1647 La Rassegna

1647 La Rassegna

In 1647, amid mounting tensions between the Ottoman Empire and the Order of St John, Malta’s militia was mustered in anticipation of a possible invasion. Scattered among the registers of the Notarial Archives are a series of remarkable documents recording this mobilisation: detailed lists of men drawn from towns and villages across the island, together with annotations that reveal glimpses of the society that produced them.

This study presents, for the first time, a complete transcription and analysis of these militia musters. Beyond their military function, the lists provide an extraordinary demographic snapshot of 17th Century Malta, documenting names, ages, occupations, social distinctions, and occasional remarks that illuminate the realities of daily life under Hospitaller rule.

By combining careful archival transcription with historical commentary and glossary analysis, the work reconstructs the structure of Malta’s militia and the communities that sustained it. The result is both a primary source edition and a social history of the island at a moment when the spectre of Ottoman attack still shaped its defensive organisation and collective identity.

By: Jurgan Said

Format: hardback

No of pages: 406