Copyright © The Malta Historical Society, 2005.

Source: Melita Historica : Journal of the Malta Historical Society. 14(2004)1(127-128)

[p.127] Alain Blondy, Des Nouvelles de Malte: Correspondance de M. l'Abbé Boyer (1738-1777) Direction des Archives, Ministère des Affaires étrangères, Paris 2004. P.I.E.-Peter Lang (distributor; www.publicity@peterlang.com). pp. 280; illustrations, index, bibliography. ISBN: 90-5201-229-6 (paperback).

The publication of sources for Maltese history has recently received the impetus it very well requires through the efforts of a number of historians, and Professor Blondy's latest publication constitutes yet another important contribution in this field. This time it was the turn of the eighteenth-century historians to be regaled with a particularly interesting albeit mostly ignored source.

Blondy's publication consists of an annotated edition of the correspondence written by knight commander de Viguier, between May and October 1738 and the much more extensive collection of letters authored by the controversial abbé Boyer, spanning the period November 1774 to April 1777. Both collections of letters - together with other material - presently constitute National Library of Malta Library Manuscript 137. The letters were addressed to the Balí de Breteuil, who was, for many years, the Order's ambassador to Rome and the correspondence served to keep Breteuil informed of happenings on the island. It was mostly due to the establishment of the Order's Biblioteca Pubblica during the second half of the eighteenth century that such material found itself back on the island. Indeed, following Breteiul's demise, his collection of printed and manuscript works - presumably comprising the Boyer correspondence - is known to have been shipped over to the island in 1786 and mostly integrated within the Order's library.

Claude-François Boyer (1733-1790) was a French conventual chaplain of the Order with a rather colourful career. Deprived of his habit and imprisoned in Fort St Elmo for a variety of serious transgressions, Boyer was eventually absolved of all censures by Order of Grand Master Ximenes in August 1773, following pressure from Rome to do so. Not particularly well-disposed towards the Maltese as is evident from comments in his correspondence, one of Boyer's greatest adversaries was Albino Menville, the Maltese conventual chaplain who was to rise to high office under Grand Master de Rohan. Menville was in fact appointed auditor to the Grand Master and, following the death of Grand Prior Mainardi in 1785, to the very prestigious post of Grand Prior. The appointment resulted in its opposition by a number of members of the Order who showered Menville with abuse. The painting reproduced on the cover of the publication is particularly relevant in this respect: it consists of a caricature of Grand Prior Menville, who is made to look like an overgrown child, surrounded by members of the Order showering him with mock respect. Possibly the painting was commissioned by Boyer himself, although both the subject depicted and Boyer's involvement in the painting's execution have recently been questioned.

[p.128] To the historian, the major interest in Boyer's correspondence lies in the sheer variety of subjects it covers. From performances held in the public theatre to the eventful occurrences of September 1775, Boyer's letters provide us with invaluable insights and current opinions, besides actual facts. It moreover covers a particularly sensitive period where relations between the Order and its Maltese subjects were concerned. The recounting of rumours, hearsay and the expression of opinion which is provided by Boyer's letters constitutes an invaluable source and one which is not provided by official documentation. Besides the actual annotated correspondence, Blondy provides introductory material of a biographical nature together with a discussion of the historical context of the letters. An index and bibliography - both indispensable tools in a work of this nature - are also provided.

William Zammit