The slave prison in St Christopher Street, Valletta, where Sellem Bin al-Sheikh Mansur, an astrologer originally from Egypt, was held

What did people living in medieval Malta worry about?

It was not the plague, famine or an imminent attack by the Ottoman Turks. They were more concerned about being dumped by their girlfriends or that their wives were having an affair.

Human nature does not change much over the centuries: the main worries always revolve around relationships – as a historical manuscript from 1605 about magic in Malta reveals.

Discovered in the Cathedral Archives in Mdina, it documents the proceedings of a Roman Inquisition trial of the ‘Moorish’ slave Sellem Bin al-Sheikh Mansur, an astrologer originally from Egypt, who was accused and found guilty of practising magic.

“The trial gives us an unusual insight into the concerns and beliefs of ordinary Maltese in 1605,” according to Dionisius Agius, professor of Arabic studies and Islamic material culture at Exeter University, UK.

Prof. Agius has put together an investigative team of academics from various British and French institutions and the University of Malta to analyse the 400-year-old document in a project funded by the Arts and Humanities and Research Council in the UK.

Catherine Rider, a senior lecturer in medieval history at Exeter University, said: “In the trial, the witnesses testifying against Sellem speak about their illnesses and their problems relating to love and marriage.”

The fear of being bewitched by an enemy also seems to have been quite common

One witness approached Sellem for love magic because he had been dumped by his fiancée and wanted her back.

Another wanted magic to increase harmony in his marriage because his wife thought he was having an affair. In another case, a person went to Sellem for a cure after Christian doctors failed to treat his illness.

The records show that it was quite common for the Maltese to turn to magic in certain situations, mostly to cure illnesses that seemed mysterious or to solve relationship problems.

“The fear of being bewitched by an enemy also seems to have been quite common,” Dr Rider said.

The document sheds light on the way of life in 1605 Malta.

“There is evidence of people from all walks of life: we know how they talked to neighbours and family members about their problems, swapped advice, went to church, shopped and went to Valletta,” she said.

Sellem, who was in his 40s at the time of the trial, sported a beard and seems to have had a particularly eventful life as a galley slave, healer and astrologer.

According to Prof. Agius, remedies offered by Muslim healers may have seemed more exotic and, in turn, more powerful to Christians. They used to recommend that their clients wear amulets and drink magic potions.

Project team: Dionisius Agius, Alex Mallett and Catherine Rider.

The trial would have been a long process, he said. It would start with witnesses coming to the inquisition to report sins they had committed, pushed by their confessors after confiding they had dabbled in magic.

At the end, the inquisitors tortured Sellem, which was usually a last resort to force out the truth. Sellem was the owner of a geomancy book, designed to predict the future on certain issues.

“Will someone recover from an illness? Will a person who is travelling return safely? Who will I marry? Will I have children? The magical practitioner would draw a series of dots at random and interpret these to answer the questions,” Dr Rider said.

Sellem denied the book was his, although it had been found in his room and had his name on it.

According to research fellow Alex Mallett, also working on the project, Sellem was accused and found guilty of practising magic and invoking the devil.

He was sentenced to perform a humiliating procession around the streets of Vittoriosa and Valletta, wearing a paper hat with his crimes written on it, as a drummer walked ahead of him.

The Cathedral Archives, which contain manuscripts of court proceedings of the Inquisition dating from 1561 to 1798, show Christian trials were no different to Muslim ones: “However, Muslims were treated more suspiciously than Christians in the trials,” Dr Mallett noted.

There is not much evidence of integrated societies. “The situation was more of two cultures existing alongside each other rather than coming together.”

On April 15, at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, Mdina, Prof. Agius will be hosting a public panel discussion on Magic in Malta . For information send an e-mail to info@palazzofalson.com.