring over archives. My idea of a holiday! Gloves should always be a requirement for treasures such as these, I think (that said, Emily was super careful).

Ann H

Also curious if the Hospitaliers used a standard unit of measure in their construction and city design. Rhodes has similarly wide streets. Not sure how much is modern reconstruction in Rhodes.

DOOBAT

And because it means they don't have to bend the spines as much!

Kathie C

The British Library has published advice on the use of white gloves. Essentially, we recommend that it is preferable to handle manuscripts with clean dry hands. Wearing cotton gloves to hold or turn the pages of a book or manuscript actually reduces manual dexterity, and increases the likelihood of causing damage.

David Boon

Thanks for confirming that. I knew it had changed in the archives I visit in Australia but wasn’t sure of the reason.

Nick Balmer

How absolutely fascinating. What was really great was that even when viewed via YouTube it is possible to begin to read some of the words. (albeit very slowly)

Kerie Receveur

Worth reading the third volume of Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles - “The Disorderly Knights” - expertly researched historical fiction, set in the mid-16th century. This particular volume centres on Malta, and the Hospitallers.

Jude Edling

What an incredible opportunity!

camakarma

Super interesting 👍

Charles Weager

Interesting, when I was doing my project on Mynchin Buckland I wrote to the various centres. The only reply I received was from Rhodes. Conveniently my wife is in Malta in the next few weeks and I will get her to see what she can find.

Michael O'Connor

Probably due to the time she entered the library, registered as a researcher, or possibly library closing for siesta (not sure if they do that in Malta but could be), her own family schedule, or any sort of reason.

James Matney

Yes this is truly INTERSTING. As I was looking for something at was support on one of my old U.S. Navy ship logs. (68-72) not that long ago. Was it not on the log. The hole log is missing, from the navy actives

Fern Wilcox

What a great opportunity and thanks to modern technology ie: her phone, she can take the images with her! So quite a lot of accomplishment in just 1 hour.

Paul Wardman

I was able to trace my family back to a Gio Batta Gonzio who arrived in Valetta from Genoa Italy in 1707 to take employment with the Knights of St. John as he was a surgeon. It was very emotional visiting the hospital built by the Knights in Malta knowing that my ancestor worked there as a surgeon.

Robert Wise

Thanks Emily! I wonder if the library has digitized its collection?

Dyana Mason

I will look forward to seeing them again in the episode!!

Donna Oglesby

Was great that you were able to spend some time at the archives there and get some pictures of some of the pages,and also to have filmed it all. The wholoe thing is very interesting and I have to thank

Donna Oglesby

Stewart for bringing this dig to the Forefront and letting all of us know about this and some of the history behind this dig, Bravo. Look forward to the dig!

Ann Wagner

This is wonderful to see! The archivists did great work to have so many relevant sources gathered. I’m a professional with handling works like these. Nitrile gloves are better than cotton, but even they can make it awkward to handle works on paper or parchment or vellum. Cotton gloves can be so clumsy and slippery that they can cause tears or creases in the vellum or parchment or at least make it impossible to turn pages. The best thing really is very clean hands. Some print rooms actually have a sink so people can wash the natural oils off their hands every half hour or so. But handling policies vary from institution to institution. What the archivists or curators say is what goes.

JUDITH COOKE

That was a fascinating opportunity to participate in some of the initial research for the next episode, in a locality I should never be able to visit otherwise. Again Time Team is greatly adding to my knowledge of these historical places. Thanks Emily!

Stephen Southworth

Really great to see the condition of those documents. Excitement building!!

Pamela Brotherton

So fascinating! It is amazing to see the condition of the documents.

Carl Johnson

So, I was watching QI Season 19 Episode 12 and learned that when handling old books, historians prefer clean hands over gloves because you are less likely to tear the page, and gloves can pick up pigments from the page and transfer them easier than bare skin.

caroline cleaveley

Great to see valletta again after 10 years since ive been.

Susie Stockton-Link

I've spent many hours transcribing 16th and 17th c will and inventories - to see such clarity and enviable preservation from such old documents is marvellous. I'd REALLY like to read the book written about THIS excavation!

Emily Boulting

It was very warm in there, so we washed our hands several times! I queried the lack of gloves myself, but the answer was exactly as you describe Ann.

Emily Boulting

Actually, they had the President there that day, so they were very good to accommodate me at all!

Shannon O’Donnell

It was great to see an added step behind the scenes before an episode begins

Philip Stack

Great rapid work, Emily. Such a lovely city as well.

Jon Colcord

I had no idea that Emily was also an historian! Until now, I thought she was all about film and editing!

Elizabeth Neill

How absolutely wonderful. Thank you, Emily.

Peter Duncan

I live in a house that was built on the site of a medieval hospital (poor house, actually - 1170 to about 1570) in East Lothian. I wonder if there are any records of that on Malta. Must try to go and find out. Fascinating stuff.