The Maltese Nobilities and the Order of St. John. A New Approach
The aim of this paper is to explore a fresh approach to the study of the interrelationship between the Order of St. John and elite Maltese households within a socio-historical framework. It interrogates the ways in which the family strategies of these households reflected their attempts to place the...
Gardado en:
| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cdlm, |
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| Autor Principal: | |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
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Cahiers de la Méditerranée
2023
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| Acceso en liña: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Résumé: | The aim of this paper is to explore a fresh approach to the study of the interrelationship between the Order of St. John and elite Maltese households within a socio-historical framework. It interrogates the ways in which the family strategies of these households reflected their attempts to place their youngest sons with the Order of St. John. The analysis put forward is based on a case study on one noble Maltese household, the de Piro, during the eighteenth century. By analyzing the strategies set up by the de Piro and the career trajectories of several male individuals, this paper demonstrates how membership of the Order of St. John created a tension between the social aspirations and ambitions of these households and the prerogative to secure this household’s fortune for future generations. The example treated here describes one attempt to resolve these tensions, as well as the contingencies that had an impact on their success. In the process, this paper suggests how this approach can generate further research into the social history of the Maltese islands during the centuries of Hospitaller rule. |
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