Melita Historica Reviews 2007

Source: Melita Historica. [Published by the Malta Historical Society]. 14(2007)4(451-452)

Mario Buhagiar, The Christianisation of Malta: Catacombs, Cult Centres and Churches in Malta to 1530, BAR International Series no. 1674, Oxford: Archeopress 2007.
pp. xiv + 321, illustrations (171 figures), bibliography, index. ISBN 978-1-4073-0109-9.

This book is actually the publication of Professor Mario Buhagiar’s 1993 doctoral thesis which he had successfully submitted to the University of London. It may also be considered as a continuation to his Masters’ thesis submitted to the same university in 1982 and also published by BAR in 1986 (no.302). Prof. Buhagiar, the Head of the History of Art Department within the Faculty of Arts of the University of Malta, is an avid, tireless and meticulous researcher in the development of Christianity in Malta with particular emphasis on the archaeological and artistic aspects. Much of the fruits of his ongoing research are contained in the above- mentioned publications and in his 2005 book about Maltese late medieval art and architecture.

Page i opens with a cautionary note, dated July 2006, in which the author very sensibly and honestly states that “this publication reproduces the unadulterated text of a doctoral thesis ... submitted ... in 1993” and that “research and publication have since then accelerated and provided an opportunity to adjust ideas and take different approaches to key issues.” Prof. Buhagiar further states he has updated various ideas in recent publications, notably in his co-authored two-volume publication about Mdina in 1996 and the above-mentioned 2005 publication. Therefore, the publication under review presents an account of how things stood in 1993. Personally, I agree with Prof. Buhagiar that, notwithstanding a number of revisions during the last decade or so, this work remains “a coherent point of departure for the study of Christianity in Malta” and, I honestly believe, has great usefulness as a point of reference.

The abstract on page ii sums up, in a nutshell, what the author has set out to accomplish: “An analytical study of the origins and development of the Christian Church in Malta up to around 1500 AD through a reassessment and interpretation of source material” where “archaeology is considered against the background of documented history, and takes into account the textual and iconographic evidence.” The question is whether Prof. Buhagiar succeeds or not in his aims. I believe he does and he goes about it by tackling the subject in a chronological, coherent manner and the use of language by which even the non-specialist readily understands the gist of his arguments, hypotheses and conclusions. The ten divisions of the book are built up in a way that each analysis leads to the next subject as this list clearly shows: the Pauline shipwreck controversy; the Roman prelude to Early Christian Malta; rock-cut tombs and miniature catacombs (a division which includes three appendices); the Tas-Silg and San Pawl Milqi archaeological sites; Byzantine Malta; the Arab conquest and Islam in Malta; Norman Malta and the Maltese Muslims; the [p.452] Christianisation of Malta; and the Latinization of Malta. All lead up to a summing- up of the conclusions reached.

Prof. Buhagiar’s task was certainly not easy, especially where written evidence is very conspicuous by its absence over rather longish periods of time, thus making imperative his recourse to the unwritten sources in the form of archaeology which, in turn, was inadequately represented in scholarly publications in pre-1993 but that have increased by the present time. The end result is an objective, detailed and exhaustive rendition of the development of Christianity in Malta till the coming of the Order of St John in 1530. Throughout, the author very correctly regularly compares objects of study from the local scene with counterpart material found in other Mediterranean localities. Nor does he jump to quick conclusions and accepts everything which turns up as proof when, in reality, there are only indications. However, not everything is clear-cut. Whether St Paul was shipwrecked in Malta or not is still debated and Prof. Buhagiar’s hypothesis that Basilian monks evangelised the local Muslims is, as rightly pointed out by the author himself, still just a theory. Nonetheless, the book is a very good contribution to the study of Maltese ecclesiastical history and is, in my opinion, indispensable for researchers delving in this branch of our islands’ past.

The production of the book, including binding and printing, is attractive enough and certainly much more professionally-produced than the 1986 publication though proof-reading should have been much better. The 171 black-and-white figures (including the diagrams, maps and photographs) are clear with good indications as to the chapters they refer to. The bibliography is exhaustive, as is to be expected in such a work, and the index is very user-friendly. The fact that the book is a publication of the British Archaeological Reports Series (BAR) guarantees a worldwide distribution and a scholarly readership (I believe that the Prof. Buhagiar’s 1986 publication is out of print). Likewise, this publication should find a ready place on the book-shelves of Maltese history specialists and of Melitensia lovers in general.

Dr Joseph F. Grima