Maltese literature
Encyclopedia
The term Maltese literature may be used to refer to any literature originating from Malta
or by Maltese
writers. However, it more often refers to literature written in the Maltese language
.
This article will give an overview of the history of Maltese-language literature.
, aristocracy
and bourgeoisie
were able to read and write and much of their communication was conducted in Latin
. Throughout the centuries use of the Maltese language
was often discouraged with varying enthusiasm, ostensibly in the hope that supplanting it would strengthen ties with the country which held possession of Malta at that particular point in time. Under the Knights of St John both Italian
and French
were used for official documents and correspondence. During the British colonial period
the use of English
was encouraged through education, with Italian regarded as the next most influential language. It was not until 1936 that Maltese was recognised as the island's official language. Uniquely, no other European country lacked a standardised written form of its language until the 19th century, when men such as Mikiel Anton Vassalli
made a concerted effort to transcribe spoken Maltese into a written form, although examples of written Maltese exist from as early as the 15th century.
that has characterized the culture of Malta throughout its history. For many centuries, Maltese was known as the language "of the kitchen and the workshop", while Italian
was the language of education, literature, the arts, law and commerce. Hence, until the early 20th century, the vast majority of literary works in Malta were written in Italian by the community of Maltese Italians. In early Maltese history, diglossia manifested itself in the co-existence of a developed form of Siculo-Arabic
and the language of a series of rulers, most notably Latin, Greek
, Sicilian
, French
, Spanish
and Italian. From 1800 onwards these were largely supplanted by English. The Maltese language is today heavily overlaid with Romance
and English influences as a result.
According to Prof. Oliver Friggieri:
poem, Cantilena
(circa 1470 to 1485) (also known as Xidew il-Qada), followed by Gian Francesco Bonamico's sonnet of praise to Grand Master Nicolò Cotoner
, Mejju gie' bl'Uard, u Zahar (The month of May has arrived, with roses and orange blossoms), circa 1672. The earliest known Maltese dictionary was written by Francois de Vion Thezan Court (circa 1640). In 1700, an anonymous Gozitan poet wrote Jaħasra Mingħajr Ħtija (Unfortunately Innocent). A Maltese translation of the Lord's Prayer
appeared in Johannes Heinrich Maius's work Specimen Lingua Punicæ in hodierna Melitensium superstitis (1718), demonstrating the formerly wide-held belief that the language had a Punic heritage. A collection of religious sermons by a certain Dun Ignazio Saverio Mifsud, published between 1739 and 1746, is regarded as the earliest known example of Maltese prose.
An anonymous poem entitled Fuqek Nitħaddet Malta (I am talking about you, Malta), was written circa 1749, regarding an uprising of slaves. A few years later, in 1752, a catechism
entitled Tagħlim Nisrani ta' Dun Franġisk Wizzino (Don Francesco Wizzino's Christian Teachings) was published in both Maltese and Italian. The occasion of Carnival
in 1760 saw the publication of a collection of burlesque
verses under the heading Żwieġ la Maltija (Marriage, in the Maltese Style), by Dun Feliċ Demarco.
A child of the Romantic
movement, Maltese patriot Mikiel Anton Vassalli
(1764–1829) hailed the emergence of literary Maltese as "one of the ancient patrimonies...of the new emerging nation" and saw this nascent trend as: (1) the affirmation of the singular and collective identity, and (2) the cultivation and diffusion of the national speech medium as the most sacred component in the definition of the patria and as the most effective justification both for a dominated community's claim to be a nation and for the subsequent struggle against foreign rulers.
Between 1798 and 1800, while Malta was under the rule of Napoleonic France, a Maltese translation of L-Għanja tat-Trijonf tal-Libertà (Ode to the Triumph of Liberty), by Citizen La Coretterie, Secretary to the French Government Commissioner, was published on the occasion of Bastille Day
.
The first translation into Maltese of a biblical text, the Gospel of St. John, was published in 1822 (trans. Ġużeppi Marija Cannolo), on the initiative of the Bible Society in Malta. The first Maltese language newspaper, l-Arlekkin Jew Kawlata Ingliża u Maltija (The Harlequin, or a mix of English and Maltese) appeared in 1839, and featured the poems l-Imħabba u Fantasija (Love and Fantasy) and Sunett (A Sonnett).
The first epic poem in Maltese, Il-Ġifen Tork (The Turkish Caravel
), by Giovanni Antonio Vassallo, was published in 1842, followed by Ħrejjef bil-Malti (Legends in Maltese) and Ħrejjef u Ċajt bil-Malti (Legends and Jokes in Maltese) in 1861 and 1863 respectively. The same author published the first history book in the Maltese language entitled Storja ta’ Malta Miktuba għall-Poplu (The People's History of Malta) in 1862.
1863 saw the publication of the first novel
in Maltese, Elvira Jew Imħabba ta’ Tirann (Elvira, or the Love of a Tyrant) by the Neapolitan
author, Giuseppe Folliero de Luna. Anton Manwel Caruana's novel Ineż Farruġ (1889), the first Maltese novel, was modelled on traditional Italian historical novels, such as Manzoni's
I promessi sposi and has been the subject of recent scholarly attention.
is the oldest written text known to exist in Maltese
, dating from no later than 1485, the death of Pietru Caxaro
, the author it is attributed to. It wasn't rediscovered until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni in the Valletta Notarial Archives. Frans Sammut
published a revolutionary interpretation of it in 2009.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
or by Maltese
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
writers. However, it more often refers to literature written in the Maltese language
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
.
This article will give an overview of the history of Maltese-language literature.
Written Maltese
As Maltese evolved after Count Roger I of Sicily ended Arab rule on the island at the end of the 11th century, there was little interest in developing a written form of the language. Initially only the clergyClergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
and bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
were able to read and write and much of their communication was conducted in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Throughout the centuries use of the Maltese language
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
was often discouraged with varying enthusiasm, ostensibly in the hope that supplanting it would strengthen ties with the country which held possession of Malta at that particular point in time. Under the Knights of St John both Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
were used for official documents and correspondence. During the British colonial period
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
the use of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was encouraged through education, with Italian regarded as the next most influential language. It was not until 1936 that Maltese was recognised as the island's official language. Uniquely, no other European country lacked a standardised written form of its language until the 19th century, when men such as Mikiel Anton Vassalli
Mikiel Anton Vassalli
Mikiel Anton Vassalli was a Maltese writer, a philosopher, and a linguist who published important Maltese language books, including a Maltese-Italian dictionary, a Maltese grammar book, the Maltese Gospels and, towards the end of his life, a book on Maltese proverbs.-Life:Mikiel Anton Vassalli was...
made a concerted effort to transcribe spoken Maltese into a written form, although examples of written Maltese exist from as early as the 15th century.
Diglossia
The development of native Maltese literary works has historically been hampered by the diglossiaDiglossia
In linguistics, diglossia refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety , a second, highly codified variety is used in certain situations such as literature, formal...
that has characterized the culture of Malta throughout its history. For many centuries, Maltese was known as the language "of the kitchen and the workshop", while Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
was the language of education, literature, the arts, law and commerce. Hence, until the early 20th century, the vast majority of literary works in Malta were written in Italian by the community of Maltese Italians. In early Maltese history, diglossia manifested itself in the co-existence of a developed form of Siculo-Arabic
Siculo-Arabic
Siculo-Arabic was a variety of Arabic spoken in Sicily and Malta between the ninth and the fourteenth centuries. It is extinct in Sicily, but it has developed into what is now the Maltese language on the islands of Malta....
and the language of a series of rulers, most notably Latin, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Sicilian
Sicilian language
Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Italian. From 1800 onwards these were largely supplanted by English. The Maltese language is today heavily overlaid with Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
and English influences as a result.
According to Prof. Oliver Friggieri:
Maltese writers developed an uninterrupted local "Italian" literary movement which went on up to about four decades ago, whereas Maltese as a literary idiom started to coexist on a wide scale in the last decades of the 19th century. Whilst Maltese has the historical priority on the level of the spoken language, Italian has the priority of being the almost exclusive written medium, for the socio-cultural affairs, for the longest period. The native tongue had only to wait for the arrival of a new mentality which could integrate an unwritten, popular tradition with a written, academically respectable one.
The emergence of Maltese literature
The oldest known literary text in the Maltese language is Pietru Caxaro'sPietru Caxaro
Peter Caxaro was a Maltese philosopher and poet. He is so far Malta’s first known philosopher, fragments of whose works are still extant. His philosophical views and positions qualify him as an honourable adherent of the mediaeval humanist movement...
poem, Cantilena
Cantilena
Il Cantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language. It dates from the 15th century but was not found until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni . The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro, and was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial...
(circa 1470 to 1485) (also known as Xidew il-Qada), followed by Gian Francesco Bonamico's sonnet of praise to Grand Master Nicolò Cotoner
Nicolas Cotoner
Fra' Nicolas Cotoner was the 61st Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, between 1663 and 1680...
, Mejju gie' bl'Uard, u Zahar (The month of May has arrived, with roses and orange blossoms), circa 1672. The earliest known Maltese dictionary was written by Francois de Vion Thezan Court (circa 1640). In 1700, an anonymous Gozitan poet wrote Jaħasra Mingħajr Ħtija (Unfortunately Innocent). A Maltese translation of the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
appeared in Johannes Heinrich Maius's work Specimen Lingua Punicæ in hodierna Melitensium superstitis (1718), demonstrating the formerly wide-held belief that the language had a Punic heritage. A collection of religious sermons by a certain Dun Ignazio Saverio Mifsud, published between 1739 and 1746, is regarded as the earliest known example of Maltese prose.
An anonymous poem entitled Fuqek Nitħaddet Malta (I am talking about you, Malta), was written circa 1749, regarding an uprising of slaves. A few years later, in 1752, a catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
entitled Tagħlim Nisrani ta' Dun Franġisk Wizzino (Don Francesco Wizzino's Christian Teachings) was published in both Maltese and Italian. The occasion of Carnival
Maltese Carnival
Carnival has had an important place on the Maltese cultural calendar for just under five centuries, having been introduced to the Islands by Grand Master Piero de Ponte in 1535...
in 1760 saw the publication of a collection of burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
verses under the heading Żwieġ la Maltija (Marriage, in the Maltese Style), by Dun Feliċ Demarco.
A child of the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
movement, Maltese patriot Mikiel Anton Vassalli
Mikiel Anton Vassalli
Mikiel Anton Vassalli was a Maltese writer, a philosopher, and a linguist who published important Maltese language books, including a Maltese-Italian dictionary, a Maltese grammar book, the Maltese Gospels and, towards the end of his life, a book on Maltese proverbs.-Life:Mikiel Anton Vassalli was...
(1764–1829) hailed the emergence of literary Maltese as "one of the ancient patrimonies...of the new emerging nation" and saw this nascent trend as: (1) the affirmation of the singular and collective identity, and (2) the cultivation and diffusion of the national speech medium as the most sacred component in the definition of the patria and as the most effective justification both for a dominated community's claim to be a nation and for the subsequent struggle against foreign rulers.
Between 1798 and 1800, while Malta was under the rule of Napoleonic France, a Maltese translation of L-Għanja tat-Trijonf tal-Libertà (Ode to the Triumph of Liberty), by Citizen La Coretterie, Secretary to the French Government Commissioner, was published on the occasion of Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
.
The first translation into Maltese of a biblical text, the Gospel of St. John, was published in 1822 (trans. Ġużeppi Marija Cannolo), on the initiative of the Bible Society in Malta. The first Maltese language newspaper, l-Arlekkin Jew Kawlata Ingliża u Maltija (The Harlequin, or a mix of English and Maltese) appeared in 1839, and featured the poems l-Imħabba u Fantasija (Love and Fantasy) and Sunett (A Sonnett).
The first epic poem in Maltese, Il-Ġifen Tork (The Turkish Caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
), by Giovanni Antonio Vassallo, was published in 1842, followed by Ħrejjef bil-Malti (Legends in Maltese) and Ħrejjef u Ċajt bil-Malti (Legends and Jokes in Maltese) in 1861 and 1863 respectively. The same author published the first history book in the Maltese language entitled Storja ta’ Malta Miktuba għall-Poplu (The People's History of Malta) in 1862.
1863 saw the publication of the first novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in Maltese, Elvira Jew Imħabba ta’ Tirann (Elvira, or the Love of a Tyrant) by the Neapolitan
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
author, Giuseppe Folliero de Luna. Anton Manwel Caruana's novel Ineż Farruġ (1889), the first Maltese novel, was modelled on traditional Italian historical novels, such as Manzoni's
Alessandro Manzoni
Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist.He is famous for the novel The Betrothed , generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature...
I promessi sposi and has been the subject of recent scholarly attention.
Notable Maltese writers
- Rużar BriffaRuzar BriffaRużar Briffa was a Maltese poet and dermatologist, and a major figure in Maltese literature.“I never thought of publishing these poems in a book. Some were written in hard times, others in moments of joy...
- Anton ButtigiegAnton ButtigiegAnton Buttigieg was a Maltese political figure and poet. He served as the second President of Malta from 1976 until 1981.-Early life:Anton Buttigieg was born in Qala, Gozo, on February 19, 1912, the third child of Salvatore and Concetta...
- Ray ButtigiegRay ButtigiegRay Buttigieg is a poet and musician.He attended Qala primary school, then the Lyceum in Victoria, Gozo. He then moved to the United States and continued his studies in New York, where he settled permanently...
- Pietru CaxaroPietru CaxaroPeter Caxaro was a Maltese philosopher and poet. He is so far Malta’s first known philosopher, fragments of whose works are still extant. His philosophical views and positions qualify him as an honourable adherent of the mediaeval humanist movement...
- Ninu CremonaNinu CremonaAnthony Cremona also known as Ninu Cremona and Is-Sur Nin was a Maltese writer.He was the son of Feliċ and Margaret née Pace. He was born in Victoria Gozo...
- Francis EbejerFrancis EbejerFrancis Ebejer was a Maltese dramatist and novelist. Ebejer studied medicine at the University of Malta between 1942 and 1943 before abandoning the course to work as an English-Italian interpreter with the 8th Army of the British Forces in Tripolitania, North Africa...
- Achille Mizzi
- Oliver FriggieriOliver FriggieriOliver Friggieri is a Maltese poet, novelist, literary critic, and minor philosopher. In philosophy he is mostly interested in epistemology and Existentialism.-Life:...
- Alfons Maria Galea
- Ġuzè GaleaGuze GaleaGuzè Galea was a doctor and a Maltese author. He produced newspaper articles as well as novels. Some of his books*Zmien L-Ispanjoli*San Gwann*Ragel bil-Ghaqal...
- Herbert GanadoHerbert GanadoHerbert Ganado was a Maltese lawyer, president of Catholic Action, editor, politician and author.Born in Floriana on 7 April 1906 on the island of Malta, Ganado studied at the Lyceum and University of Malta and graduated as a lawyer in 1931. He was active at university and shortly after became...
- Gioacchino NavarroGioacchino NavarroGioacchino Navarro was the Conventional Parish Priest of the Order of St. John, Malta. He studied both Latin and Greek. He is known in Malta for It-Tliet Għanjiet bil-Malti , that come to public for the first time by F. E. G...
- Ġużè Bonnici
- Ġorġ Pisani
- Dun Karm PsailaDun Karm PsailaDun Karm ,89, was a Maltese writer and poet, sometimes called 'the bard of Malta' He was educated at the Seminary between the years 1885 and 1894 and then proceeded to study philosophy in 1888 and theology in 1890 the University of Malta.He was ordained priest in 1894...
- Ġużè Cassar Pullicino
- Frans SaidFrans SaidFrans Henry Said is a Maltese broadcaster and author. His best known work is in Children’s Programmes, and Christmas activities for needy children.-Early life:...
- Frans SammutFrans SammutFrans Sammut was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.-Life:Sammut was born in Zebbug, Malta. He studied at the Zebbug Primary School, St Aloysius' College, St Michael's Teacher Training College, the University of Malta Rome University and Perugia University Frans Sammut (November 19, 1945 –...
- Mikiel Anton VassalliMikiel Anton VassalliMikiel Anton Vassalli was a Maltese writer, a philosopher, and a linguist who published important Maltese language books, including a Maltese-Italian dictionary, a Maltese grammar book, the Maltese Gospels and, towards the end of his life, a book on Maltese proverbs.-Life:Mikiel Anton Vassalli was...
- Trevor Żahra
- Godfrey Wettinger
The Cantilena
The CantilenaCantilena
Il Cantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language. It dates from the 15th century but was not found until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni . The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro, and was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial...
is the oldest written text known to exist in Maltese
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
, dating from no later than 1485, the death of Pietru Caxaro
Pietru Caxaro
Peter Caxaro was a Maltese philosopher and poet. He is so far Malta’s first known philosopher, fragments of whose works are still extant. His philosophical views and positions qualify him as an honourable adherent of the mediaeval humanist movement...
, the author it is attributed to. It wasn't rediscovered until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni in the Valletta Notarial Archives. Frans Sammut
Frans Sammut
Frans Sammut was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.-Life:Sammut was born in Zebbug, Malta. He studied at the Zebbug Primary School, St Aloysius' College, St Michael's Teacher Training College, the University of Malta Rome University and Perugia University Frans Sammut (November 19, 1945 –...
published a revolutionary interpretation of it in 2009.
List of Books in Maltese
- Taħt Tliet Saltniet
- Zmien L-IspanjoliZmien L-IspanjoliZmien l-Ispanjoli is a novel written by Guze Galea....
- IL-Gagga
- Samuraj
- Il-Holma Maltija
- PacevillePacevilleLocated west of St. Julian's, Malta, Paceville is the name given to an informal district heavily populated with nightclubs, bars, pubs and restaurants, and is a very important nightlife hub on the island. Paceville is located between Spinola Point and Dragonara Point, delimiting Spinola Bay and St...