The MA Course in Hospitaller Studies offered by the Department of History of the University of Malta provides a comprehensive and analytical survey of the distinctive history of the religious-military Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta, but also much more. It will start again in October, this time under the distinguished patronage of His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Hospitaller Order, Fra Matthew Festing. It is a taught course, spanning three semesters. The first two will be taken up by the taught part of the course. The third is devoted to closely supervised research and the writing of a dissertation of c.25,000 words. During the third semester candidates from overseas need not remain in Malta.

The raison d’être of the course is to explore critically the history of the Order of the Hospital (as the institution was more generally known) in its many manifestations and forms, in an endeavour to understand it better, academically and professionally. The taught part of the programme offers precisely an opportunity of studying the Hospitaller institution and its history in detail, often through copies of original documentation – from its humble beginnings in Jerusalem, a decade or two before the preaching of the First Crusade, to its eviction from Malta in 1798 and beyond. The meaningful roles the Order assumed over 700 years of uninterrupted history will be approached within the wider framework of the historical development of Europe and the Mediterranean. As a charitable and military institution, the Hospitallers fulfilled “a great civilising and defensive function” in the making of Europe. As great landowners, they played a decisive social and economic role. Their residence on the commanderies spread all over Europe, together with their statutory maintenance and intelligent administration of these large estates, constituted “a force of continuity and a formative influence in European civilisation”.

In the last 30 years there has been an extraordinary academic interest in the military orders, and this, according to Professor Jonathan Riley-Smith, for two particular reasons – their historical importance and the exceptionally rich surviving documentation. “And there is no greater archival collection,” he observes, “than that to be found in the National Library in Valletta, which was the capital of the last order-state and contains original documents from the central archives of the Order of the Hospital of St John in Palestine, Cyprus, Rhodes and Malta itself.”

These, he points out, “can be supplemented with material from elsewhere on the island”. The University of Malta, he says, “is an ideal home for postgraduate studies centred on the Order’s history. Distinguished members of its staff have the expertise to teach the subject and scholars can be attracted from elsewhere to contribute to its postgraduate programmes”.

It was precisely towards the fast-approaching end of my adult life in academia, sheltered, as most of it has been, at the beautiful campus on top of Tal-Qroqq hill, that a year or so ago, I came up with the idea of a postgraduate programme leading to an MA in Hospitaller Studies. The first course, the taught part of which has now drawn to an end, had been organised by the Department of History in collaboration with the Malta Institute for Cultural Studies. It has been a huge success – with 35 candidates, Maltese and foreigners, most of them resident in Malta, enrolled in it. Video-conferencing was adopted for candidates residing in Gozo.

Malta’s leading scholars in this particular area of study have participated in it and distinguished historians from overseas, with a wide international reputation, have been as actively involved in the programme. Professor Riley-Smith has been one of them. Formerly Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, he has published several books and articles on the Crusades and the military orders. He has been described as “likely the world’s most influential crusades historian”. Other high-ranking historians included Dr Ann Williams, formerly of the University of Exeter and very well known in Malta; Dr Anthony T. Luttrell, the leading world authority on 14th century Hospitaller Rhodes; and Professor Jonathan Phillips, who currently occupies the chair of Crusading History at the Royal Holloway College, University of London, and whose latest work, Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades, published by the Bodley Head, has been selected as a ‘History Book of 2009’ by The Sunday Telegraph.

I have had a long and frank discussion with each of them on the strengths and weaknesses of the course. The MA in Hospitaller Studies, remarks Dr Williams, “is unique to Malta”.

“Studied in the place the Knights ruled for over two-and-a-half centuries,” she pointed out, “and where their central records remain, it gives both physical and written sources for appreciating their challenges. The long span of the Order’s existence, from early Crusade to the world of the French Revolution, and the many facets of Hospitaller rule enable students to follow up their own interests in crusade, military or medical history, religious life and architecture.”

In Dr Luttrell’s view, “the course has experienced teachers and is well worthwhile in its own right”. Whatever its shortcomings are, “I still think it will be of importance and value, and worthwhile for many reasons.”

Asked about his teaching experience in Malta, Professor Phillips had this to say: “This is an excellent Masters Course, bringing together the expertise and unparalleled resources available in Malta with the perspective of visiting international scholars; few postgraduate courses anywhere can offer such a blend. As a tutor from the UK, I found the course extremely well run and hugely appreciated the enthusiasm and commitment of the Maltese students – the class had a really good range of people from so many different walks of life, and this made for a very stimulating teaching environment.”

“The approach of the course,” he remarked, “is very inclusive with teaching materials accessible to all. It was a tremendously enjoyable experience and I would recommend it most confidently to anyone with an interest in the history of the Hospitallers and the military orders in general.”

The same academic team will be teaching the course next October.

The programme of studies consists of six taught study-units of 10 ECTS credits each and a dissertation of 30 ECTS credits – all fully transferable under the Bologna Agreement.

To be admitted, candidates need a first-cycle degree obtained from a recognised institution with at least Second Class Honours or Category II. As all teaching is in English, a sound knowledge of the language is essential, together with a reading knowledge of at least one other European language, preferably French, Italian, Spanish, or German.

The six study-units taught

HST 5050 The Mediterranean World from the First Crusade to 1789

HST 5051 The Military Order and the Holy Land – to c.1300

HST 5052 The Order of the Hospital – the Rhodian Phase, c. 1310-1522

HST 5053 The Order of the Hospital – the Maltese Phase, 1523-1798

HST 5054 The Medical, Naval, and Military History of the Order of St John

HST 5055 The Hospitaller Commandery

The course co-ordinator can be reached on +356 2340 2297; Fax +356 2132 2885

or on [email protected]