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Paul Catania
The People of the North 1546-1610.
Midsea Books, 2015
246 pp

This is the 24th book in the excellent series Maltese Social Studies published by Midsea Books, another gem to read and enjoy. In this book, Paul Catania, an established researcher in this field, writes about Naxxar (the matrice) and its then-satellite hamlets Mosta and Għargħur during the years 1546 -1610.

The book offers a micro-history of the common folk, the parish priests, the way of life, scruples, sexual deviances, gossiping and daily toil during these interesting years, shortly after the coming of the Knights (in 1530) up to 45 years following the Great Siege of 1565.

The careful study of notarial deeds – a gold mine of information – is nowadays rightly gaining a lot more attention. The giant steps being achieved in the restoration of such deeds in our long forlorn and now re-appreciated Notarial Archives, which are blessed with a dedicated staff and volunteers, should prove to be an even more fertile catalyst for researchers.

I have already mentioned parish priests and my one doubt with this book was the following: who would be interested in a parish priest of that period? That was until I read about Don Juliano Borg, who was parish priest of Naxxar for a very long span of 40 years, from 1570 to 1610. He is the Shylock of the saga, a money-spinner and a usurer, a garrulous and quarrelsome character who was even imprisoned a couple of times and accused of heresy and sexual intimacies.

Yet, he, somehow, resisted all obstacles until he died and even managed to stop Mosta and Għargħur from becoming parishes until his death, in spite of the fact that Rome itself favoured the establishment of these new parishes. Catania weaves a life-story of this character.

We are indeed fortunate that we now have an increasing number of scholars that are giving life to our past in a most professional manner and Catania is certainly one of these

The author deals with a variety of topics that reflected social conventions of the day – the social mobility, public officers, life expectancy, moral values, religious practices, topography, agriculture, everyday life, marriage contracts, wills… in other words a wide cross-section of what was really ticking at that time in that area. The region was, then, perhaps the most fertile area in Malta and hosted some very wealthy farmers, many of whom the author brings to life again.

We are indeed fortunate that we now have an increasing number of scholars that are giving life to our past in a most professional manner. Catania is certainly one of these. and we are also very fortunate that Midsea Publications are very present in this quest to discover our past, and thus further appreciate our present to direct our future.

One criticism: the book contains an index of names and places. A book like this would have been very much enriched with a general index, which would help the reader to find items such as cotton, massari, pivatori, marriage contracts, prostitution, sacraments, witchcraft, blessings, hunger, and a host of other topics. This is a minor lacuna in this book’s well-provisioned treasure chest.

A give away: With the book one gets a CD with detailed database containing family trees of inhabitants of Naxxar, Mosta and Għargħur of that period, with professions, nicknames, dates of confirmations, marriages and so forth. Good job indeed and certainly of interest to the people across the board, whether they might hail from the north, south, east or west.