Professor Godfrey Wettinger will be giving a short course entitled “What was Malta like in the Middle Ages?” on Wednesday 14 February, part of the Din l-Art Helwa series of cultural courses.

This course aims to give participants a wide and fascinating picture of life in medieval Malta, drawing on evidence from original documents of the period. The subjects covered will include social, economic and religious issues, the land-settlement pattern, and the local administration of Malta and Gozo, mainly in the last century or so before the arrival of the Order of St. John.

The lecture will also review some issues of ethnic identity that concerned the society of the time, particularly in relation to Muslims, Christians, Jews, Europeans, Africans and Levantines. Information will be drawn from place names, militia and other name lists, administrative documents, notarial documents and litigation.

Professor Godfrey Wettinger is a well-known and respected historian who has been teaching, lecturing and writing for the last 59 years. His many publications include The Jews of Malta in the Later Middle Ages, The Cantilena of Peter Caxaro: a Poem in Medieval Malta (with Fr Michael Fsadni, OP), Place Names of the Maltese Islands, Slavery in the Islands of Malta and Gozo, and Kliem Malti Qadim (Old Maltese Words).

The course will take place in the Judge Caruana Curran Hall, of Din l-Art Helwa, 133 Melita Street, Valletta, on Wednesday 14 February from 9am to 12.15pm. No prior knowledge is required, and everyone is welcome to attend. The fee for the course is Lm5 for members, and Lm8 for non-members, including a coffee break. Places are limited to 25 people. To register please contact Din l-Art Helwa on 2122 5952.