Grigory Krayevsky:A short description of the island of Malta and the Order of St John
Midsea Books, 2017
The signal victory over the Ottomans of 1565 won the Order of St John kudos and renown all over Europe. Their island-fortress on the frontier of Christian civilisation too gained admiration as the home of these valiant warriors of God. Soon a great number of visitors started coming over to bear witness to the ‘island of heroes’, as the studies by Thomas Freller have so amply recorded. A good number of them left written accounts of their visits, some of which were published, while others have remained in manuscript form in various libraries until recently.
[attach id=680228 size="medium" align="right"][/attach]
One published account which has remained fairly unknown owing to the language in which it was written and its rarity is that by Grigory Krayevsky (1747-1802), who travelled as a courier to various Russian embassies. In 1785, he joined the Russian Ambassador to Naples, Count Paul Martinovich Skavronsky, a most interesting character in his own right as was his wife, on a visit to Malta as an interpreter. He eventually left a written account of his experiences which Emperor Paul I gave permission to be printed at the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1800. Between the writing of the book and its publication, Malta had fallen to the French and Paul had found himself elected the 72nd Grand Master of the Order of St John by a small group of knights who had made their way to St Petersburg.
Four copies of the book are known to exist, one each in Moscow, Kiev, and two in the National Library of Malta. The fourth belongs to Joseph Schirò, who was instrumental in getting Elena Yasnetskaya Sultana to translate it and then writing an introduction, and editing it with explanatory notes.
One very interesting aspect of the publication is the unique map of Malta in 1800 which is the only known Russian printed map of the islands. Based on a 1752 map by De Palmeus, it actually included only 107 place names of the islands and gives names of villages, bays and harbours, and several fortifications. It features on the cover and as a two-page spread inside, although the division of the pages makes it hard to follow.
The book is divided into two parts, with the first part giving a general description of the islands, their history, the people, the customs and the language. The first short sections are taken from published sources, but other observations seem to have been made from his first-hand experience, and sometimes refer to observations not noted by other travellers.
Another valuable addition to the many visitors’ accounts of the islands, made all the more precious by being unique in the Russian language
Quite a lot of details are given on local farming methods. Krayevsky mentions the importation of soil, the collection of manure from the streets, and the thrift and hard work of the farmers.
He mentions the Maltese oranges, which “are the best in Europe as far as state and health benefits are concerned”, and which are shipped to other countries “as a present to the aristocracy”.
One thing that is most definitely unlike today is that “there are lots of birds of different kinds, for it is not difficult for them to fly from all over Africa, the Atlantic (Atlas?) mountains, and Europe”.
Like all other travellers, he is struck with Gozo’s fertility, and remarks that its city “is worthy of note as it is especially celebrated because of the dust that is blown by the wind from its land-dwellings… which according to legend, repels any poisonous animal”.
In his very long account of Valletta, he is struck by several sights, including its massive fortifications, the Helfant cannon, the sheer beauty of the interior of St John’s and its incredible relics and riches (including a cross made of pure gold, of ordinary size, and one of pure silver, of extraordinary size, made from the profits of the corsairs), the hospital, which the Grand Master visits three times a week to serve the sick, and the Palace with an armoury that could at any time equip 2,000 men.
An interesting reference is to the community of “Indians” which had been brought to Malta “not more than 20 months before” and “were rolling tobacco leaves into a tube, lighting one end and keeping another in the mouth”, which is probably the earliest reference to cigar-smoking in Malta.
Krayevsky was not very impressed by the Maltese, whom he describes as “beastly and wicked” and “easily inclined to treason and treachery”. It is only the Order which, watching closely over them, “teaches them to behave well”.
Maltese women are “fair and beautiful, especially in Valletta but, because their husbands are jealous”, they “almost always stay indoors locked up in their houses. Going out without covering the face was, for women, equal to adultery”. Yet, he notes that “if they are inclined to sin, they are able to commit any crime without the slightest twinge of conscience”.
The Russian also gives a lengthy description of the Coccagna, which must have been quite a wild activity because “people would often fall from that mountain and die, or get seriously hurt”.
Krayevsky notes that the Maltese had their own language “which is similar to African Arabic”, which he concludes is a remnant of Carthaginian, “in other words, Canaanite, which is now commonly called Jewish”. It is spoken in all the villages, although the villagers cannot understand the city-dwellers and vice-versa. A list of Maltese words is also given, which includes the numbers and a few other basic words, and also the Lord’s Prayer.
The second part gives a very brief history of the Order of St John, its rules and regulations, and a description of the langues, the coinage, and the ritual of admission. Quite clearly put is the reference to the revolution that overturned the Ancien Regime and was to spell the end of the Order in Malta, a mere 13 years after Krayevsky’s visit. Here it is: “The global troublemakers, wily thieves and trespassers of the (sic) world peace, the French snakes who nested in the depths of peace-loving nations, who poisoned many soft and innocent hearts, revolted against the faith and law of God and his anointed custodians.”
This book is another valuable addition to the many visitors’ accounts of the islands, made all the more precious by being unique in the Russian language.