The Grand Master we know
A researcher has invoked Malta’s “collective memory” to suggest that the Grand Master who founded Valletta should continue to be referred to as de La Valette and not de Valette.
For centuries, people have referred to the 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta as Jean de La Valette and this cannot be ignored, despite archival evidence showing his name as de Valette, according to Francophile Charles Xuereb.
“Despite archival evidence traced in Malta or elsewhere, one can never ignore the collective memory surrounding the famous chevalier from Provence,” he said, adding it was always wise to balance archival and collective memory in history.
The veteran broadcaster is doing academic research about France in the Maltese collective mem-ory, analysing the perceptions and interpretation of the 1798 uprising and France’s place in the national memory.
Last year he was admitted to the French National Order of the Légion d’Honneur as Chevalier, nominated by then President Nicolas Sarkozy for his long and dedicated service to the dissemination of French culture.
The controversy on the correct spelling of the Grand Master’s name was brought up again in November during the unveiling of a monument in Valletta to the city’s founder.
During a speech, judge and researcher Giovanni Bonello stressed that the name was de Valette and not de La Valette. He later invited “anyone to find one single reference during the Grand Master’s lifetime when he referred to himself, or was referred to, as de La Valette or as La Valette”.
But this did not go down well with everyone and stirred nationwide debate.
On her third trip to Malta, Désireé von la Valette Saint Georges, a descendent of the man who commissioned the building of the city, insisted the Grand Master’s family had always carried the name as de La Valette and not de Valette.
Mr Xuereb quoted French memoriologist Pierre Nora saying that history researchers may speak in the name of science, knowledge, formation, practice, habit and craft, but do they also speak on behalf of memory?
“It might be wiser to consider what the nation has remembered collectively for more than four and a half centuries before we rush to change names. After all it is a detail that won’t contribute anything new to history,” Mr Xuereb said.
The new statue in Valletta was a “good step in the right direction”, he said. However the decision to name the small square that hosts the Grand Master as de Valette “seems to have been taken following research by one person into our archives about the Grand Master.
“Is this the way the authorities take decisions about prominent public spaces?
“What is at stake here is not the naming of a secondary square in Malta’s capital city, but the collective memory of the Maltese and the international community,” Mr Xuereb insisted.
He said many appreciated Dr Bonello’s enthusiasm and love for archival revelations on the Knights of Malta and no one doubted his assertion that the Grand Master was in the habit of signing de Valette during his lifetime.
There was other historical evidence too that showed it seemed correct to say that La Valette used to sign de Valette, he said. “Perhaps his family assumed a change in the name later or some members preferred other ways of using their name... But again we fall back on the collective memory.”
While historians might prefer to use de Valette to refer to him correctly, he said, the public on the other hand might prefer to keep referring to him in the popular way that the whole world came to know him and his family after his death.
The Grandmaster himself was the son of Guillot de La Valette-Cornusson and French history researchers referred to his brother, Bishop of Vabres, as François de La Valette.
Also, according to the Dictionnaire de la Noblesse (1770) by FA Aubert de la Chesnaye-Desbois, a certain Jean de La Valette was presented to the Grand Prieur de Toulouse in 1606 and admitted as Chevalier de Malte when he was 12.
Mr Xuereb said that as with several surnames all over the world, aristocratic families in France seemed to have used slightly different names in different circumstances or over time, adding or dropping a proposition or article.
Some in fact floated the idea that descendants of Malta’s La Valette experienced such a change during the 16th century, he said.
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Raymond Sammut
Dec 11th 2012, 08:27
The term “collective memory” is vague and ill-defined. For example, one can show an interesting item to ten people, and then hide the item. When asked what they saw, each of the ten would tell you -from memory- a different thing. And such an outcome is guaranteed from repeated experiments. It's simply the way the human brain works. Collective memory, thus, degenerates into fiction over time.
Pippo de Marco
Dec 10th 2012, 16:46
Is there any scope for compromise ? ... How about Pjazza La Valette ?
P. Ciantar
Dec 10th 2012, 16:26
all the posts on internet and history books de La Valette some 9,000,000 on Google but De Valette some 9 items. That explains all the question. The internet solved the problem one million to one in favour of De La Valette
Victor Pulis
Dec 10th 2012, 14:59
The \italians have as hasbit of add la infront of female names. For example they refer to Raphaella Carra as La Carra and so on.
K. Vella II
Dec 10th 2012, 14:42
Sometimes you wonder where these historians were hibernating all along.
j brincat
Dec 10th 2012, 14:30
As they say: what's in a name?
Another in the series of 'A mountain out of a mole hill'
(jb)
Francis Farrugia
Dec 10th 2012, 13:44
When one hears international news in Italian, German and Spanish and the name of our capital city is mentioned they always quote it as LA VALLETTA: so there must be significance for the word LA:
Charles Zerafa
Dec 10th 2012, 14:35
I think so too. Certainly the city he founded and in which he now lies buried is "La Valette" in French.
It's therefore entirely reasonable that he would have been known (if not in his own lifetime then posthumously at least) as "Jean de La Valette", for it is with that city that he became, and still is, identified!
K. Vella II
Dec 10th 2012, 14:41
That is just the definitive article which is added to the names of cities in the languages that you mention. It has nothing to do with his surname.
Borg Mario
Dec 10th 2012, 12:44
Mr Charles Xuereb, Jean Parisot de La Valette is born in Parisot in the Rouergue which is in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, in the South West of France. To my knowledge, Provence is in the South East of France something like 300km away from Provence...
Perhaps by saying from Provence, you are referring to the knights templars located in Provence?
M Cachia
Dec 10th 2012, 14:27
Mr Borg. Jean de Valette was a member of the langue of Provence a region encompassing an area greater than that of the current department of France. As far as I am aware it corresponds to the region encompassed by the Kingdom of Burgundy, an independent state from France for long periods in history. Hope that clears it up.
Mario Costa
Dec 10th 2012, 12:08
If it has been established that, from documents contemporary to the Grand Master, his name was Jean de Valette, and that that was the way he preferred it, why should the monument erected in his honour bear a different name? If the collective memory is wrong, then it should be corrected. E.g. Count Roger was said to have given the Maltese their national colours but no historian accepts that today.
C Busuttil
Dec 10th 2012, 14:11
Who are these historians ? the part time hobbyist pensioner ? can these self defined historians tell us how we got these national colours. After every legend there is some truth and every historian who loves history and not protagonism knows that. In Rome many so called historians dismissed the she wolf now they have even found the legendary cave were romulus and remus were found by the she wolf
Franco Abela
Dec 10th 2012, 11:56
JEAN DE VALETTE aka LA VALLETTE
John Neville Ebejer
Dec 10th 2012, 11:12
History lessons should take now the opportunity to focus on the character of this Grand Master and present no more the fable like interpretation - but credible presentation, inviting to discussion and analysis.
Influential, inspirational, courageous but a most despotic ruler, revengeful and cruel at times. At one point plannig to leave the island after the siege.
Bud Moureaux - Flanders (BE) & Xemxija, SPB (MT)
Dec 10th 2012, 11:12
2. In the last but one paragraph: '...adding or dropping a proposition or article'.
This should be 'prEposition' and not 'prOposition'. A prOposition is something offered for consideration or a point to be discussed. A prEposition is a word generally used to express time, place, direction, manner, etc. -- e.g. at, in, on, under, by, with, from, against, down etc.
Have a nice day.
Charles Vella
Dec 10th 2012, 10:49
In school I was thought that it's "Grandmastru De La Vallette" or simply "La Vallette" and never any thing else! That monument should be arranged as we will be the shame of Europe, as around the world he is known as DE LA VALLETTE!
Dominic Chircop
Dec 10th 2012, 10:48
And why quibble about a la ? Malta is well known for its penchant for making such errors. A case in point is when they named various streets in honour of one of our most renowned composers, Girolamo Abos. We manged to get it wrong, and you can find lots of Geronimo Abos Streets around Malta!!!
Terry COURTNADGE
Dec 10th 2012, 10:42
The greatest hero of the last thousand years (with many runners-up).
P. Attard
Dec 10th 2012, 10:25
Quote, 'it might be wiser to consider......' This is exactly my opinion on this matter. We should leave the historical Grand Master's name as we have always been taught at our history lessons at school, that is LA VALLETTE. These experts who always try to convince us to think otherwise should keep their opinions for themselves and let the common people enjoy their historical beliefs!
John Neville Ebejer
Dec 10th 2012, 11:00
Your opinion is not like Mr Xuereb's. Mr Xuereb is saying that whilst one writes history and teaches it properly and adjusting this continuosly as new researched evidence occurs, in certain cases collective memory - I add, tradition, should be given it's own merit. But consciously of the factual evidence the researchers labourously manage to attain.
Otherwise is ignorance
M Muscat
Dec 10th 2012, 11:16
Agree 100% the name is... Fra' Jean Parisot de Valette.
Victor Pulis
Dec 10th 2012, 15:04
These experts who always try to convince us to think otherwise should keep their opinions for themselves and let the common people enjoy their historical beliefs!
In other words let us wallow in our ignorance.
James Borg
Dec 10th 2012, 10:03
....and we needed a French scholar to tell us so!!!!!
I've always heard and read the name of the famous Grand Master as de la Valette and even his own decendants said that the name is de la Valette.... so why do we have to start now referring to him as de Valette?!
Victor Pulis
Dec 10th 2012, 15:05
Because The grand master himself used to sign de Valette and I would presume he knew how to write his own name.
Cornelius Murphy
Dec 10th 2012, 09:56
Little over a year ago, Charles Xuereb referred to the Grandmaster as 'de Valette' four times in an article he wrote:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110902/life-features/Shame-or-treason-to-memory-.382930
What has changed so suddenly? Why are we now trying to bend over backwards to accommodate the Grandmaster's relatives who happen to use a different variation of the name?
Byron Abela
Dec 10th 2012, 09:51
As one famous Maltese said, what's in a name. What matters is that he won the Great Siege.
O Kassar
Dec 10th 2012, 09:24
History is not made by academics but by the people. If, for four and a half centuries, we have known this man as La Valette, then why change it now? Imported names evolve as do other words. Do we have to start using "bonjour" instead of "bongu" in Maltese? So we have to continue to refer to this man as Jean de La Valette and and for the sake of academics say he was born as Jean de Valette.
M. Attard
Dec 10th 2012, 09:21
Jean de La Valette known as Jean de Valette ... problem solved
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