The Treasury, Debts, and

Deaths

The Treasury, Debts and

Deaths

A study of the Common Treasury of the Order of St John and its relationship with the individual Hospitaller in matters of debts and deaths based on Giovanni Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro

The Treasury, Debts and

Deaths

A study of the Common Treasury of the Order of St John and its relationship with the individual Hospitaller in matters of debts and deaths based on Giovanni Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro

Stefan Cachia

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts at the University of ,

in part fulfilment of the requirements for the

Degree of Master of Arts in History

May 2004

To Christine, her family and my family

Declaration of authenticity

I, the undersigned, Stefan Cachia, declare that this dissertation is my original work, gathered and utilized especially to fulfil the purposes and objectives of this study, and has not been previously submitted to any university for a higher degree. I also declare that publications cited in this work have been personally consulted.

______Signiture

______Date Name in Block

iv

Acknowledgements

I am greatly indebted to all those who have supported me throughout the past five years I have been working the present dissertation. At times, I felt overwhelmed by the task, particularly when the exigencies of my full-time job drained my leisure time and energies. Various friends and colleagues, often unwittingly, spurned me to continue in my endeavour, notwithstanding the certain difficulties that I encountered on the way.

My deepest gratitude goes to my tutor, Prof. Victor Mallia-Milanes, who has painstakingly reviewed my work, drawing my attention to various inconsistencies, stylistic deficiencies, and linguistic inaccuracies in the text.

His insights have helped me greatly in formulating my ideas, while his stylistic and linguistic elegance permeates the language through which the following text has been weaved.

A word of thanks must definitely go to Fra John Chretien, a modern-day

Hospitaller whose help has been indispensable for my research in , in the

Archives of the Order of St John in Palazzo Malta, Via Condotti, the present- day of the Order.

The staff at the National Library of Malta gave unfailing assistance. They were ready to go out of their way to help me conduct my research and make the necessary photocopies. Without their help, my research in the Order’s Archives

v

at the National Library, hindered by the difficult opening hours, would have been much more difficult.

I must also thank my employers, past and present. Particularly thanks go to

Fr Nicholas Cachia, former Chairman at Mediacentre, Mr Nikol Baldacchino, editor of the weekly paper IL-GENS illum , and my colleagues with that paper.

They made it possible for me to take a whole month vacation leave to proceed to Rome for research purposes at the Order’s archives, taking up the burden to fill in the gaps caused in the workflow by my extended stay away from work.

A word of thanks should also go to my present workmates at the Defence

Matters Directorate, in the Office of the Prime Minister, who have been very understanding and willing to go out of their way so that I could take enough vacation leave when I needed it most, to complete this dissertation.

I owe the largest word of thanks to my girlfriend Christine, her family and my family. Their support cannot be quantified, nor expressed in words; without it, the present dissertation would not have been completed.

vi Preface

The present dissertation will look at the relationship between the Treasury of the Order of St John and the individual Hospitaller between the Order’s foundation in the late eleventh century and the end of the seventeenth century.

The Treasury was arguably the most important institution within the Order as it was responsible for collecting all revenues due to the Order, making disbursements, overseeing the management of the Order’s assets and ensuring that Hospitaller regulations in these regards were adhered to. However, few historians have ventured to study it; and generally without going into great debts into its structures and functioning.

Likewise, no historian has yet investigated the relationship between the

Treasury and the individual Hospitaller. Individual members of the Order administered its assets, in accordance with the Order’s regulations. Included were the assets that each individual brought into the Order, over which he retained full usufruct until his death. The Treasury oversaw this administration, and expected various payments from each Hospitaller, at different stages of his lifetime. The relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury was an ongoing one, and ended only after the Hospitaller’s death, when his belongings were merged with those of the Order.

The present study will attempt to: i) understand how this relationship was constituted, particularly in terms of a) the relationship’s manifestation in the

vii THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS PREFACE direct payments flowing to and fro, b) in the Hospitaller’s administration of the

Order’s assets, and c) the freedoms which a Hospitaller was allowed in managing the Order’s possessions, including those which he personally brought into the Order; ii) how different was it from the parallel relationship in other monastic and religious institutions, and why; iii) why and how it evolved in time; iv) how did this relationship change during the different phases of a

Hospitaller’s lifetime.

In the attempt to understand the relationship between the individual

Hospitaller and the Treasury, the present dissertation will not only analyse the direct relationship between the two. It will also look at the relationship between the Hospitaller and the different entities within the Hospitaller structure that administered their own assets autonomously from the Treasury, such as the langues and the foundations. By entering into a relationship with these entities, a Hospitaller was indirectly entering into a relationship with the Treasury, given that the Treasury supervised their administration, and debts contracted with these entities were, with certain provisos, held to be contracted with the

Treasury.

The relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury, both direct and indirect, both pecuniary and administrative, existed in the context of

Order’s organisational structures, the changing circumstances of the Order, and the social milieu from which the Order recruited its members. While focusing on the relationship between the Treasury and the individual Hospitaller, the present discussion will also shed light on these aspects. Particular emphasis, practically a whole chapter, will be laid on the Order’s administrative structures, the relationship between the different parts that made up these

viii THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS PREFACE structures and their management function. On the other hand, the changing circumstances of the Order, and the social milieu of the Hospitallers will be discussed in terms of the influence that they had on the Order’s structures, and the relationship between the individual and the Treasury.

Chapter 2 will be set the background. It will analyse the Treasury and the

Order’s administrative structures, and, their management function as well as the basic tenets of the Treasury-Hospitaller relationship. Chapters 3 and 4 will look at that relationship in terms of the patterns discernible when the relationship between the Treasury and the individual Hospitaller broke up, either when a Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury, or when a Hospitaller passed away.

This discussion is inspired by the Trattato del Comun Tesoro penned by Fra

Giovanni Caravita towards the end of the seventeenth century. The Trattato provides the basic tenets on the Treasury’s functioning, which facts are complemented by material retrieved from the Archives of the Order of St John housed in the National Library of Malta. Most heavily used were the Libri

Conciliorum – which contain the minutes of the Order’s administrative councils, the ordinary and complete council – and the various volumes containing the deliberations of the Camera dei Conti , the Treasury’s tribunal, particularly but not exclusively, the Registri della Camera d’Udienza . The deliberations concerning the spogli (the totality of belongings that a Hospitaller left on his death), and the dispropri (writs made by moribund Hospitallers in which they listed all their belongings, and any credits and debts which they had) of different Hospitallers were also consulted; particularly in relation to

Chapter 4, which deals with the relationship between the Treasury and the

ix THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS PREFACE spogli of Hospitallers. Caravita’s other treatises on the functioning of the Order were also looked up, particularly the Trattato della Regola , and supplemented the information provided by the Trattato del Comun Tesoro .

This dissertation is largely based on facts extracted from these primary sources. With the exception of Simon Mercieca’s study of the office of the receiver and that on the commandery, the works of most historians who have discussed the Treasury of the Order of St John, or the Order’s finances were not directly relevant to the subject being discussed in the present study.

Mercieca’s discussion of office of the ‘receiver’, and his analysis of the

‘Hospitaller commandery’ are tangential to the relationship between the

Treasury and the individual Hospitaller.

The choice of ‘debts’ and ‘deaths’, together with that of the period under consideration was a subjective one. The time factor, and the History

Department’s 50 to 60,000-word limit for a Masters’ thesis, forced the present author to restrict the area of research. Although work on this thesis has been carried out over a period of five years, research time was severely limited by the awkward opening hours of the National Library of Malta, which effectively restrict the research of non-teachers to five hours on Saturday mornings and days on vacation leave. The choice of ‘debts’ and ‘deaths’ was based on two main criteria: the large availability of material, and the fact that ‘debts’ and

‘deaths’ represent instances when the relationship between the individual

Hospitaller and the Treasury broke up, and consequently provide a cross- sectional view of the relationship that was between the two. The choice of period under consideration was particularly influenced by the time-frame covered by Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro , as well as by the restricted

x THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS PREFACE time available for research, which barely allowed enough time to look into the material available for the chosen period.

No standard monetary unit was used throughout the historical period under analysis. Indeed various units of account are found in the volumes under analysis. In , the Order used the florin, while in Malta it minted the scudo, and generally used it as the money of account. Occasionally, currencies ranging from Venetian ducats to French livres tournois, from the Spanish real to the Sicilian uncie are also encountered, particularly in the deliberations of the commissari degli spogli , the officials responsible for collecting all belongings of deceased Hospitallers, and paying their debts. In the following discussion, the currency mostly quoted is the scudo (plural scudi), obviously with its fractions:

1 scudo = 12 tari

1 taro = 20 grani

1 grano = 6 denari

Whenever possible, values in other currencies were converted into scudi.

Proper names, generally the name of a Hospitaller, of commandery, or a priory, are given as found in the text. When the same name is spelled differently in different sources, the spelling is standardised according to the most common version. When historians generally use a standardised version of a proper name, that version is used in the text. A case in point is the name

‘priory of St Gilles’, generally found in Hospitaller records as the priory of

San/t E/Aegidio . Likewise, the d’Emposta is rendered as the priory

xi THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS PREFACE of Aragon. The names of grandmasters are standardised according to official version published online by the Order of St John. 1

Titles, the names of offices and councils are, whenever possible, translated into English. An exception is the Camera dei Conti , for which no standardised translation exists among historians. Also generally translated into English are the terms relating to the Treasury’s functioning, or the Order’s administrative structure, such as ‘commandery’, priory’, ‘langue’, ‘receptory’, mortuary’, and

‘responsions’. The Italian version found in the document is quoted in brackets the first time a term is used. Exceptions are the terms spoglio (plural spogli ) and membro (plural membri ), tavola (plural tavole ), soldea (plural soldee ), cabreo (plural cabrei ) and incapacità . Often, historians use the English translation for such terms such as ‘spoils’, ‘members’, and ‘tables’ but the dictionary definition of these terms 2 does not reflect their statutory definition.

Consequently, the Italian terms, as found in Hospitaller records, are used.

Weights and measures, such as salme , used for wheat, and cafisi , used for oil, were left in Italian. No effort was made to translate them into English or to convert them into modern equivalents, as this would have been tangential to the scope of this dissertation.

1 www.orderofmalta.org.uk/grandmasters.htm . 2 Dictionary definitions used throughout this dissertation follow either The Oxford Popular English Ditionary and Thesaurus , compl. Sara Hawker, Joyce M. Hawkins, (Oxford 2001), or the Thesaurus forming part of the Microsoft Office Package. xii Contents

Declaration of originality ...... iv

Acknowledgements ...... v

Preface ...... vii

Contents ...... xiii

List of Tables ...... xv

List of Figures ...... xvi

Chapter 1 Introduction ...... 1

Chapter 2 The Treasury ...... 18

2.1 A structure within a structure ...... 19

2.2 Management function of the Treasury...... 54

2.3 The Individual and the Treasury ...... 77

2.4 Conclusion ...... 96

Chapter 3 In debt with the Treasury ...... 99

3.1 The role of money and the concept of debt ...... 100

3.2 The Hospitaller, Money Transactions, and Debts ...... 111

3.3 Administering assets and falling in debt ...... 137

3.4 Structures at work: The reaction to members’ debts ...... 147

3.5 Conclusion ...... 176

Chapter 4 The Treasury and the Spoglio ...... 181

4.1 Defining the spoglio ...... 183

4.2 What a monk acquires, is acquired by his monastery ...... 186

4.3 The Order as heir to individual Hospitallers ...... 198

xiii THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS CONTENTS

4.4 The spoglio and the Hospitallers’ autonomous fiscal personality ...... 210

4.5 Ascendancy of the Order over the spogli ...... 227

4.6 Conclusion ...... 247

Chapter 5 General Conclusion ...... 250

Glossary of terms ...... 259

Appendix 1 Grand Commander c1530-1700 ...... 269

Appendix 2 Treasurer c1530-1700 ...... 271

Appendix 3 Venerable Procurators c1530-1700 ...... 273

Appendix 4 Conservatore Conventuale c1530-1700 ...... 278

Appendix 5 Secretary c1600-1700 ...... 280

Bibliography ...... 281

Index ...... 312

xiv List of Tables

Table 2.1 1 Schedule for officials managing Hospitaller assets to submit their

accounts……………………………………………………………... 66

Table 4.1 The spoglio of Fra Giuseppe Spirito de Seguins Cabasole...... 195

Table 4.2 Statutes decreeing the sharing out of the belongings of a deceased

Hospitaller………………………………………………………….. 200-1

1 Tables and Figures are numbered according to the Chapter in which they are found. No Table is found in Chapter 3, and consequently, there is no ‘Table 3.__’.

xv List of Figures

Figure 2.1 1 Feudal Structure: Social Hierarchy and concentric

‘circles’ of land administration……………………………………………. 21

Figure 2.2 Treasury’s structure as according to AOM 6432………………….. 39

Figure 2.3 Treasury-Hospitaller vis-à-vis the notion of antianità …………….. 81

Figure 3.1 Relationship between the Hospitaller and the Treasury…………… 102

Figure 3.2 Debts on account of Tavole and Soldea……………………………….. 112

Figure 3.3 Flow of money from the Hospitaller (from commandery, via

Hospitaller, in the case of responsions) and the Treasury………………… 119

Figure 3.4 The Treasury when the lender or the borrower died ….…………… 124

Figure 3.5 Relationship between the Hospitaller and a foundation……………….. 129

Figure 3.6 How a Hospitaller in debt with entities within the Hospitaller

structure was considered ‘in debt with the Treasury’……………………... 133

Figure 3.7 Hospitaller administrative function of a commandery…………….. 134

Figure 3.8 Relationship of the receiver and the conservatore conventuale

with the Treasury………………………………………………………….. 141

Figure 3.9 Order’s reaction to the debt of a Hospitaller with the Treasury…… 154

Figure 3.10 Summary of punishments meted out to debtors within the Order... 172

1 Tables and Figures are numbered according to the Chapter in which they are found. No Figure is found in Chapter 5, and consequently, there is no ‘Figure 5.__’.

xvi 1 Chapter 1

Introduction

Founded in the latter half of the eleventh century, 1 by a group of Amafitan

merchants turned monastics 2 as a pilgrim hospital, 3 the Order of St. John was

both an exempt order of the and a political entity. The papal bull that

recognised its foundation defined it as a charitable monastic institution. 4

Towards the middle of the twelfth century, the military exigencies of the

kingdom of and the other Christian crusading states, which faced an

increasingly hostile Muslim neighbours, made the Order assume a military

dimension. 5 While the Order never abandoned its hospitaller responsibilities,

the anti-Islamic crusade became its raison d’être until the nineteenth century, 6

notwithstanding its expulsion from Palestine with the fall of Acre, the last

Christian stronghold in that land, in 1291. 7 The conquest of Rhodes between

1 Victor Mallia-Milanes, ‘Introduction to ’, in Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia Milanes (Malta 1993), 1-42, 1. 2 Giacomo Bosio, Dell’ Istoria della Sacra Religione Militare di San Giovanni Gerosolmitano detta di Malta , i (Rome 1594), 2; Anthony Luttrell, ‘From Jerusalem to Malta: the Hospital’s Character and Evolution’, in Peregrinationes – Acta et Documenta , ed. Accademia Internationale Melitense (Palermo and Messina 2000), 6-11, 6. 3 Johnathan Riley-Smith, Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St John ( and Rio Grande, 1999), 1, 19; Anthony Luttrell, ‘From Jerusalem to Malta’, 6; Helen Nicholson, The (Woodbridge 2001), 3. 4 Johnathan Riley-Smith, The Knights of St John of Jerusalem and Cyprus c.1050-1310 (London 1967), 17-59. 5 Alan Forey, ‘The Militarisation of the Hospital’, in Military Orders and (Hampshire 1994), ix, 75-89, 87. 6 Riley-Smith, Hospitallers , 1. 7 K. M. Setton, The Papacy and the Levant (1204-1571) , iv (Philadelphia, 1976-84), 280.

1 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

1306 and 1308, 8 together with its subsequent move to Malta in 1530, while allowing the Order to continue its crusade against Islam, conferred it a quasi- sovereign independence. 9

Like other monastic institutions founded in the Middle Ages, both religious and military, 10 the Order of St John lived off landed possessions donated by pious landlords. Such estates were spread across Europe. 11 In the medieval world, given the tenets of the feudal structure, landownership was synonymous with the notion of ‘liberty’. 12 Landownership gave the proprietor freedom from feudal dues and allowed the owner to pursue non-agricultural interests. It was through the acquisition of such immoveable property that the Order achieved a means of subsistence that allowed it to pursue its mission of caring for the sick and fighting the infidel. Besides, it gave the Order of St John the character of a feudal lord, like other monastic institutions. 13

In similarity with the other medieval monastic institutions, 14 properties owned by the Order were exempt from secular and episcopal jurisdictional control. 15 Paschal II’s bull, Pie postulatio voluntatis , recognized the Order of St

8 Atiya S. Aziz, The Crusades in the Later Middle Ages (New York 1965), 287-90; Norman Housley, The later Crusades: From Lyons to Alcazar 1274 - 1580 (Oxford 1992), 214. 9 Anthony T. Luttrell, ‘Malta and Rhodes: Hospitallers and Islanders’, in Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia Milanes (Malta 1993), 255-84, 255-7. 10 Gilles Constable, The Reformation of the Twelfth Century (Cambridge 1996), 210. 11 Dominic Selwood, Templars and Hospitallers in Central and Southern Occitania 1100 – 1300 ( Woodbridge 1999); Ann Williams, ‘Constitutional Development of the Order of St. John in Malta, 1530-1798’, in Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia Milanes, (Malta 1993), 285-296, 286. 12 Gilles Constable, ‘Liberty and Free Choice in Monastic Thought and Life, especially in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries’, in Monks, Hermits and Crusaders in Medieval Europe (London 1988), iv, 99 et seq . 13 Gilles Constable, The Reformation of the Twelfth Century , 210. 14 Gilles Constable, ‘Liberty and Free Choice’, 99. 15 J. Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 60.

2 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

John as a religious Order and placed it under papal protection. 16 In referring to the properties that the Order already held in both Europe and Asia, 17 Paschal II demonstrated that the nascent religious institution already had an international dimension. 18

The feudal structure and papal exemptions provided the Order of St John with the context within which to extrapolate its dues from its different territorial holdings. Together with the religious and military calling, they also provided the backdrop for the creation and evolution of the Hospitaller administrative structures.

Foremost among these structures was the Comun Tesoro , literally the

Common Treasury, which by the seventeenth century had evolved into a veritable institution within an institution. The Treasury, as it will henceforth be referred to, was the Hospitaller body that was responsible for collecting the different incomes accruing to the Order, and for effecting payment on behalf of the Order. As such, it branched out across the entire Hospitaller structure.

The Order of St John, was structurally divided into several administrative components: langues, priories, bailiwicks, commanderies, membri in the provinces; and the departments ( commissariati or commende ) for, amongst others, the infirmary, the arsenal, the artillery, the fortifications, the public

16 Camilleri, Maroma, ‘The Pie Postulatio Voluntatis Papal Bull of 1113: A Diplomatic and Palaeographical Commentary’, in Melitensium Amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Ġwann Azzopardi , eds. Tony Cortis, Thomas Freller, and Lino Bugeja (Malta 2002).33-34; www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_1_3.htm . 17 J. Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 60; Camilleri, ‘The Pie Postulatio Voluntatis’, 34. 18 Land ownership in more than one politically defined territory was not something restricted to the Order of St John. Feudal lords could possess, through acquisition or inheritance lands in different realms. Likewise, most medieval religious orders had possessions across Europe, though in this case these tended to support a local community. See Robert Bartlett, The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization, and Cultural Change, 950-1350 (Princeton 1994).

3 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION works, the granaries, the bakery, and the naval squadron in the Convent, or the

Order’s headquarters. However, it was a totality and its intrinsic unity transcended these structural divisions. At the same time, each part had a structural autonomy that allowed it to interact with the other parts. The

Treasury was a binding element, which tied the whole Hospitaller structure together through its administrative and regulatory function of all the Order’s properties and finances.

Institutions, like any other phenomenon, cannot be fully understood in isolation. They are constantly interacting with their surroundings, being moulded by an ever-changing environment, and at the same time leaving their mark on their immediate surroundings. The multiplicity of forces at play (wars, change in mentalities, change in the international balance of power, decline in revenue, and so on) at any given time cause changes to any institutional framework, major or minor modifications to a structural continuity across time.

The Hospitaller Treasury was no exception. It was moulded by the Order’s changing circumstances: its foundation as a religious Order responsible for a

Hospital in Jerusalem, the acquisition of territorial holdings across

Christendom, the transformation of the ‘Hospital’ into a military Order, the loss of Jerusalem, and subsequently the loss of the Christian states in Palestine, the conquest of Rhodes, the abolition of the Templars and consequent assimilation of Templar properties into the Order, the transformation of the

Order into an autonomous state, the change from land based military power to a naval power, the continuous war with the Eastern Mediterranean Muslim powers (Ottomans and Mukluks), the loss of Rhodes, the acquisition of Malta,

4 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION the building of , the ongoing project to fortify the island, and the eventual loss of Malta.

The Treasury was also directly influenced by circumstances in the rest of

Europe. War, drought, plague, famine, banditry in any part of Europe directly affected the Order’s finances, as the officers in charge of the hospitaller estates in the areas hit by such calamities would not be in a position to send their responsions to the Convent. The ‘mentality’ of the aristocracy across Europe moulded the Hospitaller frame of mind, and the way the individual Hospitallers interpreted the Treasury’s regulations, how they managed its assets and helped transform the Treasury’s structures. Local customs and familial and friendship ties affected the inheritance rights that the Order had over the possessions owned by its professed members. 19

At the same time, the Treasury impinged itself on a changing Order, through the availability, or lack of availability of funds. By supervising the way the different Order’s departments and other entities administered their assets, the

Treasury weighted on the different parts of the Order. It also impinged itself directly on the lives of each Hospitaller, from their novitiate, and subsequently as professed members, commanders, or administrators of the different sections of the Order.

The history of the Order has been fodder for various historians, from the authors of the different twelfth-and thirteenth-century narratives on the crusades to present-day academic historians. Yet, the Treasury, arguably the most important institution within the Order – given its function of collecting

5 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION revenue and financing the Order’s activities – has been studied only sketchily, and generally superficially, by a very small number of historians. Most historians refer to it sporadically – generally in terms of the availability, or lack of availability, of money – while discussing another aspect of the Order’s history, such as its ongoing crusade against Islam, its navy, its fortifications, or its administration of Rhodes and Malta. Such references are only passing allusions to the Treasury or the fiscal situation of the Order, mentioned tangentially as the author focuses on his main theme. 20 No historian has researched the Treasury’s structures, or their impact on the Order as a whole; no attempt has been made at a complete history of the Treasury. The

Treasury’s management and accounting practices still await scrutiny, as indeed the relationship between Treasury and the individual Hospitaller. Both themes, very intimately related, form the subject matter of the present dissertation.

A few scholars and researchers, though, did endeavour to study particular aspects of the Treasury, Hospitaller finances or the Order’s administrative structures, generally in hardly more than short monographs.

19 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 80. 20 It is impossible to mention all historical works that refer directly or indirectly to the Treasury, or the financial dimension of the Order’s history. Suffice to provide some examples, such as Alison Hoppen’s studies on the fortifications in Malta, John Debono’s studies on the Maltese economy under the Order of St John and the various works that looked at the Order’s History from its foundation in Palestine until the time of writing. Alison Hoppen, The Fortification of Malta by the Order of St John, 1530-1798 (Edinburgh 1979); ‘Military Priorities and Social Realities in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Malta and its Fortifications’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta 1993), 399-428; John Debono, ‘The Chamber of Commerce and the Cotton Trade of Malta in the Eighteenth Century’, in Melita Historica , x, 1 (1988), 27-50; ‘The Cotton Trade of Malta, 1750-1800’ in Archivium, Journal of Maltese Historical Research , i (1981), 94-125; ‘The Wine Trade in Malta in the Eighteenth Century’, in Melita Historica , ix (1984); Giacomo Bosio, Dell’ Istoria della Sacra Religione Militare di San Giovanni Gerosolmitano detta di Malta (Rome, 1594 – 1602); Bartholomeo Dal Pozzo, Historia della Sacra Religione Militare di San Giovanni Gerosolmitano detta di Malta (Verona

6 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

Louis de Boisgelin, 21 William Henry Thornton, 22 James Nisbet, 23 Alison

Hoppen, 24 Adalberto Donna d’Olderico, 25 Anthony Luttrell, and Jürgen

Sarnowsky 26 have all published brief studies on the financial state of affairs of the Order at a particular point in time. Boisgelin and Thornton looked at the finances of the Order between 1779 and 1788, with Thornton providing a concise delineation of the Order’s fiscal structures, and differentiating between the moneys of the Treasury, the personal burse of the grandmaster, and the fiscal resources of the Maltese municipal authorities. 27 Nisbet and Luttrell published two separate reports submitted to the Convent on Rhodes by the general receiver of the Order in Western Europe – one for the year ending May

1365, 28 the other for the years 1373-74 and 1374-75 29 respectively. Nisbet complemented his report with a tabulated summary of the revenues, expenditures, and deficit for the general receptory in Western Europe for the

1703 – 1715); Abbè Renè Aubert de Vertot, The History of the knights of Malta (Facsimile Edition: Malta 1989); Riley-Smith, Hospitallers ; Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller . 21 Louis de Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta (Facsimile edn: Malta 1988), 296 et seq. Boiseglin was the only historian from this set of scholars to have studied the Treasury as part of a fullern discussion on the Orer of St John, and not in a short monograph dedicated exclusively to an aspect of the Treasury. 22 William Henry Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta under the Government of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, during the last days of its dominion and as compared to the present time (Malta 1836). 23 James E. Nisbet, ‘Treasury Records of the Knights of St John of St. John in Rhodes’ in Melita Historica , ii (1954), 95-104. 24 Alison Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, in Europe Studies Review , iii, 2 (1973), 103-119. 25 Adalberto Donna d’Olderico, Redditi e Spese dell’ Ordine Militare Gerosolmitana di Malta nel 1587 (Curie 1964). 26 Jürgen Sarnowsky, ‘‘The Rights of the Treasury’: the Financial Administration of the Hospitallers on Fifteenth Century Rhodes, 1421-1522’, in The Military Orders: Welfare and Warfare , ed. Helen Nicholson, ii (Hampshire 1998), 267-274. 27 Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta , 1. It should be noted that the Order differentiated between the Common Treasury and the grandmaster’s burse, the incomes of both of which ran into huge sums. The grandmaster’s incomes included amongst others the Responsions from a commandery per priory, and various incomes from the Maltese islands – obviously when the Order was in Malta. The grandmaster had full discretion over the moneys accruing to his burse, the so called ricetta magisteriale .

7 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION years 1364-99. 30 On the other hand, Luttrell analysed late fourteenth-century

Hospitaller accounting practices, emphasising the erroneous nature of

Hospitaller bookkeeping and the flawed structural framework for collecting and keeping track of the moneys earned by the Order. 31 Donna d’Olderico discussed briefly and reproduced another report on the financial situation of the

Order in 1587. 32 Hoppen researched the finances of the Order in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, highlighting problems afflicting the Order’s revenues: the failure to redress problems deriving from the devaluation of foreign currencies; the continuous rise in expenditure; the official attempts to ignore inflation; the increasing difficulty to obtain cash; and the consequent minting of copper money. 33 Sarnowsky probed the money shortages faced by the Order on fifteenth-century Rhodes, as commanders in Western Europe failed to pay their responsions at a time when it needed to commit increasing resources to the island’s defence. Boisgelin, Thornton, Nisbet, and Hoppen complimented their studies with a comprehensive definition of the different sources of income and expenditure.

Boisgelin also described briefly the administrative set-up of the Treasury, outlining the tasks of each of its officials. 34 Domnic Cutajar and Carmel Cassar, too, sketched the Treasury’s composition, the structure through which the

Order collected its revenues from its various territorial holdings and the

28 Nisbet, ‘Treasury Records of the Knights’. 29 Luttrell, The Hospitallers’ Western Accounts . 30 Nisbet, ‘Treasury Records of the Knights’. 31 Luttrell, The Hospitallers’ Western Accounts , 5-7. 32 Donna d’Olderico, Redditi e Spese . 33 Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order of St John’. 34 Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta , 287-295.

8 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION penalties imposed on those who failed to send to the Convent their annual responsions. 35

The only historian to have studied in depth parts of the Treasury’s structure is Simon Mercieca. He conducted research first on the office of the receiver

(ricevitore )36 and then on the commandery ( commenda ). 37 Mercieca looked at the receiver as a vital link between the priories and the Treasury, and described in detail the different tasks assumed by this important Treasury representative outside Convent. He analyses the role of the receiver as part of the Order’s hierarchy, particularly in terms of the ascendancy in importance of the

Treasury officials in Convent, and the receiver’s accountability to the latter and to the provincial or priorial-Chapter. By defining the terms relating to the receiver’s duties, such as commandery and membro , Mercieca sketched parts of the Order’s administrative structure. A similar approach marked Mercieca’s discussion of the commandery, which, in Jonathan Riley Smith’s words constituted the Order’s basic unit of administration. By entrusting individual

Hospitallers with the management of its estates, the Order administered its properties, maintained them in good shape, and collected responsions – the main source of ordinary income for the Treasury. The concept of commandery was discussed both diachronically – how it evolved through the Order’s history

– and synchronically – in terms of its status in the late seventeenth century. The

35 Cutajar, Domenic and Cassar, Carmel, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta: An insight into the Administration of the Comun Tesoro’ in Mid-Med Bank Limited, Report and Accounts (Malta 1983), 22-32. 36 Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta, 1991). The receiver was the Hospitaller official in the priories responsible for collecting the revenues due to the Treasury from the priories and effecting payments on its behalf.

9 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION commandery was approached at two levels: as part of the fuller Hospitaller structure, and in its relationship with the peasants tilling the land. The former tended to predominate, with the author putting emphasis on the legislative requirements for administering commanderies and the penalties applied to ensure a continuous flow of income to the Treasury. 38

Certain historians have produced monographs on the accumulation of commanderies by the Order across Europe. Carlo Marullo di Codojanni considered the growth of Order’s possessions in Sicily from Norman times to the late seventeenth century, 39 while Joseph Delaville Le Roulx looked at the foundation of the grand priory of France, following its dismemberment from the priory of Saint Gilles.40 Others, including Lambert B. Larking, 41 Charles L.

Tipton, 42 William Rees, 43 and Michael Gervers, 44 have looked at the Hospitaller commanderies in the British Isles, while others, including H.J.A. Sire 45 and

37 Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery 1631-1798’ (Unpublished M.A. Thesis University of Malta, 1993). 38 Hence, in his chapter ‘The Commandery: Administration and Incomes’, Mercieca traces the different regulations requiring residence on the commandery, statutes and ordinances regulating the miglioramenti , the vacancy of a commandery, the mortuary and vacancy, pensions, responsions and impositions. Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 69-113. 39 Carlo Marullo di Codojanni, La Sicilia ed il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta (Messina 1953). 40 Joseph Delaville Le Roulx, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France de l’Ordre de l’Hopital’, in Joseph Delaville Le Roux, Melange Ordres de S. Jean de Jerusalem ( 1910). 41 Lambert B. Larking, The Hospitallers in England: Being the Report of Prior Philip de Thame to the Grand Master Elyan de Villanova for AD 1338 (Reprint: New York 1968). 42 Charles L. Tipton, ‘The Origins of the Perceptory of West Peckham’, in Archeologia Catana , lxxx (1965), 92-97. 43 William Rees, A History of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Wales, and on the Welsh Border (Cardiff 1947). 44 Michael Gervers, ‘Pro Defensione Terre Sancte: The Development and Exploitation of the Hospitallers’ Landed Estate in Essex’, in The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick , ed. Malcolm Barber (Hampshire 1994), 3-20. 45 H.J.A. Sire, ‘The Character of Hospitaller Properties in Spain in the Middle Ages’, in The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick , ed. Malcolm Barber (Hampshire 1994), 21-27.

10 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

Carlos Barquero Goni, 46 to instance another two, studied the Hospitaller presence in the Iberian Peninsula.

Ivan Grech, 47 while discussing the Ligurian commandery of San Giovanni di

Prè, considered the ascendancy of the Convent over the commanderies; looked at how it (the Convent) sought to control Hospitaller estates by appointing trusted commanders to administer them and send the responsions to the

Treasury. He also probed Hospitaller patterns of administering a commandery, highlighting the practice of calculating potential, rather than real, incomes, 48

Marullo di Codojanni and Michel Fontenay respectively studied the financial weight that the possessions in Sicily and France had for the Order.

Marullo di Codojanni quantified the revenues and responsions of each Sicilian estate during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 49 while Fontenay analysed the Order’s revenues from its French estates between 1530 and 1798, extrapolating change in remittances for each priory as well as for each commandery throughout the period. 50

There can be no doubt that the most exhaustive analysis of the Treasury is the Trattato del Comun Tesoro , by the prior of Lombardy and former secretary to the Treasury, Fra Giovanni Caravita. Internal evidence suggests that it was written during the last 20 years of the seventeenth century – at the time when

46 Goni, Carlos Barquero, ‘The Hospitallers and the Castillian Leonese Monarchy, the Concession of Royal Rights, in The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick , ed. Malcolm Barber (Hampshire 1994), 28-33. 47 Ivan Grech, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè in Genoa’ (Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Malta, 1996). 48 Grech, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè ’, 65. 49 Marullo di Codojanni, La Sicilia ed il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta , 71 et seq . 50 Michel Fontenay, ‘Le Revenu des Chevaliers de Malte en France d’apres les ‘etstime’ de 1533, 1583 et 1776’ in La France d’Ancien Régime: etudes reunites en l’honneur de Pierre Goubert’ , ed. Société de Démographie Historique Private (Toulouse 1984), 259-271.

11 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

Fra Giulio Bovio (1681-1701) held the post of Treasury secretary, 51 that is between 1681, when Bovio was elected, 52 and 1699, when Caravita passed away. 53 It is still in manuscript form. 54 This treatise lies at the basis of the present dissertation. It is all encompassing and provides deep insights into the

Treasury’s structure, the way it functioned, its sources of income and expenditure. It also offers in clear but implicit terms, a legalistic interpretation of the relationship between the Hospitallers and the Treasury. It was one of various treatises written by Caravita on how the Order functioned, like the

Trattato della Povertà ,55 the Trattato dei Fratelli ,56 Trattato della Regola

Gerosolmitana ,57 the Trattato delle Commende ,58 the Trattato degli privileggi dell’ Ordine ,59 the Trattato della Nobbiltà ,60 the Trattato dei Ricevitori ,61 the

Trattato del buoun governo delle galere ,62 the Trattato dell’ eletione del Gran

Maestro ,63 a compendium on Hospitaller statutes, 64 and the Trattato del ben concettare .65

Born to a patrician Neapolitan family on 28 December 1632, 66 Caravita was received into the Order as a minor on 11 June 1639,67 at the age of seven years.

51 In AOM 1680, p225, Caravita refers to the election of Fra Bovio. 52 Caravita gives 29 October 1681 for Bovio’s election. AOM 1680, 225. AOM 6430 gives 30 October 1681. AOM 6430, f27r. 53 Lib 4, p.142. 54 AOM 1679 and 1680, Lib. 509. 55 Lib. 533. 56 AOM 1688; also included in Lib. 533. 57 AOM 1677; also included in Lib. 533. 58 AOM 1682. 59 AOM 1686; See also Lib 486. 60 Referred to in Lib. 4 p.142 61 AOM 1683. 62 Referred to in Lib. 4 f.142 63 Referred to in Lib. 4, f.142 64 Lib 538, amongst others. 65 Lib. 277. 66 Lib 4, p.128.

12 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

He studied grammar and the humanities in a Jesuit’s College in Naples and aspired to become a Jesuit. An outbreak of plague in that city and its environs delayed his entry into the Society of Jesus and forced him to go to some relatives in Rome. 68 There he studied philosophy, theology, and both canon and civil law. 69 Eventually, he joined the Order’s carovane ,70 the statutory annual naval expeditions, which each Hospitaller was required to undergo. He participated in three such expeditions, in 1651, 1653 and 1655, 71 but this experience did not go down well with his peaceful nature. 72 After two years, he went back to Rome, ever more resolved to join the Jesuits. Yet, the Order’s ambassador to the , the prior of Navarre Fra Giovanni Galdiano, persuaded the young Caravita to devote his talents to the Order of St John, and in 1656, Caravita returned to Malta. 73 Eventually, Grandmaster Rafael Cottoner

(1660-63) appointed him Secretary to the Italian langue. He was reconfirmed in that position by Grandmaster Nicola Cottoner (1663-80). 74 Caravita relinquished his post with the Italian langue on being elected Treasury secretary on 22 November 1666. He retained that post until 20 September

1678, with a short interlude between 1667 and 1668 when he served as the

Order’s ambassador to the Holy See. 75 On the death of Grandmaster Adrienne de Wigniacourt (1690-97), Caravita refused an offer made by Count Thoun to

67 AOM 2166, pp.224-225. 68 Lib 4, pp.129-30. 69 Lib 4, p.130. 70 Lib 4, p130. 71 AOM 2131, ff.52v-53v. 72 Cutajar, Domnic and Cassar, Carmel, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta: An insight into the Administration of the Comun Tesoro’ in Mid-Med Bank Limited, Report and Accounts (Malta 1983), 22-32, 22. 73 Lib 4, pp.130-1. 74 Lib 4, p.131.

13 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION be elected grandmaster. 76 He was renowned within Hospitaller circles for his devotion to the Eucharist and to the Virgin Mary, and habitually heard six masses a day. He was also well known for his charity distributing, through his confessor, 700 and later 900 scudi annually to the poor. 77

Caravita’s legalistic background, together with his peaceful and spiritual disposition, underlies the Trattato . He discussed the functioning of the

Treasury in terms of the legal precepts according to which it was ruled and not in terms of the structural relationships between its different branches. The underlying leitmotif was his fixation that Hospitallers should carry out their fiscal and administrative duties towards the Treasury in line with the statutory enactments and contemporary legal precepts. In so doing, he claimed, they would avoid punishment, fulfil their religious calling at God’s service, and benefit the Order, ultimately ensuring its survival.

The Trattato del Comun Tesoro is divided into four parts. The first part discusses the Treasury’s main sources of income and the various punishments meted out to Hospitallers who did not pay on time. Part II lists the different expenses borne by the Treasury at the end of the seventeenth century. The third part discusses the judicial function of the Treasury while the last section, Part

IV, is a didactic, systematic listing of the duties pertaining to each Treasury official and of the procedures through which the Treasury official presented his accounts for verification.

75 AOM 6430, f.27. 76 Lib 4, p.139. 77 Lib 4, f.137.

14 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

The Trattato reflects Caravita’s preoccupation with safeguarding the

Order’s flow of income. Indeed, Part I occupies almost half the text – about 40 per cent of the text is devoted to the different sources of revenues, with a further seven percent being dedicated to the different penalties that the Order imposed on its members for forfeiting payment. This contrasts with the 14 percent of the text being dedicated to the expenses to which the Order’s financial resources were committed, the 16 percent on the judicial function of the Camera dei Conti , and the 23 percent devoted to the tasks which each officer of the Treasury assumed. Underlying the text lay the conviction that the dutiful carrying out of one’s office would ensure the maximisation of revenues for the Order. On the other hand, a negligent administration would result in a

‘great harm for the Order’.

Although the Trattato del Comun Tesoro has never been published, it was relatively popular within the Order. Indeed various manuscript copies are known to exist; these include:

In the National Library of Malta:

 AOM 1679 and AOM 1680 – a complete copy in two volumes;

 AOM 1681 – a copy of Part I of the Trattato bound in one volume;

 Lib 509 – a copy with various parts missing, including a whole chapter

of Part IV, bound in one volume;

 Two stand-alone chapters bound with various other miscellaneous

papers bound in AOM 6397;

15 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION

At other locations:

 Four complete copies, including one bound in two volumes, and an

isolated version of the first part of the Trattato , found in the Archives of

the Order of St. John in Rome; 78

 One complete copy at the Cathedral Library in Mdina;79

 One copy at the McMaster University, Mills Memorial Library in

Ontario, Canada. 80

The version of the Trattato del Comun Tesoro found in AOM 1679 and

1680 is the only complete version known to the present author that is most easily accessible, and consequently it will be the one used for the purpose of the present dissertation.

The history of the Order, of the Treasury and of the latter’s relationship with the various entities within the Order and with the individual Hospitaller, will be understood not as a succession of epochs or periods, one succeeding the other, but as a continual variation of the Hospitaller structure across time. Each part of that structure finds itself oriented in relation to the temporal milieu in which it exists and in relation to the whole.

The Treasury-Hospitaller relationship, the subject matter of this dissertation, is defined within the context of the administrative structure of the Order of St

John and the Treasury’s administrative function (Chapter 2). Hence, that relationship is analysed cross-sectionally through the evidence discernible

78 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 233-4. 79 Cassar and Cutajar, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta’, 25.

16 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS INTRODUCTION when that relationship broke up, either because of the Hospitaller failing his payments to the Treasury (Chapter 3), or due to the death of the Hospitaller

(Chapter 4). The endeavour to grasp synchronic relations transcends the attempt to extract processes of change.

80 The copy, which had belonged to the Duke of Leinster, was acquired by the McMaster University in the 1960s. library.mcmaster.ca/archives/findaids/fonds/m/ms34.htm .

17 2 Chapter 2

The Treasury

What was the Treasury? A simple question that demands a simple answer: it

was the institution within the Order that was responsible for collecting the

revenues due to the Order and making the necessary expenses to allow the

Order to function and fulfil its two missions – caring for the sick and fighting

the infidel.

This answer raises a number of questions: how did the Treasury fulfil its

roles? How did it function? How did it fit in the Order’s overall structure?

What was its relationship with the rest of the Order, including the different

Hospitallers who made up the Order? On which lines was the Treasury

administered? Given that the Treasury was manned by Hospitallers who, in

carrying out their duties, determined the fortunes of the Order, further

questions follow: What was the Treasury’s relationship with those Hospitallers

who administered it and the different assets belonging to the Order? Did it

change? Why and how?

The following chapter will attempt to answer these questions. The first part

of the chapter will look at the Order’s structure and that of the Treasury,

analysing briefly the different parts making up this structure and the

relationship between these parts. The analysis will then look at the

management function of the Treasury, the Christian principles that inspired its

18 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY functioning, and how the Treasury was managed in practice. Finally, this chapter will look at the relationship between the individual and the Treasury and how this relationship changed due to the changing circumstances of the

Order.

2.1 A structure within a structure

The Order’s administrative structure must be understood in terms of the institution’s feudal, crusading origins, as well as its need to carry men and resources, especially financial resources, from the European provinces to its frontier war, later war of attrition, with the infidel.

The undated Rule of Blessed Raymond du Puy (1120-c1160) 1 created a set of rules which, through different transmutations, continued to regulate

Hospitaller administrative and financial structures until the eighteenth century.

Individual Hospitallers were to hold no land or money from the alms that they collected, but had to hand everything to the master in Jerusalem, who was in charge of administering the Order and give the alms to the poor. Likewise, he was to receive one third of all the food that accrued to the ‘obediences’ (the estates which the Order held across Europe, in Asia Minor and in modern day

Lebanon, and Palestine – future commanderies, bailiwicks and priories). The master had to keep account in writing of all the funds received and the alms donated to the poor. 2

1 Delaville Le Roux Joseph, 'Le Statutes de l'Ordre de l'Hopital de Saint Jean de Jérusalem', Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes , xlviii (France 1887), 3. 2 E.J. King, Rules , Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers 1099 – 1310 (New York 1980), 22; www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_rule.htm ; A version of the Rule published by the same author in another publication fails to mention the ‘obediences’ but the donation of “a third part of the

19 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Although at the time when Du Puy’s Rule was written, the Order was still in its primitive form, structurally aeons away from the bureaucratic organization that is the subject matter of the ensuing analysis, the basic tenets of the future evolution of the Order were present. The Order had an administrative presence in the ‘obediences’. These were in direct contact with the centre, which at the time was personified by the master. A third of the revenues accruing from the

Order’s estates were remitted to the centre, where they were employed to fulfil the Order’s primary function, the caring for the poor. 3 The Hospitallers handing the alms to the master had to put everything in writing. Likewise, the master was to record all transactions, a function of good management, accountability, and continuity. Yet, the structure was undefined, and it is only discernable anachronistically in terms of the future configurations of the Order, and its Treasury.

The earliest reference to the Treasury is found in the statutes promulgated by the general chapter of 1176 held during the magistracy of Fra Gilbert.4

Then, it was decreed that ‘should the corn fail in the castles [held by the Order in the crusading states], or be insufficient to provide for the needs of the poor, enough should be taken from the Treasury to purchase white bread and to provide sufficient [quantities] to the poor’. Arguably, this refers to an enclosed chest or safe where the riches of the Order were held. The general chapter of

1194 referred to the office of the grand commander who had to substitute the

bread and wine” is still given. E. J. King, The Knights Hospitallers in the (London 1931), 325. 3 One can also infer that the remaining two thirds of the estate’s revenues were utilised for the administrative needs of those estates, including for the subsistence of the estates’ administrators, the predecessors of the future commanders, bailiffs and priors.

20 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY master of the Order in receiving the responsions from Outremar,5 take them to the sick, and finally deposit them in the Treasury, testifying the existence of an official in charge of the Treasury. 6 A basic constituent of the future Treasury set-up, namely an officer tasked with taking care of the Order’s moneys, was in place. However, before analysing the Treasury configuration, it would be pertinent to spend some words on those structures created by the Order to enable it to manage its assets.

A hierarchical Order

The Order's structure, in similarity to the other religious and military orders, reflected the medieval feudal system under which it originated, as well as the need to administer territories sprung across Europe.

a) b) King 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3

Lords 2 2

1 Knights

1. Kingdom 3. Estate held by knight Serfs 2. Lordship 4. Field tilled by serfs

 Figure 2.1 Feudal Structure: a) Social Hierarchy; b) concentric ‘circles’ of land administration

4 King, Rules , 30; www.smom-za.org/bgt /bgt_hosp.htm . 5 The term Outremar (literally the land beyond the sea), when found in documents originating in the crusading states, as in this case, referred to the European mainland. On the other hand, the same term utilised in documents originating in Europe referred to the crusading states in Palestine. See Glossary of Terms, page 259. 6 King, Rules , 51.

21 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

While it is virtually impossible to produce an exact model of land organisation under feudal society, 7 some generalisation, or what Peter Burke defines as ‘an intellectual construct which simplifies reality in order to emphasisie the recurrent, the general and the typical’ 8 is possible, indeed a necessary construct which enables comparisons and classifications. Feudal society can be said to have organized land hierarchically by grouping territorial holdings into concentric circles of administration.9 The lord parcelled out land to his knights. These administered as well as lived off the surplus yielded by the serfs working this land, and thus afforded military service in his retinue.

Likewise, on a larger scale, the different lords owed service to their king in lieu of the fiefs that he granted them. Denuded form the notions of personal allegiance 10 and consequent social hierarchy, feudalism denotes the system whereby the extraction of a surplus from the serfs bound to working the land, allows the subsistence of the administrator of the land, and the consequent rendering of service, or ‘payment’, up the social ladder.

The feudal pattern of land administration was faithfully reflected within the

Order of St John, as within the other monastic and military orders which sprung during the monastic revival of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, including both Templars and Teutonic Knights, as a means of running its possessions spread across Europe. Indeed, to contemporaries there was no

7 Robert Boutruche, Signioria e feudalismo: Signioria rurale e feudo (Bologna 1974), 219. 8 Peter Burke, History and Social Theory (New York 1992), 28. 9 See Figure 2.1. 10 The notion of personal allegiance is central to the understanding of the feudal structure, its social implications, as well as the origins of the feudal system. Marc Bloch, Medieval Society , trans. L.A. Manyon (Chicago 1964), especially Volume I: The Growth of Ties of Dependence . Yet, it is tangential to the understanding of the administrative function of feudalism.

22 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY difference between the land holdings possessed by the Order and those administered by a lay feudal lord. Mathew Paris, the English monk and chronicler, writing in the middle of the thirteenth century, referred to the manors possessed by the Hospitallers in England, not differentiating between them and the other secular manors. 11

The feudal-hierarchic organisation of territorial possessions was the most plausible way of conceptualising land administration until what the advent of

Fernand Braudel calls ‘capitalist modes of managing and rationalising the land’. 12 The need to administer territorial holdings in ‘different countries of the world’ was also at the basis of the similar administrative structure of the

Templars.13 The territories possessed by the Teutonic Knights, which were primarily situated in the and Eastern Europe, were also administered on feudal lines. Their possessions in the Holy Roman Empire were grouped into 12 bailiwicks 14 while they divided their Ordensstaat

(literally: the state of the Order) in Prussia 15 into kommenden (commanderies) which themselves were subdivided into units called Waldämter or

Pflegerämter, which were administered by Teutonic brethren .16

11 Mathew Paris quoted by William Rees, A History of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Wales and on the Welsh Border (Cardiff 1947), 12. 12 Fernand Braudel, Civilization and Capitalism 15 th – 18 th Century (London 1985), 251. 13 orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/religion/monastic/T_Rule.html , 37. 14 Norman Housley, The Later Crusades: From Lyons to Alcazar 1274 – 1580 (Oxford 1992), 327. 15 Prussia was granted as a fief, under nominal Papal suzerainty, to the Teutonic Order by Emperor Frederick II in 1226. It was referred to as Ordenstaat or Order’s State. Housley, The Later Crusades , 325. 16 Housley, The Later Crusades , 329. The Mendicant Orders adopted a similar hierarchical structure based on convents rather than commanderies, for organising their Order. Rev. John- Baptist Reeves OP, The Domenicans (London 1929), 81 et seq . John Moorman, The Franciscan Order: From its Origins to the Year 1517 (Oxford 1968), 307.

23 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

With regard to the Order of St John, Bosio in the sixteenth, 17 Caravita in the seventeenth century 18 and Boisgelin in the eighteenth century 19 argue that the hierarchical configuration of the Order was the obvious result of the need to administer possessions situated in different parts of Europe. The Order owned properties across Europe, from Scotland and Wales 20 in the north to the Iberian

Peninsula 21 and Sicily 22 in the south, to modern day Poland in the east. 23 In order to administer these estates, the Order grouped them into concentric circles of administration, reiterating within its structures the feudal pattern of managing immoveable properties.

The history of the priory of Saint Gilles, in Provence, shows the Order's response to the ever-pressing need to administer an increasing number of properties in far away places, illustrating the evolution of the geographically- defined, hierarchical configurations for administering territorial properties situated in different parts of Europe. A number of Hospitaller possessions are recorded in Provence in 1113. 24 By 1117, the number of donations became more frequent demanding the presence of a representative of the master of the

17 Giacomo Bosio, Dell’ Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di San Giovanni Gerosolmitano, di nuovo ristampata e dal medesimo autore ampliata et illustrata (Rome, 1594 - Parts I, II - and 1602 - Part III), i, 10. 18 AOM 1679, p.2. 19 Louis de Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta (Facsimile edition – Malta 1988), 288. 20 Rees, A History of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Wales . 21 H.J.A. Sire, ‘The Character of Hospitaller Properties in Spain in the Middle Ages’, and Carlos Barquero Goni, ‘The Hospitallers and the Castillian Leonese Monarchy, the Concession of Royal Rights, in The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick , ed. Malcolm Barber (Hampshire 1994), 21-27 and 28-33 respectively. 22 Carlo Marullo di Codojanni, La Sicilia ed il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta (Messina 1953); Kristjan Toomaspoeg, ‘L’insediamento dei grandi ordni militari cavallereschi in Sicilia, 1145 – 1220’, in www.acsimom.org/publicazioni/cavalieri_in_sicilia/0ag22.htm . 23 Karl Borchardt, ‘The Hospitallers in Pomerania: Between the Priories of Bohemia and Alamania’, in The Military Orders: Welfare and Warfare , ed. Helen Nicholson ii (Hampshire 1998), 295-306.

24 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Order. 25 Eventually, the priory of Saint Gilles incorporated Hospitaller properties situated within the boundaries of modern-day Britain, France,

Belgium, as well as parts of the Iberian Peninsula.26 As the number of properties and their geographical spread grew, it became impossible to administer them from one hub. It became necessary to splinter them into different units or priories. In the decade between 1150 and 1160, the Iberian possessions were detached and grouped under a separate priory, the

Castellania d’Emposta , which would eventually be known as the priory of

Aragon. 27 By the 1180s the possessions situated in the north of France were grouped into the grand-priory of France.28 The Priory of England was formed by 1185. 29

The priories were the largest units of administration of territorial possessions outside the Convent. They grouped possessions within a politically delineated territory. 30 The confines of each priory were practically synonymous with the geographical extent, or spheres of influence, of high medieval states.

Thus, the priory of Messina incorporated land holdings within the confines of

24 Joseph Delaville Le Roulx, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France de l’Ordre de l’Hopital’ in Melange Ordres de S. Jean de Jerusalem , ed. Joseph Delaville Le Roux, (Paris 1910), 3. 25 Delaville Le Roulx, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France’, 3-4. 26 Delaville Le Roulx, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France’, 4. 27 Delaville Le Roulx, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France’, 4. 28 Delaville Le Roulx claims that the Order’s territorial possessions in Northern France and England were detached from the the Priory of Saint Gilles, to form the Grand Priory of France in 1189. On the other hand, Nicholson claims that the Priory of England became independent form Saint Gilles in around 1185. Delaville Le Roulx, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France’, 4, 9. Helen Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller (Woodbridge 2001), 78. Whichever rendering of events is the most accurate, the Order’s increasing hierarchisation in response to the increase in the number of territorial holdings holds true. 29 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller, 78. 30 The notion of ‘political delineation of territories’ is understood to define not only sovereign states, but also feudal entities, such as the County of Champaigne, which though nominally under the suzerainty of the King of France for most of the Middle Ages, held considerably autonomy.

25 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY the medieval kingdom of Sicily. 31 Similarly, the priory of Pisa grouped possessions within the Tuscan hinterland of the maritime republic, which in the eleventh and twelfth centuries was one of the major naval powers in the

Mediterranean, and the major power in Tuscany.

The priory paralleled the subdivisions common to other religious orders founded in the Middle Ages, and known as provinces. In the same way as the province of the mendicant orders grouped various convents, 32 the priory of the

Order grouped a number of hospices and commanderies, originally referred to as preceptae.

The commandery, was held to be the basic unit of the Order’s organisation, and was administered by a professed Hospitaller, designated as its commander.33 It grouped various land tenures, estates and houses, even if not geographically adjoining. In some cases, forming part of a commandery were also some shares. Thus, the commandery of San Giovanni di Prè was composed of a number of houses and rooms within the city walls of Genoa, various rural properties ‘in the rest of Liguria’, and a number of shares in the

Banca di San Giorgio .34

31 Carlo Marullo di Codojanni, La Sicilia ed il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta (Messina 1953). 32 Reeves, The Domenicans , 81 et seq ; Moorman, The Franciscan Order , 307. 33 Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery 1631 – 1798’ (Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Malta, 1993), 12. 34 Ivan Grech, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè in Genoa’ (Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Malta, 1996), 72, 101 et seq . The ‘owning’ of a number of shares was not encouraged. Indeed, with regard the shares forming part of the Commenda of Prè, the Order sought to sell them, and acquire immoveable property in their stead.

26 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

A commander could decide to surrender the administration of an estate from his commandery to another Hospitaller, thus creating a membro .35 There were two types of membri , those conceded by a commander out of his grace (known as di gratia), and those obtained by exchange from other membristi (known as di permuta ). 36 The membro was administered on the same lines as, and enjoyed the same status within the Order of a commandery. It was a micro- commandery, which a commander, out of his free will, decided to detach from his commandery and give to another Hospitaller. 37 The Hospitaller who took over the membro ’s administration did not pay the commander who created the membro any rent. 38 He was only expected to pay the share of responsions due from his estate, which he paid to the commander, who in turn passed them over to the Treasury, as part of the responsions due from his commandery. 39 The

35 Abbè Renè Aubert de Vertot, ‘The Old and New Statutes of the Order of St John’, in The History of the Knights of Malta (Facsimile Edition: Malta 1989), 93. Mercieca claims that the membro was an estate forming part of a commandery that was rented to third parties, whether members of the Order or not. Mercieca, Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery , 79. This does not follow from the Order’s statutes, decrees of the ordinary council and the interpretation as provided by Caravita, which interpretation of the membro is given in the text. Commanders did rent out parts of their estates, as argued by Mercieca, but these were not called membri . According to Hospitaller statutes, a membro , like a commandery, could not be granted to seculars, yet the renting of estates to seculars was allowed if the estate was rented for a short period. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 94, 102. In addition, whereas a receiver administering a commandery during the mortuary or vacancy could rent parts of an estate, he could not grant away any membro . Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 101, 93. On acceding to a membro , a Hospitaller was obliged to pay a fee to his langue, just as he was held to do on acceding to a commandery. When an individual rented an estate forming part of a commandery, he was not expected to pay anything to the langue AOM 219, f.164v. (The fee paid by Hospitallers who acceded to a commandery attached to the Italian langue, in mid-seventeenth century was of 11 scudi 8 tari. Those who acceded to a membro paid 4 scudi.) Obviously, the membrista , as the commander entrusted with the administration of a membro was called, would rent the estate to third parties who tilled the land, and paid him rent. The membrista utilised this income for any administrative expenses, to pay the responsions, and as a means of subsistence for himself. 36 AOM 219, f.164v. Obviously, such membri , were originally di gratia . 37 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 93. 38 Indeed, it was prohibited for commanders to reserve for themselves the revenues, or part thereof, from a membro which they granted out. Forfeiters were liable to lose all revenues from their commanderies for three years, while membristi who acceded to such a deal lost any chance of acceding to a commandery for the same number of years. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 93. 39 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 92.

27 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY membro was a temporary subdivision of a commandery and ceased to exist as an entity separate from the commandery from which it was split on the death of its holder, when it was re-attached to the original commandery. 40 A commander could only grant one membro from each commandery and this on condition that the estate being granted as a membro was not contiguous with the main estate of the commandery. 41 The membro was granted by the commander out of his good will and was confirmed by the provincial-chapter,42 and by the ordinary council, which administered the Order on a day-to-day basis. This was the case, for instance, with the membro of Plante and

Cadeglian, forming part of the commandery of Montsaunes, situated in the

Provence, granted to Fra Francesco Salvaterra on 2 October 1635. 43

In the thirteenth century, the last major change in the structural framework of the Order (during the period under consideration) took place, when its priories were grouped into seven langues.44 The differentiation and aggregation of priories into langues was largely based on geographical-ethnic criteria. The

Latin term lingua (langue/language) suggests a differentiation on linguistic terms reflecting the natural tendency for Hospitallers speaking the same language to aggregate together. Thus, until 1461, 45 possessions and knights

40 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 519. 41 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 93. In his discussion of the duties pertaining to the receiver, Mercieca argues that a commandery “consisted of a number of members”. This is in contradiction with Statute 44 ‘of commanderies and administrations’, enacted under Grandmaster Claude de la Sengle, quoted here. Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver of the Hospitaller Order of St John’ (Unpublished B.A.Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta), 1991, 23. 42 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 93-94. 43 AOM 111, f.161r. 44 Jonathan Riley Smith, Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St John (London and Rio Grande 1999), 72; Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 73. 45 The general-chapter of 1461 decided to divide the Spanish Langue into two recognising the linguistic and political differences within the Iberian Peninsula: the langue of Aragon grouped

28 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY from the Iberian Peninsula, notwithstanding the peninsula’s political differentiation into four kingdoms (Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and Portugal) were grouped into the Spanish langue. Similarly, the territories found in the politically united kingdom of France were divided into three langues Provence in the south, Auvergne in centre, and France in the north. The langue of France corresponded with the area where the langue d’oil was spoken, while Provence grouped most langue d’oc speaking territories. The langue of Auvergne seems to have been an exception, and its existence ascribable to political rather than linguistic criteria. Like Provence, it was within ‘langue d’oc ’, but during the high and late middle ages, except for an interlude between 1213 and 1360, it was not part of the kingdom of France having been under the Plantagenets before and Bourbonsafter those dates. It was only finally annexed to France in the early sixteenth century. The langues, although representing territorial realities in Europe, manifested themselves concretely only in Convent where each had an inn, or auberge,46 where knights coming from that langue could reside while in Convent.

In the same way as the size of the estates owned bestowed upon an individual his position in the feudal hierarchy, and hence one’s contribution to the ‘well being’ of society, similarly the possessions of the Order delineated its

the possessions, and Hospitallers from the lands under the Aragonese crown. The langue of Castile, Portugal and Leon, groped the lands and Hospitallers from the Crown of Castile and Portugal. 46 Anthony Luttrell, ‘Malta and Rhodes: Hospitallers and Islanders’, in Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia Milanes (Malta 1993), 255-284, 261. Given that the Langues were set up when the Order was in Rhodes, the auberges were first built while the Order was on that island.

29 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY hierarchical structure defining lines of command and one’s input to its overall functioning.

The Hospitaller entrusted with the administration of a commandery on behalf of the Order, administered it in an absolute way, like a feudal lord on his manor. According to Mercieca, a commander was appointed for an initial period of three years renewable for another three years, though in practice tenure of office expired only when the commander acceded to a more opulent commandery, unless he had committed a serious offence against the Order. 47

The commander leased the different estates and houses forming part of his commandery, ensuring the maximisation of revenues, ameliorated it, protectecd it from encroaches of others, and remited annual share from its revenues to the Treasury – the responsions. The commandery was supposed to provide a living for its commander, and allow him (the ommander|) to pay the annual responsions as well as a number of pensioni .48 The revenues from a commandery also had to make up for other liabilities, such as court proceedings, lawyers’ fees, paperwork, repairs and maintenance, and stipends of employees working on the commanderies. 49

On a higher level, the prior was responsible for overseeing the administration of the territories grouped within his priory. He ensured that all

Hospitallers holding a commandery situated within the jurisdiction of his priory administered the commandery in accordance with Hospitaller statutes,

47 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 65. 48 For a short discussion of pensions see page 123 49 Grech, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè’, 67.

30 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY reporting any defaulters to the ordinary council.50 At the same time he administered his own estates, also to be found within the boundaries of his priory. He was responsible for convening the provincial-chapter, the administrative body of each priory that met in May of each year. The prior also received brothers into the Order, visited each commandery in his priory, and administered justice to Hospitallers who held a commandery within his priory’s jurisdiction. 51 Until 1365, priors were responsible for adjudicating commanderies 52 and for collecting the responsions on behalf of the Treasury. 53

In that year, the onus of collecting the responsions, and other moneys due to the Treasury, as well as effecting payments on the Treasury’s behalf became the onus of the receiver (Italian ricevitore , he who receives [money]). 54

The responsions were first quantified in 1181 by the General chapter held under Fra Roger des Moulins. The priory of France and that of San Gilles were instructed to pay 100 sheets of dyed cotton. The priory of , that of Pisa, and that of Venice 55 paid each 200 ells of fustian in different colours. The

50 On 14 March 1641, the Prior of Saint Gilles reported the Chaplain of the Chiesa of San Gio d'Ais for not repairing the said chapel. AOM 113, ff.120r-v. Likewise, on 9 September 1673, Prior of St Gilles Fra Giovanni Arpasou reported three knights, Prior Graueson, Canabiers and St Felix. AOM 124, f.230r. 51 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 77-80; Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 77; Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 78. 52 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 67 (1365). 53 King, Rules , 58-9; Bosio ii, 67 (1365). 54 Bosio ii, 67 (1365), Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 9. 55 It might seem strange to the modern reader that the priories of Pisa and Venice were not grouped together with the priory of Italy, given that they are both Italian cities. The statutes being quoted merely list what the quantities of cloth and other goods that each priory was required to send to the Hospital in Jerusalem, and does not give any reason why Venice and Pisa were held as separate priories from that of Italy. Arguably, the large amount of commanderies in the regions around the two cities let to their segregation from the priory of Italy, and their establishment as separate priories, in the same way as the different French priories sprung from the priory of St Gilles. Interestingly, a table delineating the Order’s structure in the late thirteenth century, about a century after the promulgation of Moulins’ statutes shows further segregation within the Italian peninsula with the emergence of the priory

31 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY bailiwick of Antioch had the onus of 2,000 ells of cotton, the priory of Mont

Pererin, in the county of Tripoli (in modern day Lebanon) and the bailiwick of

Tabarie, (in Palestine) were expected to pay 2 quintals of sugar each, while the priory of Constantinople were obliged to pay 200 felts. 56 The responsions should have amounted to a third of the revenues of a particular estate, 57 and were generally payable in the provincial-chapter.58

The langue participated in the administration of the Order on a higher level, linking the ‘local’ with the Hospitaller superstructure – the Convent. On one level, it catered for the requirements of its priories, decided which Hospitallers were to accede to which commanderies, 59 and acted as a go between the priories and the central bodies of the Order. This was the case when, in 1576, the Italian langue appointed two commissioners, to investigate whether it would have been profitable to sell some properties forming part of the priory of

Naples and buy an estate near to the Hospital of Saint Gilles in Naples. The commissioners were instructed to report to the langue’s assembly, the collecta , which would subsequently advise the general-chapter, which was the only

Hospitaller body that could permit the sale of property. 60 The langue also saw to the needs of its priories, as required from time to time. In 1577, the Italian langue imposed a levy on commanders holding land tenures in the Italian

of Lombardy, and that of Rome. www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic /ordergif/hospitallers.gif . 56 King, Rules , 36-7; www.smom-za.org/bgt /bgt_moul.htm . 57 AOM 1679, p.6 58 AOM 6402, f.377r. 59 Vide AOM 2126 passim for the allocation of commanderies by the Italian Langue in the latter sixteenth century. 60 AOM 2126, .f192v.

32 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY priories to finance the building of a fort in the bailiwick of Santa Euphemia in

Calabria to protect that bailiwick from piratical incursions. 61

Langues were administered by their assembly through the agency of two administrators, styled ‘procurators of the langue’ ( procuratori della lingua ).

These were elected for a two-year period, and reported to the langue’s assembly. During this assembly, members of a langue were free to discuss any matter relating to the administration of the langue’s property, the allocation of commanderies, the proofs of nobility of would-be-Hospitallers who wished to profess into that langue and so on, but statutorily, they could not discuss matters relating to the Order as a whole. 62 An analysis of the sixteenth-and seventeenth-century deliberations of the Italian langue sheds light on the management of that langue, and presumably the other langues. Each langue had its own sources of revenue, and an own treasurer and his lieutenant. 63 The procurators of the langue managed the langue’s various sources of income and made the necessary expenses. Sources of revenue included a payment made by

Hospitallers who entered the langue, the renting of houses, and taxes on commanderies. Expenses were mostly incurred to repair the langue’s inn in the

Convent, and to furnish it as adequately as possible. The administrators responsible for managing the langue’s possessions would report to the langue’s

61 AOM 94, f.33v. The building of the fort of Santa Euphemia in the locality today known as Lamezia Terme was part of the construction of fortifications initiated in the 1550s by the Viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples Peter de Toledo to defend the Calabrian coast against piratical incursions. Today the fort of Santa Euphemia is known as the Bastione di Malta . www.lameziastorica.it/storia_seuf1ing.htm . 62 AOM 1651, p.15 (General-Chapter of 1471). 63 AOM 1680, p.77, Lib 509, p.633.

33 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY assembly, which appointed commissioners to audit the accounts. 64 They were also responsible for suing, on behalf of the langue, Hospitallers who owed money to the langue. On these lines, on 27 March 1686, the procurators of the

French langue won a lawsuit against the spoglio of late Fra Francesco del

Carbinaye de Bosingon for 64 scudi 1 taro which he owed on account of the three-year lease of a house in Malta where he lived. 65 Likewise, on 15 February

1712, the procurators of the Italian langue prevailed in their claim against the spoglio of Fra Francesco Giona on account of 11 scudi 8 tari which he owed the langue for unpaid taxes over the Sicilian commandery of Piazza.66

Langues also participated in the management of the Order as a whole. Its head, the pilier, was a conventual bailiff and represented the langue in the day- to-day administrative council of the Order, the ordinary council. In addition, together with other two senior Hospitallers from his langue, he took part in the meetings of the complete council,67 which had the function to vet all decisions taken by the ordinary council and ensure that they were in line with the statutes of the Order, as well as take the most important decisions in between the general-chapters. Finally, each pilier was entrusted with one of the major offices of the Order. 68 The grand commander was from Provence, The marshal from Auvergne, the hospitaller from France, the draper, as from 1539 known as

64 AOM 2127, f.200 for the accounts of Fra Angelo Centrino, and Fra Giocondo Accarigi who were Procurators for the Italian langue between 1594 and 1596; ff.212r-v for the accounts of Fra Nicola Caccaretu, who terminated his posting on the 27 May 1623. 65 AOM 945, ff.58r-v. Not that the lawsuit was filed against the spoglio – see page 183. 66 AOM 946, ff.34r-v. 67 AOM 94, f.33v. 68 Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 72.

34 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY grand conservator from Aragon, 69 the chancellor was from Castile, the admiral from Italy, the turcoplier from England and the grand bailiff from Germany.70

The master (later grandmaster) and his council 71 were ultimately responsible for the administration of the Order according to the statutes and ordinances. 72

They oversaw the administration of the priories and indirectly that of the commanderies, and the administration of the different departments which constituted the Order’s government in Convent, taking action in cases of default. Thus, on 9 September 1673, the ordinary council 73 empowered a commission to investigate the claim of maladministration reported by the prior of St Gilles, Fra Giovanni Arpasou, with regards to the commandery of Santa

Eulalia held by the prior of Toulouse Graueson, the commandery of Canabiers held by Fra Margallet, and that of St Felix held by Bailiff Castellar. The commissioners were instructed to visit the commanderies, and ensure that the necessary repairs were carried out. 74

The Convent had a number of departments, each catering for a specific function of the Order’s government. The Hospital was entrusted to the grand hospitaller, whereas the arsenal, the artillery, the public works ( opere publiche), the bakery, the mint, the granaries as well as each galley were entrusted to different officials styled commissioners ( commissari ), preudhommes ( prodomi ) procurators ( procuratori ) or captains ( capitani ), the

69 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 184 (1539). 70 Ann Williams, ‘Constitutional Development of the Order of St. John’, 286-7. 71 The term Council was understood to mean both the ordinary council and the complete council. 72 AOM 6432, f 147r-v 73 Always referred to as the grandmaster and his council. 74 AOM 124,230r.

35 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY latter title obviously being reserved for those entrusted with the administration of galleys.

These officials were answerable to the ordinary council or the Camera dei

Conti , which was itself answerable to the same council. They submitted their accounts to the Camera at stipulated time intervals, and were subject to its decisions and those of the council. The council approved the election of the different officials, and ensured the smooth running of each department. This was the case with a 6 April 1647 decision of the ordinary council. It appointed

Fra Giuliano Amili and Fra Isidoro de Argaiz as commissioners to assist in the handover of the department responsible for building works (the commissariato delle opere ), from Fra Giovanni de Velù Babioni to Fra Marcillo de Galliano

Castelnuovo.75 Similarly, on 11 May 1647, the same Council ordered the administrators of the Treasury to check about the locations where the officials responsible for the management of the granaries and the sale of grain

(commendatori del granaro ) had had their grain sold the previous year. 76

Within the Order, supreme authority was vested in the general-chapter which in theory was supposed to meet every five years, but which was also called according to the specific needs of the time.77 It was composed of the grandmaster, the conventual bailiffs, the prior of the conventual church, as well as the representatives of the langues, priories, and commanderies. 78 In Malta,

75 AOM 116, 6v. 76 AOM 116, f16v. 77 Ann Williams, ‘Constitutional Development of the Order of St. John’, in Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia- Milanes (Malta 1993), 285-296, 287; Mark Alosio, ‘From Jerusalem to Valletta: The Evolution of the Order of St John’s Chapter-General (1131-1631)’, in Storja 96 [Malta], 7-11, 7-8. 78 Alosio, ‘From Jerusalem to Valletta’, 10.

36 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY the bishop of Malta, always a Hospitaller, also participated. The general chapter was the Order’s sole legislative authority, exercising its power by enacting statutes and ordinances. 79 It also acted as the ultimate court of appeal within the Order. 80 Thus, the French Hospitaller Fra Claudio de San Blas, known as Bruny, appealed to the general-chapter of 1543 against his natural family which was trying to exclude him from his inheritance. 81

The pope, in his capacity as supreme head of the Church was the ultimate head of the Order. He could bequeath vacant commanderies upon his favourites, nominally with the assent of the grandmaster and council. 82 He also intervened in major disputes within the Order, as was the case between

Grandmaster Jean Levesque de la Cassiere (1571-81) and the prior of

Toulouse, Mathurin Lescat de Romegas in 1581. Finally, individual knights could appeal to the papal court, the Sacra Rota Romana , against the judgements of the Order’s tribunals in Convent.

A particular entity within the Hospitaller structure was the foundation

(fondatione ), an ‘institution’ supported by an endowment, which provided funds for the scope identified by the founder, such as the building of a vessel, 83 the manufacturing of artillery pieces, 84 the maintenance of a garrison in a

79 Statutes were legislative acts that retained their validity until they were revoked, or superseded by subsequent legislation. On the other hand, Ordinances were enactments that were valid between one General-Chapter and another, and had to be confirmed by each General-Chapter in order to retain their legal validity. 80 Bosio Giacomo, Privilegii della Sacra Religione di S. Gio Gerosolmitano (Rome 1589), 40. 81 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 227 (1543). 82 Bosio, Privilegii , 44. 83 Salvatore Bono, ‘Naval Exploits and Privateering’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta 1993), 351-397, 379-80. 84 AOM 2189, f.35r.

37 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

86 particular fortification, 85 the maintenance of a chapel, the maintenance of an

88 auberge, 87 or the provision of bed sheets for the infirmary in Valletta. The

Treasury funded all areas catered for by the different foundations. To give but one example, between 1604 and 1609, the Treasury spent an average of

144,000 scudi each year for equipping galleys. 89 The foundations supplemented the money budgeted by the Treasury for those areas earmarked by the founder, thereby lessening the burden on the Order’s communal money. 90

Foundations were an anomaly in the Hospitaller framework and did not form part of the Order’s pyramidal structure. There were foundations that provided funds to a particular langue, such as the Fondatione Marulli , set up in

1644 by the Italian knight Fra Hectoris Marulli with a capital layout of 16,000 scudi. Marulli instructed the Italian langue to invest that sum in the purchase of land or shares, with the interest thereof supplementing the money available to the admiral to provide food for the incumbents of the Italian auberge.91 Other foundations, such as the Fondatione Cottoner , catered for needs befitting the

Order as a whole. The latter foundation funded the maintenance of a garrison at , the fort at the entrance of the Grand Harbour. 92

Each foundation was administered differently form the other, according to the will of the founder. It had its own procurators who managed the incomes

85 William Henry Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta under the Government of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, during the last days of its dominion and as compared to the present time (Malta 1836), 16. 86 AOM 2189, f.58r. 87 AOM 114, ff.206v-208r. 88 AOM 2189, f.88r. 89 AOM 1002, f.146r. 90 Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta , 8. 91 AOM 114, ff.206v-208r. 92 Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta , 16.

38 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY accruing from the investments made with the capital provided by the founder.

The administrator of the Marulli foundation was the admiral, the head of the

Italian langue, while the person responsible for the administration of the

Aragonese foundations was the grand conservator who headed the Aragonese langue. 93 In addition, in accordance with the precepts established by the founder, each foundation was required to submit an annual account. The administrators of the Marulli foundation reported to the assembly of the Italian langue, 94 while the grand conservator, as the official responsible for the

Claramonte foundations, was required to report to the ordinary council.95

Foundations, in similarity with the langues, were administered by their procurators, who had full control over the foundations’ assets. The latter were responsible for investing the capital entrusted into their care by the founder, purchased and leased property on behalf of the foundation, earning revenue which was spent on administrative expenses and for the scope earmarked by the founder. The procurators were also held to sue any third parties who did not pay their rents to the foundation.

93 AOM 2189, ff.1r-88r. These were six foundations instituted by Aragonese Hospitallers towards the end of the sixteenth and early seventeenth century: the fondatione Villargut (also found as Villacuto) founded in 1576 by the Prior of Aragon Fra Giovanni Villargut to supplement the money available to the officers in charge of the infirmary; two foundations founded by the Bailiff of Majorca Fra Raimondo Verij, one founded in 1589 to provide artillery pieces for the defence of Valletta and a second founded in 1598 to provide oil for the lamps of the Relics’ Chapel in the conventual church, the embellishment of that church’s sacristy, and give charity to Valletta’s poor; two foundations instituted by the Bailiff of Caspe, Fra Stefano de Claramonte in 1598 and in 1604 to finance the building of one or more galley hulls; and the foundation founded by the Prior of Catalonia, Ramon de Verij in 1608 to fund the purchase of bed sheets in the Infirmary. Each foundation had its own procurators, mostly dignitaries from the Langue of Aragon, amongst whom generally was the grand conservator, who headed the Aragonese Langue. AOM 2189, ff.1r-2r, 35r, 58r, 72r-73r, and 88r respectively. 94 AOM 114, ff.206v-208r.

39 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The Treasury

By definition, the Treasury, generally known as the Comun Tesoro , at times also the Comun Erario , was the common depository of all the Order’s revenues and paid for all the Order’s needs. Yet, this simple definition of the Treasury skims over the complexities of the structure and its multiple functions within the Order.

The Treasury was the institution in Convent that was responsible for the administration of the Order’s assets. It was ultimately responsible for the administration of the different commanderies spread all over Europe, and vetted the administration of those entities that managed their own finances, such as the langues and the foundations. It was responsible for the management of the Order’s finances, the financing of the different works undertaken by the

Order, from the infirmary to the building of fortifications, as well as the different military expeditions. In short, the Treasury was the vehicle through which the Order managed its finances, and supervised the administration of

Hospitaller assets.

The structure of the Treasury, ran parallel to, and indeed permeated, the administrative GM framework of the Order, which was itself a Signiori function of the Order’s need to convey the Other Officials income accruing from its territorial possessions  Figure 2.2 Treasury’s structure according to AOM 6432 to the Convent. The Treasury’s structure stemmed from the grandmaster and the council, and integrated all the Order.

95 AOM 2189, f.73r.

40 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

This concept is best seen in an anonymous early seventeenth-century report on the duties of the Treasury’s officials found in AOM 6432. 96 It states that the grandmaster and council were ‘ultimately responsibly for the good administration of the Treasury and the maintaining of the revenues and public goods of the Order’. Hence, came the Lords ( Signiori ) ‘commonly called of the

Treasury’, and finally came the officials responsible for each department of the

Treasury such as ‘the conservatore conventuale , the Cavalieri della Robba

(sic), the receivers, the Commissari del Tesoro , the Commissari dei Granari , the Commissari degli Forni , and others’. 97 The structure is placed within a

Christian theological framework where all possessions and revenues of the

Order are understood to belong to ‘Christ’s sick and the poor’. 98

While the Treasury’s hierarchy described in the anonymous report cannot be said to be exhaustive, the report does show an understanding of the pyramidal gradation of responsibilities within the Order. On the other hand, it evens out the hierarchy between the different officials of the Order, relegating all into the third and lower rung.

Effectively, excluding the notional ownership by the poor, the ultimate power over the finances of the Order rested with the grandmaster and the ordinary council.

96 AOM 6432, ff.116 et seq . The text is undated, but internal evidence suggests that it was written in the first half of the seventeenth century. In AOM 6432, ff.133v-134r the anonymous author refers to ‘the present exploits by the Generali delle Galere Fra Pontio della Porta (later marshal), the bailiff of Santa Eufemia Fra Signiorino Gattinara and marshal Fra Francesco de Cremeaulx. These were appointed ‘generals’ on 23 December 1609, 6 October 1618, and 12 June 1627 respectively. AOM 1630, f.131v. 97 AOM 6432, f.147r-v. The titles of the different Treasury officials are quoted in Italian, because not all reflect those found elsewhere in the records of the Order. 98 “… robba [della] sacra Religione Hierosolmitana li cui beni sono verissimo patrimonio delli ammablati et poveri di Gesù Christo ”. AOM 6432, f.162v.

41 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The Treasury had two competences: the administrative and the judicial. 99

Until the general-chapters held under Grandmaster Jean de Lastic (1437-54), 100 both the judicial and fiscal arms of the Treasury were merged in the persona of the grand commander, who was the ultimate person responsible for the

Treasury, just like a commander was responsible for the administration of a commandery. 101 The Treasurer, who disbursed the Order’s money, aided him in his administration. 102 The grand commander was responsible for receiving the responsions sent by the Order’s commanderies. 103 Besides, a statute enacted during the magistracy of Antonio Fluvian de Riviere (1421-1437), Lastic’s predecessor, decreed that the officials responsible for the administration of the arsenal, the Order’s granaries, and the little commandery (part of the infirmary) should report at the end of each month to the grand commander, detailing how they spent the money budgeted to their department in carrying out their duties.

His (the grand commander’s) role as the person ultimately responsible for their administration transpires.

In the mid-fifteenth century, the Muslim menace on Hospitaller Rhodes was making itself increasingly felt. The Ottomans were advancing in Asia Minor, and by 1453 they would conquer Constantinople, while the Egyptian Mamluks besieged Hospitaller Rhodes in 1440. 104 The Order needed to invest heavily in the defence of its island base. Due to increasing default in the remittance of

99 AOM 1680, pp.181-186. 100 Three general-chapters were held under the French grandmaster, in 1440, 1445, 1449. Together the three revolutionised the Treasury’s structure. 101 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 70; Bosio, ii, 154. 102 AOM 1680, p.197. 103 King, Rules , 51. 104 Housley, The Later Crusades , 225.

42 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY responsions to the Convent, the Order had to resort to taking loans from the international bankers with the consequence that it fell heavily in debt. 105 Lastic sought to curtail the problem by reforming the Treasury’s structure in Convent, to ensure that the purchasing power of the revenues received was maximised, and abuses curtailed. 106 The general chapter of 1440 created the offices of the venerable procurators of the Treasury (Venerandi Procuratori del Tesoro ), whose main competency was to assist the grand commander in his administrative duties. 107 In 1445, the Treasurer’s autonomy in managing the

Order’s finances was restricted, and henceforth could not make any unauthorised payment. The general chapter of 1449, created the office of the conservatore conventuale 108 incorporating most of the Treasurer’s functions. It also created the office of the auditors of accounts ( auditori dei conti ), one from each langue, 109 who observed the management of the Treasury verified its accounts to ensure that no abuses were perpetrated.110

105 Jürgen Sarnowsky, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’: the Financial Administration of the Hospitallers on Fifteenth Century Rhodes, 1421-1522’ in The Military Orders: Welfare and Warfare , ed. Helen Nicholson, ii (Hampshire 1998), 267-274, 271. 106 The structural changes effected under the magistracy of Jean de Lastic were diachronically the last modifications to configuration of the Treasury before the nineteenth century. The only addition made between 1449 and 1798 was the creation of the office of the commissari degli spogli by the ordinary council on 31 August 1556 with the specific function of helping the venerable procurators to administer the spogli . AOM 89, f.82r. Apart from restructuring the Treasury in Convent to curtail abuses in spending, the general-chapters under Grandmaster Lastic also enacted various statutes aimed at compelling commanders to send their responsions to the Convent. These will be futher discussed in Chapter 3, while discussing the diacronical evolution of penalties meted out at debtors. See page 158. 107 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 41-42; Bosio, ii, 186; AOM 1680, pp.188-9. 108 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 176-178. 109 AOM 1649, p.1051; Vertot ‘Statutes’, 41-42; AOM 1680 pp.211-2. The number of the auditors, originally eight was reduced to seven in the sixteenth century following the Anglican reformation enacted by Henry VIII, which effectively killed the langue of England. 110 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 42.

43 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The changes were intended to ensure that the revenues from its western provinces to ensure that they were not ‘squandered’, 111 but rather managed wisely to pay for the Order’s military needs and settle the debts with which the

Order was heavily burdened. A second aim was to put in more transparency into the management of the Order’s finances. The office of the Treasurer was attached to the langue of France. The other langues wanted to have a greater say over the management of the Order’s money. While the post of Treasurer remained attached to the langue of France, the office of the conservatore conventuale was open for all Hospitallers, irrespective of their nationality.

Besides, no two successive conservatori could be elected from the same langue. 112 The langues were further appeased through the creation of the auditors of accounts. Given that each langue appointed an auditor to verify the

Treasury’s accounts, each langue had a say in ensuring that no abuses were perpetrated. The changes also reflected the consciousness, of Lastic, and the

Hospitaller dignitaries who participated in the general-chapter, that the Order needed of a more effective means of administration. The changes implemented in the 1440s did not have the desired effect, at least in the short term, and the

Order’s debts were not reduced. The financial situation of the Order was so serious that in 1451, Lastic took the administration of the Treasury in his hands… but that is another story. 113

Effectively, the structure that ensued from the general-chapters held under

Lastic differentiated between the two arms of the Treasury. The fiscal

111 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 41. 112 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 176. 113 AOM 1680, p.473. Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 1451.

44 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY administration of the Treasury was entrusted to the grand commander, or his lieutenant, two venerable procurators of the Treasury, the grandmaster’s procurator, and the conservatore conventuale in Convent and the receivers and the procurators of the Treasury in the priories, (procuratori del Tesoro fuor di convento ). On the other hand, the judicial chores were the responsibility of the

Camera dei Conti , alternately known as Veneranda Camera , Tribunale della

Camera or simply Camera .114 The latter was composed of the officials responsible for the administration of the Treasury together with the Treasurer, or his lieutenant, and the auditors of accounts. The secretary participated in both the administrative and the judicial arms of the Treasury, having a consultative vote in each. 115

The Treasury’s administration had two main tasks: it ensured that all revenues due to the Treasury effectively reached the Convent, and issued payments. These tasks can be best analysed through the duties pertaining to its

(the Treasury’s) different officials, which from the mid-fifteenth century onwards 116 were the grand commander, the venerable procurators of the

Treasury, the conservatore conventuale , the secretary, the receivers and the procurators of the Treasury in the priories.

The grand commander was the deputy-grandmaster and the head of the

Treasury. Until the general chapter of 1440, he was the only administrator of

114 AOM 1680, pp.181-186. 115 AOM 1680, p.186, Lib 509, p.698. 116 As said in page 42, until Lastic’s magistracy both the judicial and the fiscal arm of the Treasury were merged in the person of the grand commander, who was assisted by the Treasurer. It was only in 1449 that the Treasurer’s task of making payments, and consequently his stance as one of the officials responsible for the fiscal administration of the Treasury was levied.

45 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY the Treasury. Henceforth, following the changes implemented under

Grandmaster Lastic,117 the competences of the grand commander were reduced to convening and presiding over the meetings of the different officials responsible for the administration of the Treasury, and those of the Camera dei

Conti . He set the agenda for these meetings and ensured that the decisions of the Camera dei Conti and those of the venerable procurators of the Treasury were enacted. He also authenticated with his seal all bills ( polize or mandati ), before the conservatore conventuale could effect any payment. Finally, he sealed the homes of moribund knights. 118

The office of the venerable procurators of the Treasury was created by the general chapter of 1440 to assist the grand commander in ‘securing the estates and dues of the Treasury’. 119 In conjunction with the grand commander, they were responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Treasury. They were helped in their task by a number of officials that were responsible for the various ‘departments’ of the Order. 120 Thus, the nurse ( infermiere ) administered the Hospital disbursing the Order’s moneys on wages, food and medicines. 121

The commander of the arsenal ( commendatore dell’ arsenale ) was in charge of procuring and distributing all goods to be administered to Order’s fleet, from nails, to rows and sails. 122 The commander of the artillery ( commendatore dell’ artigleria ) was responsible for the procurement of military equipment and its

117 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 186; AOM 1680, pp.188-9. 118 AOM 1680 pp.188-192. 119 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 41; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 186; AOM 1680, pp.188-9. 120 AOM 1002, f.149r. 121 AOM 1680, pp.439-443. 122 AOM 1680, pp.443-450.

46 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY distribution among the different fortifications. 123 The commanders of the granaries ( commendatori degli granari ) were in charge of the granaries of the

Order, 124 while commissioner for works ( commissario delle opere ) was in charge for the administration of the procurement, and use of building materials such as timber and limestone by the Order. 125 The captains of the galleys

(capitani delle galere ) were responsible, amongst others, for the management of the Order’s moneys on the galleys of the Order, 126 while the commissioners for the administration of the spogli (commissari degli spogli ) had to ensure that all belongings of deceased Hospitallers accrued to the Treasury. 127 Both the venerable procurators of the Treasury as well as the grand commander held a key to the strong room, known as the Torre , in Valletta, where all the gold, silver, and moneys of the Treasury were held. 128

The office of the conservatore conventuale , also known as depositario ,129 was created by the general chapter of 1449 ‘to prevent the squandering and make the necessary distribution of money and effects of the Treasury’. 130 The conservatore was in charge of keeping account of the assets of the Treasury, keeping record of all moneys and goods in kind received, and all expenses made. He could only make a payment upon being presented with a bill issued

123 AOM 1680, pp.450-454. 124 AOM 1680, pp.454-458 125 AOM 1680, pp.459-460. 126 AOM 1680, pp.460-464. 127 AOM 89, f.82r. 128 AOM 1680, pp.194-5. 129 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 226. 130 Vertot 41; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 176-178.

47 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY by the grandmaster (de facto by the ordinary council), signed by the Treasury’s secretary and sealed by the grand commander.131

The office of the Treasury’s secretary (secretario del Tesoro ) known as clerk, ( scrivano del Tesoro ) until the general chapter of 1604, 132 is first recorded in 1268. 133 His function within the Order resembled the post of

‘intendant’, the official who administered the estates of most European aristocratic families. 134 He was present wherever the interests of the Treasury were discussed, whether in the Camera dei Conti , in the ordinary council or in the general-chapter. He promoted the interests of the Treasury, supervised the procuratori delle cause – the officer who represented the Treasury in court proceedings – and at times, instituted himself lawsuits on behalf of the

Treasury. He oversaw the fiscal administration of the venerable procurators of the Treasury, being obliged to report them to the ordinary council when in default. Together with two auditors from the Camera dei Conti , he audited the accounts submitted by the receivers and other ministers of the Order, reporting any officials who failed to submit their accounts to the ordinary council.

The secretary took down the minutes during the meetings of the Camera dei

Conti , signed bills of payment, and took note of all the receipts and payments or distribution of goods made by the Treasury, including the ransom of slaves.

He also kept track of all the goods acquired for the magistral ,

131 AOM 1680, pp.555-567. 132 AOM 1680, p.222. 133 Cassar and Cutajar quoting Caravita give 1267, Yet, according to King, the general-chapter referred to by Caravita was held in Acre in September 1268. Cassar and Cutajar, ‘Budgeting in Seventeenth Century Malta’, in Mid-Med Bank Limited, Report and Accounts (Malta 1983), 22-32, 26; AOM 1680, p.223; King, Rules , 72. 134 Norbert Elias, The Court Society (Oxford 1983), 287-8.

48 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY conventual church and the reliquary, the slave prison, and the Torre . He, or any of his officials, was present when the venerable procurators of the Treasury opened the Torre , or checked the state of the silverware in the magistral palace as well as when the Maestro Scudiero opened the reliquary, or when the sacristans of the conventual church gave the hand-over to their successors. He made the annual balance of receipts and expenses of the Treasury, and presented the state of the Order’s finances to the general-chapter. 135 Finally, he issued writs to individual Hospitallers vouching that they were not in debt with the Treasury, (the polize – singular poliza – di ben pagante ) and consequently that the Hospitaller could accede to an office or commandery.

The receiver was the Treasury’s representative in the priories. The earliest reference to a ‘receiver’ dates back to 1265, and is recorded by Jonathan Riley

Smith. 136 Then his duties were those of a Treasury assistant. According to

Mercieca, the receiver became responsible for collecting responsions and impositions sometime during the fourteenth century. Mercieca cites a letter by

Grandmaster Dieudonné de Gozon (1346-53) addressed to the priors and receivers instructing them to make every effort and use every diligence to collect the responsions and impositions. 137 The general chapter of 1365, in direct response to the abuses perpetrated by the priors, decreed that there

135 AOM 1680, p242-246. 136 Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Knights of St John in Jerusalem and Cyprus 1050-1310 (London 1967), 310; Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 9. 137 Yet, Mercieca dates the letter to ‘three years before 1365, i.e. 1362. Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 9. His dating should be erroneous given that Gozon was Grandmaster between 1346-53! For the dates of the tenure of office held by the different Grandmasters see www.orderofmalta.org.uk/ grandmasters.htm ; the same data for the years 1258-1581 is also found in Norman Housley, The Later Crusades: From Lyons to Alcazar 1274 – 1580 (Oxford 1992), 459; and Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , xi.

49 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY should be a receiver in every priory. 138 Their main task was to collect the revenues, in the form of responsions, spogli or otherwise, accruing to the

Treasury from their receptory (ricetta ), the collective estates equivalent to the priory to which they were attached. The receiver was accountable to the

Camera dei Conti and the provincial-chapter for his duties. He drew up a monthly report through which he informed the Camera dei Conti 139 on the state of his receptory and an annual report, which he presented to the provincial- chapter. The latter report was audited by commissioners appointed by that chapter and remitted to the Camera dei Conti .140 The receiver ensured that the

Order was not defrauded, noting all debtors of the Treasury and informing the

Convent accordingly. 141 He was also responsible for the administration of vacated commanderies, 142 and those commanderies confiscated from

Hospitallers who were in debt with the Treasury. 143 Receivers represented the

Treasury in court litigations in the priories, 144 and were responsible for purchasing goods on behalf of the Order within the confines of their ricetta .145

The procurators of the Treasury in the priories assisted the receiver in their duties, while ensuring that no abuses were perpetrated. 146 They also audited the

138 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 67 (1365). 139 AOM 1680, p.231. 140 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 80-81. 141 AOM 1680, p.231. 142 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 63 143 On the confiscation of estates administered by different Hospitallers see page 163. 144 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 74-75. 145 Victor Mallia-Milanes, ‘The Hospitaller Receiver in Venice: A Late Seventeenth Century Document’, in Studi Veneziani , XLIV (2002); Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 78. As Mallia-Milanes shows with regards to the receiver in Venice (in the same paper quoted here), often, receivers also had the role of ambassadors of the Order. 146 AOM 1680, pp.673-683.

50 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY receiver’s accounts presented at during the provincial-chapter for approval, along with the prior, the provincial-chancellor, and two other auditors. 147

The different officials responsible for the fiscal administration of the

Treasury in Convent were also members of the Camera dei Conti , together with the treasurer, and the auditors of accounts.

The office of the treasurer is known to have existed at the beginning of the fourteenth century, 148 but the date of is creation is not known. Until the mid- fifteenth century, he was responsible for managing the moneys of the Treasury; indeed, he was the sole official responsible for making disbursements – at his own discretion. The Tesoriero Generale , as he was frequently referred to, had his duties curtailed during Lastic’s magistracy. The general chapter of 1445 decreed that the treasurer had to distribute goods belonging to the Treasury only when ordered to do so by the grandmaster and with the consent of the venerable procurators of the Treasury.149 The general chapter of 1449 freed the office from the onus of handling the Order’s funds. This duty was given to the conservatore conventuale .150 The treasurer was raised to the dignity of capitular-bailiff, with the obligation of being present at the examination of the accounts of the Treasury by the ordinary council.151

The auditors of accounts were mainly responsible for assisting the

Treasury’s secretary to audit the accounts of the different officials who administered the Order’s funds, and which were submitted to the Treasury.

147 AOM 1680, p.682. 148 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 77. 149 AOM 1680, p.197. 150 AOM 1680, p.197; Bosio ii, 176-178. 151 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 73.

51 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Included were the accounts submitted by the Treasury’s administrators to the grandmaster and the council. 152 The 1449 statute though which the office of auditors was established also required them to participate, once a week, in the discussions on the administration of the Treasury and inform the grandmaster and the council of any abuses. They were also required to oversee any payment made by the conservatore conventuale .153 By 1471, the auditors had assumed a judicial function. Indeed, in that year they pronounced themselves against

Grandmaster Giovanni Battista Orsini (1467-76) who had presented the accounts for his administration of the Treasury. 154 They retained their role as judges into the seventeenth century, when they participated in the sittings of the Camera dei Conti , the judicial arm of the Treasury. 155

The Camera was a court of the exchequer. 156 As an institution, it was not unique to the Order of St John. The king of France Louis IX had founded a parallel institution in 1256. 157 Caravita mentions similar tribunals in Germany,

Rome, and Naples 158 while an anonymous late seventeenth-century report on the rights of the Camera adds the Tribunale del Regio Patrimonio in Castile and in Sicily, the Regio Procuratore in Majorca, and the tribunal of the

General Bailiff in Catalonia. 159 It was the only first-instance tribunal competent to hear, judge, and pronounce itself on any litigation concerning the

152 AOM 1680, p.214. 153 AOM 1680, p.212; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 42. 154 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 264 (1471); AOM 1680, p.212. 155 AOM 1680, p.186. 156 AOM 6402, f.272r. 157 www.corteconti.it/visita-vir/index.asp . 158 AOM 1679, p.290. 159 AOM 6402, f.272v.

52 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Treasury. 160 Consequently, any litigation waged by a Hospitaller against the

Treasury, or any suit initiated by the Treasury’s officials against a Hospitaller, was filed before the Camera . It had the right to summon to its forum any litigation in which the Treasury was one of the litigant parties, and which had been filed in another tribunal. 161 This right pertained to all the free sovereign princes of the ancient regime, 162 a way of symbolically showing the authority over other tribunals.

Hospitallers aggrieved by the deliberations of the Camera could appeal to the ordinary council in the second-instance, then to the complete Council in the third-instance. 163 A case in point was the litigation between Fra Francesco

Olesa and Fra Nicola Cottoner, a namesake of the future grandmaster. At the time of the conservatore conventuale Gonsale de Porras (1591-1600), 164 Olesa had not paid 22 scudi for a quantity of food which he had taken in excess of his tavole , yet for some reason, the debt was not known to the Treasury’s officials, and consequently it was never notified to him. Because the debt was not known, Olesa acceded to two different commanderies after his procurators obtained the poliza di ben pagante from the Treasury’s clerk – he would have been precluded from acceding to a commandery if it was known that he was in debt. 165 In 1607, Olesa had the chance to obtain the more opulent Spanish commandery of Spulga de Francoli, but Cottoner questioned this claim. Olesa appealed to the Camera dei Conti , which, on 10 February 1607 decreed that he

160 AOM 6402, f.272r. 161 AOM 1680, pp.292-5; AOM 6402, f.272. 162 AOM 1680, pp.292-5; AOM 6402, f.272. 163 AOM 1680, pp.291. 164 AOM 6430 f.23.

53 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY had to settle his original debt to the Treasury. The Camera explained that an accounting error should not be harmful to any one, but it did not say whether

Olesa or Cottoner was to get the commandery. 166 On 2 June 1608, the ordinary council allowed Olesa to accede to the said commandery notwithstanding his debt. 167 Cottoner felt aggrieved by this decision and appealed to the complete

Council , but on 16 January 1609, the latter confirmed the original sentence. 168

2.2 Management function of the Treasury

Management has been defined as the task of helping an organisation achieve its goals. 169 This was the main function of the Treasury. It ensured the continuous supply of revenue from the commanderies to the Convent, and managed the

Order’s expenditure. On this basis, the Order could fulfil its double vocation of caring for the sick and fighting its crusade against the Muslim infidel.

Christian framework of Hospitaller management

Behind the management of the Treasury lay a religious philosophy. The goal of maximising the Order’s income from its commanderies was to be achieved within terms dictated by Christian values and ethical norms. Explicitly formulated in the early statutes in religiously inspired language, by the fifteenth century these values and norms were increasingly defined in terms of legalistic

165 See page 162. 166 AOM 663, f 61v. 167 AOM 102, f112r-v. 168 AOM 103, f44r-45r. 169 Don Hellriegal, Susan E. Jackson, John W. Slocum Jr. Management (Canada 2001), 6.

54 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY concepts, themselves Christian in inspiration, though heavily indebted to

Roman law. 170

The early statutes regulating upon the administration of the Order’s finances reflect the theological values (such as poverty and self-denial) that inspired them and the religious framework within which they were implemented. In similarity with the rules governing the other religious and monastic orders, 171 the statutes of Raymond du Puy, stress the complete self-denial of the individual, who had to give all his possessions to the master. In return, all that was earned by the Order beyond what was necessary for the subsistence of its members was to be given to the poor. 172 The general chapter of 1206 resolved, amongst other things, that the grand commander, after receiving the responsions, would show them to the sick and the poor before having them deposited in the Treasury, 173 a gesture theoretically expressing the statutory ownership by the poor. The evangelical spirit of sacrificing oneself to give everything one owns to the poor and the needy is discernible.

The religious dimension inspired most of the enactments and proceedings of subsequent general-chapters, though, with regards the statutes regulating the

Treasury the influence appears to decrease with the passage of time. The theoretical communality of ownership and the primacy of the Order over the individual emerge as the major underlying themes prescribing patterns of

170 James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader (Milwakee and London 1969). 171 Lawrence C.H., Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages , (London 1984), 25. Most of the Rules of the religious orders are published online and can be accesed from www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/monastic.html . On pages linked, and thus accessible from that webpage one may find, amongst others St Benedict’s Rule, documents relating to the Clunaic reform, the Franciscan Rule, St Augustine’s Rule and the Domenican Constitutions, and the rules of the main military orders. 172 King, Rules , 22-25.

55 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY management within the Hospitaller structure. The two precepts lay at the basis of the Medieval Church’s doctrine about monastic life. The former was pivotal in the interpretation of the vow of poverty in the other religious orders, whereby the vow taken by individual monks or friars implied ownership by the convent and province in particular, and through it by their institution in general. 174 Likewise, the subjection of the individual to his Order was a consequence of the vow of obedience taken by all those who professed into a monastic institution, whether as monks, friars or knights. 175 Besides, the primacy of the Order of St John over its members, like all other religious and monastic institutions, reflected on a micro level the pre-eminence of the high medieval church, later amplified and underscored by the awe-inspiring

Tridentine baroque Church.

Yet, the Christian-ethical concepts inspiring the language of the statutes disappeared from the later statutes, their place being taken over by the more technical, more accurate legal terminology. The language employed in the statute enacted under Grandmaster Pierre d’Aubusson (1476-1503) concerning the payment of dues to the Treasury, 176 contrasts sharply with the phraseology

173 King, Rules , 51. 174 Moorman, The Franciscan Order, 186. The Franciscans acquired the right to own possessions as an Order only in January 1283, through Martin IV’s bull Exultantes in Domino . Until then they merely used possessions granted to their protectors who administered them on their behalf. Pietro Lippini, La vita quotidiana di un convento medioevale: gli ambienti, le regole, l’orario e le mansioni dei frati Domenicani del tredicesimo secolo (Bolognia 1990). 175 Gilles Constable, ‘The Authority of Superiors in Religious Communities’, in Monks, Hermits and Crusaders in Medieval Europe (London 1988), iii. 176 “We enact that all priors, the castellan of Emposta, the bailiffs, commanders, and brothers, exempt or not exempt, shall, on account of their priories, castellany of Emposta, bailiwicks commanderies, houses, and other estates belonging to the Order, pay verily and truly every year…the dues of the Common Treasury”. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 30.

56 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY of Du Puy’s. 177 The complete surrender of all goods collected as alms disappears. ‘Dues’, money owed by right, replaced ‘alms’, the collection of which indicates poverty and total reliance on benefactors. The payment of bread, wine and food, examples of evangelical frugality is replaced by the payment of dues in cash (the statute uses ‘verily and truly’ which implied ‘in gold or silver coins’). The poor ceased to be the main beneficiary of the money collected by the members of the Order, their place being taken by the Treasury.

Apart from the secularisation of the language employed in the statutes, management theory gradually became more pragmatic, delineating organisational rules and defining hierarchical structures. The commander- receiver-Treasury vertical relationship is clearly outlined: “We enjoin the receivers of our Treasury to demand and receive the dues which belong to it… they are to receive them of such as are in possession of the priories, commanderies or houses…”. 178 Similarly expounded are the rules regulating what ought be done on the death of a knight, both regarding the spogli ,179 and the mortuaries and vacancies. 180

Yet, the religious dimension remained omnipresent. This was especially the case with regards to the mentality discernible in the enactments made by the general-chapters, the ordinary council, and the decisions of the commissari

177 “Let them take no land nor security from the alms collected, but let them deliver them up to the Master with an account in writing, and let the Master deliver them up with his own writing to the poor in the hospital; and let the Master receive from all the Obediences the third part of the bread and wine and of all food, and that which shall be surplus should be added to the alms, and let him hand it over to the poor with his own account in writing.” King, Rules , 22; www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_rule.htm. 178 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 40. 179 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 36-39, 43, 45. For a definition of the term spoglio (plura spogli ) see page 183. 180 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 32, 36, 38, 40, 42.

57 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY degli spogli . Most rulings had a quasi-formulaic invocation to God, the Virgin

Mary, and St John the Baptist. 181 In a decree issued on 29 October 1602, Alof de Wigniacourt (1601-22) defined the goals of his magistracy in terms of

‘pleasantness’ and ‘usefulness’ to God. 182 Notwithstanding the military exploits that the Order achieved between 1601 and 1603, 183 in that decree he termed the

‘holy works’ ( opere pie ) and the ‘divine cult’ ( culto Divino ) as the Order’s raison d’etre . The main objective of his office was identified as guaranteeing that those in charge of the divine cult kept their respective churches and oratories in good shape and form, and ensuring that they were well adorned with sacred books, vestments, chalices and anything else that was deemed necessary. Secondly, he underscored the need to maintain in very good condition the priories, bailiwicks, and commanderies, from whence the Order derived its fruits and revenues. Having instructed all priors to make their statutory visits of their priories regularly and consistently, Wigniacourt confessed that he could not genuinely calm his conscience when he knew that the priors were not performing their sacred duties; and failing to draw up these periodical visitations. This was scandalous behaviour, which could not be

181 See for example AOM 945, f1, the deliberation taken by the commissari degli spogli with regards to the payment of debtors of late Fra Carlo Michallef: … invocando il nome di Gesù, e della sua Ss ma Madre sempre Vergine e di S to Gio Batta, nostro Protettore… . Similar formulae are found in each deliberation of the commissari degli spogli and in most decisions taken by the above mentioned Councils. 182 AOM 100, ff.248v-9r. 183 Between 1601 and 1603 the Order’s navy captured the city of Passavà in the Peloponese, the North African city of Adrimitio and the fortresses of Patras and Lepanto, on the Gulf of Corinth. Andew P. Vella, Storja ta’ Malta (Malta 1979), 70-71.

58 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY allowed. The priorial visit was ‘pertinent for God’s service and pleasant to

Him’. It was also useful for the Order’s proper administration. 184

Though discernible from any analysis of the statutes, ordinances, and other similar measures and proclamations, the theoretical framework of Hospitaller management can best be appreciated through the treatises on the administration of the Treasury drawn up by certain Hospitallers at a certain point in time. At least two such treatises on how the Treasury should best be administered have survived: one is Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro ; the other is the early seventeenth century anonymous manuscript treatise on the duties pertaining to the Treasury’s officials found in volume 6432 of the Archives of the Order found in the National Library of Malta in Valletta.185 The two treatises differ greatly on the theoretical motivations that should encourage the good administration of the Treasury. Consequently, neither can be assumed to portray the notions underlying the administration of the Treasury, as the upholding of one would automatically exclude the other. Rather the synthesis of their arguments is being held by the present author as representing the theoretical framework along which the Treasury was governed.

The Christian ethical values of poverty and servitude to the poor, together with the repudiation of greed, avarice and sin lay at the basis of the anonymous report on the Treasury. The equation of the belongings of the Order with the belongings of the poor is repeatedly stressed, 186 while the Order of St John is

184 “Cosa pertinente al servitio d’Iddio, et a Lui grata, come anco per utile della Religione …” AOM 100, ff.248v-9r. 185 AOM 6432, f.116 et seq . 186 AOM 6432, ff.155v-156r, 158r, 158v, 162v.

59 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY defined as the ‘House of God’. 187 Besides the word sin ( peccato ), or its derivatives ( pecca ), and quasi synonyms ( cosa bassa et infame , sacrilego ) are repeated fifteen times in the five folios that discuss the duties of the officials of the Treasury. 188

The anonymous treatise on the Treasury is didactic in approach and aims at impinging within the reader the qualities, which those in charge of the ‘goods of the Order’ ( beni della Religione ) should possess. The emphasis lies on the religious values that should guide the administrator of the Treasury in his work.

Being ‘devout and faithful to the Lord’ was considered as more important a quality than being inclined to management and accounting practices. 189

Likewise, in electing the officials of the Treasury, the grandmaster and his council had to beware of the ‘plague’ of handing the Order’s belongings onto

‘avid and greedy men, who seek different ways of taking into their possession what does not belong to them’. 190 Great care had to be taken in not creating more offices than was needed, which is defined as prodigality, and contravening the vow of poverty. 191 First preference had to be given to professed members of the Order because the Holy Spirit inspired them. 192

The administrators of the Treasury were admonished in quasi-apocalyptic terms not to abuse of the possessions of the Order. They were cautioned to pay

187 ‘La casa di Dio che è la Religione ’. AOM 6432, f.160r. 188 AOM 6432, ff.158v-162v. The anonymous treatise is divided into three chapters, which discuss: the qualities that the Grandmaster and the Ordinary council should seek in the persons they appoint to administer the goods of the Order, the administration of the goods of the Order, and the onuses by which the officials appointed to administer the goods of the Treasury are burdened, respectively. 189 AOM 6432, ff.150r-v. 190 ‘Uomini avidi et desiderosi di robba i quali per diverse vie procurano impadronirsi di quello che non li tocca ’. AOM 6432, f.148v. 191 AOM 6432, f.154v.

60 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY lay employees justly and on time or they would be committing ‘[one of those] sins which call for God’s revenge… which is equal to homicide’. 193

Likewise, for a Hospitaller, especially for an administrator of the Treasury, to involve oneself in private business was considered as a sin against the vow of poverty, transforming the Order, into a merchants’ lair. 194 Indeed, those knights who wished to become rich ‘fall in the devil’s net’, 195 rather they should only seek to acquire Heavenly bliss through the fulfilment of their profession. 196

The act of engaging in business is defined as a plague, while the Hospitaller who so abuses is described as ‘ infame’ , with ‘a heart full of avarice’, who deserves to be excommunicated. 197 The fault was considered graver if a

Hospitaller entered into a business transaction utilising the belongings of the

Order, because if the enterprise ultimately resulted in a loss, one would have decreased the Order’s property, thus robbing the poor who belonged to

Christ. 198

Caravita’s approach to the administration of the Treasury is more pragmatic.

His synchronical analysis of the late seventeenth century Treasury is based on the Hospitaller statutory precepts, the corpus of court pronouncements, the legalistic tradition legal theory, which were formulated within the legal framework inspired by the European Romano-Christian legacy. Hence, the

Christian notions of giusto , giustitia , bontà , abound throughout the treatise,

192 AOM 6432, f.155r. 193 ‘[ Uno di ] quelli peccati che gritano [gridano] vendetta a Dio… che all’ homicidio si fa equale ’. AOM 6432, ff.156v-157r. 194 AOM 6432, f.160r. 195 ‘Cascano nella rete et laccio del Diabblo ’. AOM 6432, f.160r. 196 AOM 6432, f.160r. 197 AOM 6432, f.161r. 198 AOM 6432, f.162v.

61 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY though his approach is not evangelically inspired as the anonymous treatise on the duties pertaining to the Treasury officials.

In similarity with the anonymous treatise, the qualities befitting the judges of the Camera dei Conti as described by Caravita, are clearly inspired by

Christian thought. Caravita puts emphasis on the values of ‘goodness’ and

‘conscience’, on ‘knowledge’ and ‘diligence’, whereas he does not accord a similar importance to experience. 199 Likewise, he opined that a ‘bad judge can never have a good opinion, especially in our Order, where apart from the onus of goodness... there lies the burdens pertaining to the religious state’. 200

Yet, notwithstanding the common Christian denominator that he shares with the anonymous author, and his own spiritual disposition, 201 Caravita defines the notions regulating the administration of the Treasury in terms of legalistic precepts. Thus, despite the corpus of Christian writings concerning the notion of ‘vow’ and ‘oath’, 202 Caravita analyses the oath taken by the Lords presiding the Camera dei Conti on assuming office in terms of: i) the Order’s statutes, ii) the difference in the oath taken by the different commissars, and iii) the onus of not applying illegal or impossible obligations. 203

Likewise, when analysing the potential failures of the venerable procurators of the Treasury, Caravita differentiates between the theological guilt, and legal guilt. The theological guilt is not defined in religious or spiritual terms, but in

199 AOM 1680, pp.280-250. 200 ‘Giudice di malavita non potrà mai essere in buona opinione, e massime nel nostro Ordine, nel quale oltre a quest’ obligo della bonta... vi concorre anche il motivo particolare dello stato Religioso ’. AOM 1680, p.281. 201 See page 12. 202 Vide Brundage, Medieval Cannon Law . 203 AOM 1680, pp.261 et seq .

62 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY terms of deviance from the notion of ‘justice’ and from what ‘men usually do in similar circumstances’. 204 Similarly, the belongings of the Order are defined as ‘public goods’, 205 a radical departure from the notion of the ‘belongings of the poor of Jesus Christ’ as elucidated by the anonymous treatise on the

Treasury. 206

Managing the Treasury

Norbert Elias, while commenting on the early seventeenth-century France, notes that ‘within court society, honour, rank, the maintenance and improvement of the social position of one’s house, as well as physical courage and military success had precedence as determinants of behaviour over what could be classified as ‘economic’ determinants’. 207 This led to the disregard of the financial administration and overall supervision of one’s estates, which was left in the hands of the ‘intendant’, focusing only on the maximisation of incomes from leases, rents and pensions to be spent in accordance with one’s requirements. 208 Elias’s description shows a society preoccupied with ostentation, where the sound management of one’s estates, and the consolidation of profits to ensure a financially secure future for oneself and one’s household were sacrificed for a showy display intended to impress peers.

Braudel corroborated Elias’ portrayal, describing a nobility that, from France to

Poland, from Spain to Naples and from Amsterdam to Venice was preoccupied

204 “La Theologica si commette quando alcuno devia dal giusto o da quello che gli uomini solgono fare comunamente e largamente ”. AOM 1680, pp.495. 205 AOM 1680, p.496. 206 AOM 6432, f.162v. 207 Elias, The Court Society , 289.

63 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY with ostentation, and display, for which ‘wealth only had a value when appreciated by other people’. 209

This description fits neatly into the traits discernible within the Order of St

John from the fourteenth century onwards – after all most Hospitallers hailed from the same social milieu described in the above terms by Elias and Braudel.

Although statutorily obliged to reside on their commanderies, the commanders were generally non-resident, preferring to dwell in the royal or papal court or in

Convent.210 The failure, by commanders, to pay the annual responsions was rampant in the fourteenth as in the seventeenth century, as Hospitallers kept the revenues from the estates that they administered on behalf of the Order.

Luttrell refers to the ‘endless indifference and corruption’ rampant in the priories in the fourteenth century, and the consequent ongoing attempts by the

Order’s officials to extract the monies for the Convent in Rhodes. 211 Corruption and the maximisation of revenues for oneself are the antithesis of the notions of poverty and self-denial, which should have governed the members of the Order as professed members of a religious order, and which were emphasised by the

Order’s early statutes. By indulging in both, members of the Order eroded the financial basis of the Order, as egoistically minded commanders preoccupied with living a comfortable life befitting great lords on their manors withheld funds due to the Treasury to pay for the Order’s needs. Such practices also

208 Elias, The Court Society , 284. 209 Braudel, The Wheels of Commerce , 482-493. 210 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 80; Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 71-76. 211 Luttrell quoted in Housley, The Later Crusades , 218.

64 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY showed that religious checks and balances were not enough to curtail the abuses of greedy Hospitallers.

In order to counteract such abuses, the Order resorted to increasing bureaucratisation. The general chapter of 1365 sent a receiver to each priory to collect revenues due to the treasury, effectively splitting he administrative and the fiscal responsibilities on a priorial level (the former responsibilities were retained by the prior, while the latter were bestowed upon the receiver).

Further bureaucratisation ensued in the 1440s with the introduction of new practices for administering the finances of the Order in Convent discussed above. In 1440, the office of the venerable procurators of the Treasury was created to help (and curtail the abuses perpetrated by) the grand commander.212

In 1445, the Treasurer was instructed not to effect payments unless the grandmaster and council presented him with the necessary poliza .213 In 1449, his task of making payments was assumed by the newly created conservatore conventuale .214 Both the secretary and the conservatore conventuale had to keep separate accounts of all moneys accruing to and paid from the Treasury for counterchecking, while the secretary became responsible for overseeing the administration carried out by the venerable procurators of the Treasury. In

1449, the office of the auditors of accounts was created with the purpose of observing all the business of the Treasury, reporting any misconduct to the

Council. 215 Finally, an explicit reference was made in the statutes about the aim

212 AOM 1680, pp.188-192, Lib 509, pp.701-706. 213 AOM 1680, p.197. 214 AOM 1680, p.197; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 176-178. 215 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 22.

65 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY of their enactment: “to prevent the squandering”, ‘to ensure care and exactness’. 216

A new structure for effecting payments also emerged, ensuring greater accountability. Any claims for the payment of creditors of the Treasury had to be presented to the ordinary council by the vice-chancellor, quoting the accounts of the secretary. The council then ordered a bill ( poliza or bolla di pagamento ) to be issued. This was signed by the secretary and sealed by the grand commander. 217 In the priories, the receivers made payments following the instructions received from the venerable procurators of the Treasury.218

In a sense, this new structure better guaranteed the monitoring of performance standards, and the taking of corrective action – essential functions of management. 219 In Convent, a combination of procedures for reporting, auditing, and overseeing the practices of others ensured the continuous scrutiny of each official involved in the administration of the Treasury. Similar procedures applied for the officials of the Treasury in the provinces, namely the receiver and the procurators of the Treasury in the priories.

The secretary oversaw each transaction that took place within the Treasury, keeping separate ledgers for each task. He had separate ledgers for the transactions performed by the conservatore conventuale and venerable procurators of the Treasury,220 the commissari degli spogli ,221 and by the

216 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 41. 217 AOM 1680, p188-206. 218 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 72. 219 Hellriegal et al ., Management , 9-10. 220 AOM 1680, p.239. 221 AOM 1680, p.461.

66 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY maestro scudiero .222 The secretary, together with two auditors,223 counterchecked the accounts of all officials of the Order. 224 While the accounts of the receivers were read in the Camera , the secretary notified of any

‘unusual’ entries and those which could not be upheld. 225 All officials were held to hand their accounts for verification as per Table 2.1.

222 AOM 1680, p.240. 223 AOM 1680, p.233. 224 AOM 1680, p.233. 225 AOM 1680, p.230.

67 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Official Reported to Frequency Notes Conservatore conventuale Camera dei Conti Each semester 226 Commissario delle Opere Camera dei Conti Each semester 227 Infermiere Each year 228 Supposedly, not in practice. 229 Every two or four years Practice end XVII century 230 Comendatore dell’ Arsenale Grand commander Monthly 231 Supposedly, not in practice. 232 Auditors Monthly 233 Supposedly, not in practice. 234 Venerable procurators Each semester 235 Supposedly, not in practice. 236 Camera dei Conti Every two years 237 Comendatore dell’ Artigleria Venerable procurators Each semester 238 Supposedly, not in practice. 239 Camera dei Conti Every two years 240 Comendatore del Granaro Grand commander Monthly 241 Supposedly, not in practice. 242 Camera dei Conti Each semester 243 Supposedly, not in practice. 244 Camera dei Conti Every two years 245 Commissario delle Opere Camera dei Conti Each semester 246 Commissari degli spogli Camera dei Conti Each semester 247 Capitani di Galera Congregation of the galleys Monthly 248 Partitario dei Forni Camera dei Conti Monthly 249 Receivers Camera dei Conti Monthly 250 Provincial-chapter and then Each year 251 to the Camera dei Conti Procurators of the Treasury Camera dei Conti End of term of office 252 fuor di Convento Ambassadors 226of AOMthe Order 1680, p.429; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 144. End of term of office 253 227  Table 2.1: Schedule AOM 1680,for officials p.434. managing Hospitaller assets to submit their accounts. 228 AOM 1680, p.440. 229 AOM 1680, p.440. 230 AOM 1680, p.440. 231 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 70. 232 AOM 1680, p.444. 233 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 73, 149. 234 AOM 1680, p.445. 235 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149; AOM 1680, p.446. 236 AOM 1680, p.447. 237 AOM 1680, p.447. Accounts seen by two auditori who reported to the Camera dei Conti 238 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 70, 149. 239 AOM 1680, p.451. 240 AOM 1680, p.451. Accounts seen by two auditori who reported to the Camera dei Conti . 241 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 70; AOM 1680, p.455. 242 AOM 1680, p.455. 243 AOM 291 f51v; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149. 244 AOM 1680, p.455. 245 AOM 1680, p.455. Accounts seen by two auditori who reported to the Camera dei Conti 246 AOM 291 f51v; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149. Only the accounts submitted at the end of one’s term as Commissario delle Opere were seen by auditors deputed by the Camera dei Conti . AOM 1480, p.458. 247 AOM 1680, p.461. 248 AOM 1680, p.462. The accounts submitted by each Captain were copied onto a ledger containing the accounts of the Congregation of the galleys. This ledger was then audited by three commissars deputed by the same Congregation, before the Treasury’s Secretary. These commissars eventually reported to the Camera dei Conti on the contents of these accounts. 249 AOM 1680, p.462-3. 250 AOM 1680, p.231. 251 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 80-81. 252 AOM 1679 pp.547, 555; AOM 1680, p.675; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149. 253 AOM 1679 pp.547, 555; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149.

68 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The general chapter of 1631 decreed that all officials had to submit a yearly account of their management to the Treasury’s officials, 254 but the practice was not observed, as Caravita repeatedly points out. 255 The accounts of each official were audited by the Treasury’s secretary together with two auditors to ensure that there was no misappropriation of funds. 256 The officials had to present their journals and their ledgers besides their balances containing the revenues and expenses, to allow the auditors to verify the declared state of affairs. 257

Practice did not always follow the statutory enactments. On 12 December

1667, the ordinary council ordered that the practice of having the venerable procurators of the Treasury ‘publishing’ their accounts annually had fallen in abeyance. Indeed, they had failed to do so between 1655 and 1666, ‘with no little harm for the Order’. 258 Likewise, receivers tended to group their accounts for a number of years together. To cite but one example, Fra Carlo Valdina, ex- receiver of Palermo, presented his accounts to the Camera for his 7 th and 8 th year of office in the Sicilian receptory simultaneously. 259

In the priories, similar structures existed for checking performance standards and for taking remedial necessary action. The receiver was held to submit his annual accounts to the provincial-chapter each year for auditing. 260

Every five years, the prior was expected to visit all commanderies lying within his jurisdiction. Then, every 25 years he had to appoint two commissioners to

254 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149. 255 AOM 1680, pp.429-463. 256 AOM 1680, pp.203-463 passim . 257 AOM 1680, pp.397-403. 258 ‘Con non poco pregiuditio pubblico ’, AOM 219, f.52v. 259 AOM 666, f.134v. 260 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 80-81.

69 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY perform the cabreo ,261 a report on the state of every commandery. 262 These commissioners took note of all the details regarding each commandery, ensuring that the divine cult was well celebrated, listing the different belongings of each church, transcribing all details with regards to the landed possessions, including their value, leases, and geographical position. They noted all the libri censuali , all jurisdictions possessed by each territorial unit, and any privileges enjoyed. Finally, they advised the holders what repairs were needed and the period in which this maintenance had to be carried out. 263

The administrators of the Treasury did not make long-term plans, or aim at maximising revenues. An interesting example is provided by the report prepared by the Treasury officials in view of the general chapter of 1612. 264 The thirteen Hospitallers, headed by the Grand Commander Giovanni de Vassadel

Vagueras, analysed the revenues and the payments made by the Treasury between 1604 and 1609, calculating averages for each entry. On average during these five years, the Order earned 408,386 scudi, and spent 418,162 scudi 8 tari 16 grani, making an average loss of about 10,000 scudi each year.

Over the whole period, the Order made a loss 48,932 scudi, 3 tari and 8 grani, which the commissioners attributed to the failure of collecting the dues owed by the German langue for four of the five years. They maintained that the

Order ‘did not need to change anything’. 265 They only made a minor

261 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 89; AOM 6568, ff.179v-180r. 262 Ennio Poleggi, ‘Proprietà e Paesaggio Urbano Cabrei degli Ospedalieriei (Secc XVI-XVII)’, in Cavalieri di San Giovanni e territorio: La Liguria tra Provenza e Lombardia nei secoli XIII- XVII , ed. Josepha Costa Restagno (Genoa 1999), 32. 263 AOM 100, ff.248v-9r; Shirely Mifsud, ‘The Commandery of Sacile Pordenone 1672 – 1774,’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta, 1999), 43. 264 AOM 1002, ff.139r-160v. 265 ‘Non ha da innovar cosa alcuna ’. AOM 1002, f159v.

70 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY suggestion, which had noting to do with the collection of revenues, but only with the presentation of the accounts: changing the way the receivers noted down the revenues paid by each commandery. Each commandery, paid its

Responsions as set in 1533, plus its share of two impositions, one of 40 thousand scudi and one of 50 thousand scudi, imposed in 1574 and 1583 respectively. The commissioners suggested that the three totals would be added together for greater clarity. 266

Implicit in the commissioners’ analysis is the notion that the aim of the administrators of the Treasury was to make both ends meet, and not an endeavour to maximise profit. This interpretation is corroborated by an event that occurred in 1660. Until that year, the Treasury charged a five percent interest on all defaulted payments. The charge aimed to make good for the interests that the Order itself paid on loans that it was compelled to take because Hospitallers had not paid their dues in time. By 1660, the Order had paid all loans that it had contracted with third parties. As it was not burdened with any interests, on 14 May 1660, the ordinary council decided that henceforth, debtors of the Treasury were freed from the five percent interest charged on their debts. 267 The Council’s decision shows that the Order was not primarily interested in maximising revenues, but only in balancing revenues with expenditure. Once an expenditure did not exist any more (in this case the interest that the Order paid on loans which it took from third parties), there was no need for the incomes that balanced it out!

266 AOM 1002, ff.159v-160r. 267 AOM 1679, pp.531-2.

71 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

In the Treasury, 268 some form of planning, or rather budgeting, there certainly was, but it was short-term. In calculating the revenues and expenses for the years 1604-1609, the commissioners estimated the extraordinary expenses that the Order would be expected to make, at any point in time, in

Convent as well as in the priories. In Valletta, for example, it was estimated that the Order could not spend more than 1,000 scudi on the flag, the drums and the celebration of feasts. Likewise, in the conventual church, extraordinary expenses on the purchase of liturgical vestments, wood, chandeliers, and other decorations could not exceed the 1,500 scudi annually. 269

No long-term planning was made. Extraordinary financial exigencies whether on Rhodes or on Malta were met with the call for extraordinary payments, known as impositions ( impositioni ). In the 1440s, the failure of commanders to send their responsions to Rhodes, together with increased belligerent activity against Rhodes (most notably by the Egyptian Mamluks after 1440 270 ) led five subsequent general-chapter, those of 1440, 271 1444, 272

1445, 1446 and 1449 273 to increase the amount of responsions due to the

Treasury. Increases ranged from the extra one-fifth of the usual payment in

1440, to the half annate for two subsequent years exacted in 1444, to the double responsions decreed in 1449. In 1501, the general chapter decreed an extraordinary imposition of three half-annates in order to be able to pay the

268 Obviously, the Order did plan long term with regards to defence matters, as the different fortification building projects around Malta, some of which took tens of years to construct, testify. 269 AOM 1002, f.154r. 270 Sarnowsky, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’, 271. 271 Sarnowsky, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’, 271. 272 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 164 (1444). 273 Sarnowsky, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’, 271.

72 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Order’s debts, which amounted to 117,373 scudi, and to be able to maintain three armed galleys and the Grand Carrack for the defence of Rhodes. 274 The general chapter convened in Vittoriosa (Malta) in 1566, imposed an extra payment, which effectively doubled the yearly responsions, in order to help in the building of Valletta.275 In 1631, in view of a possible Ottoman attack on

Malta, the general chapter authorised the ordinary council to impose on the priories an extraordinary imposition of 122,000 scudi should it prove necessary. 276

The extraordinary impositions were at most ad hoc solutions to ad hoc deficiencies in revenues. Yet, they provide an insight into the style and pattern of management of the Order’s assets – a pattern replicated when in dealing with administrative needs. The creation of the office of the receiver in 1365 was the Order’s response to the abuses committed by the priors. 277 The offices of the venerable procurators of the Treasury, the auditors of accounts, and the conservatore conventuale were created to counteract the ‘squandering of money’ in Convent.278 Similarly, the creation of the post of commissari degli spogli on 31 August 1556 was explicitly resorted to because the venerable procurators of the Treasury could not manage ‘the many spogli and goods bequeathed by dying knights’. 279 Likewise, the 1623 decision that the grandmasters had to buy the silverware bequeathed as part of the spoglio of their predecessors was taken after a council of state ( Consiglio di Stato ), itself

274 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 445-446 (1501). 275 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 731 (1566). 276 AOM 296, f.100; Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order of St John’, 109. 277 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 67 (1365). 278 AOM 1680, pp.188-192, 197; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 176-178.

73 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY an ad hoc body set up following the death of Grandmaster Louis Mendez de

Vasconcellos to investigate the accumulation of wealth at the magisterial palace, found that the previous two grandmasters had between them accumulated the equivalent of 17,657 Sicilian silver scudi 280 – which should have gone to the Treasury.

When the Order found itself in a crisis, the general chapter resolved to curtail expenses. The general chapter of 1548 decided to curtail and tax the recurrent expenditure (spesa ordinaria ). 281 Similarly, when the financial situation of the Order appeared almost impossible to redress, the general- chapters resorted to the extreme ad hoc solution to relinquish the administration of the Treasury into the hands of the grandmaster. In the Rule of

Raymond du Puy, the master appears to be the only person responsible for the administration of the finances of the Order. 282 That state of affairs changed with the creation of the posts of grand commander and treasurer and subsequently that of the other officials responsible for the administration of the Treasury. 283

In 1451, the Treasury was so much engulfed in debts that the venerable procurators of the Treasury asked Grandmaster Lastic to assume sole responsibility for its administration. 284 This practice seems to have been resorted to on several occasions, 285 until in 1631, Grandmaster Antoine de Paule

(1623-36) renounced to that privilege. 286

279 AOM 89, ff.82r-v. 280 AOM 107, f.107v. 281 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 254 (1548). 282 King, Rules , 22; www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_ rule.htm . 283 AOM 1680, pp.193 et seq . 284 AOM 1680, p.473. Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 181 (1451). 285 AOM 1680, p.483. 286 AOM 1680, p.483.

74 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The Treasury was the Hospitaller institution in Convent that, through the different periodical reports received in the Camera dei Conti , supervised the administration of the Order’s assets in the priories and the different departments in Convent. Yet, some entities within the Order escaped its supervision. The administrators of the langues reported to their respective langue’s collecta . Similarly, the administrators of foundations reported to the body appointed to supervise its administration by the founder. This body varied from foundation to foundation.

The autonomy enjoyed by these entities can be best understood by applying to them, albeit anachronistically, the concept of a ‘separate legal personality’ within the Order. The notion of ‘separate legal personality’ is a modern legal concept coined in the nineteenth century, 287 though the idea that a corporate body such as a college or senate could have a personality before the law, existed in Roman times, and indeed permeated medieval Canon Law as persona ficta, persona rapraesentata, corpus mysticum or persona mystica .288 It can be defined as the legal capacity to acquire, hold, or dispose of property, enter into contracts and administrative arrangements and be party to legal proceedings. 289 Hospitaller, particularly those read in law such as Caravita, should have been familiar with the notion as understood within Canon Law.

Although it was never explicitly referred to, at least within by the sources analysed by the present author, the concept is applicable to entities within the

287 The concept of ‘person’ applicable to corporations and other entities was introduced in British law only in the nineteenth century, and thence it spread across Europe. Words and Phrases legally defined , ed. John B. Saunders (London, 1989), Vol. 3, 358-9. 288 Albert Gauthier, Roman Law and its Contribution to the Development of Canon Law , (Ottawa 1996), 49-51.

75 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

Order of St John such as langues and foundations. 290 As discussed earlier on, 291 these entities were liable for their own debts, could sue their debtors and be sued by their creditors, owned property and entered contracts, besides enjoying full control over the management of their moneys. Their ‘separate legal personality’ was only restricted in one way. It was enjoyed in full only within the Order and those territories falling within its jurisdiction, although such entities could, and did own possessions outside Hospitaller territory, and could enter into contract with parties outside the Order, and they could only sue third parties in Hospitaller tribunals. 292

Some offices within the Order, while having full usufruct over their money, did not enjoy ‘a separate legal personality’. This was the case with the office of the conservator of the proofs of nobility and purity of blood ( conservatore delle prove della nobbiltà e della purità ), which was responsible, as its name suggests, for the safe keeping of the proofs of nobility provided by would-be-

Hospitallers. Hospitallers, when they had their proofs of nobility verified, had to pay a small fee: 5 scudi if they were received as adults, 10 scudi if they were received as pages, and 15 scudi if they were received as minors. 293 The conservator held his own money separately from the Treasury’s funds. Indeed, in 1649, when the Treasury’s funds had dried up, the ordinary council ordered the conservator to hand over to the venerable procurators of the Treasury all

289 www.poulton.info/mark/lecture%20notes&assignments%20webs/LN’s_-_seperate 290 A prima facie , it seems that priories, too enjoyed a separate legal personality, but further research on the subject is necessary before one can pronounce himself with certainty. 291 See page 33 for a discussion on the autonomy enjoyed by langues, and page 38 for that of foundations. 292 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 43. 293 AOM 219, f.164r.

76 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY the moneys which he held. The procurators were instructed to repay the conservator within six months. 294

2.3 The Individual and the Treasury

A structural analysis of the Treasury, its role within the Order and the precepts along which it was administered does not allow a full understanding of its role within the Order. Ultimately, the Order of St John was made up of individuals, and the Treasury’s functioning only makes sense when understood in terms of its relationship with the different individuals Hospitallers. Each individual

Hospitaller, whether a knight, a servant-at-arms, or a chaplain, interacted, directly and indirectly, with the Treasury on a daily basis. An individual

Hospitaller managed the different estates across Europe on behalf of the

Treasury. Similarly, individual Hospitallers administered the Treasury in

Convent. Individual Hospitallers failed to pay the responsions, and individuals sought to transfer their belongings to their family or friends notwithstanding the vow of poverty.

The interaction of the individual with the Treasury may be best understood in terms of the aristocratic origin of the Hospitallers. The social background determines one’s pattern of behaviour, and one’s attitudes to life, thus delineating interpersonal relationships as well as one’s position in the wider society. On these lines, the Hospitallers’ aristocratic background influenced the relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury in three ways: it influenced the Hospitallers’ behaviour in their participation in the Treasury,

294 AOM 116, f.295v. 77 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY such as during the sittings of the Camera dei Conti , through the importance given to the notion of precedence; it moulded the concept of seniority; and by giving importance to worldly prestige and a comfortable standard of living it mellowed the rigour of the founding statutes of the Order.

Social milieu and the notion of precedence

The notion that Europe of the ancient regime was based on the principle of privilege and hierarchy is a historical cliché. Individuals who entered the Order came from the ranks of the European nobility and had been brought up within the context of social differentiation in terms of titles and formal designations, which they replicated within the Order. This is manifest in the nomenclature through which the higher officials were designated. The grandmaster was often referred to as ‘ illustrissimo ’, or ‘most distinguished’. 295 The ordinary council was simply referred to as the venerable council ( Venerando Consiglio ), while the Camera dei Conti was called the venerable chamber ( Veneranda Camera ), where the term Venerando/a meant ‘worthy of the highest respect’. The procurators of the Treasury in Convent were referred to as the venerable procurators ( Venerandi Procuratori ), thus distinguishing them from the procurators of the Treasury in the priories. Finally, the members of the Camera dei Conti were styled Signiori del Tesoro , literally ‘Lords of the Treasury’. 296

The general chapter of 1631 argued that all forms of address went against the Order’s monastic spirit, and the ideal of poverty and simplicity and banned the use of the title ‘lord’ ( signiore ) in addressing Hospitallers, though it was

295 Indeed, in AOM 1002, 159v the grandmaster is simply referred to as l’illustrissimo , not even l’illustrissimo Gran Maestro as he is generally referred to in the Liber Conciliarum . 296 AOM 1680, p.185.

78 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY allowable to call grand crosses ‘venerable’. 297 Yet, the use of titles continued unabated in the following decades. 298 The titles bestowed on the different officials of the Treasury differentiated between them, effectively delineating a hierarchy in terms of prestige.

In the Camera dei Conti , the lords of the Treasury sat at a round table 299 and each official had an equal vote. 300 Consequently, in appearance, the different officials stood on the same level. Yet, the different officials sought further differentiation amongst themselves. Seating in the Camera dei Conti followed a strict pattern, according to the prestige attached to one’s office. The grand commander sat at the head of the table. To his right sat the two venerable procurators of the Treasury . The treasurer and the procurator of the grandmaster occupied the next two seats, followed by the auditors of accounts.

The latter sat according to their seniority, with the most senior auditor sitting to the left of the grandmaster’s procurator. The conservatore conventuale , as the most junior of the voting members occupied the next seat, followed by the secretary, who stood between the grand commander and the conservatore conventuale .301

The notion of precedence was so much deeply entrenched in the mentality of the different individual Hospitallers that various Treasury officials went to great pains to secure a more prestigious seat in the Camera , or to sign formal

297 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 182. 298 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 8. 299 AOM 1680, p.185. Caravita, who had first hand experience of the sittings of the Camera given that he served as a Secretary of the Treasury for 12 years, states that the different officials sat at a round table. Yet, a few lines later he states that the Grand Commander sat at the table’s head. Arguably, the table was oval in shape, rather than round. 300 AOM 1680, f.46r. 301 AOM 1680, p.184-5; Lib 509, f.699.

79 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY acts of documentation ahead of their colleagues. In May 1671 the procurator of the grandmaster, bailiff of Aquila Fra Giacomo Carboneani filed a lawsuit before the ordinary council against the procurator of the Treasury, bailiff of

Cremona, Fra Raffaele Spinola. Carboneani maintained that he was senior to

Spinola, and consequently, when participating in the sittings of the Camera dei

Conti , he should sit nearer to the head of the table than Spinola. The council upheld his case. 302

Such cases, trivial by modern standards, show how important the question of precedence was to individual Hospitallers. This is more evident when one considers that the lawsuit filed by Carboneani was not a unique case. Indeed, such lawsuits were rather common. To cite a few, in January 1602, the conservatore conventuale Fra Geronimo Aliatta, had his appeal to sign before the treasurer upheld by the ordinary council.303 In August 1636, the treasurer

Tossino de Terves Boisirault,304 waged litigation before the ordinary council to sit ahead of the procurator of the Treasury Fra Carlo Valdina. On the other hand, in November 1536 the ordinary council did not uphold the claim of the

Bailiff of Langon and Leza, to sign the Treasury’s accounts before the procurator of the Treasury, the Bailiff of Caspe, 305 because he only held the

302 AOM 1680, p.247; AOM124, f.81v. 303 AOM 1680, p.248-9. An interesting case, which though exogenous to the Treasury still exemplifies the importance allotted to the notion of precedence, is found in the history of the German Langue. In 1556 the Priory of Bohemia, and the Priories of Germany waged litigation before the Ordinary council as to the precedence to be enjoyed at the table. The compromise reached stipulated that henceforth the table had to be elongated in shape ( lunga ) and not round (tonda ) as had been customary, to allow differentiation between antiano and fiernaldo . There was also agreement to differentiate between the menus of the antiani and the fiernaldo . AOM 119, ff.104r-107r. 304 AOM 111, ff.244v-245r. The name of the Treasurer was found in AOM 6430, f.115r. 305 AOM 1680, p.249-50; AOM 86, f.50r.

80 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY junior post of auditor. Yet, the fact remains that he had sought precedence over the procurator of the Treasury!

Further differentiation was applied with regards to the participation of third parties in the meetings of the Camera dei Conti , who were admitted after obtaining the authorisation of the grand commander. Grand crosses, or their lieutenants, were allowed to sit round the table, between the grand commander and the secretary, a sign of respect to their pre-eminence. They were also allowed to take off their hats. On the other hand, all other Hospitallers, unless they were officials of the Order, were not allowed to sit down or take off their hat. Only the officials of the Order, such as the commissari degli spogli , the commissioners of public works, while submitting their accounts to the Camera , the Treasury’s lawyers, and the Procuratori delle Cause , were allowed to sit round the table. 306

Seniority

Questions of precedence defined the Treasury-Hospitaller interaction on a deeper level than the formalities discussed above. The Treasury gave the individual his position within the Order in terms of seniority. In turn, this allowed one to contend for administrative posts within the Hospitaller hierarchical structure, thus impinging directly upon the Treasury.

Promotion to any administrative post within the Order was granted on the basis of seniority, or antianità . In Hospitaller mentality, antianità was a

306 AOM 1680, p.186; Lib 509, p.700; AOM 645, f.100r. The extent to which the notion of pre- eminence was held can be understood from the space allocated to it by Caravita. In the third

81 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY function of precedence, and contrasted with the notion of junior of fiernaldo .

This mentality is best discernable in the verdict of the ordinary council dated 6

July 1576, whereby a Provencal knight, who intervened in the Camera dei

Conti in the absence of the grand commander, was only allowed to speak after the bailiffs ‘in accordance with his seniority’, although he chaired the meeting. 307

One’s seniority within the Order depended on three factors: i) the payment of the passaggio , the admission fee payable on entering the Order; 308 ii) the formal reception into the Order; and iii) not being in debt with the Treasury. 309

Seniority was dated from the day when both criteria were fulfilled. 310 A

Hospitaller could lose his seniority by virtue of being in debt with the Treasury.

Indeed, before granting the administration of a commandery or membro , or even the enjoyment of a pension over any commandery, to any Hospitaller, the ordinary council sought the attestation of the secretary that the Hospitaller in question was not a debtor to the Treasury. To instance but one case, on 2

October 1635, the ordinary council granted the membro of Plante and

Cadeglian, which formed part of the commandery of Montsaunes, in Provence, to Fra Francesco Salvaterra only after confirming with the secretary that he was not in debt with the Treasury. 311

part of the Trattato del Tesoro , he devotes 9 pages to the question of precedence in the Camera , second only to the discussion about the Treasury’s secretary! 307 AOM 1680, p.250. 308 AOM 1679, pp.94-5. 309 AOM 1679, pp.95-6. 310 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 33. 311 AOM 111, f.161r.

82 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The Treasury-Hospitaller interaction vis-à-vis the notion of seniority was a

reciprocal relationship that can be best summarised in Figure 2.3

Status in Order in terms of antianità Comun Tesoro Hospitaller Accession to a higher office

 Figure 2.3 Treasury-Hospitaller vis-à-vis the notion of antianità .

It was a two-way relationship. The Treasury certified that a Hospitaller

enjoyed his seniority and gave him his position within the Order. The

Hospitaller exerted his personal capabilities on behalf of the Treasury in

administering the order’s assets. By defining the aptness of a Hospitaller for

promotion or for acceding to a commandery in terms of being punctual in

effecting due payments, the Treasury lessened the risk that the ‘new’

administrator failed to pay his dues. On the other hand, the Hospitaller was

certified as trustworthy, hence capable of acceding to a higher office, thus

gaining in prestige and obtaining higher remuneration from more conspicuous

territorial holdings.

Trustworthiness and negligence in administration played an important part

in the Order’s consideration of one’s competency. The prevalent attitude of the

European nobility was that of negligence towards the administration of one’s

estate. The standard economic rationale was based on consumption rather than

on production, with the consequent tendency towards an escablation of debts

83 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY and financial ruin. 312 The Order of St John could ill-afford such an administration, hence the structural obligations for the Hospitaller administrator to send to the Convent a fixed amount of responsions on an annual basis, the obligation to ameliorate one’s commandery , as well as the prior’s duty of visiting his priory every five years and draw up the cabreo every 25 years. 313

Notwithstanding the formal obligations and automatic penalties, failure to comply with the statutes was common practice. A report on the state of the priory of Naples carried out in the summer of 1667 314 shows that 18 commanders from 42 had not paid their responsions in full. 315 The report on the state of the Order’s finances prepared for the General chapter of 1612, shows that between 1604 and 1609, on average 22.9% of the revenues of the Order came from the payment of debts contracted in previous years. 316 In 1602,

Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt (1601-22) condemned the priors for their negligence in not visiting their priories on a regular basis, defining it as a scandal. 317

312 Elias, The Court Society , 284-5. 313 For a discussion of the duties owed by a Hospitaller administrator to the Treasury, see page 137. 314 There is no date on the folios forming part of this document, while volume 1002, described as Miscellanea Tesoro , has no chronological order between the various documents sewn up in it. The date quoted in the text is educible from internal reference, mainly, given that the latest payment listed was effected on the 20 August 1667. 315 AOM 1002, ff.178r-193v. 316 These include the payment of arrears on responsions, the arrears on spogli , esatti da debiti , and debts on account of the tavole and soldea . AOM 1002, f.157v. 317 AOM 100, f.248v-9r.

84 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

The softening of regulations and the fiscal autonomy of the individual

The aristocratic background of the members of the Order also led to a gradual softening of the rigour of the founding statutes of the Order. The sixteenth and seventeenth century emphasis on one’s prestige, title and rank was antithetical to the notions of fraternity found in Du Puy’s Rule.318 Likewise, the high standard of living enjoyed by the members of the Order in the seventeenth century, 319 were antithetical to the vow of poverty made upon profession. Yet, prestige and a high standard of living were part of the social milieu of the different Hospitallers, given their aristocratic background, and few Hospitallers could conceive life as rigorous as that required by Du Puy’s Rule . The statutes, and their interpretation, in similarity with most other religious orders in the late middle ages, 320 were allowed to evolve to reflect the changes in society over the years.

The Order of St John was similar to the various monastic and religious orders, including the other military orders, which sprang up in the monastic revival of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Its members, like those of the other orders, were restricted by vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy. They were bound to fast at given times during the year, and attend mass at the customary monastic hours. 321 Besides, its international structure, like that of the other institutions, was organised into priories. Each priory was governed by

318 King, Rules , 30; www.smom-za.org/bgt /bgt_hosp.htm . 319 Victor Mallia-Milanes, ‘Introduction to Hospitaller Malta’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia- Milanes (Malta 1993), 1-42, 15 et seq . 320 Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism , 222; Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 94. 321 Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 55. The same onuses were imposed on the members of the parallel Military Orders: the Templars and the Teutonic Knights. See orb.rhodes.

85 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY local chapters, the provincial or priorial-chapter,322 and was headed by a prior.

Likewise, the general administration was left in the hands of the master/grandmaster and his council while major changes were made through a general-chapter, which had to be convened at regular intervals.

The monastic, feudally inspired, administrative structures were retained by the Order of St John until the nineteenth century, when the Order reorganised itself into national associations in an attempt to recoup following the sequestration of its possessions by the Revolutionary Government in France and the attempts by the other European states to follow suit. 323 In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, however, the monastic way of life of the members of the Order of St John, inspired by the religious precepts of poverty, simplicity, and frugality, began to make way for increasing secular mores. Arguably, this followed the trend towards the laxation of the monastic vows evident among religious and monastic institutions alike in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In most monastic orders, this change meant ‘inroads by private possessions’ and ‘preoccupation with personal property’, and was redressed by various attempts at reform within he respective institution. 324 Within the Order of St John, the change was much more extensive, and became institutionalised rather than remedied. In practice, though not on paper, the practical interpretation of the religious concepts of ‘vow of poverty’, ‘communal life’

edu/encyclop/religion/monastic/T_Rule.html ; orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/religion/monastic/Tk_ Ru le.html respectively. 322 Alosio, ‘From Jerusalem to Valletta’, 7. 323 Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 126. 324 Francis Oakley, The Western Church in the Later Middle Ages (Itacha and London 1979), 234; Gregorio Penco, Storia del monachesimo in Italia: Dalle origini alla fine del medioevo (Milan 1995), 253 et seq.

86 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY and ‘communality of ownership’, together with the way its territorial possessions were administered, were redefined. Increasingly, Hospitaller structures emphasised the role of the individual as opposed to the communal, as the Order adapted to the aristocratic-feudal mores of its members; 325 and as

Caravita remarked in his treatise on the Order’s rule, Hospitallers ceased to live a religious way of life. 326

Hence, communality, which was literally interpreted by the early Order, evolved into a theoretical notion. By the seventeenth century, all three essential interpretations of communality - the sharing of a common dwelling, the sharing of daily meals, and the living off a common fund were retained only for the conventual chaplains and Hospitallers who had not yet acceded to the administration of a commandery. For the remaining Hospitallers, these expressions of communality were discarded in practice, though not in theory, as will be shown in the following pages. Central to this change was the relationship between the Treasury, the institution that in name – Comun Tesoro

– encompassed the notion of communality of ownership by the Order and the individual Hospitaller.

Whereas in the early Order, as in the other monastic institutions,

Hospitallers lived in communities, both in Convent and on the priories, the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries saw the Hospitallers in Convent splitting up

325 This was equally true for members of the Teutonic Order. Its possessions, in parallel with those of the Hospitallers, were administered by single brethren who performed the function of a feudal lord administering his manor. The statutory requirements imposing upon the new Commander to state in writing all the state of affairs of his new Kommenden including any debts with which it was burdened bear striking resemblence with the Hospitaller practice whereby the new Commander recognised before a notary the stato della commenda . Houseley, The Later Crusades , 328-9. 326 ‘Non fanno la vita come propia dei Relig[io]si ’. Lib 533, p.60.

87 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY according to their ‘nationality’ into auberges. 327 In addition, in the priories, during the course of the fourteenth century, the original hospices were stripped of their charitable dimension and transmuted into economic units of feudal administration, namely the commanderies. 328 In Convent, the change, minimised in Rhodes by the grouping of all auberges into a fortified collachio , was amplified in Malta, especially with the move into Valletta. Hence, not only were the auberges spread around the city, but also individual Hospitallers could and did build their own houses all over the island. The French Knight Fra Gio

Batta Dolomieu had rented a house in Valletta from Maria and Giorgio

Galea, 329 whereas the Italian Knight and renowned painter Mattia Preti chose to live in Zurrieq.330 Grandmaster Juan de Lascaris Castellar owned a house in

Siggiewi.331 In Malta, various members of the Order also rented a house, from the Treasury, a langue, fellow Hospitallers, or Maltese landowners. Lawsuits filed by these landowners against the spogli of deceased Hospitallers testify to this practice. In the early eighteenth century, on his deathbed Fra Giorgio Serra owed the Treasury 75 scudi in rent. 332 The prior of Germany Baron Gianbattista di Schaunembourg owed the Treasury a staggering 340 scudi as rent for the

Casa Carneyo. 333 Fra Francesco de la Rocuhe Foucaule de Bayaz owed the

Maltese priest Francesco Mangion 51 scudi 6 tari. 334 In 1623, the Italian langue

327 Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 64-65. 328 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver’, 29. 329 AOM 945, ff.20r et seq . 330 John T. Spike, Mattia Preti: Catalogo Ragionato dei Dipinti (Florence 1999), 360. 331 AOM 6385, f.223r. 332 AOM 906, f.1. 333 AOM 906, ff.2-8. 334 AOM 946, ff.35r-40r.

88 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY earned 1699 scudi, 5 tari and 13 grani from the renting of Houses to various

Hospitallers. 335

Similarly, the theoretical sharing of meals evolved into a fixed annual allowance from the Treasury – the tavole – that was paid to all Hospitallers who did not reside in the auberge. Between the 1600s 336 and the expulsion of the Order from Malta in 1798, 337 each Hospitaller was allowed 60 scudi worth of food annually. Boisgelin maintains that only Hospitallers who administered a commandery that yielded an annual revenue less than 2,000 scudi were entitled to receive their tavole ,338 but his claim was not ascertained through other sources. The commissars responsible for the report on the state of the

Treasury, which was presented to the general chapter of 1612, while qualifying that only Hospitallers who did not have a commandery could receive the soldea ,339 they did not refer to any restrictions as to who could enjoy the tavole .

They merely stated: ‘there are in Convent 600 professed Knights, who enjoy their tavole at the rate of 60 scudi a year’. 340 The tavola was given either in cash or kind. In the latter case, they were given 4 salme of wheat and 4 cafisi of oil, the former at 5 scudi per salma , and the latter at 26 scudi per cafiso .

The principle common to all religious Orders – that what a monk acquired after his profession belonged to his monastery 341 – was only applied on the death of a Hospitaller. Members of the other religious and monastic orders

335 AOM 2126, ff.212r-v. 336 AOM 1002, f.146r. The present author did not find an earlier reference to the quantum of the tavole . 337 Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta , 221. 338 Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta , 221. 339 AOM 1002, f.146r. 340 ‘Stiano in convento sei cento fratelli dell abito , che godono delle tavole di scudi 60 l’anno ’. AOM 1002, f.146r.

89 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY statutorily gave – indeed still give – any money, goods or property they receive to their Order, without retaining anything for their personal use. Raymond Du

Puy’s Rule required Hospitallers to do the same, 342 although the rigidity of the rule softened over the years. Other orders which underwent a similar change in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, such as the Franciscans and the

Benedictines managed to reform their ways in what was often a painful struggle to revert to the original rule. Within the Order of St John, there certainly was a timid effort at reform – by a minority of Hospitallers who in

1592 chose to live the discomforts of monastic discipline at the Camarata in

Valletta, 343 but it met with little success. Indeed, in the aftermath of the Council of Trent, which during its 25 session unequivocally prohibited professed members of religious orders from enjoying personal property, 344 the Order felt that there was no need to modify its statutes or practices. It only emended its norms on administering the sacraments! 345

Arguably, the mellowing of the interpretation of the Order’s rule of poverty followed as a result of the increasing militarisation and aristocraticisation of the Hospital, the individualism and the ‘laicisation of social and moral attitudes’ of the Renaissance.346 From the thirteenth century onwards, an aristocratic background was an essential prerequisite for an individual to

341 ‘Quidquid acquivit monachus, monasterio acquivit ’. AOM 1679, p.120. 342 King, Rules , 22; www.smom-za.org/bgt /bgt_hosp.htm. 343 Mallia-Milanes, ‘Introduction’, 15. 344 Stephanus Ehess ed., Concilium Tridentinum: Diariorum, Actorum, Epistularum, Tractatum , ix, (Friburg 1923), 1053. 345 Luigi Rangioni Macchiavelli, ‘L’Ordine di Malta’, in Il contributo degli ordini religiosi all Concilio di Trento , Paoulo Cherubelli ed. (Florence 1946), 361-378, 378. 346 Dennis Hay, The Italian Renaissance in its Historical Background (Cambridge 1987), 155.

90 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY become a knight Hospitaller. 347 The Order was increasingly committing its resources to its military effort, due to its growing military commitments in

Palestine and the crusading states. Recruiting nobles meant foregoing military training, as aristocrats were introduced to military training from a young age. 348

Indeed, according to Nicholson, there was such an urgent need for personnel that during the thirteenth century those joining the Order professed immediately, without a novitiate. 349 As the Order developed into an organisation for sons of European aristocratic families, it ‘responded to the patrimonial strategies of these elites’, 350 allowing members from these elites, who were generally excluded from patrimonial inheritance by virtue of primogeniture systems of inheritance, 351 to continue enjoying an aristocratic way of life without being a burden on their families. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries also saw the surfacing of what Marc Bloch calls the ‘self- consciousness of the individual’, 352 or Jacob Burckhardt’s ‘spiritual individuality’. 353 In the attempt to discover and assimilate the learning and

347 Riley Smith, Hospitallers , 65-66. Not all Hospitallers were knights. There were servant-at- arms, donates chaplains etc. During this period, only knights could accede to high office within the Order. Eventually, in Malta it is known that chaplains could rise to high office. Gian Francesco Abela, a Maltese chaplain renowned for his history of Malta, for example, became vice-chancellor of the Order in the mid-seventeenth century. 348 Bloch, Feudal Society , 293. The passaggio , or an entrance fee paid by would-be Hospitallers to profess into the Order was introduced as a ‘payment’ in kind at the same time. Would be Hospitallers had to provide a mount and their own weapons. Only members of the nobility had the necessary resources to provide both. Bloch, Feudal Society , 290-1. The passaggio is discussed in page 112 349 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 85. 350 Silvia Evangelisti, ‘Monastic Poverty and Material Culture in Early Modern Italian Convents’, The Historical Journal , 47, i (2004), 1-20, 2. 351 See Henri Bresc. ‘Europe: Town and Country (Thirteenth and Fifteenth Century)’, in A History of the Family: Vol. 1 Distant Worlds, Ancient Worlds , ed. A. Burguière, et al. (Cambridge 1996), 430-466. 352 Bloch, Feudal Society , 103-112. 353 Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy , trans. S.G.C. Middlemore (England 1990), 98. Peter Burke, who dismisses Burckhardt’s arguments on the Renaissance as

91 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY values of classical Greece and Rome, attempts discernible in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, 354 society opened itself to non-Christian world views, bringing into being new values different from the earlier Theo-centric medieval values 355 that had inspired the Hospitaller Rule , and increasingly marked by secularist trends. 356 Simultaneously, the expansion of trade 357 brought about what Lisa Jardine defines as ‘a culture of commodities’ 358 and an increasing preoccupation with worldly material goods. 359

These values obviously influenced the mentalities of the individual

Hospitallers who grew up within such a background. The evolution of societal determinants of behaviour from ‘religious’ to ‘secular’ fashioned not only how

Hospitallers looked at the world around them, but also how they lived their life as members of a religious institution. By the later middle ages, the vow of poverty was interpreted not in terms of the stereotypical meaning of abandoning of property by the individual, which meaning was applied to most other monastic orders, 360 but as the legal ownership of goods, which were enjoyed by the individual Hospitallers during their lifetime, by the Order. At the same time, Hospitallers had full usufruct of their own money, including the

a rebirth of classical values concurs that ‘the discovery of the individual’ came about in the twelfth century. Peter Burke, The Renaissance (London 1987), 60. 354 Bloch, Feudal Society , 103; Burckhardt, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy , 98. 355 V.H.H. Green, Renaissance and Reformation: A Survey of European Society between 1450 and 1660 (Arnold 1964), 23. 356 Green, Renaissance and Reformation , 57. 357 See, amongst others, N.J.G. Pounds, An Economic History of Medieval Europe (London 1994), 364 et seq . 358 Lisa Jardine, Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance (London 1996), 275 et seq . 359 Jardine, Worldly Goods , especially the chapters ‘A Culture of Commodities’ and ‘Conspicuous Consumption’. 360 Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism , 25.

92 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY revenues earned from the estates of the Order that they administered, 361 and any moveable or immovable property that they acquired or inherited. They enjoyed these assets during their lifetime, 362 and released them into the ‘comunal’ coffers only after their death as part of the spoglio .363

During their lifetime, Hospitallers enjoyed considerable autonomy in managing their finances. They could purchase goods at will: movables, immovables, shares, or rents, 364 with the proviso that anything purchased belonged to the Order, and accrued to the Treasury on their death. They could also enter into contracts and administrative arrangements and be party to legal proceedings. Although according to Hospitaller statutes and monastic precepts any goods or property that a Hospitaller acquired after profession belonged to the Order, and consequently the individual had no right to dispose of them, in practice Hospitallers could dispose freely of one fifth of any movables that they enjoyed and any house in Valletta, Vittoriosa, and Senglea.365 They could also seek the grandmaster’s dispensation to dispose of any patrimonial estates that they inherited from their parents and any property they owned in Malta. 366 The grandmaster’s dispensation was a mere formality, and was granted through the chancellery. 367 Indeed, it was considered as granted upon being requested. If a

Hospitaller asked permission to dispose of an estate, whether he had inherited

361 AOM 1177, f.40. 362 Lib. 533, p.60. 363 Early modern female monastic institutions, including the female branch of the Order of St John, in an attempt to secure the patronage of local elites, employed similar strategies. Evangelisti, ‘Monastic Poverty and Material Culture’. 364 Lib. 533, p.58. 365 Lib. 533, pp.55, 63 et seq . For a full discussion of the faculty enjoyed by a Hospitaller do dispose of his possessions see page 219. 366 AOM 1679, p.265; Lib. 533, p.55. 367 Lib. 533, p.64.

93 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY it or whether it was situated in Malta, he could alienate it, even before magisterial approval was obtained. 368 Hospitallers were also allowed to invest in corsairing activities, and some Hospitallers received money from their relatives. In short, the Hospitaller enjoyed a separate fiscal (the faculty to manage their own finances) and legal (the faculty of being party to legal acts and proceedings) personality within the Order. Only two provisos restricted their freedom – and this statutorily. They could not in the first place participate in business transactions, 369 and they could not in the second place file lawsuits against creditors in tribunals falling outside the Order’s jurisdiction unless on instruction of the grandmaster and council. 370

The fact that a Hospitaller managed his own finances had two important repercussions on the administration of a commandery or an office: the separation between the office and the office-holder, and the Hospitaller’s liability for any errors committed while carrying out the duties pertaining to his administration.

The finances of the office and those of the individual Hospitaller who administered that office were kept separate. Hospitaller office-holders, including commanders, were obliged to keep accounting ledgers to keep track of all the financial transactions in which their office was involved. 371 Their personal accounts were kept apart, and some Hospitallers seem to have held ledgers noting down the transactions in which they were personally involved.

368 AOM 1679, p.265. 369 AOM 6432, ff.159v-160v. In practice, the Order of St John condoned such practices. See discussion on the autonomy with which Hospitallers managed their own finances, in page Chapter 3 page 93. 370 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 43.

94 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

This was the case with the receiver of Portugal, Sousa, referred to by Caravita in his Trattato del Comun Tesoro . Sousa had erroneously inserted a payment made by a debtor of the Treasury into his own private ledger instead of the ledger of his receptory. 372 Grandmaster Fra Louis Mendez de Vasconcellos, in his disproprio , explicitly referred to ‘our book of accounts’, 373 thus testifying to the keeping of personal accounting records.

Hospitallers who held an administrative post were personally liable for their administration. They would have to reimburse any losses incurred by the Order as a result of their negligence or any expenses that they had not been authorised to make. According to Caravita, the Order held the property of its officials in hypothec, to make good for any error that they might have made in carrying out their administrative duties. This liability was known as the tacita hypoteca .374 When the accounts submitted by the officials of the Order at the end of a financial year or at the end of their tenure of office were audited, the auditors had to point out any transactions that were not carried out in accordance with the Order’s statutes. The office-holders were required to pay the Order, from their own pockets, the money involved in these transactions.

When Fra Pompeo Rospigliori audited the accounts submitted by the receiver of Palermo Fra Carlo Valdina for the years ending 1653 and 1654, he found him guilty of not having carried out his duties in accordance with the statutes on various counts. He had not taken, for example, any action to collect the responsions due from Fra Ignatio Denti over the commandery of Bezzini

371 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 79. 372 AOM 1679, pp.585-6. 373 ‘Nostro libro di ragioni ’. AOM 6385, f.216r.

95 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

(Vizzini 375 ?), nor did he attempt to collect the eight ducats owed by Fra Stefano

Protomartire to the Treasury. In both cases, Valdina was instructed to pay the amounts due to the Treasury from his pockets. 376 When Fra Cola Sciortino and

Fra Paolo Passionisi audited the accounts submitted to the assembly of the

Italian langue by the langue’s administrator Fra Angelo Centrino, the latter was found to have spent 313 scudi 13 grani more than the langue had earned. He had to settle that debt out of his personal funds, which he duly did on 18 June

1597; four days after the two auditors had submitted their report. When Fra

Filippo Ascanio Pettinatti, who administered the priory of Lombardy on behalf of prior Ludovico Melzio, failed to pay his responsions, the venerable procurators of the Treasury instructed the receiver of Milan to confiscate

Pettinatti’s patrimonial properties and their revenues until the debt had been paid. 377

2.4 Conclusion

The Order of St John in 1700 was very different from the Order of St John as founded in the late eleventh century and the Order that formulated the Rule during Du Puy’s magistracy in the first half of the twelfth century. The early

Order’s simplicity, inspired by the evangelical values of poverty, and frugality

(which values had stirred the monastic revival of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries), made way to the more worldly way of life seeking a comfortable standard of living, of the same level enjoyed in the major

374 AOM 1680, pp.415, 418-9. 375 Marullo di Codojanni, La Sicilia ed il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta , 78-9.

96 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

European capitals. Various forces shaped that transformation, primarily the aristocracisation of the Order; a process made necessary in the twelfth and thirteenth century, as the Order needed fully equipped, and readily trained knights to fight its wars in the Holy Land.

As the Order grew in stature, and received more estates across Europe, it necessitated another transformation, a structural change that made feasible the administration of possessions across Europe and at the same time ensuring efficiency and transparency in administration, adherence to the rules and curtailment of abuse. The Order’s structure evolved slowly, as European properties were grouped into commanderies, priories and langues in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, increasing the efficiency of collecting the responsions from the different estates. At the same time, lines of command and redress were created in an attempt to ensure that these properties were not neglected, and that the revenues accruing from them did in fact go to the Convent. The eventual creation of the office of receiver in 1365 was a direct attempt at curtailing the abuses perpetrated by certain priors, who assumed the role of absolute masters in their priories. Subsequently, the increased bureaucratisation of the administration of the Treasury in the 1440s with the creation of the offices of the venerable procurators of the Treasury, conservatore conventuale and auditors of accounts sought to achieve greater control over Hospitaller funds.

All such structures had of course to be manned by individual Hospitallers, subject to societal pressures and the lure of self-indulgence. The evolution

376 AOM 666, ff.134v-135r.

97 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY

(arguably softening) of the early Order’s values aimed at counteracting these pressures. The ‘separate legal personality’ that each Hospitaller enjoyed within the Order, together with the relative autonomy that he was allowed in managing his own finances allowed each Hospitaller to live according to his noble rank. At the same time, the Order sought to ensure that it’s Treasury did not suffer financially as a result. The Order, through its Treasury, ‘inherited’ its members. It also prohibited its members from investing in trade, which was a risky enterprise, and held Hospitaller office-holders liable for any loss they incurred while administering their duties. These measures were augmented by the periodical promulgation of preventive measures in the form of statutory penalties.

Money, or rather the Order’s preoccupation with having enough funds in its

Treasury to foster its existence and fulfil its missions to care for the sick and fight the infidel, was central to this relationship between its Treasury and its members. It is to the role of money as moulder of this relationship, and how the

Order sought to ensure a continuous flow of money to the Treasury that we now turn our attention.

377 AOM 1679, p.508.

98 3 Chapter 3

In debt with the Treasury

‘Money is never an isolated reality; wherever it is, it influences all economic

and social realities’, argued Fernand Braudel. 1 Throughout history, the

availability or lack of money shaped patterns of production, consumption, and

investments. It also moulded behavioural traits, such as generosity, charity,

thrift, and patterns of social interaction (employer-employee relationships,

friendships, marriage patterns, etc.). Besides, money has qualities of its own. In

the historical period under consideration, money was simultaneously a

commodity with an intrinsic value, 2 a medium of exchange through which

other commodities can be acquired, a unit of account, though which goods

were given a value, a ‘cause’ that creates the need for social relationships, and

a medium through which relationships are established. These five functions of

money shaped the relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the

Order’s Treasury. This relationship was most clearly discernible when a

Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury.

The present chapter will attempt to understand the relationship between the

individual Hospitaller and the Treasury and how one can understand this

1 Fernand Braudel, Capitalism and Material Life: 1400-1800 , trans. Miriam Kochan (London 1973), 325.

99 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY relationship from the moment when a Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury.

First, it will analyse the role of money in the Order’s structure. This leads to a discussion of what Hospitallers understood by the concept of debt. The different financial transactions entered into by a Hospitaller with different branches of the Order will then be analysed and the different administrative duties that Hospitallers held towards their Order and how these made

Hospitallers fall in debt with the Treasury discussed. Then, this chapter will examine the procedure through which a Hospitaller was recognised as a debtor and survey the different punishments meted out to Hospitallers who failed to honour their obligations to the Treasury.

3.1 The role of money and the concept of debt

The Order of St John was familiar with the world of money, credit and banking since its formative years in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 3 As early as the twelfth century, the Hospitallers, in similarity with the Templars, were active in banking, acting as a depository for valuables belonging to third parties and transferring money belonging to merchants and kings from one state to another. 4 Besides, money flows and the use of credit instruments, such as bills of exchange, 5 allowed the Order to operate across Europe, collecting revenues

2 This was true until the nineteenth century, when money was almost exclusively limited to metals such as gold, silver and copper. Paul A. Samuelson, William D. Nordhaus, Economics (USA 1995), 480. 3 Helen Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller (Woodbridge 2001), 105. 4 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 76. 5 ‘Bills of exchange’ were paper notes representing an amount of credit extended by one party (bank, business, or individual) to another. The lender draws up a bill of exchange for a specified sum of money payable at a given future date and the borrower signifies his agreement to pay the amount indicated by signing (accepting) the bill. In the Middle Ages and Early Modern period, bills of exchange were also used to transfer money from one place to another.

100 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY and effecting payments with ease in England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and later in Poland and Russia.

The role of money and debts within the Hospitaller structure are probably best understood within the context of the emergence and consolidation of a monetary economy in the Middle Ages, where loans, bills of exchange, sale on credit, and commercial partnerships were the norm in the major trading centres like Italy and Flanders. 6 From the eleventh century onwards, across Europe there was a great development in business techniques. Markets and fairs cropped up across the continent and with them the need of an efficient way to carry goods and money across long distances. 7 Trade routes brought spices, rich cloth, and other exotic goods from the Levant, via Italy, to the rest of

Europe, 8 while complicated accounting techniques were developed to keep records of purchases, sales, debtors and creditors.9 Hospitallers, understood as individuals, grew up within this framework. Buying on credit and incurring debts were an intrinsic part of the day-to-day life of the wealthy stratum of society, as much as the accumulation of riches and commodities. Wealth was equated with having ‘a credit rating high enough to put together the significant

A merchant deposited a sum of money with a bank (or a similar financial institution) against a bill of exchange in one country, and extracted the sum, upon presentation of the bill of exchange in another. 6 N.J.G. Pounds, An Economic History of Medieval Europe (London 1994), 407-425; Carlo M. Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy, 1000-1700 (London 1981), 193-195. 7 Fernand Braudel, The Wheels of Commerce (London 1985), 26-113. 8 Pounds, An Economic History of Medieval Europe , 364 et seq . 9 Raymond de Roover, ‘The Development of Accounting prior to Luca Pacioli’, in Business, Banking and Economic Thought in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Selected Studies of Reymond de Roover , ed. Julius Kirshner (London 1974), 119-179.

101 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY amounts of gold and silver which enabled the purchase of expensive goods at will’. 10

Money, the commodity through which other commodities were acquired, was the means through which the individual Hospitallers, like the rest of society, fulfilled their personal needs and desires and obligations. Although this seems obvious to the modern reader, it was not so in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as Michel

Fontaney points out, the economy was only partially monetized and ‘barter- trading’, ‘payment by compensation’ and credit practices were common in everyday practices, and ‘people managed quite well without money for the greater part of the transactions of everyday life’.11

The Hospitallers’ main role within the economy was that of patrons of art and consumers of goods and services (they had also the role of administrators of the Order’s estates, which they were willingly prepared to do without as the problem of absenteeism on the commanderies, analysed by Simon Mercieca, 12 shows). The accumulation of goods, wealth, honour, rank, and familial prestige were an intrinsic part of their daily life as peers of the European nobility. A look at the debts which 260 Hospitallers left unpaid on their death, between

1704 and 1742, shows Hospitallers purchasing commodities such as jewels, 13 wigs, 14 pictures ( quadri ), 15 silver cutlery, 16 precious items of furniture, 17 and

10 Lisa Jardine, Wordly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance (London 1996), 93. 11 Michel Fontenay, ‘The Mediterranean, 1500-1800: Social and Economic Perspectives’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta 1993), 43-110, 59. 12 Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 1631-1798 (Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Malta, 1993), 71-76. 13 AOM 946, ff.89v, 92v-93Ar, 140r-141v. 14 AOM 946, ff.25v, 89r-v.

102 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY tobacco 18 apart from necessities such as cloths, 19 comestibles, 20 and wine. 21

Various Hospitallers owed money to their servants; 22 others died in debt for having purchased a slave. 23

Hospitaller statutes allowed members of the Order to participate in any transaction, with the proviso that they did not alienate or mortgage the Order’s property, engage in trade, or lend money with interest. 24 Lending money with interest was considered usury and condemned by cannon law, most notably by the twelfth-century jurist Gratian. 25 The Church also fostered what Fontaney called the ‘latent bad conscience with regard to capitalist profit’, 26 which did not encourage individuals to engage in trade. Besides, trade was considered a risky enterprise. Given that all possessions that a Hospitaller enjoyed theoretically belonged to the Order, by engaging in trade, a Hospitaller would be risking the Order’s assets. 27 On the other hand, investment in land was encouraged, as any estate purchased by a Hospitaller belonged to the institution. Given that land could not be alienated, any estate purchased by a

Hospitaller became part of the Order’s landed patrimony.

The spread of the Order’s possessions across Europe created the need for a system whereby the revenues accruing in one part would be transferred to the

15 AOM 946, ff.11v-13r. 16 AOM 946, ff.132v-134r. 17 AOM 946, f.89v. 18 AOM 946, ff.27r-27v. 19 AOM 946, ff.3v-6v, 105r-v. 20 AOM 946, ff.25v, 31v-32r. 21 AOM 946, ff.8r-11v, 29r-v. 22 AOM 946, ff.3v – 6v, 15v-16r, 34r-v, 35r-40r, 45r-v. 23 AOM 946, ff.34r-v, 35r-40r. 24 Abbè Renè Aubert de Vertot, ‘The Old and New Statutes of the Order of St John’, in The History of the Knights of Malta (Facsimile Edition: Malta 1989), 98-99. 25 Pounds, An Economic History of Medieval Europe , 409.

103 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Convent in Jerusalem, Acre, Cyprus, Rhodes, and finally Malta. The Order also required purchasing goods and services on the continent. Money, whether taking the form of coins, bills of exchange, or other credit instruments, facilitated these transactions. This fitted neatly into current practice across

Europe. By the sixteenth century, money was understood as a lubricant, which facilitated the smooth running of the economy and the state. In the words of an unidentified Venetian statesman quoted by Braudel, money, ‘whether gold or silver [was] ‘the sinews of all government, it gives it its pulse, its movement, its mind, soul, and it is its essence and its very life… without it all is weak and without movement’.’ 28

Cash flowed from the different estates to the Convent through the agency of different Hospitaller officials. Serfs and tenants who tilled the Order’s estates paid their commander rent over their lands. The commander paid his responsions to the receiver, who received them on behalf of the Treasury. In turn, the receiver remitted these responsions to the Convent. Rents from the tenants were often collected in kind, in the seventeenth century as in the twelfth. 29 Yet, whereas in 1181 revenues and responsions were assessed and paid in kind, in terms of cotton, fustian, sugar and felts, 30 in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries money was the unit of account through which revenues

26 Fontenay, ‘The Mediterranean, 1500-1800’, 92. 27 AOM 6432, ff.159v-160v. 28 Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (Glasgow 1990), 462. 29 Shirley Mifsud, ‘The Commandery of Sacile Pordenone 1672 – 1774’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta, 1999), 29-34. 30 E.J. King, Rules , Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers 1099 – 1310 (New York 1980), 36-7; www.smom-za.org/bgt /bgt_moul.htm.

104 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY and responsions were quantified 31 and responsions were dispatched to the

Convent in gold and silver coins. 32

Across the European continent, the Order purchased various items, from wood and nails for its galleys to wine and ice for its inns. The ordinary council ordered payment. Bills of exchange, issued by the vice-chancellor and countersigned by the secretary to the Treasury, were sent to the receivers, stationed in each priory, who then effected payment. 33

The flow of money to and from the Convent necessitated a sound administrative system. Central Flow of Money to that system was the relationship between the Administration individual Hospitaller and the Treasury. That relationship manifested itself in two ways. Primarily, Treasury Hospitaller  Figure 3.1 Relationship it revealed itself in the Hospitaller’s administration between the Hospitaller and the Treasury of the Order’s assets on behalf of the Treasury, whether these were Hospitaller estates in Europe or ‘departments’ in Convent.

Money was the ‘cause’ that created the need for this relationship. The

Hospitaller could either be in charge of an estate to ‘earn’ money on behalf of the Treasury, or he could be entrusted with administering the spending of money to cater for the Order’s needs, such as the arsenal, the granaries, the galleys, or the infirmary. Secondly, that relationship showed through the flow of money from the Hospitaller to the Treasury and vice versa. In this case, money was the medium through which the two parties were linked. The

31 AOM 286, ff.39v-56v; AOM 291 ff.67v-74r. 32 AOM 1679, p.15-16.

105 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY function of money as a unit of exchange lay at the background. Money was the article of trade that allowed the purchasing of goods and services. The urgency of money created the need for an administrator to be in charge of the Order’s estates, and a sound link through which that money would eventually reach the

Treasury. Given that money was not an end in itself but a means to an end, its role as a commodity through which other commodities were acquired transpires. This role created the need for an administrator to be responsible for its spending, and the consequent acquisition of goods and services. In order to lessen the scope for abuse, an anonymous treatise on the Treasury from the first half of the seventeenth century suggested that Hospitallers should manage the

Order’s possessions, arguing that ‘great harm occurred whenever seculars administered possessions of the church and the hospitals’. 34 On the strength of this argument, priors were forbidden to pass on the administration of

Hospitaller estates to secular persons. 35

Although the administration of Hospitaller possessions was entrusted to members of the Order, abuses were still perpetrated. When a Hospitaller failed to honour either part of his relationship with the Treasury he was held to be in debt with the Treasury. Debt implies that one party owes a sum of money, or its equivalent in kind, to a second party. Debts arise when individuals, firms, or institutions spend more than the total of their current income and accumulated

33 Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the receiver’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta, 1991), 78. 34 ‘È grande il danno che oporta il administrare li secolari la robba della chiesa e delli ospedali… ’ AOM 6432, f.155r. 35 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 96. Commanders were allowed to rent their estates to seculars, but not to ‘powerful lords’, ecclesiastics, or secular institutions, as these could easily usurp the estates away from the Order. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 102.

106 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY savings; 36 or when these entities borrow money to purchase specific goods or services. 37 Thirdly, debts arise when one forfeits whatever payment is due.

The historiography of the notion of ‘debt’ tends to focus on commercial loans and the credit facilities provided by the merchants and bankers across

Europe, which spurned the emergence of merchant capitalism and later the industrial revolution. Lisa Jardine looked briefly at the role that debt had in the life of European patrician families and how it facilitated their exposition of magnificence. Yet, she discussed mainly the credit facilities afforded by bankers across Europe particularly the Fuggers and the Florentine bankers, and their attempts to secure intelligence on the financial situation of their creditors, or would be creditors. 38 A study of debts when payments due are forfeited, and which constitutes the main kind of debts within the Order, is lacking.

The interpretation of debt as ‘commercial loans’ and ‘credit facilities’ can be applied to the Order of St John when the Treasury as a whole was in debt with third parties. The Treasury took loans from international banking institutions to finance the Order’s wide range of activities. This followed the normal procedure adopted by other states when expenditure exceeded income: seeking and taking loans from the major international financial institutions.

Bosio claims that in 1321 the Treasury was in debt with the Bardi, the Peruzzi and other Florentine moneylenders for 575,900 golden florins. 39 In 1306 and in subsequent years, the Order took on heavy loans to finance its conquest of

36 Collins Dictionary of Economics , cmpl. Christopher Pass, Bryan Lowes and Leslie Davis (Glasgow 2000), 111. 37 Collins Dictionary of Economics , 111. 38 Jardine, Wordly Goods , 93 et seq .

107 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Rhodes and pay its way to acquire the properties of the defunct Order of the

Templars.40 In 1321, the Order was still trying to find a way out of its heavy debts. In 1475, when the Order’s expenses to defend Rhodes were mounting, owing to increasing Ottoman pressure on the island, the Order’s debts with unspecified creditors amounted to 76,000 scudi. 41 The Order also took loans from entities within the Order’s structure that enjoyed a separate fiscal personality. On 29 November 1645, the ordinary council allowed the venerable procurators of the Treasury to take a loan of 4,000 scudi from Fra Gio

Giacomo Verani, a Hospitaller, at the rate of 8 percent interest. 42 On 16 January

1649, the same council ordered the officers responsible for examining the proofs of nobility to hand over to the venerable procurators of the Treasury all money they had at their office ‘so that it could be used in the present necessities of the Order’, obliging the same procurators to pay back the loan within six months. 43

Debts contracted by the Order constituted only one manifestation of debt within the Hospitaller institution. There were also i) debts contracted between the different constituent branches of the Order, such as a langue owing money to the Treasury – which debts fall outside the scope of this dissertation and will consequently not be discussed; and ii) debts incurred by Hospitallers with the

Treasury or with other entities within the Hospitaller structure that enjoyed a separate fiscal and juridical personality.

39 Giacomo Bosio, Dell’ Istoria della Sacra Religione Militare di San Giovanni Gerosolmitano detta di Malta , ii (Rome, 1594), 28. 40 Riley-Smith, Hospitallers , 94. 41 Bosio Dell’ Istoria , ii, 285. 42 AOM 115, f.103v.

108 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Debts contracted by individual Hospitallers were largely not the result of loans, but rather of defaulted payments. This applied also for debts contracted with the Treasury and debts with other entities within the Hospitaller structure, as will be seen further on.

Within the Order, the concept of debt transcended the mere meaning of ‘to owe money’ (known as debito liquido , literally liquid or money debt). Being in debt could also mean not having fulfilled the duties pertaining to one’s office

(debiti d’amministratione ). Possibly, this double interpretation of ‘debt’ ensued from two meanings of the term debere , and the Italian dovere .44 Linguists argue that language moulds one’s understanding of the world around him, and through language, one shapes his surroundings. Arguably, the fact that the term, debere or dovere , denoted both ‘to render a duty’ and ‘to owe money’ led the Hospitaller mind to equate the two notions, and consider ‘the act of non- fulfilling one’s duties’ as synonymous to ‘the act of not paying one’s dues’.

While the seventeenth-century Order retained both meanings of debere in its concept of ‘being in debt’, the term debito (debt) did not automatically evoke both interpretations. So much so that in 1642, the ordinary council had to spell out the parallelism between being in debt for not fulfilling one’s duties with being in debt for not paying one’s dues, such as the responsions, to the

Treasury. The Council decreed that Hospitaller officials who failed to submit their annual accounts to the Camera dei Conti , a duty pertaining to all officials

43 AOM 116, f.295v. 44 Both debere and dovere can mean ‘to be under obligation to pay, to owe’ and ‘to be duty bound, or under an obligation to do something’. See Oxford Latin Dictionary , cmpl. A Souther et al . (Oxford 1968); Lo Zingarelli: Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana , cmpl. Nicola Zingarelli (Rome 2002), 593.

109 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY of the Order, would be considered ‘as if in debt with the Treasury for not paying the responsions’. 45

The Order differentiated between two levels of debts with the Treasury: i) debts for which a Hospitaller incurred a penalty ipso facto on forfeiting payment; and ii) debts which required a prior condemnation, by the Camera dei Conti or the ordinary council, before punishment could be incurred. The criterion for differentiating between the two types of debt was simple at least if one relies on Caravita’s exposition of the facts. He argues that failure to pay the Treasury its dritti or its statutory rights, like the passage fees, the responsions, the mortuaries and vacancies, and the spogli , was the criterion for deciding that a debt belonged to the first category. Hence, a debtor who failed to pay any of the statutory rights incurred an automatic punishment upon forfeit. 46 Three conditions had to be fulfilled: i) the debtor had to be notified of his debt by the receiver or the conservatore conventuale ; ii) it had to be a liquid debt, (defined in cash and not in kind); and iii) the debtor had to owe a definite sum quantified in scudi, tari and grani. 47

Hospitallers who fell in debt with the Treasury for having failed to carry out their , duties, although such debts were not liquid debts, still, according to the statutes, incurred an automatic penalty, as will be shown later. 48

Debt is a negative concept. It does not exist on its own, but only in default of something else: an unpaid purchase, an unpaid loan, a failed payment, or in the case of the Order of St John, the failure to fulfil the duties pertaining to

45 AOM 114, ff.27v-28r. 46 AOM 1679, p.536. 47 AOM 1679, pp.536-8.

110 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY one’s office. In order to understand the relationship between the Hospitaller and the Treasury as it transpires from the state of ‘being in debt with the

Treasury’, one must first analyse the positive relationship between the two, and how this made a Hospitaller fall in debt with the Treasury. This helps to understand more clearly the Order’s reaction to a Hospitaller’s debt with the

Treasury, and how it sought to restore the relationship that the Hospitaller impaired by falling in debt.

3.2 The Hospitaller, Money Transactions, and Debts

Hospitallers could participate in transactions with any part of society: i) individuals and organisations not forming part of the Hospitaller structure, such as merchants or servants, 49 ii) entities within the Order enjoying a separate fiscal and judicial personality, such as the langues, the foundations, the

Treasury, and other Hospitallers.

Within the Hospitaller structure, a Hospitaller could contract a deal: i) directly with the Treasury; ii) with another Hospitaller; or iii) with an entity forming part of the Order of St John. Each one of these transactions had its own money-flow patterns and each could result with the Hospitaller contracting the deal falling in debt with the Treasury.

48 See below page 137. 49 Transactions with persons and entities not forming part of the Order of St. John fall outside the scope of this dissertation, which is focusing on the relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Order’s Common Treasury, and consequently will not be discussed.

111 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Transactions with the Treasury

A Hospitaller entered into a money-based relationship with the Treasury from the day he joined the Order as a novice or as a grandmaster’s page. Then he received an allowance from the Treasury of 7 scudi for clothing, known as the soldea .50 That relationship would be fully developed when the novice professed as a Hospitaller.

Before professing into the Order a Hospitaller had to pay the passaggio , passage or entrance fee, the amount of which depended on the rank to which the candidate was admitted. 51 The passaggio originated in the thirteenth century as a payment made by newly professed Hospitallers who did not provide their own weapons. 52 The context was that of an Order committing increasing resources for the defence of the Kingdom of Acre, the last surviving crusading state, against the advancing Egyptian Mamluks under Sultan Baybars. 53 The ongoing war against the Mamluks, together with the frequent infighting between the Christian factions, 54 was draining the Order’s resources, and consequently it could ill afford to arm and equip all its new members. The general chapter of 1262 enacted that henceforth knights who did not get their weapons with them into the Order were to pay 2,000 silver livre tournois ,

50 AOM 1680, pp.81, 97. 51 Alison Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, in European Studies Review , iii, 2, (1973), 110. 52 AOM 1679, p.81. 53 Norman Housley, The Later Crusades: From Lyons to Alcazar 1274-1580 (Oxford 1992), 8- 10. 54 In the mid-thirteenth century, Christian Palestine was rife with infighting between the Italian maritime republics that contended the different ports of Outremar. Besides, there were dynastic squabbles over the throne of the . The Hospitallers were often a party in this infighting, themselves fighting their battle for primacy with the Templars. Housley, The Later Crusades , 8.

112 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY while servants-at-arms had to pay 1,500 silver livre tournois .55 The general chapter of 1440, which met when the Order was again in dire financial straits 56 and again facing the threat of invasion, this time by the fleet of the Egyptian sultan Jakmak az-Zãhir, 57 added that would-be Hospitallers had to donate to the

Treasury a horse or pay 100 ducats. 58 Eventually, the general chapter of 1583, which also exacted an extra imposition over and above the Responsions as will shortly be seen, decreed that no one could profess into the Order until he had paid the passage fees, establishing payment at 200 scudi for knights and 150 scudi for servant at arms. 59 The general chapter of 1631 charged new rates.

Henceforth, candidates admitted to the Order as knights paid 250 scudi, while servants-at-arms paid 200 scudi. Different rates applied for the German langue.

Those admitted as knights paid 150 scudi, while servants-at-arms paid 100 scudi. Clerics who professed into the Order paid 100 scudi. Candidates who entered the Order as minors (i.e. under 16 years of age) paid 1000 scudi or 800 scudi depending on the rank, while those who entered the Order as pages of the grandmaster paid 250 scudi. 60

On 19 June 1641, the ordinary council resolved that henceforth a candidate who sought admittance into the Order could only profess after the complete council had confirmed his gratia di ricetione , and this would be granted only after the Treasury’s secretary confirmed that payment of the passaggio had

55 AOM 1679, p.81, King, Rules , 60. 56 AOM 1649, p.454. 57 H. W. Hazard, The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries , in The Crusades , ed. K. M. Setton, iii (Madison 1975), 319. 58 AOM 1649, p.464; AOM 1679, p.81. 59 AOM 291, f.64v. 60 AOM 1679, pp.82-83; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 143.

113 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY been made. 61 Two years later, on 2 June 1643 the ordinary council ordered that minors should not be received before having paid the relevant fees. 62

Yet, in practice candidates were allowed to profess before paying their passaggio , with the understanding that payment would eventually be effected.

In such cases, payment was made by instalments. Until full payment was effected, a professed Hospitaller was considered to be in debt with the

Treasury. 63 Fra Philippo Ludovico de Cagnac professed before paying his passaggio . On 24 October 1609, the ordinary council declared him a junior

(fiernaldo ) to six German novices, namely Bernardo de Golestein, Guglielmo

Henrico Wasperg, Henrico Nicola Faut de Stomberg, Gerorgio Melchiore de

Harstal, Roland Scheiffardt de Merode, and Johannes Henrico de Koulf, because he had not paid his passaggio in time. 64 The ordinary council took a similar decision on 7 March 1624, when it declared Fra Diadcio Lopez, as senior to Fra Alonso de Contreras, notwithstanding the latter’s earlier profession. It upheld the plaintiff’s claim that Contreras could not enjoy seniority because he not paid all his passaggio to the Treasury. 65

Hospitallers residing in the Convent, but outside the auberges 66 were entitled to a daily ration of food known as the tavole. This was paid in cash or in kind

61 AOM 113, ff.149r-v. 62 AOM 114, ff.94r-v. 63 Indeed, AOM 1679 argues that a fiernaldo , (junior Hospitaller) could wage litigation in court, to obtain seniority, against a senior if the latter had not paid his passaggio in full. AOM 1679, p.96. 64 AOM 103, ff.101v-102r. 65 ‘Complimentum sui passaggij communi erario ’. AOM 107, f253v. 66 Hospitallers who lived in their Langue’s inn received a daily portion of mutton, beef, veal or pork. When no meat was available and on days of abstinence they ate fish or eggs. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 184.

114 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY to the value of three tari a day, 67 or 60 scudi a year. 68 Hospitallers received their daily ration from the conservatore conventuale , who was responsible for the outlay of the Treasury’s money, or if payment was to be received in kind from the store-master. 69 The money or goods that a Hospitaller received as tavole were noted in his ‘account of the tavole ’, an account that was closed every six months. If at the end of the semester, a Hospitaller was found to have taken more than 30 scudi worth of tavole , he was precluded from taking any further tavole until he had settled his debt.70

11%

89%

Debts on account of Tavole and Soldea Ammount of Tavole and Soldea paid according to statutes

 Figure 3.2 Debts on account of Tavole and Soldea

Members of the Order, including novices and pages were entitled to a yearly allowance for clothing and other needs, known as the soldea , payable in March and September. Knights were allowed 22 scudi; chaplains-of-obedience and servants-at-arms were given 16 scudi 6 tari. Deacons received 12 scudi 6 tari, while novices and pages were allowed 7 scudi each. Novices who failed to

67 Victor Mallia-Milanes, Descrittione di Malta Anno 1716 – A Venetian Account (Malta 1988), 99. 68 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 147. 69 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 147.

115 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY profess after their first year were not given any further allowance. 71 The soldea was paid in scudi or in kind. If payment was exacted in kind, the cloth was valued according to the rate by which it was acquired by the Treasury. 72 The soldea could be paid six months beforehand for professed knights, 73 in which case they would be considered in debt with the Treasury.

According to a report on the state of the Treasury presented to the general chapter of 1612 shows that between 1604 and 1609, debts incurred because of the tavole and the soldea were rather common. 74 During these five years, the

Treasury paid an average of 68,242 scudi 9 tari 19 grani each year. Hospitallers consumed an average of 8,121 scudi 9 tari 5 grani, per year over and above that amount. It follows that on average, 11 percent of the tavole and the soldea consumed between 1604 and 1609 was consumed on credit.

Upon being entrusted with the administration of a commandery, a

Hospitaller became liable to pay the responsions to the Treasury. The responsions, or the Treasury’s share (generally amounting to one-third) of a commandery’s annual income, 75 constituted more than half of the Treasury’s annual revenue. 76 Payment had to be made into the hands of the receiver during the provincial or priorial-council held in each priory in May or on the feast of

St John the Baptist.

70 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 184. 71 AOM 1680 p.97; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 147. 72 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 147. 73 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 147. 74 Within the Order, debts on account of the tavole and the soldea were generally considered together. 75 Mercieca, Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery , 97. 76 Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order’, 111.

116 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

The general-chapters established the quantum that each commandery had to pay as responsions. The responsions were first quantified by the general chapter of 1181. 77 During the Order’s stay on Malta, in the period under consideration, the amount of responsions that each commandery had to pay was determined by the general chapter of 1533, the first held on the island, and then modified by that of 1583 in response to changes in the productivity of the different commanderies. 78

From time to time, commanderies could also be subjected to new ad hoc levies established to make good for the Order’s financial shortfalls, and which were exacted from all commanderies according to the ratio of their share of responsions to the Order’s ordinary revenue. Known as ‘impositions’, these levies were generally established by the general-chapter, the highest legislative body within the Order. In 1574, when the resources of the Order were strained by the building of Valletta, the general chapter issued a new imposition of

40,000 scudi. 79 The same motive forced the general chapter of 1583 to retain the extraordinary imposition decreed by the general chapter of 1574 and order another imposition, of 50,000 scudi. 80

If a shortfall occurred during the period between one general chapter and another, the complete council, whose authority was only second to that of the general-chapter, would order impositions. On 10 February 1565, the complete council decreed an ad hoc imposition of 30,000 scudi to be paid over and

77 King, Rules , 36-7; www.smom-za.org/bgt /bgt_moul.htm . For a discussion of the responsions responsions as decreed by the general chapter of 1187 see page 31. 78 AOM 1679, p.6. 79 Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order’, 108. 80 AOM 291, ff.46v-47v; Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order’, 108.

117 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY above the customary responsions by all priories, bailiwicks, and commanderies, on account of the imminent Ottoman attack on Malta, which eventually materialised the following May. 81

Defaults in the payment of responsions were rather common and constituted the largest proportion of debts owed by Hospitallers to the Treasury. The aforementioned report presented to the general chapter of 1612 shows that between 1604 and 1609 arrears paid on account of responsions amounted to 19 percent of the responsions paid. These debts also constituted 63.66 percent of all moneys owed to the Treasury.

A Hospitaller entrusted with the administration of a commandery could fail to pay his responsions for a number of reasons ranging from calamities, natural or otherwise, hitting his commandery to personal negligence.

Low market prices earned by the yield from the commandery could theoretically be cited as a sound reason for defaulting payment, 82 but no such case has been found in the records of the Camera dei Conti or those of the ordinary council during the period under consideration. Otherwise, an estate might be situated in a region hit by drought, plague, or war, and thus fail to render enough revenues for the commander to be able to scrape a living and pay his responsions. 83 In October 1646, the grand bailiff of Germany, Fra

William Herman de Metternich, pleaded, and was eventually granted, a remission of debts for not paying his responsions over the commanderies of

Rheinfelden and Basilea. He had been awarded the two commanderies in 1636,

81 AOM 91, f.140. 82 AOM 1679, p.513. 83 AOM 1679, p.511.

118 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY after the former incumbent Fra Giorgio Boccardo of Schauenberg, prior of

Hungary, was promoted to a more opulent possession. For the following ten years, Metternich had not been able to receive any revenues since the commandery of Rheinfelden, a locality which was the scene of a major battle between the Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, ally of France, and the Imperialist mercenary Count Savelli during February 1638, 84 was devastated during the

Thirty Years War. Besides, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar had granted the commandery to Colonel Schiaveliskij, who held it for four years. The membro of Basilea, in modern-day Switzerland and a few miles to the west of

Rheinfelden consisted only of a small number of leased fields ( censi ), which had been deserted by the serfs working on them out of fear of the ravaging armies. The commissioners appointed by the complete council to investigate the matter suggested that Metternich should be freed from paying responsions, and be awarded the commandery of Kronussemburg and Brussels instead. 85

In 1648, the prior of Messina Fra Pietro Anselmo was allowed four months to settle his debts with the Treasury after the ordinary council acknowledged the difficult financial situation in which he had found himself. Anselmo had used the revenues from his priory to succour the victims of an earthquake that had hit Naples. In addition, his revenues from the village of Izeria, which was also hit by the earthquake, had decreased owing to a decline in the number of hearths from 363 to merely 32. 86

84 C.V. Wedgwood, The Thirty Years War , (London 1938), 416-8. 85 AOM 115 ff.88r-v. 86 AOM 116, ff.58v-59v, 132r.

119 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Certain Hospitallers failed prompt payment because they were known to have been living beyond their means. There were cases when they were involved in expenses made on behalf of the Order itself. Others were known to have distributed charities and other humanitarian aid in grave calamities, but there were also Hospitallers who spent lavishly in order to maintain a high standard of living, higher than they could afford. 87 On 20 June 1642, the pilier of France, Pietro de Fouqueran La Nove was exempted from paying the prizes of the annual horse races that were held on the feast of St. John the Baptist because of the great expenses he had entered into in order to maintain the auberge of France. The council remitted payment to the day when he ceased to be responsible for that Auberge. 88 Similarly, Fra Anselmo, mentioned earlier, could not pay his responsions because he used the revenues that he had earned from his estates to help the victims of the Partenopean earthquake of 1647. 89

Finally, the fact that the responsions had to be paid in gold or silver coins, at a fixed rate of exchange established by the general chapter of 1583, 90 meant that the devaluation of currency in the territories where the Order’s properties were situated could wreak havoc to the payments due to the Treasury. This was the case with the responsions accrued from the estates forming part of the priory of Castile in the mid-seventeenth century. Whereas the only currency available in Castile was the copper vellón , the priory had to pay its responsions in gold and silver money. In the mid-seventeenth century, the effective ruler of

Spain, Count-Duke Gaspar de Guzman Olivares, in an attempt to minimize the

87 AOM 1679, p.515. 88 AOM 114, f.4r-v. 89 AOM 116, ff.58v-59v, 132r.

120 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY expenses of war, tampered with the copper content of the vellón by decreasing the amount of copper in the coins’ alloy. Consequently, its premium on silver money increased exponentially. 91 The market rate of exchange converted a piece of eight (silver coinage) at 12, at times even 16, Reali , while the Order rated a piece of eight at 8 Reali . This effectively increased the value of the responsions by more than 75 percent. Besides, silver coins were so rare that their market value increased by 80 and 90 percent of their true value. 92

Consequently, the commanders were rendered incapable of paying their responsions, or to ameliorate their commanderies. 93

Hospitallers elected to the rank of grand cross, either as heads of their langue, 94 or on account of the services they rendered to the Order ( Gran Croci di Gratia ), 95 paid for the palij , the prizes given to the winners of the horse races organised on the feast of St John the Baptist after their election. These races were instituted by grandmaster Fra Juan de Lascaris Castellar (1636-57) in

1638 to honour the feast of the patron saint of the Order, and took place in

Strada Reale in Valletta.96 If no grand cross was elected, or if the elected grand cross failed to honour his financial obligation, the Treasury carried the

90 AOM 1679, p.13. 91 J. H. Elliot, Imperial Spain 1469-1716 , (London 1963), 345. 92 AOM 6397, f.12v. 93 AOM 6397, ff.10r, 12v 94 Ann Williams, ‘The Constitutional Development of the Order of St. John in Malta, 1530- 1798’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta 1993), 285-296, 286. 95 Nicholson, The Knights Hospitaller , 79. Fra Giovanni Caravita, former Treasury secretary and ambassador of the Order in Rome was designated as Gran Croce di Gratia by Grandmaster Gregorio Caraffa, on account of the services that he rendered to the Order, in June 1682. AOM 2226, f.129r. 96 AOM 112, f.126r.

121 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY expenses. 97 This happened in 1642, when the French pilier, Fouqueran La

Nove, mentioned above, could not pay the palij because he had entered into great expenses to maintain the auberge of France. 98

Fines payable to the Treasury were imposed on any Hospitaller who failed to appear in Convent when summoned, and commanders who left the estates under their care without permission. Following a statute enacted under the magistracy of Jacques de Milly (1454-61), Hospitallers could not leave the

Convent without the explicit licence of the master. Those who disobeyed risked being defrocked and deprived of their commanderies.99 Hospitallers could still leave the Convent against the payment of a fee. In October 1643, the Provencal

Hospitallers Claudio Arasi and Gaspare de Bere owed the Treasury 15 scudi each, while René Meun, known as la Frett, owed the Treasury 118 scudi for leaving Convent to return to their homeland. 100

The flow of money from the Hospitaller to the Treasury followed the same pattern whichever payment was being effected. The Treasury received the money through one of its officials, either the receiver or the procurator of the

Treasury fuor di Convento in the priories, or the conservatore conventuale in

Convent.

97 AOM 112, f.126r. 98 AOM 114, ff.4r-v. 99 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 104. 100 AOM 114, f.133.

122 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Receiver/ Payment: Conservatore Hospitaller Conventuale Passaggio Responsions Fees & Fines

Revenue Administration

 Figure 3.3: Flow of money from Treasury Commandery the Hospitaller (from commandery, via Hospitaller, in the case of responsions) and the Treasury

Structurally, the payment of responsions differed slightly from other payments that a Hospitaller was expected to make to the Treasury. Whereas the passaggio and the fine were imposed directly on the Hospitaller, responsions and impositions were imposed on the commandery that the Hospitaller was administering. The commandery yielded revenue to the Hospitaller, who was in charge of its administration on behalf of the Treasury. The Hospitaller was expected to send a share to the Treasury: the responsions.

Transactions with other Hospitallers

The motives behind money transactions between two Hospitallers ranged as widely as business itself. Given the freedom with which Hospitallers were allowed to utilise their financial resources, it was only natural that they entered into deals with one another. Transactions between Hospitallers can be divided into two: ‘institutional’ or ‘personal’. An ‘institutional’ transaction denotes payments that a Hospitaller was statutorily required to make. ‘Personal’ transactions refer to those concluded between at least two Hospitallers that were not covered by the Order’s statutes and were entered into according to current market practice.

123 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

The main ‘institutional’ payment that a Hospitaller made to another

Hospitaller was that concerning pensions. A pension ( pensione ) was the right to enjoy a fixed proportion of the commandery’s income. It was granted to individual Hospitallers by senior commanders, bailiffs, or priors, and could be either of a temporal nature (ending with the death of the benefactor) or perpetual (endured beyond the benefactor’s death until the death of the beneficiary). The award had to be ratified by the ordinary council. Although statutorily pensions were a means of helping a ‘brother’ who had fallen into poverty, effectively they were granted to any professed Hospitaller as a supplement to his income. 101 Pensions were paid by the current commander on an annual basis, but default was rather common. The Treasury held accounting records of pensions that were in arrears. 102 Commanders who failed to pay the pensions attached to their commanderies were considered debtors with the

Treasury, though only after the pensioner sought redress before the Order’s tribunals. Fra Georgio Christophorum had not paid the pension owed to Fra

Michele Olicerio over the commandery of Honrein and Reyden in North

Germany for six years. In October 1609, he was condemned by the ordinary council to pay within a month. 103 Similarly, the prior of Champaigne, Fra

Michele le Seure, did not pay Fra Giovanni di Serraucourt any pension for the twelve years between 1586 and 1598. 104

101 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 101-3. 102 AOM 2228. 103 AOM 101, f.196r. 104 AOM 664, f.46r. Seraucourt sought payment of his dues on 18 December 1621. By then Le Seure had already died, and Seraucourt filed litigation against Le Seure’s spoglio .

124 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

‘Personal’ transactions between two Hospitallers involved either the sale of goods or the loaning of money to each other. These transactions were, as

Braudel would call them, ‘transparent exchanges, in which every party knows in advance the rules and the outcome’. 105 As the Order was not directly involved in such transactions, they were not referred to in the official documentation. Generally, these are found in papers relating to judicial proceedings (like lawsuits) filed by a Hospitaller who had sold something, or loaned money to another brother who died before effecting payment. In such cases, the transaction would have been recorded in the deliberations of the commissari degli spogli . This is what happened with the purchase of some unidentified furniture valued 3,800 Spanish reali , made by Bailiff Fra Filippo

Carlo d’Esconedo. He died in 1707 before settling his debt, and Fra Antonio

Mataxxi, the original owner, filed a lawsuit to recover his due from the spoglio of d’Esconedo. 106 Likewise, in 1719, Fra Carlo Sessi died in debt with Fra

Girolamo Mortaliu for of a crucifix that he had purchased for 26 scudi. 107

References to loans contracted between Hospitallers follow a similar pattern. The information is generally sparse and sketchy, rarely giving all details relating to the loan, except for its quantum and the names of the parties involved in the transaction. Among the deliberations of the commissari degli spogli for the years 1704 to 1742, only eight references to such loans are found.

Among these, four include only the name of the lender, the name of the

105 Fernand Braudel, Afterthoughts on Material Civilisation and Capitalism , trans. Patricia Ranum, (London 1979), 50. 106 AOM 946, ff.24v-25r. 107 AOM 946 ff. 24v-25r, 74v-75r.

125 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Hospitaller who received the loan and the sum of money exchanging hands. 108

The reason for borrowing money, when it is given, varied from case to case.

Some Hospitallers borrowed money to settle outstanding payments to the

Treasury, to avoid falling in debt with that institution. Falling in debt with the

Treasury would have meant suffering various penalties especially the confiscation of one’s properties with the consequent loss of revenue, together with the loss of seniority and the likely chance of forfeiting promotion to a more opulent commandery or office. In 1720, Fra Aloysius Dargouges borrowed 3,000 scudi from Gio Batta Dorel to be able to pay his responsions over the commandery of San Domingo. 109 Likewise, on his death in 1737, the prior of Naples Alessandro Ballatti, still owed Fra Giuseppe Reitano 184 scudi

4 tari 1 grano, a sum he had borrowed in order to settle his debts with the

Treasury, thereby rendering himself capace (i.e. able to receive promotion) to accede to the bailiwick of San Giovanni a Mare in Naples. 110

Some Hospitallers owed money to other Hospitallers on account of some service received. Three such services have been found in the documentation under analysis: an act of rent payment, the performing of an inspection of one’s commandery, and the rendering of legal services. When Fra Armando Bourbon

Malause died in 1742, he owed 36 scudi to Fra d’Olivares and Fra de Boise.

They had paid his rent on two houses for three semesters, one house was

108 These four cases refer to: Fra Giacomo Filipp.o de Chattilliers (d.1710) who owed Fra de Fleurigni 75 scudi (AOM 946, ff.30v-31r) ; Fra Francesco Martinez (d. 1712) who owed Fra Antonio Paz 126 scudi 6 tari (AOM 946, ff.32v-33v); Fra Carlo Jaquot (d. 1737) who owed Fra Claudio Gropard 216 French Livres (AOM 946, f.129v); Fra Carlo de Lopez Lafara (d.1717) who owed the Bailiff. Carlo Felice Doraison 1000 scudi (AOM 946, ff.64v-65v). 109 AOM 946, ff.118v-119r. 110 AOM 946, ff.127r-v.

126 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY situated in Strada degli Forfici , and the other lay in the district known as delle due palle (sic), both in Valletta.111 At the time of his death in 1737, the prior of

Naples Fra Alessandro Ballatti was in debt with Fra Sigismondo Piccolomini for the cabreo , which Piccolomini had conducted for him in the Neapolitan commandery of Santa Maria e Calogero, over a two-year period. On his death,

Prior Cesare Tourcinch still owed the Chaplain Fra Giovanni Battista Crispo

366 scudi for his ‘ servizi di Avocato ’. 112

The Treasury was not involved in transactions contracted between

Hospitallers when both parties were still alive. It only became a party to such deals when either of the two Hospitallers passed away. Then, as the heir to the spoglio of the deceased, it replaced him in the deal. The two possible scenarios are illustrated in Figure 3.4.

Case 1: When the creditor died Case 2: When the debtor died

Money Money Creditor Debtor Creditor Debtor Debt Debt

Spoglio Lawsuit Spoglio

Payment Treasury Treasury

 Figure 3.4: The Treasury when the lender or the borrower died

If the creditor (the seller, the lender, or whoever performed a service on behalf of another Hospitaller) died, his debtor (he who had bought the goods,

111 AOM 946, ff.139r-140v. 112 AOM 946, ff.68r-69r. The exact nature of these legal services, when they were rendered, in what context, and their duration, was not found in the documentation under scrutiny.

127 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY borrowed the money, or received a service) became indebted with the

Treasury. If the debtor died, the creditor had to claim back his money from the commissari degli spogli who represented the Treasury. The Portuguese

Hospitaller Fra Pereira and the French Hospitaller Fra de Nozet, who had loaned 80 scudi and 64 scudi respectively to the Portuguese Hospitaller Fra

Don Vincenzo Alvarez Pinto (d.1714), died before the borrower had the time to repay the loan. The Treasury took their place as Pinto’s creditor. The latter died before he had settled his debt with the Treasury. Consequently, the commissari degli spogli condemned his spoglio to pay 144 scudi to the Treasury on account of the two loans. 113

Transactions with Langues, Foundations, and the Conventual Church

As discussed in Chapter 3, entities within the Hospitaller structure, such as langues, and foundations, had a separate fiscal and judicial personality. 114 Each entity, through its administrators, managed its properties and finances, could enter into a transaction with third parties, sue and be sued. Hospitallers entered into a relationship with any one of these entities within the parameters set out by this context.

A langue could impose direct taxes or levies on its estates. These would then be approved by the ordinary council, as the legislative body responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Order. Not unlike with the impositions decreed by the general-chapters or the complete council, these levies were imposed to fund an expensive capital project or to remedy existing financial

113 AOM 947, ff.59r-v.

128 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY shortfalls. Levies imposed by langues were exacted over and above the responsions and other impositions on behalf of the Treasury. Hospitallers entrusted with the administration of commanderies over which the langue had imposed a levy were responsible for effecting payment during the provincial- chapter. One can cite various examples of similar levies. On 15 January 1571, the Italian langue decided to impose a 10 percent tax on revenues earned from the Italian estates of the Order in order to finance the construction of the new auberge in Valletta.115 This levy was endorsed by the ordinary council on the following 5 March. 116 In 1577, the same langue imposed a tax on all Italian estates to finance the building of fort Santa Euphemia in Calabria – at modern day Lamezia Terme. 117 In 1586, the langue of Aragon imposed a levy of 250 scudi on all its priories, bailiwicks, and commanderies to finance ‘the needs and businesses for the common utility of the whole langue’. 118 The complete council imposed a similar tax on 15 March 1646 over all estates in the langue of Castile. The langue, heavily in debt with the Treasury, sought to recover sufficient funds to balance its finances and settle its overdraft with the

Treasury. The burden of the levy was shared by the different Castilian estates in proportion to the amount of responsions that each estate paid ( a soldo per libra ). 119

114 See above, page 75. 115 Lorenzo Schiavone, ‘Il Primo Albergo d’Italia a Valletta e i Primi Contributi per la sua Costrutione’, in Melita Historica , X, 1 (1988), 89-108, 94-95. 116 Schiavone, ‘Il Primo Albergo d’Italia’, 94-95. 117 Supra edificatione opp.idi S. Euphemiae . AOM 94, f.33v. On location of the fort of Santa Euphemia see www.lameziastorica.it/storiaseuf1ing.htm . 118 AOM 97, f.53. 119 AOM 115 f.138v.

129 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Excluding the ad hoc impositions, the major source of income for the different langues was the leasing of houses. The general chapter of 1555, in an attempt to encourage the rapid construction of houses in Vittoriosa and

Senglea, allowed Hospitallers to dispose freely of any houses that they built in these two cities. 120 Following this enactment, it soon became general practice that houses, which Hospitallers did not will away, pass on to their respective langues. 121 The general chapter of 1631 prohibited this practice, 122 but by then the langues had already accumulated a number of houses in Vittoriosa,

Senglea, and Valletta, which they rented out to third parties. During the two- year administration of Nicola Caccaretta, ending on 27 May 1623, the Italian langue earned about 1,700 scudi from the leasing of houses. This represented

52 percent of the total income earned by the Italian langue during those years. 123 Rents were not always paid immediately. Fra Francesco del Carbinaye de Bosingon had not paid his rent on a house in Malta owned by the French langue for three years before his death, accumulating a debt of 64 scudi 1 taro.

That debt was only settled on 27 March 1686 when the commissari degli spogli acceded to the claim of the French langue and paid that sum from Bosingon’s spoglio .124

The Italian Hospitaller Fra Giovanni Felice de Corteson died in 1723 owing the Italian langue 9 scudi 6 tari 3 grani in rent (pigione ) for the room in which

120 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 358. 121 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 176. 122 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 176. 123 AOM 2127, ff.212r-v. 124 AOM 945, ff.58r-v.

130 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY he had resided in the auberge.125 This suggests that a Hospitaller could enter into a landlord-tenant relationship with his langue, renting a room in its inn.

Unfortunately, the source does not allow the reader to understand whether this was a sui generis case, or whether there were other Hospitallers who rented other rooms in the auberge.126

In his capacity as head of his langue, a conventual bailiff was personally responsible for the maintenance of the latter’s auberge in Convent. Statutes enacted under Grandmasters Pierre d’Aubusson (1476-1503) and Juan d’Homedes (1536-53) sought to ensure that conventual bailiffs did not leave the Convent unnecessarily. 127 These measures do not seem to have been very effective; a statute enacted during the magistracy of Hugh Loubenx de Verdalle

(1581-95) ordered conventual bailiffs to pay 50 scudi to their lieutenants every time they went abroad. This sum would go for the maintenance of their auberge.128 The general chapter of 1631 doubled this ‘levy’ to 100 scudi.

Instead, the marshal, the head of the langue of Auvergne, and the grand conservator, who headed the Aragonese langue, paid 50 gold scudi while admiral, responsible for the Italian langue, paid 80 gold scudi. 129 This ‘levy’ was exacted every time they absented themselves from Malta and was paid in

125 AOM 946, ff.89r-v. 126 The source merely states: Alli V di Procuratori della V da Lingua d’Italia scudi nove, tari sei, e grani tre dovutili p. la pigione delle stanza dell’ albergia, in cui abitava d to Com re da Corteson come costa dall’ estrtto del libro Maestro di d ta lingua . AOM 946, ff.89r-v. Unfortunately, the libri maestri of the different langues have not survived, while the auditors of the accounts of the Italian langue for the 1720s, while referring explicitly to the rent earned by the langue from the lease of Houses, did not mention in whatsoever way the renting of rooms in the auberge. AOM 2139, 208-214 Consequently, one cannot understand whether other langues rented any of their rooms to their members or whether only Hospitallers who enjoyed the revenues of a commandery, and who were expected to live on their commandery or in their own house, paid a rent when living in an auberge. 127 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 75.

131 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

February and August. Eventually, on 17 July 1658, the ordinary council required conventual bailiffs who were about to leave the Convent to provide for the maintenance of the auberges. In their default, the Treasury was to supplement the needed funds to the bailiffs’ procurators. Conventual bailiffs were allowed six months time within which to pay back these funds to the

Treasury. 130

A decision taken by the ordinary council on 5 December 1586 against an unspecified number of debtors of the langue of Aragon shows that the debtor would have incurred the punishments generally imposed on debtors with the

Treasury only if payment was not effected within a month from the day the sentence was delivered. 131 That was reiterated by Caravita towards the end of the seventeenth century in his treatise on the Treasury. It was a measure more honoured in the breach than the observance, for Caravita himself qualified his statement by observing that this was not implemented in practice. 132 Actually, a

Hospitaller who owed money to a langue was only pronounced ‘as if in debt with the Treasury’ after the administrators of that langue had sued him before the ordinary council.133 Yet, when in 1577, the Italian langue imposed the aforementioned levy to finance the building of the Fort of Sant Euphemia, it requested the ordinary council to punish Hospitallers who did not pay their

128 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 75. 129 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 164. 130 AOM 120, ff.177v-178v; AOM 1679, p.553. 131 AOM 97, f.53r. 132 AOM 1679, p.547-8. 133 AOM 1679, p.9.

132 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY share of the levy with an automatic loss of seniority and the confiscation of their possessions. The ordinary council obliged. 134

The relationship between the foundations and

Administration the individual Hospitaller manifested itself in two ways. A Hospitaller could either be entrusted with Rent on leased

property the administration of a foundation, 135 or lease a house or an estate owned by a foundation. The Foundation Hospitaller  Figure 3.5 Relationship latter was the case with Fra Guillermo de Pouet between the Hospitaller and a foundation who died in 1725 owing the Cottoner Foundation 136

50 scudi and 9 tari in rent for a house ( mezzanino ) where he had resided for 2 years and five months. 137

Debts with the different foundations did not make the defaulting Hospitaller fall automatically ‘in debt with the Treasury’. Foundations were not an integral part of the Hospitaller structure, but merely supplemented the money committed by the Treasury for a particular purpose, such as the building of a vessel, 138 the manufacture of artillery, 139 the maintenance of a chapel, 140 or the

134 AOM 94, f.33v. 135 Debts ensuing from the administration of a foundation by a Hospitaller will be discussed later in conjunction with debts incurred by Hospitallers for not fulfilling the obligations required by their Office in administering the assets of the Order. See page 146. 136 Founded by Grandmaster Fra Nicola Cottoner (1663-80), its revenues were assigned for the maintenance of a garrison at fort Ricasoli at the entrance of the Grand Harbour. William Henry Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta under the Government of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, during the last days of its dominion and as compared to the present time , (Malta, 1836), 16. 137 AOM 946, ff.93Av-93Br. 138 Salvatore Bono, ‘Naval Exploits and Privateering’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta 1993, 351-397, 379-80. 139 AOM 2189, f.35r. 140 AOM 2189, f.58r.

133 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY provision of linen for the Sacra Infermeria .141 The Treasury was statutorily responsible for funding these services and in effect provided funds accordingly. 142 The foundations lessened the burden on the Treasury by providing some of the necessary funds. 143 Consequently, they were an important, though not an indispensable, source of revenue for the Order. Given the relatively minor importance of these foundations, Hospitallers who owed them money incurred a penalty only after being sued before the ordinary council. Condemnation of such debtors was apparently pronounced in two sessions. First they had to be pronounced guilty, and only subsequently would a penalty be imposed on them. This procedure transpires from a lawsuit filed by some of the unidentified procurators of the Aragonese foundations, 144 against a co-administrator, the grand conservator Fra Martino de Sese. On 13

January 1650, Sese was found guilty of owing the said foundation 100 scudi 145 and then, on 15 February 1650, he was declared ‘in debt with the Treasury’. 146

A third entity within the Hospitaller structure that received payment from individual Hospitallers was the conventual church. Upon being elected to a priory or a bailiwick, and for each promotion that he subsequently received, a

Hospitaller awarded a money gift, known as the gioa (literally jewel), to the conventual church. This practice, which was part of the Order’s customs, became law on 8 February 1593. Then, the council decreed that payment had to

141 AOM 2189, f.88r. 142 AOM 1680, pp.1-115. 143 Thornton, Memoir on the Finances of Malta , 8. 144 These were six foundations instituted by Aragonese Hospitallers towards the end of the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. See page 39. 145 AOM 116, f.293v. 146 AOM 116, ff.312v-303r.

134 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY be made by the newly elected priors or bailiffs immediately after acceding to a fixed source of revenue (a commandery, or an office which yielded remuneration). Failure would incur the same penalties as the failure to pay the responsions. 147 Up to 1631, priors paid 50 scudi, while conventual bailiffs paid

25 scudi. 148 The general chapter of 1631 decreed that the gioa was worth 100 scudi. 149

Hospitallers who failed to pay the gioa to the conventual church within 18 months from their election as priors or bailiffs were automatically considered

‘in debt with the Treasury’. 150 The automatic penalty reflected the importance that the Order, as a religious institution, assigned to the conventual church.

Generally, automatic punishment was incurred only for major debts, such as default in the payment of responsions. On 13 February 1565, the ordinary council decreed that the prior of Aragon, 151 Michele Giovanni del Castellar, could not take the commandery of Tronchon, vacated on the death of Fra

Garcia. A prior had the right, by virtue of seniority, to keep for himself a commandery that fell vacant in his priory. This was known as the ‘fifth chamber’ ( quinta camera ), as it was added to the four chambers, or commanderies, that made up the estates pertaining to the head of a priory. 152

Castellar wanted to keep the commandery of Tronchon as his ‘fifth chamber’.

The ordinary council decreed that he could not retain that commandery,

147 AOM 1679, p.553. 148 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 23-24. 149 AOM 98, f.104v; AOM 1679, p.555. 150 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 23-24. 151 AOM 91 gives Castellan d’Emposta, a title bestowed upon the Prior of Aragon. 152 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 91.

135 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

because he had not paid the customary gioa to the conventual church, and

consequently could not enjoy any form of seniority.153

The Treasury played only a passive, yet important, role in the relationship

between the individual Hospitaller and those entities within the Hospitaller

structure that enjoyed a separate fiscal and juridical personality, such as the

langue, the foundations or the conventual church. Payments that the Hospitaller

owed to any of these entities entered into their respective casse (money chests);

no part of them went to the Treasury. However, debts incurred with any of

these entities were considered as contracted with the Treasury. In other words,

the Treasury acted as their shoulder: it was there to protect them whenever the

need arose. Falling in debt with the Treasury meant suffering a wide range of

penalties including the confiscation of one’s properties and the loss of

seniority.

After a decision of the ordinary co uncil, unless I directed otherwise F Langue P

A I Y Automatic N Conventual M Treasury Hospitaller Church E D N E B T Following a decision T Foundation by ordinary council

 Figure 3.6: How a Hospitaller in debt with entities within the Hospitaller structure was considered ‘in debt with the Treasury’.

153 AOM 91, f.140v. He had also failed to perform the customary visitation to his priory, , nor did he ameliorate his camere priorali, and ‘ ultimo quia hactenus, ut omnibus manifestum est, nunc certiores fecit magrum et Conventum de diligentia per eum prestita in consequenda possessione dicte castellenie, stante statuto ultimo de prioribus ’.

136 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

3.3 Administering assets and falling in debt

Money payments constituted only one level of the relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury. That relationship also manifested itself in the administration, by different Hospitallers, of the Order’s assets both in

Convent and on the priories.

Hospitallers who were responsible for the administration of a commandery were, in fact, administering it on behalf of the Treasury. Benefactors in the

Latin West had originally conferred these estates to the Order to provide it with a steady source of revenue. This revenue flowed into the Treasury in the form of responsions. Although originally the manor houses on certain estates functioned as a hospice for pilgrims, they lost that charitable character towards the late fourteenth and the fifteenth century. 154

Responsions Treasury Henceforth, the only raison d’etre of these Administration of Commandery estates within the Hospitaller structure was their stance as a source of revenue for the Commander Administration Cabreo Revenue Order (and for the Hospitaller entrusted with Miglioramenti their administration).

Commandery The Order’s statutes entrusted Hospitallers  Figure 3.7 in charge of these estates with three Hospitaller administrative function of a commandery important tasks. In the first place, commanders had to manage effectively these estates to earn revenue for the

Order. Secondly, they were statutorily expected to improve them

154 Mercieca S., Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery , 29.

137 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

(miglioramento ) in order to maximise the yields. 155 Thirdly, they had to carry out a cabreo every 25 years, a detailed report on the state of the commandery, with suggestions on how it could be improved. 156 The three tasks were revenue- orientated and were intended to maximise returns for the Order at present and in the future. If a Hospitaller failed to carry out any one of them, he was considered ‘in debt with the Treasury’. 157

In the Hospitaller mind, the effective management of a commandery required i) renting at a profit the different lands forming the commandery; ii) ensuring that the tenants did not usurp the Order of any its possessions – lands, trees, animals, or seeds. A contract through which the receiver of Venice Fra

Francesco Boldieri leased for five years the commandery of San Lorenzo, popularly known as della Matone in Montecchio, to the nobleman Domenico dal Bo from Reggio Emilia, sheds light on how a commander administered his commandery. Boldieri was administering the commandery of San Lorenzo in the absence of a commander. He bound the tenant, who paid 1,400 silver ducats a year ground rent, to maintain the commandery in good shape. He had to clear the canals every year and was not allowed to fell any trees, not even the dead ones. For every tree he felled, he would have to plant another one and pay a fine of 2 scudi. Grasslands were not to be overgrazed. When the lease term expired, the tenant had to return to the commander the sum, in cash or in

155 AOM 1679, p.559; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 171. 156 Ennio Poleggi, ‘Proprietà e Paesaggio Urbano Cabrei degli Ospedalieri (Secc XVI-XVII)’, in Cavalieri di San Giovanni e territorio: La Liguria tra Provenza e Lombardia nei secoli XIII- XVII , ed. Josepha Costa Restagno (Genoa 1999), 32. 157 AOM 1679, p.559.

138 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY kind, equivalent to the value of animals, wheat, and seeds that he had received from Boldieri.158

The onus of improving a commandery did not necessarily imply taking measures to increase the returns of a commandery. As a minimum, it was enough for a commander to take the necessary measures to prevent the deterioration of a commandery, 159 as did Boldieri. Yet, the Order expected commanders to invest in their commandery to increase its returns, and the improvement of one’s commandery increased the chance of a promotion to a wealthier commandery. 160 Some Hospitallers did their best to improve their commandery. The commander of Modica and Randazzo, Fra Landi recovered some rents, which had been lost to the Order, and spent 300 Sicilian uncie on repairs, although the revenues accruing from the commandery barely offered him an income to scrape a living. 161

Others were not ready to go to such pains, especially as the expenses for improving a commandery and carrying out the cabreo were to be borne by the commander himself. 162 Caravita, in his Trattato delle Commende , reflected on the animated discussion among members of the Order on the limits and responsibilities befalling a Hospitaller being awarded a commandery. 163

Between 1612 and 1654, the Order felt it necessary to take measures to oblige commanders to better the state of their commanderies and perform the statutory cabreo at least once every 25 years, increasing the penalties meted out to

158 AOM 951, ff.2r-9v. 159 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 81; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 91-2. 160 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 80. 161 AOM 6568, ff.189-190, 193r-194v 162 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 81.

139 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY defaulters. The general chapter of 1603 stipulated that Spanish Hospitallers who failed to better their commanderies or carry out the cabreo , would have to pay double their customary responsions. 164 The fact that the decree was specifically targeted against Spanish Hospitallers suggests that a high proportion of Spanish Hospitallers were failing to better their estates, notwithstanding the pressure that Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt had been putting on priors since 1602 to ensure that commanderies were bettered to maximise revenues for the Order. 165 The following general-chapter, which met in 1631, extended the decree to include all Hospitallers administering an estate belonging to the Order, not merely those responsible for Spanish estates. 166

According to the decrees of the general chapter of 1631, Hospitallers who did not carry out any improvements on their commandery were forfeiting their eventual claims to a wealthier commandery, given that before acceding to a new commandery, a Hospitaller had to present proofs of the improvements that he had carried out on his previous commandery. 167 Yet, it would appear that not only was the practice not curtailed; it was becoming more general and habitual.

On 11 May 1654, the ordinary council decreed that henceforth, commanders who failed to honour their statutory obligations by carrying out the cabreo or

163 Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery’, 82. 164 AOM 294, f105r. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 171. 165 Then, Wigniacourt had taken measures to ensure that the priors visited the estates situated within their priories and order the commanders to better their commanderies. AOM 100, ff.248v-9r. The fact that the ordinance issued in 1612 target Spanish commanders suggests that most commanders in the non-Spanish nations ameliorated the holdings under their administration, while a large proportion of Spanish priors, bailiff’s and commanders required an extra stimulus to compel them to better their estates! 166 AOM 1679, p.559; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 171. 167 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 171.

140 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY the miglioramenti would be considered debtors with the Treasury and lose their seniority.168

The bailiff of Negro Ponte, Fra Eduardo da Costa, was declared to be in debt with the Treasury for such reason. On 22 August 1722, he was not allowed to accede to the opulent commandery of Oliveria de Hospital in

Portugal; he was also declared ‘a debtor with the Treasury’, because in 1706 he had not carried out the cabreo over the commandery of Torres Novas u Torres

Vedvas, also in Portugal. Seventeen years earlier, in 1705, da Costa had been promoted to the wealthier commandery of Tavora, another Portuguese commandery. He thus vacated the commandery of Torres Novas u Torres

Vedvas, which was granted to another Portuguese Hospitaller, Fra Almeyda.

As in 1705 the commandery of Tavora was under the ‘mortuary and vacancy’, 169 Da Costa did not assume responsibility for its administration immediately. Instead, he retained the revenues accruing from the commandery of Torres Novas u Torres Vedvas for another year. The cabreo of the latter commandery was due in January 1706. Da Costa claimed that it had to be paid by Almeyda, as the latter was the new administrator of the commandery, notwithstanding the fact that Almeyda had not yet received a penny from its revenues! The Sacra Rota Romana , the Papal court to which the members of the Order could appeal in the last instance, to whom the parts finally appealed, decided otherwise. It reasoned that the Hospitaller who was receiving the

168 AOM 118, ff.226r-v. 169 The revenues accruing from a commenda during the period ranging from the death of a Hospitaller until the following 30 April were called the muorturio , and accrued to the Treasury. So did the revenues accruing during the following year, (between the 1 May and the 30 April), known as the vacante .

141 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY revenues from the commandery should carry out the cabreo . Da Costa was declared in debt with the Treasury, and consequently could not be promoted to the commandery of Oliveria de Hospital. ‘Although the Order received no money, the Hospitaller who failed to carry out the cabreo was a debtor of the

Treasury and hence could not enjoy his seniority’. 170

The Treasury was responsible for the administration carried out by

Hospitaller officials who managed the Order’s money. This transpires from the fact that these officials submitted a financial statement of their administration to the Camera dei Conti or the venerable procurators of the Treasury. The general chapter of 1583 decreed that all Hospitallers administering the

Treasury’s assets had to submit their accounts to the Camera dei Conti within six months after their term of office had expired. They would otherwise be considered ‘debtors with the Treasury’, and lose their seniority.171 Besides loss of seniority, receivers also risked incarceration. 172 Officials who carried out their duties in Italy were expected to settle their accounts within six months from the day on which they ended their term of office, and within eight months for those in France, Spain, or Germany. 173

As shown in Chapter 3, 174 officials managing the Treasury’s assets presented also an interim financial statement, on a monthly or semestral basis. In 1642, the ordinary council decreed that receivers and the procurators of the Treasury fuor di Convento who failed to submit their accounts to the Camera dei Conti

170 AOM 6568, ff.179v-180r. 171 AOM 291, ff.50v-51r. 172 AOM 291, f.52v. 173 AOM 1679 p.547, 555; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149. 174 See above page 67.

142 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY by the September (those based in Italy), St Martinmas – November (those in

Spain) or Christmas – December (those of Portugal, Germany and Bohemia) would incur a penalty of 100 scudi. 175 Hospitallers who held office in Convent who did not submit their accounts within a month from the end of the calendar year were considered ‘in debt with the Treasury for not paying the responsions’, 176 meaning that they automatically lost their seniority and were liable for all the punishments meted out to debtors. Receivers, procurators of the Treasury fuor di Convento , and ambassadors who did not submit their accounts at the end of their term of office incurred the same penalty. 177

Receivers and the procurators of the Treasury fuor di Convento , both of who received money on behalf of the Treasury, were perennially in debt with the

Treasury by virtue of their office. In the sixteenth century, the Order’s receivers used bilateral bookkeeping (keeping revenues and expenditure on separate pages, generally the revenues and debts on the left-hand page, and the expenditure and credits on the right-hand page) to keep record of the money that they managed on behalf of the Treasury. 178 Money received on behalf of the Treasury, such as responsions, passaggi , rents from the mortuaries and vacancies, fines and money earned from the sale of goods forming part of the spogli were entered into their ledgers on the debit side (as per accounting

175 AOM 114, f.27v-28r. 176 AOM 114, ff.27v-28r. 177 AOM 1679 pp.547, 555; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 149. 178 The ledgers of the Receptory of Rome for the 1590s suggest that the receiver used the double entry system to keep stock of which Hospitallers were in debt because of the Responsions, but the evidence is too fragmentary to allow any generalisation. What can be ascertained is that both in Rome and in Malta accounts were kept according to the bilateral system. OSJ 535, 625, 626. Use of the double entry system is also discernible in the report sent by the receiver of Venice Fra Francesco Boldieri for the financial year ending in April 1647. AOM 951, ff.10r-15r.

143 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY practices). Expenses made on behalf of the Treasury, such as the responsions dispatched to the Convent, pensions paid to Hospitallers holding a pension over a commandery that was under mortuary or vacancy, money spent on order of the venerable procurators of the Treasury and postage expenses were recorded on the credit side of the ledgers. The ‘debit’ side would be larger than the

‘credit’ side. The credit balance represented the sum that the receiver owed to the Treasury. A case in point was the sixth annual conto , or financial statement, sent by the oft-mentioned receiver of Venice Fra Francesco Boldieri for the financial year running from 1 May 1646 to 30 April 1647, which survived in the Archives of the Order in Valletta among the various papers relating to his spoglio .179 The report shows that on 30 April 1647 Boldieri owed the Treasury

27,936 scudi 1 taro 15 grani. On 15 July 1647, he sent 26,999 scudi 4 tari and

18 grani to the Treasury in Malta on board the Order’s vessel San Giovanni

Battista , carrying forward onto the new fiscal year a debt with the Treasury of

936 scudi 3 tari and 1 grano. This was balanced with some credits and expenses he had incurred on behalf of the Order. 180

Collect money on Administer money Receiver behalf

Treasury Cons.Conv. Submit accounts of the  Figure 3.8: Treasury Relationship of the receiver and the conservatore conventuale with the Treasury

179 AOM 951, ff.10r-15r. 180 AOM 951, ff.10r-15r.

144 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Whereas the receiver was responsible for the Order’s money in the provinces, the conservatore conventuale was responsible for the Order’s money in Convent. The conservatore conventuale had a special relationship with the Treasury. His office required him to keep a detailed account of all the money and goods that were received by the Treasury in Convent, and any money spent. Consequently, his ledgers ( libri di ragione ) were those of the

Treasury, and Hospitallers who were entered in these ledgers as owing money to the Treasury were held as debtors to the Treasury.181 In order to curtail any abuses, as discussed in Chapter 3, 182 the conservatore conventuale could only pay bills issued by the grandmaster and the ordinary council or by the venerable procurators of the Treasury and signed by the secretary to the

Treasury. 183 At the end of his term of office, the conservatore conventuale presented his ledgers to the venerable procurators for verification and approval.

He was liable to refund any payments that he could not prove to have been made on instructions by the grandmaster or the venerable procurators. 184

The relationship between the administrators of the Treasury’s assets and the

Treasury itself had a parallel within the langues. Administrators of the langues, the procurators, like officials who administered the Treasury’s assets, were statutorily expected to submit their accounts at the end of their two-year tenure of office and were liable to refund any unjustified difference between the revenue and expenditure. Administrators who failed to submit their accounts in time, or settle their debts with the langues were considered as debtors with the

181 AOM 1680, p.558. 182 See page 47. 183 AOM 1680, p.557.

145 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Treasury. 185 The accounts were submitted at the langue’s assembly ( collecta ) on the day when the tenure of office expired. The collecta appointed two commissioners who audited the accounts and drew up a report listing the different sources of revenue, expenditures, and debts. Procurator Fra Angelo

Centrino, who administered the Italian langue together with Fra Giocondo

Accarigi, ended his four year-tenure in charge of that langue’s assets on 20

June 1596. Upon being presented with Centrino’s accounts on that day, the assembly of the Italian langue appointed Fra Cola Sciortino and Fra Paolo

Passionisi as auditors. They presented their accounts on 14 June of the following year, showing that Centrino owed the langue 313 scudi 13 grani. The former procurator duly paid his debt four days later, on 18 June. 186

Hospitallers in charge of the administration of a foundation presented their accounts at the end of each financial year in accordance with the will of the founder. While the procurators for the foundation instituted by Fra Ettore

Marulli in 1644 187 to supplement the incomes available to the admiral to provide food for the Italian langue presented their accounts to the assembly of the Italian langue, 188 the administrators of the Claramonte foundations, two of the five Aragonese foundations, submitted their accounts to the ordinary council.189 The founders of the other Aragonese foundations did not specify to whom the grand conservator was required to submit his accounts, but in 1621, the Camera dei Conti was instructed to watch over their administration and

184 AOM 1679, p.552; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 148. 185 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 155; AOM 1679, p.561. 186 AOM 2127, ff.200r-201r. 187 AOM 114, ff.206v-208r. 188 AOM 114, ff.206v-208r.

146 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY keep a ledger to record their incomes. 190 A procurator became a debtor of the foundation that he administered if he failed to submit its annual accounts on time. He would be condemned as ‘debtor with the Treasury’ and lose his seniority. A case in point is provided by the litigation, initiated by the

Aragonese Hospitallers Fra Vincenzo Carroz, Fra Martino de Sese, and Fra

Giovanni Belva against the grand conservator Fra Hyacinto Perez Arnal. On 29

May 1644, the plaintiffs maintained that Arnal had not submitted the accounts of the Aragonese foundations for which he was responsible, and consequently could not be elected to the post of conventual bailiff. The ordinary council refuted their claim on the grounds that a Hospitaller who owed money to a foundation, or failed to submit its accounts, did not lose his seniority ipso facto .

That penalty was only incurred after the council had pronounced itself on the matter and condemned the debtor as incapace .191

3.4 Structures at work: The reaction to members’ debts

Debts with the Treasury could be huge. Between 1604 and 1609, Hospitallers settled about 46,000 scudi a year in debts with the Treasury. 192 The source under review, namely the aforementioned report on the state of the Order’s finances presented to the general chapter of 1612 does not quantify the total amount of debts owed to the Treasury. It merely states that there were massive debts, which could be recovered ‘using due diligence’. 193 It is impossible to

189 AOM 2189, 73r. 190 AOM 2189, f119r. 191 AOM 114, f. 210v. 192 AOM 1002, ff.157v-158r. 193 ‘Usandovisi debita diligentia ’ AOM 1002, ff.159v.

147 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY arrive at an exact computation of the amount owed to the Treasury in those years. The revenue earned from the spogli of different Hospitallers was by its nature extraordinary, varying from year to year. Other sources of income, such as the passaggi , the payment of fines, and donations were also variable.

Assuming that the amount of responsions due to the Treasury between 1604 and 1609 remained the same as that quoted by Alison Hoppen for 1594, the

Treasury should, in theory, have earned about 151,734 scudi in responsions each year. 194 In the five years under consideration, the average yearly amount of responsions paid was in fact 124,961 scudi. This suggests that on average each year there were approximately 26,773 scudi in responsions that were not paid, or 17.6 percent of all responsions. That amount of defaulted responsions also amounted to 6.4 percent of the Treasury’s annual expenditure. Although an approximation, this amount hints that the amount of money owed to the Order could at times be considerable. It should also be observed that this approximation does not include debts on account of the tavole and the soldea , money owed to the spogli of deceased Hospitallers as well as incurred because of other defaulted payments to the Treasury and debts with the different entities within the Hospitaller structure that had a separate fiscal and judicial personality. Also excluded are the unquantifiable ‘debts’ of Hospitallers who failed to fulfil the administrative duties pertaining to their office, such as carrying out the necessary repairs, or drawing up the cabreo on one’s commandery. A hint at the magnitude of debts with the Treasury can be

194 This figure is obtained by adding up the 61,734 scudi earned by the Treasury from ordinary incomes (responsions) and the two impositions decreed in 1574 and 1583 for 40,000 and 50,000 scudi respectively. Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order’, 111.

148 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY obtained from the fact that between 1604 and 1609, the Treasury earned a yearly average of 47,709 scudi 2 tari 14 grani over interest on debts owed by

Hospitallers. This amounted to 11.7 percent of the average yearly income of the Order in those five years! 195

All other things being equal, in fiscal terms, a debtor has everything to win and nothing to lose by persisting in debt. One has full usufruct over money that belongs to others, and unless exogenous pressures are exerted on him, there exists no reason why he should pay that money to the legitimate owner. Moral precepts (such as ‘it is wrong to keep for oneself what belongs to others’) and the ensuing sense of guilt, monetary pressures (such as interest rates) and the force of law with the punishments meted out in accordance with legal measures, are such pressures aimed at forcing debtors to pay such dues.

Within the Order of St John, all three pressures mentioned in the preceding paragraph were exerted to entice Hospitallers to pay their dues to the Treasury.

Hospitallers were admonished that the Order of St John, as a religious institution, was a ‘Temple of Christ’. Given the Order’s statutory commitment to the poor and the sick, its money, in spiritual reality, belonged to them, not to the individual Hospitallers. By not paying their dues to the Treasury, members of the Order would be usurping the money from ‘Christ’s poor’, with the consequent spiritual censure that such behaviour incurred before God. 196 The statutes warned Hospitallers that any infringement of the Rule ‘lays an obligation on body and soul, whereas the transgression of the statutes and customs binds only to bodily pains, unless in cases where the law of God or the

195 AOM 1002, ff.157v-158r.

149 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY holy canons enjoin or forbid the same thing, on pain of sin’. 197 Robbing money from the church, or from any ecclesiastical institution such as the Order of St

John, contravened canon law and consequently incurred mortal sin. 198

Moral pressures and spiritual penalties impinged on the individual

Hospitaller and his relationship with his Creator. They were incurred

‘automatically’ and did not require any human intervention. One was either in sin, or not in sin, and judgement, together with spiritual punishment, was God’s competence. Besides, punishment was only meted out after one’s death, and there could always be the possibility that an indebted Hospitaller redeemed himself on his deathbed, and thus escaped Divine punishment.

More worldly punishments were required however to compel Hospitallers to pay their dues on time. Until 1660, the Treasury charged a five percent interest on all defaulted payments. The charge aimed at making good for the interests that the Order itself had to pay on loans that it was compelled to take because

Hospitallers had failed to pay their dues in time. By 1660, according to

Caravita, the Order had paid all loans that it had contracted with third parties.

As it was not burdened with any interests, on 14 May 1660, the ordinary council decided that henceforth, debtors of the Treasury were freed from the five percent interest charged on their debts. 199

Apart from the interest, the statutes also explicitly identified a number of punishments to be meted out at debtors, ranging from the prohibition to teach novices to the confiscation of one’s property, from the loss of seniority to

196 AOM 6432, ff.158v et seq . 197 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 8. 198 AOM 6432, ff.158v et seq .

150 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY defrocking and excommunication. Yet, laws (and one may add court precedents which, since the Middle Ages, in the western legal tradition, had the same force as law 200 ), on their own have the same utility as moral and spiritual precepts. Unless complimented by an efficient system that ensures that they are obeyed and offences against the law are punished, laws serve no purpose.

Questions arise here on how the Order had put to use its legislative and judicial structures to ensure that the statutes and ordinances requiring payment to the

Treasury were obeyed and on what remedial or retributive measures it took against defaulters.

Before approaching those questions, it is essential to understand that in dealing with an indebted Hospitaller, the Treasury assumed two roles befitting its two arms: the administrative and the judicial. It was simultaneously the creditor who was owed money and the arbiter who decided on the course of action through which it would recover its dues. In the latter role, the ordinary council assisted the Treasury. The Order’s use of its structures to ensure that the statutes and ordinances requiring payment to the Treasury were obeyed and the remedial or retributive action it took against defaulters will both be analysed in terms of the two roles played by the Treasury.

199 AOM 1679, pp.531-2. 200 Frederic Cheyette, ‘Choice of Law in Medieval France’, in Essays in Legal History: Interrelationship of Legal History and Social Sciences , in Essays in Legal History in Honour of Justice Felix Frankfurter , ed. M. Forkosch (Indianapolis, 1966), 481-496, 494.

151 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

The Treasury as a creditor:

Recognition, admonition, and notification of debtors

The Treasury’s reaction to a default in payment (by a Hospitaller) can be divided into three: i) formal recognition of the debt; ii) official warning of the

Hospitaller of his default; and iii) action taken to recover what was its due.

A Hospitaller was considered to be in debt with the Treasury if he appeared to have failed a payment according to the Treasury’s ledgers, 201 or in those of any of its officials responsible for receiving payment on behalf of the

Treasury; 202 that is the receiver and the conservatore conventuale . They had to note down in their ledgers any payment that they received on behalf of the

Treasury and issue receipts to the Hospitallers who effected payment. A report on the duties pertaining to receivers penned by the general chapter of 1598 and annotated by the secretary of the Treasury Fra Giocondo Accarigi (1604-24 203 ) stated that receivers were expected to keep lists of debtors who owed money to the Treasury in their accounting ledgers. Lists were separate, according to the nature of the debt: responsions, spogli , and so on. 204 Likewise, the conservatore conventuale held a list of debtors in Convent. 205 Full thrust was given to the ledgers held by these officials. 206 In line with pre-Enlightenment legal precepts, within the Order of St John in the historical period under review, if a

Hospitaller was entered as a debtor in the ledgers of the Treasury’s officials, he

201 AOM 1679, p.542. 202 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 41; AOM 1679, p.578. 203 Domnic Cutajar, and Carmel Cassar, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta: An insight into the Administration of the Comun Tesoro’ in Mid-Med Bank Limited, Report and Accounts (Malta 1983), 22-32, 32. 204 AOM 6402, f.378v. 205 See AOM 906-7 and AOM 910-915 for the years 1755 to 1780. 206 AOM 1679, p.581.

152 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY was considered guilty until he could prove his innocence. 207 This precept lay at the basis of a sentence pronounced by the Camera dei Conti on 29 October

1667 against Fra Radat, who held the priory of Lombardy in lease from its

Prior Bonifacio Aiazza. The receiver of Turin, Fra Roero, had informed the

Treasury (in Convent) that Radat had failed to pay his annual responsions for the year ending April 1667. Radat claimed that he had paid his dues. The

Camera confirmed Radat as debtor until he could prove his position, arguing that he appeared so in the Treasury’s ledgers, as well as in those of the receiver. 208

A Hospitaller who was widely known to owe money to the Treasury was held to be in debt with that institution even if his debt was not recorded in the ledgers of the Treasury’s officials. 209 In that case, public knowledge made up for the lacuna in the official documentation, which was probably due to a scribal error. Obviously, such errors were more often than not an exception.

One such an exception occurred in 1618 when the Camera dei Conti recognised that Fra Gonsalvo Mendez de Vasconcellos owed the Treasury 37 scudi, even though according to the ledgers of the conservatore conventuale he was not in debt. In its ruling the Camera argued that it was a known fact that

Vasconcellos was in debt with the spoglio of Fra Emanuele de Quebedo and hence a debtor to the Treasury. 210

207 AOM 1679 p.581. It was only in the mid-eighteenth century that Cesare Beccaria introduced the legal maxim that ‘no man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty’, (Cesare Beccaria. ‘On Crimes and Punishments’, in www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod.18beccaria.html ) and it took until the end of the century before that precept was introduced into European legal systems as a result of the spread of the enlightenment. 208 AOM 1679, pp.584-5. 209 AOM 1679, pp.539. 210 AOM 106, ff.82r, 86r, 89r-v, 98r-99r; AOM 112, ff.99v, 134v-135r.

153 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Recognition of a debt, whether through the ledgers of the Treasury’s officials, or through public knowledge, was followed by the admonition of the debtor to effect payment. After ascertaining that a Hospitaller was in debt,

Treasury officials had to draw his attention to the situation. The receiver had to admonish three times the Hospitaller who failed to pay his responsions before proceeding to the confiscation of the entire debtor’s property. 211 Other Treasury officials, including the conservatore conventuale , also had to warn each

Hospitaller who fell in debt, though neither Caravita nor the Ordinary

Council’s minutes specify the number of times. A Hospitaller who was not notified of his debt could not be penalised. On 26 August 1657, the prior of

Barletta, Fra Francesco Piccolomini, was allowed to contest the election of the magistracy eventually won by the Aragonese Hospitaller Fra Martino de Redin, notwithstanding that he was ‘in debt with the Treasury, because he had not been notified of his debt. 212 As already pointed out, 213 according to the ordinary council decree of 11 May 1654, a Hospitaller who failed to carry out the cabreo , as was the case with Piccolomini, was not entitled to seek promotion.

The procurator of the Treasury, Balthassar de Amico sought to impede

Piccolomini’s candidature because the latter had failed both to carry out the cabreo and to better his priory of Barletta. Moreover, Piccolomini did not pay the penalty of double responsions imposed on him by the ordinary council on

23 March 1653. Yet, the ordinary council upheld the argument of

Piccolomini’s procurator, Fra Fabritio Calligola, who claimed that de Amico’s

211 AOM 1679 p.537; AOM 114, ff.128v-130r. 212 AOM 120, f.65v. 213 See above page 141.

154 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY plea could not hold because Piccolomini had not been notified of his debt and of the penalties that such debt could have incurred. 214

The admonition was an integral part of the Order’s reaction to the debt of any one of its members with the Treasury. It ensured that the indebted

Hospitaller knew about his debt and about the penalties that persistence in debt would have incurred. That way, the indebted Hospitaller could not claim either to have forgotten payment, or ignorance of the statutes. The admonition also showed that the official of the Treasury had the interests of the Order at heart and sought to recover the money due to the institution. The failure of an official of the Treasury to issue such a warning could result in great harm to the

Order. A Hospitaller could fail to pay his dues or fulfil the duties pertaining to his office, and emerge scot free, as was the case with Piccolomini.

In order to curtail such abuses, the general chapter of 1555 decreed that a receiver who failed to warn a Hospitaller of his debts would assume responsibility for such debts. He would have to fork them out himself. 215 The

Order thus ensured that the Treasury was paid all its dues. It also sought to entice the receivers to fulfil their duty and warn debtors to pay their dues.

Abuses however were still perpetrated about a century later, and on 26

September 1643, the ordinary council increased the penalty meted out to receivers who failed to admonish debtors in time. Henceforth, such receivers would be condemned to pay double the amount of the debt. 216 On 14 March

1654, the Camera dei Conti decreed that the former receiver of Palermo, Fra

214 AOM 120, f.65v. 215 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 40. 216 AOM 114, f.129v.

155 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Carlo Valdina, mentioned above, 217 had to pay double the amount of responsions due from Fra Ignatio Denti, over the Sicilian commandery of

Bezzini for the year ending April 1652. He was also condemned to pay 465 ducats that the Barons of Vavella (?), Vincenzo, Bavo and Cordica owed to the spoglio of the prior of Messina, Fra Berzetti. In both cases, Valdina had not sought payment on behalf of the Treasury. 218

Upon being admonished about their debt, Hospitallers had a six-month period within which to settle their accounts. 219 Those who persisted in debt were automatically summoned to Convent, where they would have been within reach of the Treasury’s judicial arm. Italian Hospitallers had to turn up in

Convent within three months. French, German and Spanish Hospitallers were allowed nine months. 220

At the same time, the receiver informed the venerable procurators of the

Treasury that a Hospitaller was in debt. It was necessary, of course, that the debt of a Hospitaller was known in Convent. The ordinary council could order a receiver to confiscate the possessions of an indebted Hospitaller. 221 It was the same council which ratified promotions to opulent commanderies, and elected the Order’s officials, while the assemblies of the langues, also meeting in

Convent, decided which commanders would accede to vacated commanderies.

217 See above page 375. 218 AOM 666, ff.134v-135v. 219 Two months according to Caravita, six months according to the decrees of the Complete Council. AOM 1679, pp.532-3; AOM 115, f.139r. 220 AOM 114, f.133v. 221 It was a duty of the receiver to decide to confiscate the possessions of a Hospitaller who fell in debt with the Treasury in obedience to Statutes 19 and 20 ‘Of the Treasury’. AOM 6402, f379v. Yet, at times, the ordinary council took matters in its own hands. AOM 1679, p.518-9. See page 166.

156 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Two statutes required receivers to notify the Order’s officials in Convent about Hospitallers who found themselves in debt with the Treasury. According to one statute enacted during the magistracy of Fra Philibert de Naillac (1396-

1421), receivers were required to submit their accounts to the Convent, noting all money receipts. 222 The general chapter of 1555 explicitly decreed that the receivers were to give notice ‘of all those who had not paid’. 223

Receivers passed this information to the venerable procurators of the

Treasury, who in conjunction with the grand commander, were responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Treasury. Only when a Hospitaller’s debt with the Treasury was known to the venerable procurators could remedial action be taken.

The Order’s hierarchical structure discussed in Chapter 3, and which allowed the flow of revenue from the commanderies to the Convent, allowed a parallel flow of information about indebted Hospitallers.

When a Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury, whether for failing to pay the responsions by the feast of St John the Baptist on 24 June, for not paying the passaggio , or for failing to settle his debts with the spoglio of a fellow

Hospitaller, information flowed from the receiver or the conservatore conventuale through the venerable procurators of the Treasury to the ordinary council. This flow of information, represented in Figure 3.10, allowed the

Treasury, in its role as a creditor of the indebted Hospitaller, to recognise the latter’s debts and be in a position to take remedial action.

222 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 39.

157 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Receiver/ Camera dei Conservatore. Notified of Conti Conventual failed payment

Sought Imposed Procurators castigation Admonished Failed of the punishment and confiscated Payment Treasury possessions on behalf

Published lists of debtors

Hospitaller Ordinary Imposed punishment Council

 Figure 3.9 Order’s reaction to the debt of a Hospitaller with the Treasury

Judgement, punishment and remedial action

The Order’s remedial action served four main functions: i) to ensure that the

debt with the Treasury was settled to the latter’s satisfaction; ii) to serve as a

deterrent; iii) to act as a means of retribution; and iv) to provide for societal

protection. 224 What follows is a discussion of each if these four functions in

terms of the penalties contemplated in such matters. First, the historical

evolution of such punishments will be discussed. This will pave the way to an

analysis of how each penalty came into being, and what the Order achieved by

implementing it.

The Order’s reaction to the debt of its members with the Treasury

underwent a drastic evolution between the eleventh and seventeenth centuries.

The harsh, brutal punishments contemplated by Du Puy’s Rule ,225 which dated

223 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 39. 224 Modern sociologists add a fourth in their analysis of punishment, namely rehabilitation, which notion did not exist before the emergence of the social sciences in the nineteenth century. 225 King, Rules , 22; www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_ rule.htm .

158 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY back to the first half of the eleventh century, gradually began to make way to the complex yet more humane punishments meted out in the seventeenth century. Not unlike the changes undergone by the Treasury’s structure, 226 most changes were made in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with the minor

‘fine-tunings’ being decreed in the seventeenth century.

Du Puy’s Rule , which required all Hospitallers to hand over to the master any property which they had or alms they collected, stated that a brother found in possession of private property would have ‘his money tied round his neck.

He would be led naked through the Hospital in Jerusalem and the other houses of the Order in which he dwelt. He would be beaten severely by another brother, and do penance for forty days, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays on bread and water’. 227

In the following centuries, most statues and decrees issued by the different general-chapters emphasised the duty of Hospitallers in charge of administering the Order’s assets to send responsions to the Convent, and not to alienate Hospitaller property. 228 Only one penalty transpires addressed to those who failed to send their responsions to the Treasury, and it was repealed in

1302. Until then, Hospitallers who defaulted were recalled to the Convent. 229 In

1291, the Order was expelled from Acre and moved temporarily to the

Kingdom of Cyprus. Possibly, it could have been felt inconvenient at this particular point in time to summon so many men to the temporary Convent.

Indeed, it would appear that the statute repealing the practice of recalling

226 For a discussion of the changes made to the treasury’s structure see page 42. 227 King, Rules , 22; http://www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_rule.htm . 228 King, Rules , passim.

159 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY indebted Hospitallers was somewhat apologetic towards defaulters. Rather than seeking ways to extract the statutory payment, it now allowed indebted

Hospitallers a way out: they could send ‘a genuine excuse’, witnessed by seven other Hospitallers, to justify their default.

Default in the payment of responsions continued unabated in the following centuries. Notwithstanding various statutes, reiterated by one general chapter after another throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, requiring

Hospitallers to send their responsions to the Convent in Rhodes (where the

Order settled in 1307), debts remained huge. Exasperation with the inefficiency of the priors to remit the responsions to the Convent led to the posting of receivers in every priory in 1365. 230 This notwithstanding, the payment of responsions from the West remained, to say the least, inefficient and marred by irregular payments, 231 compelling the Order to seek new sources of income ranging from heavier impositions on commanderies to trading in pepper. 232

Appeals by Pope Eugenius IV to the Order’s officials in the West to send their responsions to Rhodes were to no avail. 233 Neither did the reshuffle of the

Treasury under Grandmaster Jean de Lastic (1437-54) increase the Treasury’s efficiency in collecting its dues. 234 The Order was therefore compelled to take drastic action against defaulters. During Lastic’s magistracy, the first of a number of statutes aimed at compelling commanders to pay their dues to the

229 King, Rules , 126. 230 King, Rules ; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 67, (1365). 231 Jürgen Sarnowsky, ‘‘The Rights of the Treasury’: the Financial Administration of the Hospitallers on Fifteenth Century Rhodes, 1421-1522’, in The Military Orders: Welfare and Warfare , ed. Helen Nicholson, ii (Hampshire 1998), 267-274, 268. 232 Sarnowsky, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’, 271-2. 233 Sarnowsky, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’, 271. 234 For a discussion of the changes to the Treasury’s structure made under Lastic, see page 43.

160 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Treasury was enacted. Receivers were instructed to deprive Hospitallers, failing to pay their responsions on time, of their commanderies, and proceed against them ‘as disobedient and rebellious persons. 235 Rebellious Hospitallers were defrocked and expelled from the Order. 236 Continued exasperation with the strain put on the Order’s financial resources by Hospitallers who did not pay their dues to the Treasury led the general chapter of 1471 to reiterate the decree requiring debtors of the Treasury to be deprived of their commanderies adding that these commanderies would be offered to those Hospitallers who were prepared to pay the defaulter’s debts. 237 In 1472, the prior of Castile, Fra

Giovanni Valenzuola was deprived of his priory because he had failed to pay his responsions. His priory was awarded to Fra Alvaro di Stuniga who immediately paid Valenzuola’s debts. 238 Similarly, three years later, in 1475, the prior of Aragon, Fra Bernardo Ugo di Roccalentin was deprived of his priory because he was ‘a very bad debtor’ ( pessimo pagatore ). In delivering its judgement, the general chapter decreed that the priory would be given to anyone, including a secular person, who offered to pay Roccalentin’s debts. 239

The last fifty years of the Order’s presence on Rhodes were marked by an escalation of belligerent Ottoman military activity in the area. The island itself was besieged twice, in 1480 and 1522. The Order was forced to strengthen its defences by committing increasing resources to the island’s fortifications, the

235 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 40. 236 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 107. 237 In that year, the Order was found to be in debt for 120,000 scudi. The general-chapter unequivocally attributed these debts to Hospitallers who did not pay their dues to the Treasury, (mal paganti ). Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 263 (1471). 238 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 265 (1472). 239 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 285 (1475).

161 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY acquisition of supplies, and the hiring of troops. 240 Increased financial strain on the Order’s balance of payments, and the persistent difficulties in obtaining revenues from the West compelled Grandmaster Giovanni Battista Orsini

(1467-76) to introduce the concept of incapacità in the statutes. 241 This precluded debtors from acceding to a more opulent commandery or major office. Eventually, the general chapter of 1476 added that indebted Hospitallers could not grant a membro or a pension. 242

In 1530, the Order settled in Malta. Here it was again in a dire financial situation owing to the eight-year crisis following its loss of Rhodes, the expenses incurred to settle down in Vittoriosa, Malta’s poor medieval maritime town, to construct the necessary administrative buildings, and defend it in the best possible way. 243 In 1532 king Henry VIII forbade the payment of responsions by English commanderies, 244 ordering their confiscation by Act of

Parliament in 1540, 245 increasing the strain on the Order’s finances. Each general chapter between 1533 and 1565 decreed new impositions to supplement the responsions. 246 These were accompanied by more stringent measures against defaulters of responsions. A statute enacted during the magistracy of Jean de Homedes (1536-53), stated that a Hospitaller had to settle his debts before a commandery or office, to which he could be promoted,

240 Housley, The Later Crusade , 227-8. 241 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 35. 242 Bosio Dell’ Istoria , ii, 289, (1476). 243 J. Q. Hughes, The Building of Malta during the period of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem 1530-1795 (London 1956), 14-17, 127 et seq . 244 Hannibal P. Scicluna, The Book of Deliberations of the Venerable Tongue of England, 1523- 1567 , (Malta, 1949), xxiv. 245 E.J. King, The Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England: A Short History , (London 1924), 80.

162 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY became vacant. 247 In the 1550s, the Order was faced with an imminent threat from the Ottomans. It also needed to strengthen Malta’s fortifications after the debacle of 1551, when a Turkish flotilla sailed unopposed into Marsamxett harbour, raided the island’s countryside, besieged Mdina and depopulated the island of Gozo. Shortly after, it besieged Tripoli and captured it. Faced with the endemic situation of shortage of revenue in Convent, and the commanders’ failure to pay the responsions on time, the general chapter of 1555 increased the penalties for would-be debtors. It enacted five new statutes (statutes 19, 27,

39, 44, 50 ‘of the Treasury’) reiterating the duty of the receiver to recover the responsions, giving him the power to confiscate the estates of Hospitallers who forfeited payment. 248 In doing so, it established in Hospitaller legislation the concept of the sequestro , the temporary seizure of different sources of income, primarily estates, currently under the care of the indebted Hospitaller. The receiver stationed in the priory where the indebted Hospitaller’s estates were situated, confiscated the different sources of incomes 249 and retained all revenues on behalf of the Treasury until the latter had been satisfied. 250 The forceful manner with which the general chapter of 1555 introduced the concept of the sequestro into Hospitaller legislation suggests that default in the payment of responsions had almost become habitual practice. Only drastic action, it was hoped, could redress the situation.

246 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 121 (1533), 184 (1539), 226 (1543), 254 (1548), 358 (1555), 402 (1558), 495 (1565) . 247 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 35. 248 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 33-40. 249 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 33; AOM 1679, p.503. 250 AOM 1679, p.518-9.

163 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

The Order’s financial needs multiplied with the long siege of 1565 and the decision, taken shortly afterwards, to build a new city, Valletta. The situation necessitated again extra impositions on the commanderies, which were in turn accompanied by stricter penalties for Hospitallers who failed to pay their dues to the Treasury. A statute enacted under the magistracy of Jean de la Cassiere

(1572-81) widened the concept of incapacità to preclude Hospitallers from participating in the different assemblies of the Order: general-chapters, the council (in both its complete and ordinary composition), the Camera dei Conti , the assemblies within the langues and the provincial-chapters. Neither, from now on, were indebted Hospitallers allowed to vote for the election of the grandmaster. 251 This statute, according to an interpretation given by the ordinary council in 1646, also required the venerable procurators to publish lists of those Hospitallers who found themselves in debt with the Treasury, and to have these lists revised and updated regularly, on a monthly basis. The vice- chancellor presented these lists at the meetings of the ordinary and complete council, handing them to the maestro scudiero . The latter reminded

Hospitallers indebted with the Treasury who wished to participate in the

Council, of their debts, which forbade them from participating. These lists were also sent to the langues and priories with the same objective in mind. 252 From

1650, these lists were hung in the vice-chancellor’s office, in the Camera dei

Conti , and ‘in whichever other place, in the langues and priories, where an assembly of members of the Order could convene’. 253

251 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 34. 252 AOM 115, f.139r. 253 AOM 1679, p.527.

164 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

The general chapter of 1603 ‘introduced’ the last new penalty for

Hospitallers who fell in debt with the Treasury. It decreed that Spanish

Hospitallers who failed to better their commanderies or carry out the cabreo incurred the onus of paying double their normal responsions. 254 The ‘double responsions’ (doppia responsione ), as this punishment was generally referred to, had originally been introduced into Hospitaller legislation by the general chapter of 1555 against Hospitallers who failed to attend the provincial- council, 255 and consequently it was not meant to address debtors with the

Treasury. The general chapter of 1631 widened the scope of the decree promulgated by the general chapter of 1603 to include all commanders, and not merely the Spanish. 256 The ordinary council, following a lawsuit initiated on behalf of the Treasury by the procuratore delle cause , would apply the ‘double responsions’ penalty to debtors. 257

Effectively, given that the ‘double responsions’ had been originally introduced in 1555, the amendments enacted under la Cassiere to the concept of incapacità , were the last major changes to be made to Hospitaller legislation, in the period under consideration. Subsequent general-chapters merely extended penalties already contemplated for other ‘crimes’. The general chapter of 1631 broadened existing legislation sufficiently to include other debts, such as those with the langues and those for failing to perform one’s duties. 258

254 AOM 294, f105r. 255 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 51. 256 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 171. 257 AOM 1679, p.559. 258 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 141 et seq .

165 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Essentially, the Order’s action was dictated by its financial needs. It could not afford to lose any revenue and by threatening to penalise debtors, it sought to secure payment. The Order aimed to secure payment by seizing the income of the indebted Hospitaller, or by confiscating his property and offering them to whoever was ready to honour his debts instead.

The decision to seize the property of a Hospitaller who failed to pay his responsions pertained to the receiver,259 who was duty-bound to do his utmost to collect revenue owed to the Treasury. Receivers who failed to confiscate the incomes of Hospitallers indebted with the Treasury incurred that debt upon themselves. 260 Yet, occasionally the ordinary council decreed the sequestro . On

15 March 1646, the ordinary council ordered the sequestro of all Hospitaller possessions held by the prior of Bohemia, Fra Rodolfo Coledoon, so that the

Treasury could be satisfied. Coledoon owed it 6,024 florins. 261 The decision was possibly taken by the ordinary council rather than by the receiver because the debt with the Treasury was not caused by a default in the payment of responsions. The council’s minutes do not identify the cause for taking action against Coledoon. 262

259 AOM 6402, f.379; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 33-4. 260 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 38. 261 AOM 115, ff.138r-139v. He was granted six months within which to effect payment. Failure to do so implied an automatic citation in convent. 262 AOM 115, ff.138r-139v. The ordinary council also decreed the sequestro when delivering judgement on debts between two Hospitallers. In that case, the Council was taking away the possessions of the debtor to pay the creditor of his dues. The role of the council was that of an arbiter between two litigants rendering what Aquinas would have called ‘private justice’. On these lines, on 29 October 1609, the Council ordered Fra Georgio Christophoro de Veyntingeg to pay the six years arrears in pensions which he owed to Fra Michele Olicerio within one month. If persisted in debt, all the fruits of his commandery of Honrrein and Reyden were to be confiscated by the receiver of North Germany, until full satisfaction. AOM 101, f.196r. The role of the Ordinary council in such cases does not impinge on the relationship between the Treasury and the Individual, and consequently is only tangential to the scope of this dissertation.

166 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

In order that the Treasury could recover its dues within the shortest time possible, receivers were authorised to seize any source of income pertaining to an indebted Hospitaller, including his patrimonial estates. 263 On these lines, in

January 1656, the venerable procurators instructed the receiver of Milan to confiscate the patrimonial lands of Fra Filippo Ascanio Pettinati, who administered the priory of Lombardy on behalf of the prior Ludovico Melzio.264

Apart from recovering unpaid revenues, the Order’s remedial action against debtors also sought to deter Hospitallers from falling in debt with the Treasury.

This was done by threatening them with losing their seniority. Promotion was always desirable. Apart from increasing one’s prestige and reputation within the Order, promotion offered the Hospitaller the opportunity of acceding to commanderies that are more opulent. The threat represented by the ‘loss of seniority’ was real and led Hospitallers to borrow money from different sources in order to pay their dues on time. As quoted above, in 1737, Prior

Alessandro Ballatti died in debt with Fra Giuseppe Reitano of approximately

185 scudi, which he had borrowed to pay his responsions and be in a better position to accede to the bailiwick of San Giovanni a Mare in Naples. 265

By precluding debtors from acceding to commanderies that were more opulent or major offices, the Order was also protecting itself. It ensured that only Hospitallers who were loyal to the Treasury’s assets acceded to higher office where the responsibilities would be greater. Before allocating a commandery, the ordinary council consulted the Treasury’s secretary to verify

263 AOM 1651, ff.173-4; AOM 114, f.129v-130r. 264 AOM 1679, p.508. 265 AOM 946, ff.127r-v.

167 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY that the Hospitaller was not in debt with the Treasury. Examples are numerous.

Between 2 and 6 October 1635, the Order invoked the Treasury’s secretary, Fra

Giacomo Lanzegue, twice to ensure that Hospitallers who were being entrusted with a commandery were not in debt with the Treasury. On 2 October, he ascertained that Fra Francesco Salvaterra could accede to the membro of Plante and Cadeglian, which formed part of the commandery of Montsaunes in

Provence. 266 Four days later, he established that Fra Gabriele d’Orin Ligny could be awarded the commandery of St Catherine, near Nantes in the priory of

Aquitaine. 267

A Hospitaller who owed money to the Treasury could only get a ‘new’ commandery if the commandery that was entrusted to his administration was merged with another commandery. Only one such case has been found in the minutes of the ordinary council. The general chapter of 1581 had decreed that the commanderies of Londoin and Moulins, in Auvergne be united into one commandery. The former was vacant, while Fra Francesco Carboric de

Garidec, who owed the Treasury 155 scudi, held the latter. Fra Giovanni de

Grignon sought to get the commandery of Londoin for himself, arguing that the two commanderies could not be merged, notwithstanding the decision of the general-chapter, because Garidec was in debt with the Treasury, and consequently could not get a new commandery. On 27 April 1582, it was decided that the two commanderies could be united, and held by Garidec. The

266 AOM 111, f.116r. 267 AOM 111, ff.116r, 162-3

168 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY newly formed commandery was thus placed temporarily under sequestro until

Garidec’s debt with the Treasury was settled. 268

By publishing lists of debtors, the Order took retributive action. Hospitallers who owed money to the Treasury were denounced as debtors before their peers, in an age when status and honour were highly valued. Junior

Hospitallers ( fiernaldi ) could quote these lists and seek promotion at the expense of an indebted Hospitaller, who would have lost his seniority. In

January 1638, the French Hospitaller Jacobo de Fresnoy Marigny did exactly that. He sought, and got, the commandery of Moulins at the expense of Fra

Gabriele d’Orin Ligny, his senior, after the Council upheld Marigny’s claim that d’Orin Ligny did not pay in full the responsions over the membro called

Latomer, forming part of the commandery of Chisson.269

Other minor penalties meted out to debtors were essentially aimed to protect the Order. Hospitallers who were in debt with the Treasury were summoned to

Convent. According to a statute enacted during Jean de la Vallette’s magistracy, a Hospitaller who fell in debt with the Treasury was automatically convened to Convent . If he failed to turn up within nine months, the debtor was automatically deprived of his commandery without the need for the receiver to intervene, or any tribunal of the Order to pronounce itself. 270 On the other hand, a 1646 decision by the complete council explains that in practice, Hospitallers were only summoned to convent if they persisted in their debts. Then the council, while ordering the sequestro of all property of Fra Giulio Cesare

268 AOM 96, ff.40v-41r. 269 AOM 106, ff.89r-v; AOM 112, ff.99v, 134v-135r. 270 AOM 1651, p.174-5; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 34.

169 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Vitelli, Fra Gio Bata San Mauritio, the prior of Bohemia Fra Rudolfo

Coledoon, and Fra Gasparo Tancredino, instructed them to pay their dues within six months, adding that if they still refused to pay, they would have to turn up in Convent within the following six months. 271 Once in Convent indebted Hospitallers could not leave until they settled their debts. 272 This ensured that if these debtors persisted in debt they would be within the Order’s reach, and heavier penalties, such as defrocking, expulsion from the Order, or incarceration could be meted out. At the same time, their presence in Convent minimised the risk of escaping from justice without paying their dues. Before leaving Convent, a Hospitaller had to obtain the ordinary council’s permission, 273 which was only granted after the Treasury secretary ascertained that the Hospitaller in question did not owe any money to the Treasury. On 22

January 1594, when the ordinary council was in doubt whether to allow certain

Hospitallers to leave the Convent, it wrote to its receivers in France to check the fiscal status of these members. 274 Towards the mid-seventeenth century, the practice of ensuring that debtors did not leave convent seems to have lapsed. In

December 1645, the ordinary council again insisted that debtors of the

Treasury could not leave the Convent, 275 while seven years later, on 9 August

1652, it ordered Treasury officials to investigate on the alleged departures of certain indebted Hospitallers. 276

271 AOM 115, ff.138v-139r. 272 AOM 1679, p.530. 273 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 104. 274 AOM 98, f.141. 275 AOM 115, f.63. 276 AOM 118, f.33.

170 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Another minor penalty that sought to protect the Order was the prohibition of indebted Hospitallers to teach novices. The minutes of the ordinary council, which took the decision on 24 July 1645, 277 do not reveal the motives behind this decision. Possibly, it was intended to provide the future members of the

Order with a good example!

Persistence in debt translated itself into an escablation of penalties meted at debtors. Here one has to differentiate between the norm before the introduction of the concepts of incapacità and sequestro in the late fifteenth and mid- sixteenth centuries respectively, and the practice in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Until the introduction of the concept of the sequestro by the general chapter of 1555, the permanent confiscation of the estates was the norm. Then, the permanent confiscation of a commandery ensued only if either of two conditions was fulfilled: the indebted Hospitaller did not settle his debt within a specified period or that he had offered resistance to the sequestro .

The Order did not tolerate any resistance from its debtors. When Fra

Giacobo de Massas resisted the attempt of Fra Antonio de Thesan Venasques, receiver of St Gilles, to seize the commanderies of Saliers and St Christopher in Provence, the receiver sought for the intervention of the ordinary council.

On 2 December 1564, it instructed Venasques to confiscate permanently the two commanderies and give them to whoever was willing to pay Massas’s debts. 278 The Order’s statutes gave the receiver the power to confiscate permanently, at will, the estates of any Hospitaller who resisted the

277 AOM 115, f.64r. 278 AOM 91, f.137.

171 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY sequestro .279 Yet, in practice, in order to cover their steps and shed the responsibility on the Convent, receivers sought a decision of the Camera dei

Conti or the ordinary council before confiscating a commandery, as was the case against Massas. 280

The permanent confiscation of a commandery was not common practice in the seventeenth century, so much so that in his treatise on the Treasury drawn up towards the end of that century, Caravita lamented that notwithstanding the multiple decrees by the ordinary council in 1643, 1648 and 1673, ‘the practice was not usually observed’. 281 Fra Giacomo Bonanno seems to have been an exception. In the 1640s 282 the Camera dei Conti decreed that the receiver of

Palermo had to deprive him of his commandery of Moschita, in Caltagirone

(Sicily), because he had failed to pay the responsions for three consecutive years. It was subsequently given to Fra Diego of Palermo, who agreed to honour Bonanno’s debts. Ironically, the latter too fell in debt, and by 1652, he owed the Treasury three year’s responsions. 283

Continued perseverance in debt resulted in incarceration, defrocking and excommunication. These three penalties expressed the exasperation of the

Order with those members who refused to pay their dues, notwithstanding the

279 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 33. 280 AOM 1679, pp.509-510. 281 AOM 1679, p.519; AOM 114, ff.128v-129r; AOM 116, ff.162r-v. 282 The case is referred to AOM 666, f.136v, which does not give an exact date as to when Fra Bonanno was deprived of his commandery. A search in AOM 665, which contains the minutes of the Camera dei Conti 1640s proved futile – indeed it was like searching the proverbial needle in the haystack. 283 AOM 666, f.136v. An ordinary council decree of 5 June 1728, and hence not within the period covered by this dissertation, says that a commandery taken away from the previous holder for persevering in debt had to be awarded to a new incumbent only after eight months had elapsed. This enabled Hospitallers who were interested in acceding to the vacated commandery to know about the vacation, and pay the current incumbent’s debt. This protected

172 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY various intimations and penalties that they incurred. Such penalties were rarely meted out to debtors. Generally, the Treasury recovered its dues when the receiver seized the incomes pertaining to those Hospitallers who were in debt.

Yet, the Treasury could not seize the income of Hospitallers who did not administer a commandery, either because they were too junior to be awarded a commandery, or because they held an administrative post with no estates attached. 284 Imprisonment was meted out to such debtors, following an ultimatum to effect payment. This was the case with Fra Raffaello Tornaquinci and Fra Prospero Valera. On Thursday 15 March 1646 both Italian Hospitallers were allowed ‘until [the following] Sunday’ to pay their debts or be incarcerated at Castel Sant’ Angelo. 285

The most serious penalties imposed on unrepentant debtors were excommunication and defrocking ( privatione dell’ abito ). Under both penalties, the Hospitaller would be ostracised from the Order at a public ceremony after condemnation by the ordinary council. The aim of either form of punishment was to humiliate the debtor in front of the Convent, ultimately seeking to dissuade other Hospitallers from falling in debt.

Given the notions of honour and privilege innate in the noble classes of the ancient regime, the act of defrocking dishonoured the Hospitaller in the presence of fellow Hospitallers, members of the major European noble families. The disdain was double: a noble Hospitaller was expelled from the

Order of St John, and the cause for the defrocking was debt. The ritual through

seniors against the greed of junior Hospitallers who were in convent, and thus in a position to know beforehand of any such vacation. AOM 219, f.56r. 284 AOM 1679, p.533.

173 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY which a debtor was defrocked, in absentia , reflected the different steps that led to the defrocking, and emphasised the failure of the Hospitaller to pay, notwithstanding the many summons of the Treasury.

Two defrocking ceremonies occurred on 13 March 1617. Two Hospitallers in debt with the Treasury: the Italian knight Fra Giovanni Maria Palmieri and the Portuguese servant-at-arms Fra Blasius Suares. Both were defrocked after they had escaped from Convent.286 In both cases, the rite took place during a public assembly of Hospitallers, convened by the peeling of bells at the conventual church of St John in Valletta.

The different steps through which the agents of the Treasury sought to induce the debtor to pay his dues were explained and symbolically reiterated in church. In the preceding months, Fra Palmieri and Fra Suares had been in vain summoned to Convent though various ways. The traditional affixation of notices in the Order’s churches and in the auberges287 was augmented by the sending of letters and by word of mouth. 288 In church, the Treasury secretary, who called the Hospitaller four times, replicated these citations ritually.

Eventually, the defaulter who obviously did not answer the secretary’s calls was declared by the congregated assembly disobedient and rebellious, and then defrocked.

Defrocking was not necessarily permanent; it could be repealed by the ordinary council if the Hospitaller pleaded guilty and settled his debt. Fra

285 AOM 115, ff.138v-139r. 286 AOM 106, ff.84r-v, 87v-88v. 287 AOM 85, f.51. 288 AOM 106, ff.87v-88v.

174 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Palmieri was eventually readmitted into the Order on 28 July 1626 by vice- chancellor Giovanni Francesco Habela. 289

Like the act of defrocking, excommunication humiliated the Hospitaller before God and before fellow members of the Order. Hospitallers were members of a religious institution and by living their three monastic vows, they sought to sanctify their existence on earth. The excommunication of a

Hospitaller plunged him into mortal sin. If one died under excommunication, he forfeited eternal salvation. Besides, an excommunicated person was precluded from participating in the daily life of the church. Excommunication, which was thus simultaneously a social and spiritual penalty, was resorted to as an ultimate form of censure, and not in conjunction with defrocking. The only two cases found when the Order resorted to excommunication against debtors date from before the Order settled in Malta. In 1376, the prior of Portugal, Fra

Alvaro Gonzales, was excommunicated for refusing to pay his responsions, notwithstanding the grandmaster’s and later the pope’s admonitions. 290

Similarly, in 1529, Fra Cesari de Franciotis was excommunicated after failing to respond to the numerous citations to appear in court during a litigation waged by Fra Theodoro de la Colla over the commandery of San Pietro in

Lucca, in Tuscany. 291

289 AOM 106, ff.87v-88v, marginal note. 290 Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 83 (1376). 291 AOM 85, f.51.

175 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Persistence in debt Falling in Warning Court decision debt Second Court decision

Incapacità (for debts with Treasury and Langues)

Incapacità (for debts with foundations etc) Incarceration Double Responsions

Sequestro (for default in responsions) Permanent confiscation of estates Sequestro (for debts over pensions)

5% interest (until 1660) Defrocking

Public Denunciation Excommunication Prohibition of teaching novices

Citation to Convent (according to La Vallette’s Statute.

Penalty takes effect Debt settled Permanent punishment

 Figure 3.10 Summary of punishments meted out to debtors within the Order

3.5 Conclusion

The above discussion allows one to draw a number of conclusions on the

relationship between the Hospitaller and the Treasury, as discernible in those

instances when a Hospitaller fell in debt with that institution.

Essentially that relationship was defined by material necessities. Money

payments made by the Hospitaller to the Treasury, and to a lesser extent by the

Treasury to the Hospitaller created the relationship between the two. The

Hospitaller initiated this relationship when he decided to enter the Order (or

when his family decided that he should enter into the Order in the case of

minors). Until the moment the Hospitaller professed, the Treasury paid him an

176 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY annual clothing allowance and a daily ration of food, while the Hospitaller paid the passaggio before professing. The Treasury continued to pay both the daily food ration and the clothing allowance to each Hospitaller until the latter qualified for the award of a commandery. Then, the Hospitaller was required to send to the Treasury an annual share of the revenue yielded by his commandery, known as the responsions.

The relationship between the Treasury and the Hospitaller moved a step forward when the Hospitaller acceded to a commandery or an office.

Henceforth, the Hospitaller assumed administrative duties towards the

Treasury. If he obtained a commandery, he had to maintain the commandery in good shape, better it and draw up a survey (the cabreo ) on its state every 25 years. If he was appointed in charge one of the different administrative offices, he had to fulfil the duties pertaining to his post. These ranged from the receiver’s duty to do his utmost to collect all the revenues due to the Treasury, to the duty of the administrators of the different departments in Convent to manage discretely the assets being entrusted to their care. Also included was the task of submitting an annual account of one’s administration and a report on one’s administration on terminating one’s tenure of office. As shown in

Chapter 3, Hospitallers entrusted with administrative duties on behalf of the

Treasury were entitled to receive remuneration: Hospitallers, who administered a commandery, kept part of its revenues for themselves; while Hospitaller office holders received a salary from the Treasury.

The relationship between the Treasury and the individual Hospitallers also manifested itself indirectly, through the agency of the langues, the conventual

177 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY church, the several foundations, and other Hospitallers. A Hospitaller could fall in debt with any of these entities either because he failed to honour a payment, or in the case of the langues and foundations, because he failed to fulfil an administrative duty owed to that entity. When a Hospitaller fell in debt with any of those four Hospitaller entities, indirectly he fell in debt with the

Treasury. Logically a relationship must exist in the first place if it can be broken. Consequently, if the relationship between the Treasury and the

Hospitaller was broken when the Hospitaller fell in debt with a langue, with the conventual church, with a foundation, or with a Hospitaller, then these entities must have formed an indirect link in the relationship between the Hospitaller and the Treasury. In order to understand this relationship fully, one can adopt a metaphor from electrical science. The tripartite relationships Hospitaller- langue-Treasury (as inferred from the statutes) and Hospitaller-conventual church-Treasury were ‘in series’, and consequently when a Hospitaller fell in debt with a langue or with the conventual church, he automatically fell in debt with the Treasury. On the other hand, the tripartite relationships Hospitaller- foundation-Treasury and Hospitaller-Hospitaller-Treasury (one may add the

Hospitaller-langue-Treasury relationship if the practice in the late seventeenth century is considered) were ‘in parallel’, and a Hospitaller fell in debt with the

Treasury over such debts only after condemnation by the Order’s tribunals.

To continue using the metaphor depicting debt as a broken relationship, when a Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury, the Order sought to redress the fault and restore that relationship. Through the different penalties meted out to debtors, the Order sought to entice Hospitallers who fell in debt with the

178 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY

Treasury to effect payment, or fulfil the duties pertaining to their office, and thus restore the relationship. The Order however also sought to strengthen the relationship between the individual Hospitallers and the Treasury by enticing

Hospitallers not to fall in debt.

When individual Hospitallers chose to persist in debt, hence deciding not to restore their relationship with the Treasury, the Order would have no option but to put an end to that relationship. It would confiscate the commanderies that the defaulter administered, or expel him from the Order by defrocking or excommunicating him. Repentance, and the payment of one’s debts could still restore the relationship that had once existed.

The Order’s reaction to the debt of a Hospitaller also sheds light on the institution’s administrative structure. It points out at the direct lines of communication between the receivers in the priories and the Convent existed; these allowed the Hospitaller to be informed of any debts he had with the

Treasury. It also shows the degree of autonomy enjoyed by the different officials. The receiver could, indeed was expected, to do his utmost to recover all the money due to the Treasury, either if necessary by confiscating the estates administered by other Hospitallers. Yet, before taking drastic measures such as the permanent confiscation of an estate, the receiver normally sought advice from the venerable procurators who were the day-to-day administrators of the Treasury, or from the ordinary council responsible for the daily administration of the Order. While the Camera dei Conti could pronounce judgement such as the incapacità , only the ordinary council or the general

179 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS IN DEBT WITH THE TREASURY chapter meted out major penalties such as the permanent confiscation of an estate, defrocking, and excommunication.

While highlighting important aspects of the relationship between the

Treasury and the Hospitaller, debts do not show the full picture. Important precepts on that relationship can be understood by analysing the Order’s reaction to the death of an individual Hospitaller, or more particularly by investigating how the Treasury took hold of the spoglio of a deceased

Hospitaller.

180 4 Chapter 4

The Treasury and the Spoglio

Death has been defined as the process that brings life to an end. 1 Yet, from a

Christian point of view death represents both an end to life on earth and a

threshold to the afterlife. This dichotomy delineated the Order’s reaction to the

death of a Hospitaller, which is reflected in its statutes. It has been said that the

attitude of men to the death of their fellows is of unique significance for the

understanding of human condition, 2 as it shows: the consideration with which

relatives and friends held the deceased; and the bonds which tied the deceased

with those who survived them. Hospitaller statutes show an Order preoccupied

with both the spiritual and the material dimension of the death of its members.

Whereas the former still awaits the scrutiny of historians, 3 the latter sheds light

on the relationship between the Treasury and the individual Hospitaller. As

such, it will form the subject of what follows.

1 The Oxford Popular English Dictionary and Thesaurus , cmpl. Sara Hawker and Joyce M. Hawkins (Oxford 2001), 77. 2 John McManners, Death and the Enlightenment: Changing attitudes to death among Christians and Unbelievers in Eighteenth Century France (Oxford 1981), p.1. 3 Catherine Tabone studied Hospitaller attitudes of death in the eighteenth century as part of her dissertation on the various attitudes towards death discernible among the different social strata in eighteenth century Malta. Due to her anthropological approach, the relationship between ‘the community’ and the deceased Hospitaller is explained in terms of rituals and customs. Consequently, both the statutory framework and how this impinged on the legal consideration of the deceased Hospitaller is only hinted at. Tabone Catherine, ‘Tales from the Grave: Funerary Ritual and Attitudes towards Death in Eighteenth Century Malta’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta), 2003.

181 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

The Treasury’s statutory response to the death of a Hospitaller is best understood in terms of: i) its role as the common depository for the funds belonging to the Order; ii) the precept, applicable to all religious orders of the church, that belongings of professed monastics (monk, friar, nun or knight) effectively belonged to their institution; and iii) the autonomy with which

Hospitallers managed their finances .4

Central to the understanding of the Treasury’s response to the death of a

Hospitaller was the spoglio ,5 which is the subject matter of the present chapter.

This chapter will first define the term spoglio . This will lead to a discussion on the precept that whatever a monastic acquired was acquired by his institution, and how this precept – shaped by the fact that each Hospitaller had full usufruct of his belongings during his lifetime – took effect within the Order of

St John only on the death of the individual Hospitaller, through the assimilation of the deceased’s spoglio into the Treasury’s coffers. An exposition of the

Order’s role as ‘heir’ to the individual Hospitaller, and how this changed across time will follow. Then the analysis will shift to discuss how the autonomy with which the individual Hospitaller managed his assets, both fiscal and material, affected the spoglio and influenced the Treasury’s relationship with the moribund Hospitaller. This will include an investigation of the abuses that were perpetrated by individual Hospitallers, how the Order sought to counteract

4 The autonomy enjoyed by a Hospitaller in managing his own assets is discussed in page 93. 5 On the death of a Hospitaller, the Treasury also received all the revenues accruing from the commanderies which the deceased had held from the day of his death to the following 30 April. This was known as the mortuary. While it sheds light on the role of the Treasury in the administration of the commanderies, its relevance to relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury is minimal. Hence, it will not be discussed in the ensuing discussion.

182 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO these abuses, and the possibility, enjoyed by Hospitallers to dispose ‘freely’ of their possessions. A discussion of the Treasury’s ascendancy over the individual Hospitaller, which manifested itself through the granting of authorizations, the arbitrary power of its tribunals, and its pre-eminence over the other creditors of the deceased Hospitaller will conclude the chapter.

4.1 Defining the spoglio

The question ‘what did the Hospitallers understand by the term spoglio ?’ has no unequivocal answer, as customary linguistic usage of the term within the

Order in the seventeenth century did not match its statutory definition. Legally, following a definition of terms by the general chapter of 1555, all goods, movables and immovables, as well as debts and credits, which a Hospitaller left on his death, constituted his spoglio .6 However, in common Hospitaller parlance, the term generally referred only to those goods that ultimately entered into of the Treasury’s coffers, after deducting any payments left outstanding by the deceased member together with that portion of his belongings which he was allowed to will away, the so-called quinto .7 Apart from being so defined by

Caravita,8 who had been Treasury secretary for twelve years, 9 this was the practical definition adopted by the Order in its accounts. 10

6 Abbè Renè Aubert de Vertot, ‘The Old and New Statutes of the Order of St John’, in The History of the Knights of Malta (Facsimile edn: Malta 1989), 36. This definition of the spoglio is used throughout the ensuing discussion. 7 AOM 1679, p.120, Louis de Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta , (Facsimile edn: Malta 1988), 298. 8 AOM 1679, p.120. 9 AOM 6430, f.27r. 10 Alison Hoppen, ‘The Finances of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, in European Studies Review , iii, 2, (1973), 109.

183 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

A common denominator underlies both definitions: the spoglio was a sum of assets that had belonged to a deceased Hospitaller. A statute enacted by the general chapter of 1555, which spelled out in legal terms a practice that in similarity with other monastic institutions the Order had followed since its foundation, stipulated that the Treasury was the rightful heir to the belongings of a deceased Hospitaller. 11 As shown in Chapter 3, during his lifetime, a

Hospitaller lived off his own money and had full usufruct during his lifetime of all money, movables and immoveable that he inherited or acquired, including a relatively unrestrained authority over his money. 12 When a Hospitaller died, these assets survived him and were termed as forming his spoglio .

The spoglio represented the gradual extinction of the deceased Hospitaller’s separate fiscal personality. On his death, his assets passed into the hands of the commissari degli spogli 13 if the Hospitaller died in Convent, or to the receiver if he died out of Convent. They had the right to take possession, on the Order’s behalf, of the belongings enjoyed by the deceased Hospitaller. The personal assets went to the deceased’s spoglio while the Order’s estates that the deceased had administered during his lifetime reverted to the Treasury to be eventually conferred to another Hospitaller. 14 The Treasury’s agents were also

11 AOM 1679, p.119. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 36. 12 Statutorily Hospitallers could not sell or alienate Hospitaller property, nor enter into business deals. 13 The commissari degli spogli were officials of the Treasury entrusted with the administration of the assets of the deceased Hospitallers. They collected all the deceased movables and auctioned them. They also ensured that all the deceased Hospitaller’s credits were cashed while his legitimate debts were paid out of his assets. Every six months they rendered all the moneys, which they accrued from the different spogli , to the conservatore conventuale . AOM 1680, 461-2; 655 et seq . They kept track of each spoglio through an account in their ledgers. AOM 933-990. 14 These lands entered a phase known as the mortuary, which term denoted the period from the death of the commander to the end of the Hospitaller fiscal year on the 30 April. Any revenues

184 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO entrusted with seeking settlement from debtors to the late Hospitaller, and with getting back any movables that he might have loaned to third parties. Having completed these tasks, they drew up an inventory of the deceased Hospitaller’s belongings and auctioned any movables amongst these belongings. 15 The funds that accrued from the auction were then handed over to the conservatore conventuale as the officer responsible for all the funds reaching the Treasury.

The immovables, such as houses and estates situated on the continent were attached to the nearest commandery. 16 If the immovables were located in Malta, the Hospitaller could either bequeath them at will or they accrued to the

Treasury – until the early seventeenth century to the deceased Hospitaller’s langue. 17

The spoglio ceased to exist physically, a set of belongings of a deceased

Hospitaller, when the assets out of which it was constituted were assimilated by the Order, either as funds in the Treasury’s coffers or as new attachments to a commandery. However, it continued to exist as an account in the ledgers of the commissari degli spogli , or in those of the receiver.

It also retained the separate legal personality that the Hospitaller had enjoyed during his lifetime. Court litigations by creditors to claim reimbursements of funds from the assets of the deceased Hospitaller were filed

yielded from commanderies under the mortuary passed into the Treasury’s hands. Effectively, these possessions still passed into the hands of the Receiver as the Treasury’s agent in the priories, but not as part of the spoglio of the deceased. 15 AOM 1680, p.658; AOM 663, f.109r. 16 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 36. Giacomo Bosio, Dell’ Istoria della Sacra Religione Militare di San Giovanni Gerosolmitano detta di Malta , ii (Rome, 1594), 79. 17 See pages 200 and 221.

185 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO against the spoglio and not against the Treasury, although the spoglio had passed into the latter’s coffers. 18

Creditors who were owed money by the deceased Hospitaller could claim reimbursement long after his death. The case of shop-owner Francesco Vella is typical. In 1725, he filed litigation against the spoglio of the Italian Hospitaller

Fra Giovanni la Farina, and was reimbursed 8 scudi 4 tari, a whole nine years after la Farina’s death. 19 The first group of creditors to be reimbursed from la

Farina’s assets had judgement pronounced in their favour on 12 November

1716. 20

In real terms, however, the property which a deceased Hospitaller enjoyed during his lifetime was finally absorbed into the Order’s property in line with the monastic precept that professed religious do not possess anything of their own, but rather all that they have belongs to their institution.

4.2 What a monk acquires, is acquired by his monastery

Professed Hospitallers, like members of other religious institutions were bound by the vow of poverty, and consequently, although they had an own legal and financial personality, they possessed nothing of their own. The vow of poverty was originally defined by St Benedict 21 as the complete renunciation of personal property. All property was held in common, while the individual had

18 AOM 945-7, p. assim . 19 AOM 946, f.93bv. 20 AOM 946, ff.60r-63v. 21 St Benedict who lived between c480 and 550 is considered to be the founder of Western Monasticism, and his Rule was to lay at the basis of subsequent monastic rules across Western Europe.

186 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO nothing of his own. 22 A professed religious was required to hand over to his monastery, 23 or to his order, 24 any goods that he or she acquired, according to the legal maxim that ‘what a monk acquires, is acquired by his monastery’.25

The Order of St John was no exception. That precept was equally applicable to its professed members as it was to monks, nuns, or friars in other religious institutions. According to the Order’s statutes, no assets owned by a Hospitaller belonged to him; they all belonged to the Order. Indeed, the Rule of the Order , written under the mastership of Raymond du Puy (1120-1160) required that each Hospitaller delivered into the hands of the master all the goods that he obtained.26 Thus, a Hospitaller could not have any possessions of his own; he merely administered the assets on behalf of the Order.

However, as each Hospitaller enjoyed full usufruct over all assets that he acquired, he was allowed to keep any funds that he earned for himself, paying to the Treasury the passaggio , the annual responsions, the food rations or clothing which he received from the Order beyond the value to which he was entitled, and any incomes he received on account of the Treasury. It was only on his death that all his possessions passed to the Order’s Treasury as part of the spoglio .

Essentially, the spoglio was a manifestation of the process whereby the theoretical totality of possessions of the Order’s property, scattered as it was

22 C.H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (London 1984), 25. 23 Marcellina Bozzi and Alberto Grilli, Regola del Maestro , i (Brescia 1995), 161. 24 John Moorman, A History of the Franciscan Order: From its Origins to the Year 1517 (Oxford 1968), 187. 25 ‘Quidquid acquivit monachus, monasterio acquivit ’. 26 E.J. King, Rules , Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers 1099 – 1310 (New York 1980), 22, www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_rule.htm .

187 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO among the different Hospitallers, became re-integrated into the communal whole that was the Treasury. It was only through death that the assets which a

Hospitaller had acquired in his lifetime passed to the Order; it was at this point that the precept ‘what a monk acquires, is acquired by his monastery’ took effect in accordance with the vow of poverty. Within the Hospitaller Order, the spoglio was the tangible expression of that vow taken solemnly on profession. 27

Profession was the threshold that decided whether the spoglio would actually go to the Order, or to the Hospitaller’s family. Like members of other religious orders, would-be Hospitallers had to undergo a novitiate. At the end of the one-year novitiate, they would decide whether the religious life suited them or not. If it did, they would profess into the Order. Only after profession were they considered members of the Order of St John, and hence bound by the statutes and ordinances regulating life in that community.

The rules governing the spoglio were strictly adhered to 28 and applied to all professed Hospitallers. This practice comprised Hospitallers who escaped from the Order, left the Order of St John to enter into another religious institution without obtaining the necessary permission from the grandmaster, those who apostatised from the Christian religion, or those who were expelled from the

Order. When a Hospitaller was defrocked (and hence expelled from the Order),

27 AOM 1679, p.120. The ‘seeming’ contradiction between the vow of poverty entered into by the Hospitallers on their profession, and the opulence in which they lived drew constant criticism upon the Order, both from within and without. In 1592, a group of Hospitallers withdrew from the comfortable opulent life of Valletta to live a life of monastic disciple in the Camarata. In the early eighteenth century Count de Caylus described Hospitaller Malta as ‘Gomorrha parva ’ (Little Gomorrah). Victor Mallia-Milanes Victor ‘Introduction to Hospitaller Malta’, in Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia Milanes (Malta993), 1-42, 15.

188 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO which followed in each of the above situations, he was only stripped of his membership of the Order and any honour or benefice to which he had acceded on account of that membership. Profession was deemed permanent, unless commuted by the pope. 29 Hospitallers who were expelled from the Order, renounced the institution, or apostatised were legally considered as ‘dead’, and consequently the Order was entitled to whatever they owned upon expulsion. 30

The Order was also entitled to the assets of Hospitallers who were elected dignitaries of the church, like bishops or cardinals. Only the assets enjoyed during the Hospitaller phase of their life, before election within the church, and those Hospitaller goods that they continued to enjoy after attaining that office, were subject to the spoglio .

Novices, given that they were not yet full members of the Order, were not subject to the Hospitaller legislation regulating the spoglio , and if they left before profession, their possessions would go back to their families. This applied equally to novices who died while they were still undergoing their one- year novitiate, as well as to deceased ‘brothers’, who statutorily should have professed but delayed their profession beyond the one-year novitiate, and died before profession. This followed a precedent set by a 1648 decision of the ordinary council. As the novice had not yet professed, he was not a Hospitaller, notwithstanding his having undergone all the statutory training and having enjoyed the tavole at the Order’s expense. The Order had no claim over his

28 Domnic Cutajar, and Carmel Cassar, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta: An insight into the Administration of the Comun Tesoro’ in Mid-Med Bank Limited, Report and Accounts (Malta 1983), 22-32, 29. 29 James A. Brundage, Medieval Cannon Law and the Crusader , (Milwakee and London 1969), 92.

189 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO spoglio . In such cases, the Order was not even indemnified for the novice’s daily food ration and clothing, which he would have enjoyed prior to profession. 31

On the other hand, the Order inherited the belongings of Hospitallers who professed before undergoing the novitiate, 32 required by the Order’s statutes, 33 and who had not disposed of their belongings before profession. 34

The belongings of the chaplains of obedience – as Hospitaller chaplains based in the priories were called – were an exception. Although their spogli still went to the Order, it was not the Treasury that benefited, but the

Hospitaller who administered the commandery where the deceased chaplain lived. 35 Indeed, on 10 October 1602, the Camera dei Conti ordered that the belongings of an unidentified deceased Chaplain should pass on to the prior of

Capua, Fra Vincenzo Caraffa. The deceased had lived in Naples, where the

Order’s estates formed part of Caraffa’s bailiwick. The decision was confirmed by the ordinary council on 1 February 1603. 36

The spoglio consisted of all assets that the Hospitaller enjoyed on his death.

It generally consisted of three categories: i) immovables ( immobili or stabili ), comprising houses and other landed property; ii) movables ( mobili ), that is all goods belonging to the Hospitaller other than the immovables; iii) cash, jewellery, as well as credits, shares, and legal rights over any property.

30 AOM 1679, p.121. 31 AOM 116, f.96v; Cassar and Cutajar, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta’, 29. 32 AOM 1679, p.122. 33 Ann Williams, ‘Boys will be Boys: The Problem of the Novitiate in the Order of St. John’, in Melitensium Amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Gwann Azzopardi , eds. Tony Cortis, Thomas Freller, and Lino Bugeja (Malta 2002), 179-184, 179. 34 AOM 1679, p.122. 35 AOM 1679, p.125, Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 36.

190 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

As the rightful heir of all Hospitallers, the Order inherited any immovables that belonged to the deceased Hospitaller before his death. This applied equally for patrimonial lands inherited by the Hospitaller from his relatives, including estates that the Hospitaller’s family held in fief,37 as well as properties which he would have acquired during his lifetime. By virtue of a statute promulgated by the General chapter of 1262, which sought to curtail abuses in the priories, immovable property belonging to the Order could not be alienated. 38

The Order did not accede to a Hospitaller’s immovables if: i) the lands belonging to the deceased Hospitaller were held in fief by his family, with the condition that they should be inherited by the first-born; 39 ii) if the Hospitaller was specifically granted a licence by the grandmaster to dispose freely of the patrimonial lands inherited from his parents; 40 and iii) if the immoveable property consisted of was a house in Valletta, Senglea, or Vittoriosa,41 which until the early eighteenth century, 42 Hospitallers were able to will at pleasure.

Properties alienated by a Hospitaller without the grandmaster’s permission reverted to the Order on the Hospitaller’s death as part of his spoglio .43 Du

Puy’s Rule stipulated that all goods, movables, and immovables that a

36 AOM1679, p.125; AOM 100 f.199. 37 AOM 1679, p.138. 38 King, Rules, 57. 39 AOM 1679, p.138. 40 AOM 1679, p.143; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 68. 41 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 176. Under the tenets of a statute enacted by the General Chapter of 1555, Hospitallers were allowed to dispose of houces built in Vittoriosa and Senglea. This legislative act aimed at encouraging Hospitallers to build houses, befitting their rank, in these two towns (the construction of Senglea had just been initiated). The aim was to attract people to the two harbour towns, and having buildings of a certain standard (not sub-standard habitations as would have been the case if the Order attracted only lower strata of the population). Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 358. In 1631, Valletta was added to the list. Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 42 Victor Mallia Milanes ed., Descrittione di Malta: Anno 1716: A Venetian Account (Malta 1992),76-7. 43 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 100.

191 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Hospitaller acquired belonged effectively to the Order; he was thus not allowed to dispose of it without the master’s permission. 44 That precept was reiterated in statutes enacted by Hughes de Revel (1258-77), Odon de Pins (1294-6), Pierre de Corneillan (1353-5), Raimond Berenger (1365-74) and Claude de la Sengle

(1553-7), which statutes expressly forbade any alienation, or taking mortgage on properties belonging to the Order, including those acquired by the

Hospitaller after profession. 45 Thus, any alienation of assets was de facto invalid; such properties would still belong to the Order, and would revert to it on the death of the Hospitaller.

All immovables, whether passing on to the Order, or to the Hospitaller’s relatives, formed effective part of the spoglio .46 If the Hospitaller died in debt and the creditors sued his spoglio for their dues, the debts were paid from the property that the Hospitaller bequeathed to his relatives. 47 It was only if the value of such properties did not suffice, that the movables which the deceased

Hospitaller had left to the Order were resorted to. It was only in the last resort, that debts of a deceased Hospitaller were paid from the immovables, which the

44 King, Rules , 25; http://www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_rule.htm . 45 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 98-101. 46 The classification of immovables as part of the spoglio depends on which definition of the spoglio one adheres to. If the spoglio is taken to imply ‘all goods which the deceased Hospitaller owned on death’ all his immovables were part of the spoglio . On the other hand, if the term spoglio is understood as ‘the belongings of the deceased Hospitaller which passed to the Order’, than only those properties which accrued to the Order were part of the spoglio , while those immovables which the Hospitaller disposed of, or reverted back to his family were not. Given that for the scope of the ensuing discussion the legalistic definition is being used, the spoglio is understood as incorporating all properties of the deceased Hospitaller. See page 183. 47 AOM 1649, p.119; AOM 1679, p.194.

192 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Hospitaller had not disposed of, and which had consequently passed on to the

Order. 48

Movables were the second constituent of the spoglio . All goods belonging to the deceased Hospitaller that were found in his residence were incorporated to his spoglio . The spoglio of the late Portuguese bailiff Fra Gonsalvo Sousa, bailiff of Sesa, who died in February 1794 included, among other movables, 19 large pictures ( quadri ) and 45 small ones ( quadretti ) and 64 prints ( stampe) hanging on the walls, various tables of different sizes, 13 chairs (of which 8 were broken), 56 cups (of which 18 had a saucer), various plates, bowls, cutleries, vases, candlesticks, clothes, towels, and linen sheets. 49 The movables were auctioned by the commissari degli spogli , with the cash earned being incorporated into the spoglio of the deceased Hospitaller. The auction of the bailiff’s property yielded 3,758 scudi 8 tari and 15 grani to his spoglio .50

Apart from the movables and the immovables, all cash, jewellery, as well as credits, shares, and legal rights, including rents, revenues, and pensions to which the Hospitaller was entitled until the day of his death, went to his spoglio . Included were the revenues that the Hospitaller earned from the administration of any patrimonial lands (those that a Hospitaller inherited from his family), and which he had obtained the magisterial permission to dispose of freely. The revenues earned from such patrimonial properties from the day when the parents of the Hospitaller died (and hence he the inheritance took effect), until his death (when his disposition of those lands took effect),

48 AOM 1679, p.195; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 42. 49 AOM 942, ff.31r-36v. 50 AOM 942, ff.31r-36v.

193 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO belonged to the Hospitaller, and hence to the Order, and consequently devolved to his spoglio .51

The commissari degli spogli decided on these lines in the litigation between the Treasury, as heir to the deceased Hospitaller Ferdinando Montalto, and Don

Cesare Montalto, a relative of Fra Ferdinando and himself heir to the patrimonial lands of the family. Fra Ferdinando’s mother, Donna Giacobba, had bequeathed the family’s patrimonial properties to her children. Only the legittima (a money gift which parents gave to professed children) went to Fra

Ferdinando. She stipulated that should her children die without an issue, the usufruct over the patrimonial property would pass on to Fra Ferdinando and, consequently, on his death to Don Cesare. In that case, Fra Ferdinando would automatically renounce to the legittima . On the death of Fra Ferdinando, Don

Cesare sued the Treasury over the legittima that Donna Giacobba had bequeathed to Fra Ferdinando, arguing that the Treasury could have no claim over it as Fra Ferdinando had had the usufruct of the family’s patrimonial lands for a number of years. The commissari degli spogli upheld Don Cesare’s position. They argued that the spoglio was entitled to all the revenues accumulated from the family’s patrimonial lands until Fra Ferdinando’s death.

Given that Fra Ferdinando was a Hospitaller, argued the commissari degli spogli , all that he acquired, or should have acquired during his lifetime belonged to the Order. Thus, all the revenues de facto belonged to the

Treasury. 52

51 AOM 1679, p.143. 52 AOM 1121, f.208r-209v.

194 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

In similarity with revenues from patrimonial lands, rents and revenues that a deceased Hospitaller should have collected from the commanderies entrusted to his administration, until the date of his death, were considered as part of his spoglio .53 The same applied for trees that should have been felled during the deceased Hospitaller’s lifetime, 54 and about half of the agricultural and farming products that were found on the commandery on his death. Accordingly, on 9

August 1675, the venerable procurators of the Treasury decreed that 500 livres worth of unfelled trees from the commandery of Leuveil had to form part of the spoglio of Fra Ligneres.55 Similarly, the spoglio of the prior of Bohemia, Count

Carl Leopold d’Herberstein, who died on the 5 March 1726, received from the commandery of Staconiz, 37 botti of beer; 1,135 stara and ¼ mezzeno of wheat; 324¾stara of segala ; 813 stara 2 quarte 2¾ mezzeni of barley, 1161 stare 2 mezzeni of hay; 7 stara, 3 quarti and 3½ mezzeni of bison; 107 ounces of lupoli ; and 19 vases of salt; everything was sold by auction. 56

Pensions, whether created by the grandmaster or by individual commanders, owed to a deceased Hospitaller from 1 May of the year in which he died, until his death passed on to his spoglio .57 Yet, whereas other payments accrued to the spoglio on the death of the Hospitaller, pensions were only paid at the end of the Hospitaller fiscal year, which fell on 30 April, after the payment of the responsions and impositions. 58 On the strength of this argument, the bailiff of

Santa Euphemia, Fra Centorio Cagnolo, was not allowed to pay the pensions to

53 AOM 1679, p.192. 54 AOM 645, ff.286-7. 55 AOM 645, ff.286-7. 56 AOM 948, f.6v-9r. 57 AOM 1679, p.145.

195 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO the spoglio of the late Fra Giovanni Contavina on the latter’s death. The ordinary council argued that pensions were similar to responsions and impositions since both were sources of income derived from the commanderies. Payment had to be effected only at the end of the fiscal- administrative year in April. 59

All returns maturing from liquid investments earned until the death of a

Hospitaller formed part of the spoglio , and this notwithstanding three statutes that expressly forbade members of the Order from entering into commercial partnerships. 60 Although prohibited by the statutes, such partnerships were condoned by the Order, especially if a Hospitaller invested in corsairing activities. The Treasury, while receiving the matured revenues from investments made by a deceased Hospitaller, sought to liquidate that investment, or at least to renew it without taking any risk upon itself. This was the case with the ‘investment’ of the prior of Champagne, Fra Tessancourt, who had lent 200 scudi to Fra Giovanni Monfaucon Rocatagliata to operate a corsairing vessel. The former died. Hence, the credit was transferred to the spoglio . When the Treasury, through the commissari degli spogli , sought to liquidate that investment, Fra Monfaucon Rocatagliata asked for the loan to be carried over onto a second vessel, at an interest rate of 30 per cent. On 27

January 1650, the ordinary council acceded to his request with the proviso that the Order would not be involved in any risk. 61

58 AOM 1679, p.144-5; AOM 663, f.267v. 59 AOM 663, f.267v. 60 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 98-100. 61 AOM 117, f.82v.

196 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

On the strength of a number of papal bulls, the Order of St John was entitled to inherit goods that Hospitallers had acquired illegitimately. It was not standard practice among the other religious institutions to accept goods that were acquired illicitly by their professed members as they were considered to have been tainted with sin. Yet, in 1265, Pope Clement V granted the Order the right to inherit goods acquired by the individual Hospitallers through usury, theft, or any other mali ablati , to which the dying Hospitaller would have confessed piously before his death. 62 Similarly, in 1560, Pope Pius IV (1559-

65) allowed the Order of St John to retain assets acquired through illegal deals. 63 In both cases, the Order was in dire need of money and could not forfeit any source of income. In the mid-thirteenth century, the Order was committing most of its resources to the defence of the few remaining outposts in Palestine against the advancing Mamluks, and had just introduced the payment of the passaggio for new entrants into the Order. 64 In the 1560s, the Order was once more in an awkward financial situation. An Ottoman attack on Malta was imminent, 65 while the Order was endeavouring to strengthen the island’s fortifications. The loss of revenue forming part of its members’ spogli because it was believed to be tainted with sin would have deprived the Order of precious funds. Besides, similar concessions had already been given to the

Collegium LX Virorum , later the Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro , the institution responsible for the building of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and

62 AOM 1679, p.146-9; Giacomo Bosio, Privilegii della Sacra Religione di S. Gio Gerosolmitano (Rome 1589), 44. 63 Bosio, Privilegii , 44. 64 For a discussion of how the passaggio was introduced, see page 112. 65 Brian Bluet, The Story of Malta , (Fourth edn: Malta 1989), 51.

197 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO its maintenance, 66 and which inherited amongst others unfulfilled legacies, ecclesiastical property alienated without papal authorisation, and goods acquired through illicit deals. 67

4.3 The Order as heir to individual Hospitallers

As shown above, 68 the seeming contradiction between the autonomous fiscal personality enjoyed by Hospitallers within the Order and the vow of poverty taken on profession was sorted out on the death of a Hospitaller, as his belongings, the spoglio , passed on to the Order. 69 In theory all possessions that the Hospitallers owed before they professed ceased to be theirs and became the

Order’s on profession. Consequently, the Order could not succeed to a

Hospitaller because whatever a Hospitaller enjoyed during his lifetime would have already belonged to it. Yet, for the Camera dei Conti the Order inherited its members, just as a son inherited his father. 70

The course of action through which all belongings of the deceased

Hospitaller passed to the Treasury was simple. After the commissari degli spogli, if the Hospitaller died in Convent, or the receiver, if he died in the priories, took cognisance of all the goods and money that a Hospitaller owned on his death, they would sell the movables by auction and claim any money that the deceased was owed by his debtors. They would investigate, and try to

66 Aloysius Deguara, ‘The Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro dell Urbe’ in Malta’, in Proceedings of History Week 1982 (Malta 1983), 69-88. 67 Aloysius Deguara, ‘The Reverenda Fabbrica’, 72 et seq . 68 See above, page 192. 69 Hospitallers had the right to dispose of one fifth of their spoglio the quinto . This is discussed in full in the section ‘The spoglio and the Hospitallers’ autonomous fiscal personality. See page 210.

198 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO settle, claims made by creditors of the deceased, depositing the outstanding money in the Treasury. All the details were entered into an account under the name of the deceased Hospitaller. The spoglio of Fra Giuseppe Spirito de

Seguins Cabasole, who died on 27 May 1730, yielding the Treasury 234 scudi

28 tari 11 grano, 71 provides a case in point:

Earnings Expenses Scudi Tari Grani Scudi Tari Grani Gold and silverware 94 8 15 Creditors 168 2 10 Creditors 41 19 0 Balance to Treasury 234 28 11 Money found among 81 0 0 his belongings Auction of goods 186 3 6 owned at death Total 403 1 1 Total 403 1 1  Table 4.1: The spoglio of Fra Giuseppe Spirito de Seguins Cabasole

This practice was adopted for every spoglio with the exception of those spogli where the debts owed by the deceased Hospitaller were visibly larger than the total value of his belongings and any properties that he had brought to the Order. 72 Such spogli were customarily repudiated by the Order, but only after settling any debts that the deceased Hospitaller left outstanding with any branch of the Order. On 12 December 1667, the ordinary council repudiated the spoglio of the French Hospitaller Fra Stampes, who died heavily in debt with both the Treasury and various other creditors, so much so that his debts

70 AOM 666, f.40r. 71 AOM 933, ff.49v50r, 267v268r. The list of Creditors has been simplified in this rendition of the account of Fra Cabbasole. The commissari degli spogli listed each and every debtor and creditor. Also, the accounts were not necessarily entered in the tabular form presented here, though generally this was the case with the Bilancio degli Spogli . 72 AOM 1679, p.164 et seq .

199 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO were larger than his spoglio . Yet, the council only released Stampes’ spoglio after the Treasury had recovered all the moneys owed by Stampes.73

The Treasury also reserved for itself a number of prerogatives. Various goods, including houses and precious objects remained the property of the

Treasury notwithstanding any claim that other branches of the Order might have had.

Following the general chapter of 1631, houses owned by deceased

Hospitallers in the cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Valletta, and which they did not dispose of, would go to the Treasury. 74 Until that date, customarily these houses passed on to the langue with which the deceased Hospitaller was affiliated.

In 1619 the Camera dei Conti , while deciding on the future of some tapestries owned by the late bailiff of Santa Euphemia, Fra Antonio Cagniolo, deliberated that tapestries and door-curtains, which carried the coat-of-arms of deceased Hospitallers, had to pass on to the Treasury, and not to the langues as had been customary. The Italian langue had argued that, according to ancient custom, it should have entered into the possession of the said tapestries, given that these bore Bailiff Cagniolo’s coat-of-arms, and that he did not appear to be a debtor of the Treasury. Yet, the Camera argued that according to a statute enacted by Grandmaster Hughes Loubenx de Verdale (1581-95), 75 all goods had to be sold in favour of the Treasury. Consequently, the tapestries had to

73 AOM 123, f.132v; AOM 645, f.15. 74 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 176. 75 Vertot, ‘Statutes’ 45; See below, page 207.

200 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO pass on to the Treasury and not to the langues. 76 Similarly, the same tribunal rebuked the claim of the langue of Aragon vis-à-vis four pictures bearing the coat-of-arms of the late Fra Gasparo de Montreal.77

The Treasury benefited from the spogli of chaplains of obedience who died while the commandery in which they had their residence was under the mortuary or vacancy. As discussed above the spogli of chaplains of obedience accrued to the commander on whose estates the deceased chaplain had lived. 78

On the strength of the interpretation given to statutes enacted by Grandmasters

Pierre d’Aubusson (1476-1503) and Jean de la Vallette (1557-68), which stipulated that all the dues accruing to the commander from the death of his predecessor till the end of the following fiscal year had to go to the Treasury, the spogli of these chaplains accrued to that institution. 79 Consequently, the

Treasury inherited the spoglio of the chaplain Fra Giovanni d’Avila, who held the benefice of San Giovanni d’Acri in Seville. This benefice was situated in the commandery of Tossina, which was under the mortuary following the death of its commander Fra Bernardino di Toledo.80

Territorial possessions, which according to the statutes were considered as movables, accrued to the Treasury in similarity to any other moveable. 81 These included emphyteutical leases, redeemable perpetual leases ( censi ), holdings which a Hospitaller acquired through a court decision instead of a cash payment and landed properties bought by a Hospitaller with the seller retaining

76 AOM 663, ff.337v-338r. 77 AOM 664, f.7r. 78 See above, page 190. 79 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 30-32 80 AOM 663, ff.269r-v.

201 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO for himself and his family the right of repurchase ( cum gratia redimendi or jus prothomisios ). In 1631, the Camera dei Conti upheld the claim of the procuratore delle cause who argued that the vineyard purchased cum gratia redimendi by the late Fra Giacomo de Marchesi 82 in the Piano di Melallo, in

Milazzo, should have gone to the Treasury. The procuratore delle cause contended that there was no guarantee of perpetual ownership over the said vineyard, and hence it was to be considered as a moveable, like other redeemable rents. On the other hand, the prior of Messina, Fra Niccolo de la

Marra, had maintained that what was applicable to censi was not applicable to stabili , and thus the vineyard should have been attached to his priory according to the statutes. 83

The Treasury was entitled to the revenues accruing from emphyteutical leases from the death of a Hospitaller until the expiry of the lease. 84 On 8

March and 19 July 1653, 1653, the Camera dei Conti refuted the claim made by the prior of Tolouse, Fra Arrigo de Merles Beauchamps, that the lands known as Terra di Laramet , leased emphyteutically for 29 years by Fra

Torrettas, should be attached to his priory, because it was the nearest

Hospitaller territorial possession to those lands. The Camera deliberated in favour of the Treasury. 85

Apart from the Treasury, other parts of the Hospitaller structure, namely the conventual church, the infirmary, the armoury, as well as its various officials

81 AOM 1679, p.239 et seq . 82 Caravita gives Giacinto. AOM 1679, p.237. 83 AOM 664, ff.177v, 184v-185r. 84 AOM 666, f.40r. 85 AOM 666, f.40r.

202 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO including the grandmaster, the conservatore conventuale , the maestro scudiero , the marshal, the clerk, the little commander (piccolo commendatore ), 86 and the grand conservator, had a claim to some of the deceased Hospitaller’s belongings.

The origins of this apportionment of the deceased Hospitaller’s belongings among the different segments of the Order are obscure, and date back to the

Hospitallers’ early history in Palestine. Arguably, it resulted from the need to pool resources, such as precious objects, books, paper, weapons and cloth, at those places where they were most needed. Thus the clerks got the deceased’s writing tools; the marshal, later the armoury, got the armour and weapons, while the conventual church got the richly decorated clothes or vestments, which were suitable to be turned into liturgical vestments. Various General-

Chapters legislated on which items had to pass on to which branch of the Order or office-holder. These are being presented in Table 5.2 below.

86 The official responsible for weighing and distributing medicines in the infirmary.

203 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

General- chapter/Master Goods Beneficiary enacting statute Custom Birds in cages, dogs. Marshal 87 Before 1262 Weapons and other military equipment. Marshal - gave them to other knights 88 1262 All books except breviaries, romances, and psalters. Treasury 89 1263 Cloth of gold. Conv. churc h90 1263 Clothes and buckrams. Draper 91 1264 All uncut cloth. Marshal 92 1288 Armour. Marshal 93 1288 Crossbows. Treasury 94 1288 Plate belonging to the bailiffs. Successors in office 95 1288 Deceased master’s Gold plate and jewels. Succeeding master 96 1288 Escheats in coin, gold, silver metal. Master 97 1300 Armour and military equipment of conventual Successors in bailiffs. office 98 1300 All animals. Marshal 99 1300 300 Saracen Bezants from the spoglio . Marshal 100 1303 Silken cloths. Conv. church 101 1303 Coverlets of cloth of gold. Infirmary 102 1304 All beds, sheets, blankets and mattresses. Infirmary 103 1304 Clothes. Draper 104 1304 Bed-cloths. Infirmary 105 1304 All cut woollen cloth, camlet, and linen, blankets, Draper 106 handkerchiefs, coverlets, sheets, bed testers, embroidered turbans, purses, oreillets, bucklers, birettas, brimmed hats, coifs, mantles, nets and straps. 1304 Money. Treasury 107 1304 All goods of a deceased Hospitallers apart from Master

87 AOM 1679, p.248. 88 King, Rules , 54-55. Henceforth the Marshal was to distribute the weapons of the deceased only if he deemed fit. 89 AOM 1651, p.32. 90 King, Rules, 68. 91 King, Rules, 68. 92 King, Rules, 68. 93 Reiterated by the general-chapters of 1300 and 1304. King, Rules , 87, 118, 130. 94 King, Rules , 87. 95 King, Rules, 86. 96 King, Rules , 87. 97 King, Rules , 87. 98 King, Rules , 118. 99 King, Rules , 118. 100 King, Rules , 118. 101 King, Rules, 128. 102 King, Rules, 128. 103 King, Rules , 130. 104 King, Rules , 130. 105 King, Rules, 130. 106 King, Rules, 130. 107 King, Rules, 130.

204 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

clothes, bed-cloth and money. 1294 All ornaments but gold, silver and precious stones. Conv. Church 108 1346 Chalices, crosses, vessels for carrying water and Conv. Church 109 wine, relics, breviaries and psalters and gilded cloth. 1346 Plated vessels of gold and silver, all money, all cloth Treasury 110 beyond three canne, swords, and all other things. 1346 All goods traditionally passing to the master, and all Master 111 belongings of the Seneschal, Castellan of Rhodes, bailiffs, and all other Hospitallers serving the master 1354 Swords. Marshal 112 Jean Fernandez de Heredia All things designated for divine worship, except Conv. Church 113 (1376-96) utensils donated to the churches on the commanderies. Antonio Fluvian de Riviere Corn and wine to serve master and his retinue until Master 114 (1421-1437) the following Christmas, six hundred marks of silver plate, as well as a golden chalice and a silver vase. Jaques de Milly (1454-61) Any goods of use to the infirmary. Infirmary 115 Before Giovanni Battista Jewels. Grand conservator 116 Orsini (1467-1476) Fabrizio del Carretto All the household goods of the deceased master Master 117 (1513-1521) except gold and silver plate. 1539 Bourses, silken and leather giubboni, 12 wax candles, Grand conservator 118 six rotoli of sevo. 1539 All inkpots, writing feathers, scissors, sharpeners, Treasury’s clerk 119 paper, blank books as well as all copper and bronze chandeliers. 1539 Paterni di legno, leather and silken stringhe found on Mastro scudiero 120 the clothes of deceased Hospitallers, as well as all leather gear used with mules and horses, the bozzacchini, boots, and used leather ruffs and gloves. 1555 All weapons, except swords and daggers .121 Armoury 122 1612 Books of Hospitallers dying in Convent. Conventual friars 123  Table 4.2: Statutes decreeing the sharing out of the belongings of a deceased Hospitaller

108 King, Rules , 98. 109 AOM 1649, p.96; Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 36; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 56. 110 AOM 1649, p.96. 111 AOM 1649, p.96. 112 AOM 1649, p.106. 113 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 23; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 105. General-Chapters held under Jean Fernandez de Heredia. 114 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, ‘Statutes’ 66, Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 154. 115 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 28. 116 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 44. Orsini allowed the Gran Conservatore only the right of first purchase on jewels valued at less than 5 Rhodian florins. 117 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 68. Gold and silver plate that went to the Treasury. 118 AOM 1679, p.246. 119 AOM 1679, p.246. 120 AOM 1679, p.246; AOM 219, f.55r. 121 Swords and daggers had to go to the spoglio of the deceased Hospitaller and put to the hammer together with his other belongings. 122 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 37. 123 AOM 1679, p.244; AOM 1651, p.323; AOM 306, f.18. Books owned by the Hospitallers who died out of Convent were sold by auction with the other belongings.

205 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

The distribution of the belongings of the deceased Hospitaller among the different branches of the Order shows that each branch within the Order held its assets separately from the other branches. Indeed, assets held by one section of the administration would not be confused with those of the other sections, not even with the assets held by the theoretical communality of ownership represented by the Treasury. On these lines, in 1478, the ordinary council decreed that the breviaries, which an unidentified grand commander had bequeathed to the Treasury, should pass on to the conventual church notwithstanding his disposition. 124

Members of the Order were not allowed to dispose of those goods which statutorily had to pass on to one of the branches of the Order, not even as part of the quinto . On 3 November 1651, the Camera dei Conti revoked a donation of a number of books made by the late bailiff of Santo Stefano, Fra Girolamo

Marullo, to the Theresian friars, 125 arguing that these belonged to the assembly of chaplains at the conventual church. Yet, the Camera dei Conti allowed the books to pass on to the Theresian friars, allowing the assembly of chaplains to wage litigation against the quinto of the late bailiff for their value, claiming that the donation was intended to be a ‘good deed’ ( opera pia ) for the remission of one’s sins ( discarico di conscienza ). 126

A statute enacted under Grandmaster Verdale stated that all belongings of deceased Hospitallers, which used to pass on to the different offices within the

124 AOM 1679, p.244, AOM 75, f.190. 125 AOM 665, f.398r, 403r-v. 126 AOM 665, f.398r, 403r-v.

206 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Order, had to be sold by auction, with all relevant proceeds going to the

Treasury. 127

Yet, a number of exceptions continued to exist. Sacred objects, including books, were still required to pass on to the conventual church, while the

Verdale statute explicitly exempted magisterial spogli from its precepts, 128 allowing them to remain unregulated for some years.129 The general chapter of

1612 decreed that books of Hospitallers dying in Convent had to pass on to the assembly of chaplains at the conventual church as should have been the case with the books donated by the Bailiff Marullo to the Theresian friars mentioned above. 130 Likewise, in 1626 the ordinary council, when deliberating on the merits of the spoglio of Fra Pietro Verra Cameras, conventual prior, decreed that sacred objects were not to accrue to his spoglio , but pass on directly to the conventual church. 131

Over the years, the grandmasters sought to augment the assets forming the so-called ‘state of the magistracy’ ( stato del magistero ), or the assets enjoyed by the incumbents to the magistracy , by bequeathing to it (the ‘state of the magistracy’) part of their spoglio . Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt (1601-22) bequeathed tapestries, made of red damask, embellishing three rooms in the palace, various velvet-covered chairs, and a baldachin. 132 His successor, Louis

Mendez de Vasconcellos (1622-23) bequeathed the tapestry of Brocacillo which embellished the magisterial chapel and an adjacent room, together with

127 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 45. 128 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 45. 129 AOM 107, f.107v. 130 AOM 665, ff.398r, 403r-v. See above\page xii. 131 AOM 664, ff.130r-v.

207 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO various paintings, a grand clock with the image of cupid in a corner, several other precious objects. 133

A commission appointed by the ordinary council on the death of

Vasconcellos to investigate the accumulation of wealth by different grandmasters, found that various abuses had been perpetrated at the expense of the Treasury. Not only did certain grandmasters retain within their stato assets held by their predecessors; it was becoming common practice to claim gold and silver goods together with certain clothes from the spogli of various other

Hospitallers who died, whether in Convent or in the priories. Wignacourt and

Vasconcellos had together amassed something in the region of them 17,657

Sicilian silver scudi. 134

These findings led the ordinary council to decree that henceforth grandmasters could enhance the magistracy’s silverware, by buying it according to its weight and market price ( a peso et a prezzo ) from the spogli .135

Abuses were not curtailed. Grandmaster Juan de Lascaris Castellar (1636-

57) bequeathed all the goods that he had acquired as grandmaster, including new tapestries, beds, chairs and various utensils, to the ‘state of the palace’

(stato del palazzo ), or the assets found in the magisterial palace in Valletta, 136

132 AOM 925, f.3v. 133 AOM 925, f.30v. AOM 6385, f.220r. 134 AOM 107, f.107v. 135 AOM 107, f.107v. 136 The stato del palazzo was not to be confused with the stato del magisterio . The latter comprised all assets pertaining to the incumbents of the magistracy, including the magisterial receptory ( ricetta magistrale – which comprised the commanderies which yielded income to the grandmaster) as well as the different assets pertaining to the magistracy on Malta, including immovables such as the Verdale and San Anton , and the movables found therein. The stato del palazzo grouped only the assets found in the magisterial palace in Valletta. Lascaris, by bequeathing his possessions to the stato del palazzo , sought to differentiate between the two

208 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO thus circumventing the Order’s prohibition to increase the stato del magistero at the Treasury’s expense. 137 On the other hand, his successor Nicolas Cottoner

(1663-80) decreed that any assets that he had added to the palace’s inventory should not go to the palace, but to his spoglio , hence to the Treasury. 138

There were other officers who also attempted to circumvent the Verdale statute and claim part of the spogli on account of their office. In 1595, the little commander, whose office required him to weigh and distribute medicines in the infirmary, claimed the boards (tavolati ) of all brothers who died in convent.

The Camera dei Conti rejected his demand twice, on 10 June 1595 and again on 25 September 1604. 139 Similarly, on 7 October 1595, the Camera dei Conti declined the request of the maestro scudiero for the saddle of the late

Grandmaster Verdala’s horse. 140 Yet, on 26 May 1716, the ordinary council recognised the marshal’s claim for walking sticks (bastoni ) belonging to deceased Hospitallers, including those decorated with precious stones. 141

Until the late seventeenth century, it was still customary for various officers of the Order, namely members of the ordinary council, the vice-chancellor, the

Treasury’s secretary, and his assistant to share among themselves half of the magisterial spoglio .142 The act of sharing of the magisterial spoglio points to two issues that were intrinsically at play within the Hospitaller structure. These were on the one hand, the autonomous administration of each office or

groups of assets, although effectively the stato del palazzo formed part of the stato del magisterio . 137 AOM 6385 f.223. 138 AOM 1679 p.367; AOM 6385, f.265. 139 AOM 1679, p.247-8. 140 AOM 219, f.55r. 141 Note inserted at the end of Caravita’s Chapter X, in a handwriting different from that of the main text. AOM 1679, p.248.

209 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO department within the Order’s structure, with each branch at times acting in antagonism with another branch; and on the other, the autonomous fiscal personality which individual Hospitallers enjoyed, seeking to maximise one’s personal income at the expense of the Treasury.

4.4 The spoglio and the Hospitallers’ autonomous

fiscal personality

The separate juridical and fiscal personality which Hospitallers enjoyed within the Order, together with the relative autonomy with which they managed their personal finances, meant that: i) the Order was not in a position to know with any precision what the belongings of its members were (that is unless it was informed by them); 143 ii) a Hospitaller could, and often was, inclined to consider the property (moveable or immovable) whose usufruct he enjoyed as his own, rather than as assets belonging to the Order; and iii) as a consequence of ii, a Hospitaller was prone to bequeath these possessions to members of his family, friends, and charitable institutions.

In order to counteract these problems the Order required all Hospitallers to draw up a disproprio , an accurate account of all their possessions; this they had to do on falling gravely sick, or before embarking on any enterprise where life could be at risk. In addition, Hospitallers were not allowed to dispose of any belongings unless they were given magisterial permission.

142 AOM 1679 p.366. 143 One must bear in mind that many Hospitallers had properties both on the Continent, as well as in Convent. In Malta, various Hospitallers tended to live in their own houses, while the majority of the Hospitallers had administered a commandery . Besides, given the autonomy

210 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

By definition, the disproprio was a statement drawn up by a Hospitaller to declare all assets that he enjoyed at any particular point in time, enlisting all movables, and immovables, including all debts and credits. 144 It was considered an act, and declaration, of poverty: on his deathbed, a Hospitaller would surrender all the belongings that he had enjoyed during his lifetime to the

Order. 145

Through the disproprio , a Hospitaller informed the Treasury of all his assets, liquid and fixed, and his liabilities. The possessions enjoyed by a

Hospitaller could be situated in different locations. The belongings of the receiver of Venice, Fra Francesco Boldieri, were situated in Mantua, Venice, and Verona. 146 The prior of Bohemia, Count Carl Leopold d’Herberstein, mentioned above, 147 enjoyed properties in various European cities including

Vienna, Prague, Losen and Troppau. 148 While the Order was based on Malta, various Hospitallers owned property on the island as well as on the Continent.

Fra Giovanni Caravita owned a house in Valletta and held the priory of

Lombardy and the commanderies known as Monte di Palma and di Racconigi in Lombardy. 149 Only the individual Hospitaller knew exactly the extent and

with which Hospitallers managed their finances, a Hospitaller could owe money to various creditors, as well as being owned money by various debtors. 144 AOM 1679, pp.335-6. Tabone (Tabone, ‘Tales from the Grave’, 26-30) confuses disproprio with testament. Hospitallers were not allowed to testate, but only to dispost of one fifth of their belongings with the Grandmaster’s permission through an apposite writ referred to as the disposition of the quinto . The disproprio was merely a writ describing the state of belongings which the Hospitaller enjoyed at the point in time when it was written. This contrasts with a testament or will, through which a testator delineates which goods belonging him should devolve to which person/entity after his death. A Hospitaller could not testate as de jure he did not own his belongings but enjoyed their usufruct. Effectively they belonged to the Order. 145 Vertot, ‘Statutes’ 116. 146 AOM 951, f.59r-60v. 147 See above, page 113. 148 AOM 948. 149 Lib 4, pp.128-150.

211 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO nature of his possessions. Through the disproprio , these were also made known to the Treasury. Structurally, the exercise was almost identical to a rendering of accounts at the termination of a term of office, where the term of office in this case represented the period lived as a Hospitaller.

The duty of drawing up a disproprio was first enacted as a statute under the

French Grandmaster Hellion de Villeneuve (1319-46). All infirm brothers had to make their disproprio in view of their vow of poverty. In order to ensure the integrity of the document, the disproprio , which could be either holograph

(written by the Hospitaller himself) or nuncupative (dictated viva voce and written by a third party), had to be drawn up in the presence of two other

Hospitallers, one of whom had to be a chaplain, and the other a ‘person of distinction’. 150 The seal of the infirm Hospitaller and that of each of two witnesses present then sealed the document. It would then be deposited with either of the venerable procurators of the Treasury, if the infirm lived in

Convent, or with the procurator of the Treasury fuor di Convento if on the priories. The disproprio was returned to the Hospitaller if, and when he recovered. If a seal was missing, the disproprio was declared null, and invalid before the law. 151

A statute enacted under the magistracy of Philibert de Naillac (1396-1421) imposed the duty of the disproprio upon all Hospitallers embarking on a sea- voyage, 152 while a statute enacted during the magistracy of Jean de Lastic

150 Although not statutorily required, it was held ‘ una delle diligenze più profittevole ’ for the Receiver to be present when Hospitallers living on the Priories were drawing up their disproprio . AOM 1679, p.341. 151 AOM 663, f.339r. 152 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 19-20. Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 138.

212 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

(1437-54) imposed the same onus on all Hospitallers entering the infirmary.

These had to draw up their disproprio within 24 hours from their admission into the hospital, and it had to be sealed by the prior of the infirmary. 153

The general chapter of 1555 decreed that every Hospitaller had to draw up a disproprio every year. It was to be submitted to the grandmaster or the venerable procurators of the Treasury if the Hospitallers resided in Malta, or to the provincial-chapter if they lived on the priories. In either case, the seal on the disproprio would be broken only on one’s death. 154

Although there was always the possibility that a moribund Hospitaller left, wittingly or unwittingly, out some assets from the disproprio , the disproprio was vital to the Treasury. In the case of death, it enabled the Treasury to take cognisance of all assets of the deceased Hospitaller and serve as the basis for the formation of the spoglio . Consequently, it was imperative that the disproprio was drawn up and that it was not tampered with. It was also necessary that no one would take any material possessions of the deceased.

When a moribund Hospitaller entered the infirmary, or upon receiving the news of a Hospitaller’s death, the grand commander, generally through the agency of a ‘trusted hospitaller’, sealed the Hospitaller’s house, to ensure that interested parties, like relatives or creditors, would not have access to his property. 155 A similar course of action took place in the priories, with the receiver doing the work of grand commander. 156

153 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 27; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 186. 154 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 81. 155 AOM 1679, p.362. 156 AOM 1679, p.353.

213 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

On the death of a Hospitaller, the receiver or the procurator of the Treasury fuor di Convento on the priories and the venerable procurators of the Treasury together with the commissari degli spogli in Convent, were obliged to open the disproprio before drawing up the inventory of belongings which constituted the deceased Hospitaller’s spoglio .157 At the same time, these officers of the

Treasury were on the look out for other debts and credits that the Hospitaller could have possibly left out of his disproprio .158 The receivers’ on the other hand, had to send to the Convent a copy of the disproprio of Hospitallers who died on the priories. Likewise, whenever a Hospitaller died in Convent, the venerable procurators of the Treasury had to inform the receiver residing on the priory where the deceased had his commanderies, of his death and copy the deceased’s disproprio .159 If the moribund Hospitaller did not make a disproprio , or if it was not found, the receiver was obliged to inform the grandmaster and the ordinary council.160 The receiver in the priories or the commissari degli spogli in Convent were still obliged to carry out their investigations to collect all possessions pertaining to the spoglio of Hospitallers whose disproprio was not found. By informing the Council that a disproprio was not found, the receiver avoided the possibility of being charged with having omitted any particular items from that spoglio .161

157 AOM 1679, p.343-4. 158 AOM 1679, p.343-4. 159 AOM 1679, p.344. A Hospitaller could have commanderies in more than one Priory. Consequently a notification had to be issued to each Receiver within the boundaries of whose ricetta a Hospitaller had a commandery. 160 AOM 1679, p.343. 161 AOM 1679, pp.343-4

214 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Failure to draw up the disproprio could result in the Treasury incurring severe financial loss, as the Treasury would not know the true extent of the assets enjoyed by a Hospitaller, to be able to recover them on his death. When the prior of Saint Gilles (in Provence), Fra Honoratio de Quiqueran Beaufeu, was gravely ill, the venerable procurators of the Treasury warned the grandmaster and the ordinary council that the Treasury could suffer a grave loss if Beaufeu passed away without having drawn up the disproprio . The council instructed the venerable procurators to write to the moribund prior and insist on his drawing up an account of his possessions and consign it to the receiver. 162

According to the Villeneuve statute, if the moribund Hospitaller failed to draw up his disproprio and eventually recovered from his illness, he was punished for violating Hospitaller rules. 163 The statute does not mention which punishment had to be meted out at Hospitallers who failed to draw their disproprio . Hospitaller practice demanded corporal punishments; generally, a combination of fasting and flogging, 164 for an infringement of the statutes, while the violation of ‘the law of God’ required a spiritual penalty. 165 The failure to draw up the disproprio in writing was statutorily interpreted as a breach of the vow of poverty, apart from an infringement of the statutes.

Consequently, the disobedient Hospitaller was liable to incur both corporal and spiritual punishments. 166 No such instance was found among the minutes of the

162 AOM 219, f.54r. 163 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 43. 164 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 112. 165 Vertot, ‘Statutes’ , 8. 166 AOM 1679, p.338.

215 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Order’s council or in those of the Camera dei Conti , and hence one cannot say whether such punishments were effectively meted at Hospitallers.

Naillac’s statute carried the penalty of the quarantine – meaning a 40-day fast and a daily flogging while reciting psalms 167 – and the loss of a year’s incomes from the commanderies for Hospitallers who failed to draw their disproprio before embarking on a sea-voyage. Conventual chaplains lost their soldea for a year. 168 The statute enacted under Lastic threatened infirm

Hospitallers who consciously failed to draw up their disproprio with expulsion from the infirmary without receiving any further medical care and attention. 169

The Treasury’s officials often viewed the disproprio where a Hospitaller claimed to owe large debts to his relatives with suspicion. 170 Given that

Hospitallers did not own, but merely enjoyed their possessions, they could not bequeath them after their death. 171 Yet, as it transpires from different judgements pronounced by the Camera dei Conti , that various Hospitallers did attempt to testate their belongings in a personal will by circumventing the

Order’s statutes and disguising their donations as debts to their relatives or friends in their disproprio . Consequently, in order to counteract this deviance, the Order did not recognise debts that moribund Hospitallers claimed on behalf of close relatives unless the creditors could provide irrefutable evidence. On 9

August 1642 the Camera dei Conti dismissed the claim made by the bailiff of

Santo Stefano, Fra Opizo Guidotti, in his disproprio that he owed his nephew

167 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 112. 168 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 19-20. Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 138. 169 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 27; Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , ii, 186. 170 AOM 1679, p.171. 171 Lib 533, pp.150-159.

216 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Saolo Guidotti 1,500 scudi. According to Opizo’s disproprio , he owed his nephew that amount for repairs that he had carried out on the commandery known as del Ferro della Madalena . The Camera dei Conti argued that no irrefutable evidence had been brought forward to prove the debt. 172

On the other hand, the Camera dei Conti recognised the debt claimed by the moribund Angelico Savina, servant-at-arms, in his disproprio drawn up by an unidentified notary in Syracuse on 31 December 1641. Fra Savina had declared to have been in possession of a number of goods, including a vineyard, which actually belonged to his brother Vincenzo and his wife Veronica. The procuratore delle cause argued that Angelico’s relatives could not claim those possessions because Angelico’s declaration having been ‘drawn up on his deathbed and by a religious person in favour of close relatives, is null and has no value’. 173 Indeed, the procurator’s argument was correct as far as the disproprio was the only supporting evidence of claimed debts. However, in this particular case, the Camera dei Conti and eventually the ordinary council, decided in favour of Vincenzo and Veronica Savina, after these produced witnesses in support of their claim. 174

Full usufruct, though not legal title of ownership, over goods that one inherited or acquired with his money was a short call from outright ownership of the same goods. Indeed, the difference was not always clear in the minds of some Hospitallers who did not attempt to donate property to their relatives or friends under the guise of unpaid debts, but simply bequeathed their

172 AOM 665, ff.71r, 152r. 173 ‘La dichiaratione fatta da esso Fra Savina, essendo fatta in articulo di morte, et da persona religiosa a favor di stretti consanguinei sia nulla et di nessun valore ’.

217 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO possessions through a formal will. In the late seventeenth century the

Treasury’s secretary, Caravita argued in his Trattato del Tesoro that a number of Hospitallers, unaware of what the statutes said, instituted relatives or friends as their universal heirs, bequeathing to the Order only a small portion of what they thought they owned. 175 This was the case with the receiver of Venice

Francesco Boldieri who, in a will dated 1635, instituted his brothers Matteo and Curio and their respective sons as his universal heirs. He also stipulated that if these were to die without an issue, his possessions would go to the

Canosa branch of the family. He also bequeathed 200 Venetian ducats to his servant Cesare and 4,000 ducats to his two godchildren Isabetta and Flavia. To the Order, Boldieri bequeathed only the money that he held on its behalf as receiver of Venice. 176

The difference between a disproprio and a testament was not always clearly understood by all Hospitallers. Through the former, the Hospitaller acknowledged the current state of his belongings. The latter was an outright donation of one’s own property after death – and which Hospitallers were not allowed to make. The disproprii of the certain grandmasters betray this confusion of terms. In their disproprii, the several grandmasters recognised their debts, freed their slaves, and bequeathed some of their personal possessions to relatives, friends, or charities. 177 This confusion is made explicit in the disproprio of Grandmaster Ramon Perellos y Roccaful (1697-1720): ‘we

174 AOM 1121, ff.115-6; AOM 665, ff.133v-134r, 154r-v. 175 AOM 1679, p.268. 176 AOM 951, f.33r-35v. 177 Hospitallers were allowed to dispose of only one fifth of their belongings. This was known as the quinto . See page 221.

218 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO declare this to be our last disproprio , and donation causa mortis .’ 178 Donations that took effect on the death of the testator, namely a donation causa mortis were, then as now, legally akin to donations made through a testament. 179 The

Order’s statutes explicitly forbid this.

Three factors induced Hospitallers to try to circumvent Hospitaller statutes to be able to donate their personal belongings to their families, or to bequeath them outrightly through a will: i) the difference, apparently minor in practice, between full usufruct and outright ownership; ii) the strong attachment to one’s lineage; and iii) the strong social pressure to keep one’s patrimonial possessions within the family. 180

As members of European patrician class, Hospitallers were heavily subject to pressures to keep patrimonial possessions within the family. 181 Conscious of this innate desire of its members, the Order responded by allowing individual

Hospitallers to dispose of some of their possessions, including patrimonial property, without infringing upon its statutes and consequently breaching the vow of poverty.

Monastic tradition had customarily allowed novices to dispose freely of their possessions before professing into a religious Order. 182 The Council of

178 ‘Dichiariamo esser questo il nostro dispropriamento e dispositione causa mortis ’ AOM 925, f.25r. Tabone, ‘Tales from the Grave’, 26. 179 Stefan Cachia, ‘The Family and the Land in Late Medieval Malta: A Study of the Acts of Notary J. Zabbara (1486-1488)’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, 1999), 80. 180 Henri Bresc, ‘Europe: Town and Country: Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries’, in A History of the Family: Distant Worlds, Ancient Worlds , eds. A. Bruguière et al i (Cambridge, Massachusetts 1996), 430-466. 181 D. Sabean, ‘Aspects of kinship behaviour and property in rural Western Europe before 1800’, in Family and Inheritance: Rural Society in Western Europe 1200 – 1800 , eds. J. Goody, J. Thrisk and E. P. Thompson (Cambridge 1976), 96-111, 97. 182 Bozzi and Grilli, Regola del Maestro , Vol. 1, 395.

219 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Trent regulated that tradition, permitting novices, including Hospitallers, 183 to dispose of such property or other personal belongings, provided that they obtained a licence from their Bishop. 184 That Council also prohibited professed religious from holding any private property once they had professed, 185 effectively reiterating the rules established by St Benedict in the fourth century.

In the late middle ages, particularly during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the monastic rules relating to private property became so lax that that there were instances when the properties of a monastery were divided into prebends to support individual monks 186 – a situation which in most cases was redressed by the various reform movements particular to each order. 187

Hospitallers, whose order did not attempt to curtail the ‘inroads made by private possessions’, and who did not spend all, not even most, of their life in a monastery, were even more inclined to dispose of such property then members of other religious institutions. The Hospitaller’s autonomous fiscal personality within the Order allowed him to retain his personal belongings, and used them as if he was the rightful owner. Consequently, these properties were not assimilated completely with the Order’s communal belongings, as was the case with the possessions of those entering the other monastic institutions. 188 The difference created within the Order of St John, the framework within which

Hospitallers could fairly easily abuse the system and dispose freely of part of

183 AOM 1679, p.134. 184 Stephanus Ehess ed., Concilium Tridentinum: Diariorum, Actorum, Epistularum, Tractatum , ix, (Friburg 1923), 1083. 185 Ehess, Concilium Tridentinum , ix, 1053. 186 Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism , 222. 187 See page 86. 188 Bozzi and Grilli, Regola del Maestro , i, 166 et seq .

220 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO their personal possessions. Such dispositions would have been probably unthinkable had such possessions been merged with the Order’s communal belongings immediately on profession. 189

Various statutes regulated which possessions a Hospitaller could freely dispose of. One statute enacted under Revel’s magistracy allowed Hospitallers to dispose of a moderate unspecified portion of their belongings on their death. 190 This was eventually quantified by the general chapter of 1555 as not exceeding ‘one-fifth’ of the ‘money and goods’ in their spoglio that remained after all the debts and credits of the deceased Hospitaller were honoured. 191 This was known as the quinto .192 Another statute enacted under the magistracy of

Verdale allowed Hospitallers to dispose freely of the patrimonial properties inherited from their parents after obtaining a specific licence from the grandmaster. 193

Funeral expenses and specific legacies were to be paid from the quinto . This meant that the remaining four fifths of the spoglio would devolve in full to the

Treasury. 194

Apart from the quinto , and their patrimonial properties, Hospitallers could alienate, both during their lifetime and as a legacy after their death, any house

189 In this case, one cannot compare Hospitallers with members of other religious institutions because research on whether these attempted to dispose of their belongings, which statutorily belonged to their order, is still lacking. 190 Vertot, ‘Statutes’ 103. 191 Vertot, ‘Statutes’ 103. Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 358, (1555). 192 Boisgelin, Ancient and Modern Malta , 298; AOM 1679, p.31, Vertot, ‘Statutes’ 103. Although the term has already been defined above, it was felt necessary to reiterate here what Hospitallers understood by the term quinto given that the quinto will be fully discussed in the following paragraphs. 193 AOM 1679, p.143; Vertot, ‘ Statutes ’, 68. 194 AOM 1679, p.256.

221 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO or structure that they had built or bought in Valletta, Senglea, or Vittoriosa.195

Such was the case of the house bequeathed by prior Imbrol. 196 According to

Giacomo Capello’s 1716 report on Malta to the Venetian Senate, by the early eighteenth century the Order discontinued this practice as Hospitallers began to invest in houses, which they were able to will freely, 197 at the expense of the

Treasury. Hospitallers could also dispose freely, upon getting a specific licence from the grandmaster of any property acquired, in whatsoever way on the

Maltese Islands. 198

Mercieca argues that patrimonial property which a Hospitaller was allowed to dispose of after obtaining the grandmaster’s permission was disposed of as part of the quinto .199 This does not seem to follow, neither from Caravita’s

Trattato del Comun Tesoro , nor from the Hospitaller statutes. Caravita explicitly defines the quinto as one fifth of the money, credits, and moveables of a Hospitaller’s spoglio , excluding immoveables. 200 Besides, when enlisting the different kinds of possessions which a Hospitaller was allowed to dispose he clearly differentiated between the immoveables (houses in Valletta,

Vittoriosa and Senglea, immoveables situated in the Maltese islands, and patrimonial estates) from the quinto , which is discussed seperately from the immoveables. 201 Finally, while the quinto could only be disposed of after one’s

195 Vertot, ‘Statutes’ 176. Originally, under the tenets of a statute enacted in 1555 Hospitallers were only allowed to dispose of houces built in Vittoriosa and Senglea, so as to populate both citites. Bosio, Dell’ Istoria , iii, 358. Eventually, Valletta was added to the list. 196 AOM 1121, ff.284r-288r. 197 Mallia-Milanes, Descrittione di Malta , 76-7. 198 AOM 1679, p.252. 199 Simon Mercieca, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver of the Hospitaller Order of St John’, (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta, 1991), 60. 200 AOM 1679, pp.255, 263. 201 AOM 1679, pp.252-257.

222 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO death, 202 a Hospitaller could alienate patrimonial estates and any immoveable acquired on the Maltese islands during his lifetime. 203

Three conditions had to be met for the disposition of one’s possessions

(apart from houses in Valletta, Vittoriosa or Senglea) to be valid: the

Hospitaller i) needed a magisterial approval; ii) could not be in debt with the

Treasury for more than 100 scudi; and iii) at the time of his drawing up the disposition, had to be mentally sane.

Given that the statutes allowed the disposition of the quinto , of patrimonial properties and of any immoveable owned on the Maltese islands, approval was generally granted immediately on request. Yet, if a Hospitaller proceeded to dispose of the quinto , or of any immoveable which he was allowed to dispose of, without first seeking the grandmaster’s authorisation, the disposition was null. On 4 April 1584, the ordinary council declared null a legacy made by Fra

Ubertino Solario ‘to a pious cause’ because he had failed to obtain the necessary approval ‘from his superiors’. 204

On the other hand, a Hospitaller could make his disposition of the quinto , or any immoveable, if he had sought the grandmaster’s approval, even though his request had not yet been granted. The ordinary council recognised as valid a disposition made by Fra Stefano de Pradal, which had been drawn up before he had obtained the magisterial approval, on the grounds that de Pradal had already sought such licence. 205

202 AOM 1679, pp.264. 203 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 68, 100. 204 AOM 96, f.178r. 205 AOM 1679, p.265.

223 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Following the general chapter of 1612, if a Hospitaller owed more than 100 scudi to the Treasury, he could not dispose of the quinto . On 7 October 1642 the ordinary council decided that the aforementioned prior of Saint Gilles

Beavieu could not dispose of his quinto because at the time of the disposition, he owed the Comun Tesoro more than 100 scudi. 206

Insanity at the time of drawing up one’s disposition of the quinto was considered sufficient reason for invalidating a donation of one’s possessions.

Generally, medical advice would have been sought to substantiate the healthy state of mind of a moribund Hospitaller. The formulation of syntactically correct sentences, or long periods of lucidity were enough to validate a disposition, though the ultimate assessment in that regard laid with the ordinary council.207

The validity of Prior Salvatore Imbroll’s disposition, made on his deathbed, was questioned by the procurators of the Treasury because of his alleged insanity. Prior Imbrol had originally bequeathed a house to his brother

Mattheolo. Eventually, on his deathbed, Imbroll changed his donation bequeathing the same house to his nephew, Fra Carlo Michallef. The procuratore delle cause , unidentified in our sources, argued that the latter disposition was null on two accounts: the late prior was not mentally lucid when effecting the second disposition, 208 and he was a debtor to the Treasury.

Two medics, Dr Biasi Callola and Dr Gio Maria Habela, confirmed the procurator’s judgement, as did Maria Imbrol, Flavia, Giuseppe Aquilina and

206 AOM 114, ff.28v-29r. 207 AOM 1679, p.278-9.

224 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Gratiulla l’Ancellotti, all relatives of the prior. On the other hand, three

Theresian friars, Fra Thomaso, Fra Francesco, and Fra Pietro, together with their prior, Fra Isidoro, who assisted the late Prior Imbrol on his deathbed, testified that the latter had died in complete mental lucidity. Indeed, other witnesses, including the notary who had published the late prior’s disposition and those who had witnessed the deed testified that the late prior had spoken with them uninterruptedly for about one hour before receiving the viaticum.

Eventually the commissari degli spogli decided that after all the late prior must have been sane when drawing up the second disposition. In the end, however, the house still went to the heirs of Mattheolo because the donation had been made intervivos and could therefore not be revoked. 209

When bequeathing patrimonial property, a Hospitaller was also expected to donate something to the Order ‘ dummodo tamen de aliqua portione dictorum bonorum arbitrio suo iuxta consciente et propia devotione ’. 210 Such a donation seems to have been a fee in order to obtain the permission to dispose of the belongings of the Order. If a Hospitaller failed to honour such an obligation, permission to dispose freely of his patrimonial properties was revoked, and the properties would return to the Order. Indeed, the ordinary council revoked the disposition of patrimonial properties made by the prior of Bohemia, Vratislav, for not having donated anything to the Order in return. 211

208 The report of the commissari degli spogli on the matter, which lay at the basis of this case study, does not specify on which accounts Fra Imbroll was held to be insane. 209 AOM 1121, ff.190r-194r. The case-study is taken from the undated report made by Jo Antonio de Neapolito Commissar deputed by the ordinary council to report on the matter. 210 ‘However provided that somehow in portion of the same goods [his], according to his arbitrary [judgement] according to his conscience and devotion’. AOM 1679, p.254. 211 AOM 1679, p.255. Caravita does not date this decision, but merely refers the reader to a Letter by the venerable procurators of the Treasury to the receiver of Pisa dated 18 December

225 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

If the value of the quinto was not enough to satisfy all the dispositions of the dying Hospitaller, legacies were paid first. These included funeral expenses and any other legati pii ,212 including the provision for masses to be said for the repose of one’s soul. 213 Consequently, the rest of the quinto was customarily divided proportionally ( a soldo per lira ) between the different beneficiaries of the Hospitaller’s disposition. 214

The quinto , as indeed the other dispositions, was a manifestation of the autonomous fiscal personality that each Hospitaller enjoyed within the Order.

Not only did the individual Hospitaller enjoy, during his lifetime, the possessions that he had brought to the Order; he was also allowed to dispose of part of them freely, thus alienating them from the Order.

In allowing individual Hospitallers to alienate what was de jure its property, the Order was yielding to social pressures which required that property remain within the family rather than fall under the mortmain of the church. At the same time, the Order ensured its ascendancy over the will of the individual

Hospitallers. The magisterial permission and that of the ordinary council was required for a Hospitaller to be able to dispose of his possessions whether patrimonial properties, immovables situated on the Maltese islands, or his quinto . Besides, the Order had far-reaching authority over the spogli , powers which by far transcended the whims of the individual Hospitaller.

1675. In the second half of the seventeenth century, there were two priors of Bohemia named Vratislav, Fra Adamo who acceded to the priory on the 24 January 1662 and his successor Fra Francesco who became prior on the 22 November 1666. The latter renounced to the priory by virtue of two decrees dated 11 and 14 January 1674. AOM 2226, f.66r. 212 AOM 645, 211. The term legati pii , or pious legacies, referred to all legacies which a moribond Hospitaller bequeathed to ecclesiastical or charitable institutions, and the poor. 213 AOM 663, ff.142r; AOM 645, f.288; AOM 1679, pp.310-303. 214 AOM 1679, p.302. There was no statutory enactment in this regard.

226 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

4.5 Ascendancy of the Order over the spogli

The powers of the Order of St John over the spogli of Hospitallers were extensive. Any litigation against the spoglio of a Hospitaller had to be filed before the Order’s tribunals. Following a deliberation by the ordinary council of 23 July 1654, the liquidation of the quinto had to take place within the

Order’s tribunals, whether in Convent or on the priories.215 The Order had an arbitrary power to decide which debts incurred by a Hospitaller during his lifetime were licit, and hence payable from the spoglio , and which were illicit, and hence not refundable. Finally, the Treasury had the right to be compensated ahead of all other creditors.

By virtue of a privilege conceded to the Order by Pope Pius IV in 1560, the grandmaster together with the ordinary council, or their nominees, had the right to assume the function of a judge in any litigation in which Hospitallers were involved, both actively and passively. 216 Thus, any litigation concerning a spoglio had to be decided by the Order’s tribunals. 217

This privilege confirmed a statute enacted during the magistracy of Philibert de Naillac explicitly prohibiting Hospitallers from employing the Order’s resources to pursue a litigation in courts of justice other than those belonging to the Order. 218 Lawsuits could only be filed in non-Hospitaller tribunals with the permission of the venerable procurators of the Treasury .219

215 AOM 1679, p.257. 216 AOM 1679, p.151, Bosio, Privilegii , 14. 217 Bosio, Privilegii , 4. 218 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 43. 219 AOM 1121, f.60r.

227 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

The only lawsuits which members of the Order were allowed to file in non-

Hospitaller courts over the spogli were those aimed at recuperating assets of deceased Hospitallers that had been usurped by creditors. This was the case with the spoglio of the aforementioned receiver Boldieri, whose personal belongings had been put under sequestro by court orders following numerous lawsuits filed by his creditors. 220

Lawsuits concerning the spogli were the sole prerogative of the ordinary council. The Camera dei Conti acted on its behalf. A statute enacted during la

Sengle’s magistracy entrusted provincial-chapters, which at times assumed the role of a priorial tribunal, with the authority to decide on those matters of civil or criminal nature that could arise within its territorial jurisdiction. 221 On 23

August 1656, the ordinary council decreed that provincial-chapters could convene only to decide on questions of seniority, proofs of nobility, and matters concerning the allotment of vacated commanderies. 222 They were forbidden to pronounce themselves on matters relating to spogli .223 Tribunals in the priories were more apt to be influenced by relatives or creditors of the deceased Hospitaller – such creditors were generally local magnates who had great influence in the environs of their territorial base, and provincial chapters could be susceptible to such influence. Consequently, by reserving deliberations on the spogli to the tribunals in Convent, the Order decreased the possibilities of abuse. Even the commissari degli spogli , who had the task of verifying claims made by alleged creditors of deceased Hospitallers and then

220 AOM 951, f.55r et seq . 221 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 78. 222 AOM 119, f.171v.

228 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO decide on their merits, referred their decisions to the Camera dei Conti to deliver the final judgement; a measure which can be interpreted to have been motivated by the will to further restrict the scope of abuse in Convent.

Any judgement pronounced by tribunals or by commissioners, not appointed by the ordinary council, was considered null. 224 On 27 May 1610, the

Camera dei Conti did not recognise a payment of 100 scudi made by the receiver of Naples, Bernardo Capece, to Don Claudio Capece for a credit that the latter held with the spoglio of a Hospitaller whose name is unidentified in our sources. 225 The receiver had acted on a sentence meted out by two unidentified commissioners appointed by the provincial-chapter. The Camera dei Conti argued that the latter, or its appointees, had no authority on matters relating to spogli .226

The role of the ordinary council, or the Camera dei Conti , as the sole arbiters in matters concerning the spogli was such that anyone wishing to pursue a lawsuit against a spoglio had to seek redress solely in either of the two tribunals, either in person or through a procurator. The innkeeper of the Oste le

Mirre nominated the Hospitaller receiver in Provence, Fra Giuseppe Chiergi, as his procurator in his litigation against the spoglio of Fra Dolomieu, which was filed in Convent. Fra Dolomieu had stayed in that inn for five days between the

3 and 7 August 1721, without paying anything for his stay. Before departure, he had acknowledged his debt through two writs, which he had signed. He did the same twenty-one years later, in 1742. By the time of his death in 1750, the

223 AOM 1679, p.151. 224 AOM 1121, ff.64r-69v; AOM 103, f.139v. 225 AOM 103, f.139v.

229 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO debt with the Oste le Mirre had not yet been paid, and its owner had to seek compensation through a lawsuit in the Camera dei Conti .227

Not to burden the creditors living on the continent with the onus of proceeding to the Convent in Malta to file litigation and stay there until the lawsuit was settled, the Camera dei Conti regularly appointed commissioners, or sent orders to the provincial-chapter, via the receiver, to elect two commissioners, and an assessor, to judge a particular matter. 228 These officials would hear what the creditors had to say. The receiver, aided by of the Order’s lawyers, assumed the role of defendant of the spoglio on behalf of the

Treasury. If the litigation was waged in the district of Palermo, the role of commissioner as assumed by the Giudicie Commissario , a Hospitaller judge resident in Palermo whose office was created, by the ordinary council on 23

July 1635. 229 Once the commissioners pronounced judgement, the proceedings, including the commissioners’ decision were sent to the Convent for re- evaluation by the Camera dei Conti , which would pronounce the final judgement. 230

On these lines, the venerable procurators of the Treasury annulled an earlier decision on the commandery of Modica, in a litigation filed by the Baroness of

San Giovanni, Antonia Grimaldi, against the spoglio of the deceased Chaplain

Fra Vincenzo Giarrattano. The lawsuit over the ownership of that commandery was originally filed while Giarrattano was still alive. The venerable procurators

226 AOM 103, f.139v. 227 AOM 944, f.8r-13r. 228 AOM 1679, p.154. 229 AOM 111, f.146v; AOM 1679, p.155. Caravita gives 3 July 1635. 230 AOM 111, f.146v; AOM 1679, p.154.

230 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO argued that Ciancio the judge who had passed the first judgement was competent only for as long as the Chaplain was alive. On his death, that competence passed on to the Camera dei Conti .231 Consequently, the Camera dei Conti appointed two commissioners to conduct the investigations in Sicily and refer back to it so as to be in a position to pronounce itself on the matter, which they duly did. 232

At times, the Camera dei Conti allowed a Provincial-chapter to pronounce judgement itself. In such cases, the receiver would keep continuously in touch with the venerable procurators, so that the latter could assess any legal advice forwarded by the Order’s lawyers on that priory. 233

The only litigations in which the Camera dei Conti did not assume the role of arbiter in litigations concerning the spogli were those that concerned armoured vessels. The Order held the corso industry in high esteem. Corsairing reaped rich dividends to entrepreneurs who invested in such ventures. Besides, vessels paid for the licence to carry the Order’s flag. 234 In order to attract non-

Maltese, Christian privateers to navigate the seas under its flag, the Order of St

John offered favourable conditions to such privateers. Such was the provision of a tribunal to regulate relations between armatures of vessels, their captains and their crews, which tribunal known as the armament’s tribunal ( Magistrato degli Armamenti also known as the Tribunale degli Armamenti ) was founded

231 AOM 1121, ff.64r-69v. 232 AOM 664, f.233v-234r, 237r; AOM 1121, f.69v. 233 AOM 1679, p.155. 234 J. Muscat, ‘Rules and Regulations for Maltese Corsairs’ in eds. Tony Cortis, Thomas Freller, and Lino Bugeja, Melitensium Amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Gwann Azzopardi (Malta 2002), 185-198, 186.

231 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO in 1605. 235 No other tribunal, not even the Camera dei Conti , could interfere in the proceedings of this tribunal. The autonomy granted to the armament’s tribunal in its founding statutes was underscored again by the ordinary council on 12 November 1633, when it was explained that any litigation concerning the share a deceased Hospitaller had in a corsairing venture pertained to the

Magistrato , and not to the Camera dei Conti .236

If the spoglio is understood to retain the separate juridical and fiscal personality within the Order that the Hospitaller enjoyed during his lifetime, then, the armament’s tribunal’s competence with regards to shares ‘owned’ by the spoglio of a Hospitaller was not an exception. Rather, the spoglio of the deceased Hospitaller was simply substituting the deceased Hospitaller as a shareholder in the corsairing enterprise. The armament’s tribunal only assumed the arbiter’s role in such litigations, 237 in accordance with its competencies.

On 12 December 1667, the ordinary council released the spoglio of Fra

Stampes to the armament’s tribunal to have the various shares distributed among Stampes’s creditors. Stampes had died heavily in debt, both with the

Treasury and with other creditors, so much so that the total amount of his debts was larger than the value of his spoglio . In order that the Treasury would not suffer any financial loss, the council had the spoglio released only after the

Treasury had recovered all that it was due. 238

Stampes’s case shows the Order’s arbitrary powers over Hospitallers’ spogli in yet another dimension. It had the right to repudiate the spogli of individual

235 Muscat, ‘Rules and Regulations for Maltese Corsairs’ 186. 236 AOM 1679, p.153; AOM 111, f.15r. 237 AOM 1679, p.153.

232 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Hospitallers as well as the right to recognise or otherwise the debts incurred by a Hospitaller.

When the debts of a deceased Hospitaller were larger than the value of his spoglio , the Order would generally renounce to any claim it had over that particular spoglio in order to avoid being held liable for the deceased

Hospitaller’s debts. 239 This was standard practice, notwithstanding the 7

October 1606 admonition by the Camera dei Conti that the practice of renouncing the spoglio could lead to abuses. 240

When such cases occurred in the priories, the receiver would decide by and large in a similar way, after consultation with the procurator of the Treasury fuor di Convento .241 He would notify the council of any such renunciation, describing minutely the state of the spoglio involved. Then, the Camera dei

Conti would officially pronounce the final decision. 242 In the second half of the seventeenth century this formality passed on to the venerable procurators of the

Treasury, with the latter remitting the case to the ordinary council in cases where opulent spogli were involved. 243 Following a renunciation, the receivers residing on the priory where the deceased Hospitaller lived, would be advised to hand over the property of the deceased to the public authorities. 244

Before relinquishing the spoglio , the Order made sure to settle any outstanding debts that the deceased Hospitaller might have had with any

238 AOM 123, f.132v; AOM 645, f.15r. 239 AOM 1679, p.164; AOM 6397, ff.413r-v. 240 AOM 663, f.54r. 241 AOM 1679, p.165. 242 Registri dell Audienza Camera , passim . 243 AOM 1679, p.166. 244 AOM 645, f.289r.

233 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO branch of the Order and with creditors such as pensioners and the servants who according to Hospitaller legislation were privileged creditors. 245

There were occasions when the Camera dei Conti felt it could leave such spogli in the hands of the deceased’s relatives who were also professed members of the Order. These would assume responsibility of satisfying the creditors and ensure that the Treasury suffered no harm. This was the case with regard to the spoglio of Fra Pietro Limoges, remitted into the hands of the deceased’s brother, Fra Giovanni Limoges, himself a major creditor of Pietro. 246

Similarly, on 8 October 1633, considering that the debts contracted by the

French Hospitaller Fra Stefano de Nollant were much larger than the real value of his spoglio , the Camera dei Conti decided that once the Treasury had received all its dues, the rest could pass into the hands of Fra Francesco de

Roggier Sorvy, the executor of the deceased’s spoglio .247

The Order did not always repudiate debts larger than the spoglio . Indeed, on some occasions, it paid debts which a deceased Hospitaller had entered into during his lifetime, and which could not be settled from the sale of his spoglio .

This it did when the debts had been made: i) on the Order’s behalf; ii) with local governmental authorities (such as unpaid taxes); iii) for the Hospitaller’s own subsistence; iv) on account of medical expenses; v) and as a result of funeral expenses.

On 29 September 1615, the Camera dei Conti deliberated that the Treasury should pay Gregorio Pririce the 20 Sicilian uncie that he had lent Fra Antonio

245 AOM 1679, p.166. 246 AOM 665, f.230v. 247 AOM 664, f.203r.

234 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Mazzara. This notwithstanding that the latter’s spoglio was not sufficiently large enough to cover those expenses. Mazzara had borrowed that sum in order to recover a number of slaves who had escaped from the Order’s galley squadron. 248

Taxes which should have been paid to national or local governments in

Europe, such as the royal tithes in France and the imperial levies in the Holy

Roman Empire,249 and which the deceased Hospitaller had failed to pay during his lifetime, were paid from his spoglio . On 8 August 1615, the Camera dei

Conti decided that the royal tithe which Fra Michele le Feure did not pay before he died had to be deducted from his spoglio and not carried over to his successor Fra Claudio Perrot, as had been expected by receiver Guispres.250 If the value of the spoglio was not enough, the rest would have been honoured by the Treasury. The Treasury, for example, paid the imperial levies owed by the prior of Bohemia, Tattempach, over the commandery of Melling, in Bohemia.

On 4 July 1667, the ordinary council forwarded the relevant bill to

Tattempach’s successor Fra Igniazio d’Amico. 251

The Order also honoured debts which the Hospitaller incurred to sustain himself, for medical expenses, as well as those which went for his funeral expenses, both in convent as well as out of convent, though generally the latter were the responsibility of the deceased’s relatives. 252

248 AOM 663 ff.269v-270r. 249 AOM 663, f.264r; AOM 123, ff.106v-107r. 250 AOM 663, f.264r. 251 AOM 123, ff.106v-107r. 252 AOM 665, f.289r.

235 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

The Order paid only for the medical expenses incurred during the last infirmity of the moribund Hospitaller and for his funeral expenses, unless the spoglio was large enough to cover the two. 253 From spoglio of Fra Giacchi

Danes, Diego Magro recovered 4 scudi 2 tari for providing the necessary medical care. 254 Similarly, the spoglio of Fra Gio Batta Carusi paid Clarissa,

Diego Magro’s widow, 23 scudi for the medical attention he had been given, and 4 scudi 5 tari to the apothecary Lorenzo Hagius for the medicines provided. 255

The Order paid for the funerals of all Hospitallers who died in Convent, while the funerals of Hospitallers who died on the priories were generally paid either from the quinto , or by the relatives of the deceased. 256 If neither was possible, then the onus of paying fell on the receivers in that locality. This was what happened with the funeral of Fra Giovanni Ribera, who died in

Salamanca in 1647. 257

Funeral expenses incurred by the Order in the priories were not expected to exceed 25 scudi. 258 When the receiver of Valladolid, Fra Giovanni Tudesillas, paid 91 scudi 18 tari 1 grano for the funeral of Fra Ribera, the Camera dei

Conti ordered that only 25 scudi be recognised for reimbursement. 259 Fra

Tudesillas had to pay the balance from his own pockets. Too much pomp would flout the vow of poverty – or so it was thought. On 4 July 1648, the

253 AOM 1679, p.162. 254 AOM 945, f.64r. 255 AOM 946, ff.8r-11v. 256 AOM 1679, p.325. 257 AOM 665, f.289r. 258 AOM 1679, p.331. 259 AOM 665, f.289r.

236 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Camera dei Conti refused to reimburse 65 scudi spent on a woollen blanket for the funeral of Fra Antonio Maria di Giovanni, stating that it was excessive and unnecessary. The bill was sent back to the receiver.260 Similarly, it declined the request to reimburse 24 scudi 18 tari spent, by the receiver of Messina, Fra

Antonio Gottho, on a damask blanket for the funeral of Fra di Pietro.261

However, Hospitallers from Majorca were allowed opulent funerals on account of the local custom and tradition though receivers were advised not to exceed

25 scudi in those cases where the spoglio was somewhat limited. 262

Effectively, not all spogli where debts were larger than the deceased

Hospitaller’s property were renounced, as more often than not the extent of the debt involved was not known. As creditors sometimes claimed the settlement of a debt years after the death of a Hospitaller, 263 it was almost impossible for

Treasury officials to know with any precision, whether a spoglio would suffice to reimburse all debtors. If the spoglio was not enough to cover all refunds, then reimbursements would have to be made proportionally – consideration being made to the nature of the debt, and to the date when it was contracted.

A statute enacted during the magistracy of Verdale provides for a hierarchy of creditors. 264 Debts with the Treasury were the first to be settled. Next came the deceased’s servants, and then all the other creditors, graded in order of precedence (styled loci or luoghi – literally placings). Top on the list were

260 AOM 665, f. 313v. 261 AOM 666, f.20r. 262 AOM 1679, p.331. 263 Thus the claims of Francesco Tranchant (3 scudi 8 tari 10 grani), Ariete Fournier (62 scudi, 3 tari) and Gaspare Guillot (2 scudi, 9 tari 15 grani) against the spoglio of Fra Fra Giuseppe Spirito de Seguins Cabasole who died in convent on the 27 May 1730 were decided on the 10 April 1734, 14 December 1734, and 8 February 1736 respectively. AOM 933, ff.49v50r, 267v268r.

237 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO those creditors who had rendered a service to the moribund Hospitaller, such as caring for him on his deathbed and providing medicines ( medicamenti) .265 Next came those who were owed money on account of a legacy. Legacies were generally left on behalf of needy individuals or charitable institutions.

Hospitallers who left such legacies were in effect implementing the Order’s mission of helping the needy, and consequently such debts had to take precedence over those of a more worldly nature, such as money loans, or debts on account of unpaid purchases of services. The latter formed the last category of debts. Amongst such creditors, those creditors who held a hypothec on some belongings of the deceased Hospitaller were paid first. 266 Last paid were those creditors who merely had a private writ, or the evidence given by a witness, to prove their debt. In each case, an earlier debt ( anteriore ) gave precedence over a later one. 267 In 1608, the Camera dei Conti reiterated the primacy of the

Treasury, arguing that the commissari degli spogli could not start forking out refunds to any creditor before ensuring that there were no pending debts with

264 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 45. 265 One can easily understand why these creditors were ranked first. They did not have the possibility of claiming back their money from the Hospitaller during his lifetime. Besides, it would not have been inconceivable to pay such creditors in accordance with the historical sequence of their credit, as this could mean that they would not be paid for the medicines, and medical care provided! 266 Debts with a hypothec are secured debts, and creditors have a legal right to the belongings over which the hypothec was secured. Hence, they were privileged debtors. 267 AOM 946 passim ; AOM 9 passim . Creditors graded in the first place were paid first. Hence came those on the second luogo , and so on until the spoglio lasted. If the spoglio did not suffice, those creditors who enjoyed the same place divided proportionally the sum accruing to their luogo after the other had been paid. On receiving payment, the creditors vowed that they would return the money they received from the commissari degli spogli should any creditori anteriori e privileggiati , turn up at a later date, f.or the latter to be fully paid. On the 12 November 1686 the commissari degli spogli while recognising the claims of Nicola Savini and Carlo Lorrè against spoglio of Fra Francesco del Carbinaye de Bosingon instructed them to wage litigation against the other creditors who had been paid on 27 March 1686. AOM 945, f.66v.

238 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO the Treasury. 268 However, the statute originally enacted under Verdale was later modified by the general chapter of 1631, which placed the pensionisti a rung above the servants. 269

The primacy of the Treasury took effect even if a creditor had put the possessions of the Hospitaller under a sequestro following a lawsuit begun during the lifetime of the deceased Hospitaller. This followed a precedent set by the Camera dei Conti on 10 June 1617. Fra Geronimo Vitelli died with his commandery, unidentified in the records of the Camera , under the sequestro for having owed Fra Oratio Torriglia 80 ducats. On his death, Vitelli was also in debt with the Treasury for unpaid responsions. The Camera dei Conti decreed that Vitelli’s spoglio would pay Torriglia only after any all the debt which Vitelli had had with the Treasury were settled. 270

On the other hand, following a deliberation of the ordinary council, dated 11

October 1629, the Treasury was considered at par with the other creditors when it was owed money in lieu of another Hospitaller. As shown in the previous chapter, the Treasury could inherit a debt contracted between two Hospitallers when either Hospitaller died. 271 In that case, the Treasury, which substituted the deceased Hospitaller, did not enjoy any privilege over the other creditors. Until

1629, the Treasury had been a privileged creditor, even if the money that it was owed accrued on account of a debt originally contracted between two

Hospitallers. This emerges from a statement made by the Camera dei Conti on

17 February 1629. The Treasury was owed an unquantified sum of money by

268 AOM 663, f.109r. 269 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 150-1; AOM 1679, p.203-4. 270 AOM 663, f.301r.

239 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO the late bailiff of Naples, Fra Cavagliati Valmacca. The deceased bailiff had originally contracted the debt with another Hospitaller, one Fra Teseo. The latter died before the bailiff. Consequently, as the Treasury inherited Fra

Theseo’s spoglio , the bailiff became a debtor of the Treasury. Although the debt with the Treasury was not the result of a debt contracted directly with the

Treasury (such as the failure to pay responsions), the Camera decreed that the

Treasury was still a privileged creditor of the spoglio of Fra Valmacca. 272 The prior of Auvergne, Fra Giusto la Fais Gerlande, and Fra Gio-Domenico Vallari, both of whom were owed money by the deceased Bailiff, argued that the

Treasury should take the place of Fra Teseo and they contested that deliberation. On 11 October 1629, the ordinary council upheld their claim; 273 this decision was again confirmed by the complete council eighteen days later, on 29 October. 274

Following this deliberation, the Treasury’s place in the order of precedence of debt settlement varied, depending on the nature of the debt. With regards to the spoglio of Don Vincenzo Alvarez Pinto, the Treasury was placed in primo luogo for being owed 57 scudi 6 tari on account of some houses, which Pinto had leased from the Treasury. It was also placed in terzo luogo , on account of two credits that it held on behalf of the spogli of Fra Pereira and Fra de Nozet, which credits were worth 80 scudi and 64 scudi respectively. 275

271 See page 123. 272 AOM 664, ff.158v-159r. 273 AOM 109, ff.225v-226r. 274 AOM 109, f.231v. 275 AOM 946, f.59r-v.

240 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

The Order recognised only those debts that were contracted with its permission. This notion was widely interpreted to include almost all debts incurred by a Hospitaller, including those contrived before profession. On professing, the novice brought into the Order all his personal possessions, including any legal titles he had to patrimonial property and financial investments. Included were debts that he might not have settled by the time he entered the Order. This reasoning followed the notions propagated by early modern jurists, such as Sanchez and Molina; 276 these argued that a religious institution was held to pay only insomuch as the member brought into the

Order on profession. 277

On the other hand, the Order did not automatically recognise debts incurred by Hospitallers after profession. Given the communal possession of goods, any money that a Hospitaller was going to invest belonged to the Order, whether he had earned it as a separate fiscal persona or whether he had done so as a

Hospitaller official. Consequently, any business deal entered into by a

Hospitaller was contracted on behalf of the Order, even if it was the individual

Hospitaller who had made the deal. Thus, theoretically, prior permission had had to be sought from the grandmaster and the ordinary council. In the 1680s,

Fra Nicola Buonaventura had to obtain magisterial permission in order to invest one third of the profits, which he had earned from the Genoese

276 AOM 1679, p.157. 277 AOM 1679, p.157.

241 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO commandery of Santa Euphemia between 1649 and 1685, to purchase some unspecified bonds ( luoghi di Monte ) in Rome. 278

However, Hospitaller practice, at least from the thirteenth century, allowed individual Hospitallers the right to manage Hospitaller property under their care without prior reference to a higher authority. The general chapter of 1206 authorised priors and bailiffs to alienate goods of the Order. 279 The General chapter of 1262 allowed Hospitallers to alienate the Order’s property with the consent of the master and his council. 280 By the late seventeenth century,

Caravita could claim that since time immemorial, the right to sell and buy, as well as to give and receive in lease was held not only by priors, bailiffs, and commanders, but also by any other brother, whether in Convent or outside it.

His argument was that the administration of the Order’s property was extended to all Hospitallers, and it could not be exercised without entering into some form of business transactions and contractual obligations. 281

Given that in effect Hospitallers were allowed to buy, sell, and borrow money, and hence incur debts, without prior permission from the venerable procurators of the Treasury or from the grandmaster and his council, all contracted debts were therefore considered as implicitly approved, and hence payable from the spoglio , so long as they were legitimate. Prior permission had to be sought only when a Hospitaller was about to alienate immoveable

278 Ivan Grech, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè in Genoa’ (Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Malta 1996), 105. Similar requirements were statutorily required by other monastic orders. Indeed, they have been documented for the Franciscan Order in the fourteenth century, when that Order sought to counteract illicit mismanagement of funds by its members. Moorman, A History of the Franciscan Order , 187. 279 King, Rules , 50, Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 46. 280 King, Rules , 57. 281 AOM 1679, p.160.

242 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO property, or if he was going to investment beyond the territorial limits of his commandery, as was the case with Fra Buonaventura’s investment in the luoghi di Monte in Rome. 282

The question of the legitimacy of a debt was in itself arbitrary, depending on the proofs presented by the alleged creditors. The most reliable proof was the poliza undersigned by the deceased Hospitaller, or the Hospitaller’s recognition of that debt in his disproprio .

To be considered legitimate, debts had to be supported by written evidence and countersigned in the presence of at least two witnesses. 283 A poliza , or writ, drawn up by the deceased Hospitaller, countersigned, and sealed by the Order’s marshal, or his lieutenant, was necessary to account for the debts contracted in

Convent.284 If the debt was contracted out of convent, the poliza had to be signed by at least four commanders. 285 These statutory requirements were not always feasible in real life. Thus, in 1605 the ordinary council allowed the commissari degli spogli to accept authenticated notarial acts and polize undersigned by the marshal or at least two witnesses. In the latter case, the handwriting in which the poliza was written and the accompanying signatures would have to be verified against other writs, or at least authenticated by other witnesses. 286 Debts up to the value of 20 scudi were recognised as legitimate if two trustworthy witnesses identified the handwriting on the poliza .287 The same

282 Grech, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè in Genoa’, 105. 283 AOM 1679, p.168. 284 AOM 1679, p.168; AOM 1680; p.665; AOM 104, f.138v. 285 Vertot, ‘Statutes’, 80. 286 AOM 101, f.108r-v. 287 AOM 101, f.108r-v

243 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO applied to debts contracted on account of personal services 288 rendered to the deceased Hospitaller. These formalities were not required for Hospitallers who had acceded to the rank of commander, bailiff, or prior, given that statutorily, on account of the administration they held of the goods of the Order, they could enter a business transaction without the consent of a superior. 289

Debts acknowledged in one’s disproprio were generally recognised after the creditor swore to have been owed the said sum by the deceased Hospitaller. 290

Generally, the creditors also sought to prove the Hospitaller’s debt through the testimony of two or more witnesses, or through a poliza . Thus, the spoglio of

Fra Giovanni de Barros was condemned to pay 10 scudi 11 tari to Alfonso

Patralita after the later had proved his debt through a written poliza undersigned solely by the deceased Hospitaller (thus legally invalid) and the disproprio . The debt of Andrea Guillot and Andrea Bonard were likewise proven, the debts owed to Catherina Ruiz and Antonio Pourras were proven only by the disproprio ; while Francesco Duchena and Domenico Gauci, apart from the disproprio , also cited the witnesses’ testimony. 291

The Treasury did not recognise alleged debts whose creditors had failed to produce irrefutable evidence. Jaspare Dalley’s claim of 147 scudi against the spoglio of Admiral Fra Vincenzo Spinelli, on account of unspecified goods

(robba ) taken from his shop, was not recognised for lack of solid proof. 292

288 The term personal services denoted any service rendered by a third party to a Hospitaller, ranging from procuratorships to being in his service as a servant. 289 AOM 104, f.138v. 290 AOM 9; AOM 946, passim . 291 AOM 945, ff.55r-v. 292 AOM 946, ff.3v-6v.

244 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

In addition, for a debt to be considered genuine and legitimate, creditors were required to have sought settlement during the lifetime of the deceased. 293

Margarita Delci, in seeking the reimbursement of 10 Spanish doubloons and 54 scudi that she had allegedly lent to Fra Gio Batta Dolomieu, repeatedly emphasised that she had sought repayment of her dues during the lifetime of the deceased. 294

This applied both to lay creditors as well as other professed Hospitallers and different branches of the Order. Accordingly, on 18 August 1618, the Camera dei Conti deliberated that the langue of Aragon could not claim reimbursement of payments from the spogli of Fra Francesco Colma, Fra Giovanni della

Nuzla, Fra Giovanni Lopez, Fra Luiz Diez de Aux and Fra Vincenzo de Jxar if it had not sought reimbursement for those same payments during these

Hospitallers’ lifetime. 295 Similar reasoning was cited against the Langue of

Castile in 1653, when it claimed payment from the spogli of a number of unidentified Castilian Hospitallers. 296

Following the general chapter of 1598, pensionisti , Hospitallers who enjoyed an annual pension derived from the revenues of a commandery, could claim back one year of defaulted payments and the pro rata for the period between 1 May and the death of the commander. Pensionisti could only claim back three years of unpaid pensions if they had sought payment during the life of the deceased commander. 297 Yet, on 12 November 1622, the Camera dei

293 AOM 1679, p.169. 294 AOM 945, ff.20r et seq . 295 AOM 663, ff.190r-v. 296 AOM 666, f.112v. 297 AOM 1653 ff.43r-v.

245 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Conti allowed Fra Giovanni di Serraucourt to reclaim the value of twelve years of unpaid pensions from the spoglio of the prior of Champagne Fra Michele le

Seure as His claim had dated back to before 1598. 298 On the other hand, on 12

October 1666, the ordinary council decreed that the spoglio of Fra Ernesto

Sorau had to pay the pensionista Fra Ernesto della Torre only one year of unpaid pensions. Della Torre had claimed payment for three years, arguing that

Sorau had acknowledged the debt in his disproprio . The ordinary council argued that della Torre had not sought payment, either through the sending of the esecutoriali (letters sent to debtors to seek settlement), or filed litigation. 299

Such credits were only recognised when either the respective langue or the pensionisti could provide evidence that it was impossible for them to recover their dues during the lifetime of the deceased.

On 13 July 1647, the Camera dei Conti decided in favour of the langue of

Castile with regards to the dritti , left unpaid by the late Grand Chancellor

Lenzina. The latter had owed the Castilian langue 6 scudi 6 tari by way of a tax payable to the said langue on his accession to the commandery of Calasparra.300

Likewise, it upheld the claim of Fra Daulan whose pension was three years and seven months in arrears. The membro de Mesti (forming part of the lands of the priory of France), over which the pension was derived, was under sequestro .

The Camera upheld Daulan’s claim, and instructed receiver Fra Francesco dal

298 AOM 664, f.46r. 299 AOM 667, ff.192r-v; AOM 123, f.64r. 300 AOM 665, f.287v.

246 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO

Bene, who was responsible for the spoglio of the unnamed commander, to reimburse him. 301

Hospitaller legislation also regulated debts contracted with the Maltese. The

Prammatica published by Grandmaster Juan de Lascaris Castellar in 1640 allowed Maltese individuals 30 years within which to file litigation with a

Hospitaller tribunal against a Hospitaller debtor. 302

4.6 Conclusion

Earlier on, it has been stated that death shows ‘the bonds which tied the deceased with those who survived them’. 303 Indeed, the death of a Hospitaller provides the modern historian with a vantage point from which to study the relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury.

The study of the Treasury’s reaction to the death of the Hospitaller, and how it sought to bring together the different effects belonging to the deceased

Hospitaller allow the extrapolation of a number of conclusions about the relationship between the Treasury and the Individual.

That relationship was solidly moulded within monastic precepts established in the fourth century by St Benedict, namely that the monastic institution to which a monk pertained, acquired whatever possessions entered into his possession. However, within the Order of St John, the application of this precept was heavily shaped by the fact that Hospitallers had full usufruct of all assets that they inherited, purchased, or in whatsoever other way acquired, and

301 AOM 666, f.170v. 302 AOM 1679, p.185.

247 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO did not live a communal life as did members of other monastic institutions.

This meant that all assets ‘enjoyed’ by a Hospitaller during his lifetime legally belonged to the Order. The Hospitaller merely had usufruct over those assets, yielding them to the Treasury, on his death as part of his spoglio .

Apparently, to the minds of Hospitallers there was little difference between

‘full usufruct’ and ‘a legal title of ownership’. According to natural law, as indeed according to Hospitaller regulations, one cannot dispose of goods that he does not own. Consequently, Hospitallers could not alienate goods of the

Order. Statutorily, they could not even dispose of properties, which they themselves had acquired, given that whatever they acquired belonged to the

Order. However, various Hospitallers attempted to circumvent such regulations prohibiting the alienation of goods. Many sought to donate their possessions to relatives and friends either blatantly through wills or disguised as debts.

As members of the Order lived across Europe, whether on Hospitaller commanderies or in their own units of housing, it would have been difficult for the Order to take cognisance of the extent of their belongings. Regulations requiring moribund Hospitallers to draw up an inventory of their assets and liabilities, known as the disproprio , sought to counteract this possibility.

The Order, partly acquiescing to societal pressures requiring that property be kept within one’s lineage rather than be transferred to alien institutions, allowed members of the Order to dispose of part of their possessions. In the thirteenth century, they were allowed to dispose of a moderate part of their belongings. By the time the Order was based in Malta, Hospitallers were

303 See above, page 181.

248 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS THE TREASURY AND THE SPOGLIO allowed to dispose of, after obtaining formal magisterial permission, a wide spectrum of belongings, including patrimonial estates, movables and immovables. They could even alienate houses built in the main harbour cities without magisterial permission!

At the same time, the Order retained its ascendancy over the individual

Hospitaller. Prior permission was needed before a disposition of assets could take place. If such a authorization was not forthcoming, a Hospitaller could not dispose of anything, except the said houses in Valletta, Senglea and Vittoriosa, and that only until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Besides, the Order retained full control over legal disputes involving the assets of its members.

Hospitallers could not file litigation in non-Hospitaller tribunals. In addition, while individual Hospitallers could enter into business transactions, and consequently contract debts, with members outside the Order, these creditors could only seek reimbursement in Hospitaller tribunals in Convent. Finally, the

Treasury was granted pre-eminence over the other creditors when it came to settlement of debts of deceased Hospitallers.

249

5 Chapter 5

General Conclusion

The present study has endeavoured to understand the relationship between the

individual Hospitaller and the Treasury, primarily by looking at those instances

when a Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury, and how the Treasury

responded to the death of a Hospitaller. At the same time, it has also tried to

analyse the relationship between the different parts of Order’s structure – those

parts that were responsible for the management of the Order’s assets and

finances.

The relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the Treasury was

formed by the monastic precepts, established in the fourth century by St

Benedict, emphasising the complete self-denial of the individual and, through

the vow of poverty, the absolute rejection of worldly life, most notably worldly

possessions. Succinctly summarised, this rejection of material goods was

understood across Christendom to mean that the monastic institution to which a

monk belonged owned whatever he acquired. The Order’s interpretation of this

precept varied across time. The Rule , drawn up during Raymond Du Puy’s

magistracy (1120-60) required members to sever themselves completely from

material possessions, handing whatever they acquired to the master, who was

in charge of administering the Order’s possessions. By the late medieval

period, this precept was understood to mean that the individual Hospitaller did

not legally own anything, but whatever he possessed belonged in fact to the

250 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION

Order. Yet, he retained full usufruct of any assets – financial, movable, or immovable – that came his way. He enjoyed a full legal and fiscal personality within the Order. He could enter into contractual relationships and business transactions, contract debts, file litigations and in turn be sued for any shortcomings. He had full control over his own money. His freedom was only restricted in two ways: he could not file litigation in non-Hospitaller tribunals, and could not invest in risky business.

The evolution of the Order’s interpretation of the vow of poverty was the

Order’s response to the changing social mores across Europe. Pressing military needs in the thirteenth century transformed the Order into an elitist organisation composed of already trained aristocrats who could afford to equip themselves for battle without totally relying on the Order’s financial resources.

The Order responded to the needs of these aristocrats, the increasingly individualistic mores, and the ‘laicisation of social and moral attitudes’ of the

Renaissance. Such changes manifested themselves in the gradually decreasing dose of communal life and the complementary rise in individual forms of living, both on the commanderies and in Convent whether in the auberges or in their own palaces. By allowing individual members to have full usufruct of their belongings, the Order was responding to the patrimonial strategies of these elites. Individuals who were excluded from patrimonial inheritance by the laws of primogeniture across Europe were allowed to retain their ‘standard of living’, residing in their own houses and enjoying those commodities to which they were accustomed before professing. The Order, which retained the legal title of ownership to all property that the individual ‘owned’, also

251 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION responded to these ‘patrimonial strategies’ by allowing individual Hospitallers to dispose of their patrimonial estates and other forms of property on their death, generally, though not in all cases, after obtaining due permission.

Effectively this meant the complete reversal of the precept of complete renunciation of the material world as set by St Benedict – not only were

Hospitallers allowed to live in the world and adopt a worldly way of life; they could also dispose of their properties.

What Hospitallers could not, or failed to dispose of by the time they breathed their last, would go to the Treasury, the communal depository of all the Order’s funds. In order for the Treasury officials to be in a position to know with near precision what each individual owned, the Order required members to draw up a disproprio , an inventory of their assets and liabilities. Originally, a constraint that bound moribund Hospitallers or those embarking on a risky voyage, by the sixteenth century it was allowed to develop into an annual requirement for all Hospitallers.

On the death of an individual Hospitaller, his personal property, known as the spoglio , passed on to the Treasury where his debts and credits were settled.

Any assets that he had bequeathed, was passed on in accordance with his disposition, unless they had to be sold to make good for his debts. Yet, the spoglio retained the separate fiscal and legal personality enjoyed by the individual Hospitaller during his lifetime, and creditors could sue the spoglio to recover money owed by the deceased long after his passing away.

It would appear that in the mind of some Hospitallers there was little difference between a ‘full usufruct’ and ‘a legal title of ownership’. Though,

252 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION according to the Order’s statutes, Hospitallers could not alienate goods without obtaining magisterial permission, many did attempt to circumvent these regulations, and sought to donate their possessions to relatives and friends either blatantly through wills or disguised as debts included in the disproprio .

The separation of the assets that legally belonged to the Order but were held in usufruct by the individual Hospitaller, from those held by the Order communally for the temporal duration of the Hospitaller’s lifetime represents only one side of the relationship between the individual Hospitaller and the

Treasury. It was complimented by an ongoing relationship defined by material necessities and constituted of money payments and services rendered by the

Hospitaller to the Treasury and, to a lesser extent, by the Treasury to the

Hospitaller.

This relationship was initiated the moment the Hospitaller joined the Order.

Until the Hospitaller professed, the Treasury paid him an annual clothing allowance and a daily ration of food, while the Hospitaller paid the passaggio before professing. The Treasury continued its payments until the Hospitaller qualified for the award of a commandery, when it was assumed that he could maintain himself from the revenues earnt from that commandery. The relationship between the Treasury and the Hospitaller moved a step forward when the Hospitaller acceded to a commandery or an office. Henceforth, the

Hospitaller assumed administrative duties towards the Treasury: to maintain the commandery in good shape and to better it; to draw up a periodical survey on the state of the commandery; and to fulfil other duties pertaining to one’s office. Obviously, these varied from office to office. For example, the duties of

253 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION the receivers included, amongst others, the collection of revenues due to the

Treasury. The officials responsible for the different departments in Convent were required to manage with discretion the assets entrusted to their care. In addition, Hospitaller officials were held to submit an annual report of their administration and a similar report on the expiry of their term of office.

Commanders were also required to send to the Treasury, via the receiver, an annual share of the revenue yielded by their commandery, known as the responsions. Hospitallers entrusted with administrative duties were entitled to receive remuneration: those who administered a commandery kept part of its revenues for themselves; office-holders received a salary from the Treasury.

The relationship between the Treasury and the individual Hospitaller was heavily shaped by the changing circumstances of the Order, particularly by the fiscal requirements dictated by pressing military exigencies. Increased military pressure, whether in Palestine, in Rhodes or in Malta, increased the Order’s financial needs. This translated itself into higher responsions, generally through ad hoc impositions, and new forms of payments required from Hospitallers, or entrants into the Order. It also resulted in more stringent measures; measures aimed to exact payments due, including heavier punishments.

The Order retained its ascendancy over the individual Hospitaller. Thus, prior magisterial permission was needed before assets could be disposed of, and if it was not forthcoming, a Hospitaller could not dispose of anything, except of houses in Valletta, Senglea, and Vittoriosa, and that only until the beginning of the eighteenth century.

254 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION

In addition, the individual Hospitaller enjoyed his separate legal personality only within the Order. The Order retained full control over legal disputes involving its members, and Hospitallers could not file any litigation in non-

Hospitaller tribunals. While individual Hospitallers could enter into business transactions, and consequently contract debts, with members outside the Order, these creditors, according to Hospitaller statutes, could only seek reimbursement in Hospitaller tribunals in Convent. Through the different penalties with which the statutes threatened Hospitallers who fell in debt with the Treasury, the Order sought to encourage Hospitallers not to fall in debt. At the same time, such statutes sought to persuade Hospitallers who had defaulted to effect payment in their earnest, or fulfil the duties pertaining to their office, and thus restore the relationship with the Treasury. When a Hospitaller fell in debt with the Treasury, the Treasury was the sole arbiter to decide his fate, deciding on the course of action through which it would recover its dues. Its officials warned him of the penalties that could be incurred; if he persisted, they could take retributive action to ensure that the Treasury suffered no harm.

There were cases when one’s property was confiscated until the debt was paid.

If the Hospitaller chose to persist in debt, the Treasury officials passed on the case to the Order’s Council which had no option but to put an end to that relationship: confiscating the defaulter’s estates and handing them to whoever was ready to pay the dues. Alternatively, the council could expel him from the

Order by having him defrocked or excommunicated. Repentance and the payment of one’s debts could still restore the relationship that had once existed.

255 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION

The Treasury also retained full jurisdiction over the spoglio . Apart from being the only legitimate arbiter to decide in matters of claims against the spoglio , it enjoyed a pre-eminence over the other creditors when it came to settlement of debts of deceased Hospitallers.

The Order’s structure evolved in response to changing needs and circumstances. As lay patrons donated estates to the Order across Europe, the

Order evolved into a hierarchical structure that rendered feasible the administration of the widely scattered possessions and at the same time ensuring efficiency and transparency in administration, an effective way of collecting responsions from these estates and adherence to the rules and curtailment of abuse among the various classes of administrators. European properties were grouped into commanderies, priories and langues in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, creating lines of command and redress in an attempt to ensure that these properties were not neglected and that the revenues accruing from them did in fact reach the Convent. In the attempt to curtail abuses, an official – the receiver – was sent to each priory to ensure that the Treasury’s dues were effectively collected. Besides, it created an intricate set of penalties to be meted out to Hospitallers who did not pay these dues to the Treasury, or who did not fulfil the duties pertaining to their office.

Similarly, the administration of the Order’s assets in Convent, particularly the management of finances, underwent drastic reform in the endeavour to stem abuses. Until the mid-fifteenth century, the administration of the Order’s assets was entrusted to the grand-commander and the general-treasurer. Then a series of general-chapters held during the 1440s shared those responsibilities

256 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION among a set of newly created officials – the venerable procurators and the conservatore conventuale , establishing counterchecks and balances in the form of new procedures for authorising expenses and the establishment of auditors.

Besides, the administrators of the different departments in Convent, such as the infirmary, the arsenal, the artillery, the fortifications, the public works, the granaries, the bakery, and the naval squadron were required to report periodically to the Treasury to ensure that no abuses were perpetrated.

Administrators who were found to have abused of the Order’s finances, or were negligent in carrying out their duties, were required to pay the Order, from their own pockets, to balance out the harm suffered by the Treasury on account of their abuse or negligence.

Each part of the structure, whether a commandery or a department, had its own assets kept separately from those of the other parts. Thus, until the late sixteenth century, different goods from the spoglio of a Hospitaller went to different departments. In addition, each official was delegated considerable powers in carrying out his duties. A commander administered his commandery

‘like a lord on his manor’. The receiver could, indeed was expected, to do his utmost to recover all the money due to the Treasury, if necessary by confiscating the estates administered by other Hospitallers; however before taking drastic measures such as the permanent confiscation of an estate, he would normally seek advice from the Treasury officials.

Some entities within the Hospitaller structure, such as langues and foundations administered their assets independently of the Treasury. Their administrators submitted their accounts to the respective assemblies or trustees.

257 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GENERAL CONCLUSION

Yet, they were also linked to the Treasury. The latter acted as their shoulder and was there to protect them whenever the need arose. Indeed, debts contracted with these entities were held to be contracted with the Treasury and punished accordingly.

The Treasury branched out across the entire Hospitaller structure. Whether directly, by supervising the effective management of the different parts, or indirectly, through its stance as a shoulder to protect entities like langues and foundations which managed their finances autonomously, it was a binding element. It tied the whole Hospitaller structure together through its administrative and regulatory function of all the Order’s properties and finances. Through its ongoing relationship with the individual Hospitaller, it also ensured that individuals did not rob the Order but paid their dues timely and managed its assets dutifully. Its relationship with the individual Hospitaller was shaped across time by the Order’s acquiescing to societal patterns concerning individualistic attitudes and high standards of living, conceding to individuals the privilege of enjoying possessions notwithstanding the vows of poverty. At the same time, the Treasury, as the Order’s executive and judicial arm in matters relating to the management of assets, retained control over the whims of the individual, wielding arbitrary jurisdictional powers recognised by other sovereign states and on the death of its members assimilating their possessions into its communal coffers.

258

Glossary of terms

Admiral The Commander-in-Chief of the Order’s navy, always from the Italian langue. Auberge The inn, belonging to and administered by a langue, where Hospitallers, members of that langue, resided in Convent. Auditors (It. Auditori dei Conti ) Treasury officials, one from each langue, responsible for auditing the Treasury’s accounts and those of its officials. Participated in the Camera dei Conti . Their office was created in 1449. Bailiffs A title bestowed on dignitaries of the Order: those who headed the langues - conventual bailiffs; those who administered large estates (bailiwicks); and the heads of the priories - the priors. The latter were called capitular bailiffs. Bailiwick A major estate, given to a Hospitaller dignitary. Cabreo A report on the state of every commandery drawn up every 25 years by two appositely appointed commissioners paid for by the commander. Camera dei Conti The jurisdictional arm of the Treasury, hiving the role of a court of the exchequer. Hospitaller tribunal of the first instance with jurisdiction on anything related to the management of Hospitaller assets and finances. Received reports submitted by officials managing the Order’s assets. Camera Magisteriale A commandery whose revenues went to the grandmaster, and not to the Treasury. There was a Camera Magisteriale in each priory. Carichi The total amount of money owed yearly to the Order of Saint John by each commandery. Carovana An annual naval expedition carried out by the Order’s navy. Each Hospitaller had to participate on three carovane to able to accede to a commandery. Castellania d’Emposta The priory of Aragon. Chancellor The head of the langue of Castile, nominally responsible for the chancery.

259 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Chaplains of Obedience (Italian Cappelani d’Obbedienza ) Ecclesiastics who professed into the Order and taken religious vows but were not required to go to Convent. They were attached to the service of some churches belonging to the Order in the priories, and were under the authority of the different priors, bailiffs or commanders. Collecta (or Colletta) The assembly of a langue. Grouped all the Hospitallers of a particular langue who were in Convent. The assembly responsible for taking decisions on matters relating to the langue’s business, allocating commanderies and similar business. Commander (Italian commendatore ) The Hospitaller who administered a commandery . His duties included keeping it in good shape, administering justice, if the commandery had its own feudal jurisdiction, and sending responsions to Convent. Commandery (Italian commenda ) The basic unit of Hospitaller administration. Generally, the term refers to a territorial unit, composed of various houses, fields and estates (at times even some shares) situated in proximity to each other, yielding revenue to its administrator, the commander. The latter had to send a share, approximately one third, of these revenues to the Treasury as responsions. In convent, the term commandery was often used to refer to the various departments. Commissari degli spogli Treasury officials in Convent responsible for collecting the spogli of deceased Hospitallers, selling any movables contained therein, and form an opinion with regards to claims maid by alleged creditors of the deceased Hospitallers. Concerning the letter they advised the Camera dei Conti on the course of action. They reported semestrally to this chamber. Complete Council The highest executive and legislative body within the Order in between general-chapters. It vetted decisions taken by the ordinary council and ensured that they were in line with the Order’s statutes. Also functioned as a court of third instance for lawsuits concerning the Treasury. It was composed of the grandmaster, the head of each langue and two other representatives per langue, plus the Hospitaller dignitaries that were in Convent.

260 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Conservatore conventuale The Treasury official responsible for keeping record of all money receipts in Convent, and making disbursements on behalf of the Order. Convent The Order’s headquarters. Defined by the general chapter of 1555 as including the grandmaster, the conventual church, the infirmary, the auberges, and the langues Conventual Bailiffs A title bestowed on the piliers, the heads of the langues, so called because they lived in Convent. Conventual Chaplains (Italian Cappellani Conventuali ) Religious chaplains who from their profession were attached to the conventual church of the Order, where they performed divine service. The almoners for the Sacra Infermeria and those for the Order’s vessels were chosen from amongst them. Cottoner Foundation The foundation, set up by Grandmaster Nicolo Cottoner to provide funds for the wages of the garrison that manned Fort Ricasoli, at the entrance of the Grand Harbour in Malta. Disproprio An inventory of assets and liabilities drawn up by a Hospitaller. Originally, a constraint that bound moribund Hospitallers or those embarking on a risky voyage, by the sixteenth century it was allowed to develop into an annual requirement for all Hospitallers. Double responsions The penalty of paying double the normal responsions. Draper See grand conservator Enfiteusis Lease of land with the onus of paying the owner an annual sum of money in recognition of his direct ownership of the land. Fiscal year The Hospitaller fiscal year began on the 1 May and ended on the following 30 April. Foundation (Italian fondatione ) An ‘institution’ supported by an endowment made by a particular individual, in our case a Hospitaller, which provided funds for the scope identified by the founder. General chapter The supreme legislative and judicial body within the Order. It enacted legislation in the form of statutes and ordinances, and was the ultimate court of appeal. It was composed of the grandmaster, the conventual

261 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

bailiffs, the prior of the conventual church, as well as the representatives of the langues, priories, and commanderies. In Malta, the bishop of Malta, always a Hospitaller also participated. Statutorily, it should have met every five years. Grand bailiff The head of the German langue. In Rhodes, he was responsible for the strategic castle of St Peter; in Malta, he was given responsibility on the citadels of Mdina and Gozo. Grand commander The head of the langue of Provence, and the Order’s second-in-command, he was also the head of the Treasury, calling and chairing its meetings. Until the 1440s, he was responsible for managing the Treasury’s assets. Then the venerable procurators were created to assist him. Grand conservator Known as Draper until 1539, he was nominally responsible for the clothing store, and oversaw, in person or through his procurators the disbursement of the soldea to Hospitallers. Grandmaster The head of the Order, who governed it together with his council (in both the ordinary and complete formats). He had large powers, being able to grant permission to Hospitallers to excuse themselves from the obligations of various statutes, including those on alienating Hospitaller property and on living a communal life. He also had the power to pardon Hospitallers expelled from the Order. He received the revenues from an estate in every priory, and in Malta, had suzerain powers over the local population. Hospital A term by which the Order of St John, originally founded as a Hospitaller institution, and which retained its Hospitaller vocation throughout the ages until the present day, is often called. Hospitaller The general appellation of a member of the Order; also the head of the French langue, who headed the Order’s main hospital – the Sacra Infermeria . Incapacità A major penalty with which debtors with the Treasury were punished. Debtors lost their seniority, and were precluded from participating in any assembly where Hospitaller matters were discussed, loosing the right to vote on any matter from the allocation of a commandery to the election of a grandmaster.

262 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Infirmary See Sacra Infermeria. Jus del sangue (Lit. Blood rights) The term referred to those hereditary rights involving familial connections. Kommenden The German term for commanderies, the title used by the Teutonic Order to refer to its estates. Langues (Italian Lingua ) The term referred to the groupings of different Hospitallers in accordance with their ‘nationality’. Differentiation was largely a matter of linguistic cum geographical criteria. The langue was responsible for allocating commanderies, deciding which Hospitallers went on a carovana , and so on. It administered its own assets, and had a separate legal and fiscal personality within the Order. It participated in the government of the Order through the participation of its dignitaries in council. Legati pii Those legates forming part of the quinto that a knight left on behalf of his soul. This included donations to Hospitals, for confraternities, for the poor, including widows and the dowries of marriageable poor girls, redemption of slaves and public utility. Legittima A money gift that parents gave to professed children. Marshal The head of the langue of Auvergne, he was the commander of the Order’s armies. Master The term by which the grandmaster was called until the fourteenth century. Membrista The Hospitaller who administered a membro . He had all rights and duties over his membro as a commander had over his commandery. Membro An estate forming part of a commandery – but physically not connected to the estate which constituted the commandery’s headquarters – which the commander decided to temporarily detach from his administration and give to a fellow Hospitaller. The membro ceased to exist as a temporary division of a commandery on the death of the membrista , when it was reattached to the commandery. Miglioramenti The improvements carried out to one’s commandery. Each commander was held to better his commandery during his term of office. Negligence forfeited the chance of promotion.

263 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Mortuary (Italian Mortuorio ) The term denoted the phase in the administration of a commandery that immediately followed the death of its commander, until the end of the Hospitaller fiscal year. Revenue accruing from a commandery during this period went to the Treasury, and was generally itself called mortuorio . Obediences The term, found in the Rule , referred to the estates that the Order owned across Europe, in Asia Minor and in modern day Lebanon, and Palestine. Deriving from the Latin obedire (to obey), the term shows that these estates were under the control of the Order’s central government, the master and his Convent. It referred to the future commanderies, bailiwicks and priories. Ordensstaat Literally ‘the state of the Order’, the Teutonic Order referred to its state in Prussia by this title. Ordinances Regulations enacted by the general-chapter, which had to be confirmed by subsequent general-chapters to retain their validity. They contrasted with statutes, which remained valid until repealed, or superseded. Ordinary council (Italian Consiglio Ordinario ) Often referred to simply as the venerable council ( Venerando Consiglio ) it assisted the grandmaster in the day-to- day administration of the Order, elected officials to the different posts within the Order, and heard litigations as a court of the first instance, between Hospitallers. It also served as a court of appeal for the Camera dei Conti . It was composed of the grandmaster, the heads of the langues and any Hospitaller dignitaries in Convent. Outremar During the Crusading period, when found in documents originating in Western Europe, ‘Outremar’, literally ‘the land beyond the sea’, referred to the Middle Eastern territories conquered by the , and eventually divided into the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. For documents written in the Levant, at times the term Outremar was used to refer to Europe. In Hospitaller documents written in Convent, the term referred to the estates in the European mainland. Passaggio A fee, which each would be Hospitaller had to pay before being received into the Order.

264 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Pensione A pension, or an annual share of revenues from the yield of a particular commandery reserved for the pensionista . Created as a means of helping brethren in need, the pensione was created by the commander holding the commandery over which the pensione was created. It ended with the death of a pensionista. Pensionista He who held a pensione . Pie postulatio voluntatis The 1113 Bull by Pope Paschal II by which he recognised the Hospital as a religious institution, granting it papal protection and confirming its properties in Europe and Asia. Piliers The head of the langue, styled conventual bailiffs. Precepta The original title term for commandery. Prior The head of a priory. Apart from administering his own assets, he was responsible for overseeing the administration carried out by the different commanders holding estates within his priory, and convening, and chairing provincial or priorial- chapters. Together with the latter, he enjoyed jurisdictional powers over civilian and criminal matters within his priory. Priorial-chapter See provincial-chapter Priory A grouping of commanderies, generally grouped along geo-political lines. Headed by a prior, who administered it in collaboration with his provincial or priorial-chapter, it was the Hospitaller parallel to the provinces of the other religious institutions.

Priory A priory was a territorial unit uniting a number of commanderies or bailiwicks, generally based on political or social territorial divisions across Europe, most of these reflecting the status quo of things upon being founded within the Order. Procuratore delle cause The official responsible for filing litigation on behalf of the Treasury before Hospitaller tribunals and upholding the Treasury’s position in any lawsuit in which it is a party. He acted in consultation with the secretary, and on the advice of the Treasury’s lawyers.

265 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Procurators of the (Italian Procuratori della lingua) The two langue administrators responsible for managing the assets owned by the different langues, ensure that all dues owed to the langues were collected, sue debtors before hospitaller tribunals and make the necessary expenses on behalf of the langue, such as for the maintenance of the langue’s auberge or inn. Procurators of the (Italian Procuratori del Tesoro fuor di Convento ) Treasury in the priories Hospitaller officials deputed to assist the receivers in carrying out their duties and at the same time ensure that the receivers carried out their duties in accordance with the statutes. Provincial-chapter (Also referred to as priorial-chapter) An annual assembly, convened in May, which assisted the prior in administering a priory. All commanders and bailiffs holding estates within the boundaries of a priory should have participated in their priory’s chapter. Quinto The one-fifth of their possessions that Hospitallers were statutorily allowed to will away on their death, after having obtained magisterial permission. They could also will away, on obtaining due permission patrimonial properties, and any immovable in Malta. Receiver The Treasury agent to be found in each priory, collecting revenues on behalf of the Treasury, taking the necessary actions against those who did not pay, and making disbursements on instruction of the Treasury officials in Convent. At times, they assumed the role of ambassadors on behalf of the Order. Responsions A share of the revenues earned from a commandery, which the commander was required to send annually to Convent. These amounted to roughly one third of the commandery’s yield. Rinuntia (Lit. Renunciation) Generally used to refer to the renunciation of to the ancestral inheritance, whether paternal or maternal. Rule The Rule of the Order , formulated during the magistracy of Blessed Raymond du Puy (1120- c1160). Sacra Infermeria The main hospital of the Order in Convent. Sacra Rota Romana The Vatican court which served as the ultimate court

266 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

of appeal for Hospitallers. Secretary The Treasury’s clerk, he was responsible for overseeing all the Treasury’s acts, from disbursements to receipts of money to the auditing of reports, supervise the procuratore delle cause , sub entering in his place if necessary, as well as take the minutes of the Camera dei Conti ’s proceedings. He had no voting power, neither in the executive nor in the judicial tasks pertaining to the Treasury. Sequestro The confiscation of the properties, and consequently of the income earned from them, belonging to a Hospitaller in debt with the Treasury, carried out by the receiver in consultation with the venerable procurators. These properties were returned to their owner when the debts had been settled. Soldea A clothing allowance given to each Hospitaller who had not yet obtained a commandery, paid in cash or in kind. Spoglio All the goods, whether monies, movables, immovables, as well as credits which the knight left on his death. In common usage it referred to those goods that devolved to the Treasury after deducting the quinto , any debts that the knight might have had, and any other expense incurred. Statutes Laws enacted by the general-chapter, which remained valid until repealed or superseded. These contrasted with ordinances, which had to be confirmed by subsequent general-chapters to retain their validity. Tavole A food allowance given to Hospitallers who did not reside in an auberge. During the Maltese phase of Hospitaller history – the only period for which evidence on it was found – it amounted to 60 scudi a year. Treasurer (Italian Tesoriere Generale ). Always a member from the langue of France. The official responsible for the administration of the Treasury. Until 1449, he was responsible for making disbursements, which onus passed to the conservatore conventuale . Instead, the treasurer was designated capitular bailiff and tasked with attending the ordinary council when the Treasury’s accounts were read. Treasury (Italian Comun Tesoro or Comun Erario ) The

267 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Central, or Common Treasury of the Order of Saint John. It administered the finances of the Order in all that had to be done, and had agents spread around Europe in all places were the Order had its landed possessions. Through its judicial arm, it oversaw the management of the Order’s assets. Turcopilier The head of the English langue, was originally responsible for commanding the mercenaries in battle, and later responsible for the coastal defences. Vacancy (Italian Vacante ) The term referred to the period when a commandery was without commander. Statutorily, it denoted the first full fiscal year after the commander vacated a commandery either by being promoted or by death. The revenues accruing from a commandery during this period went to the Treasury. Venerable procurators The day-to-day executive administrators of the Treasury.

268

6 Appendix 1

Grand Commander c1530-1700 1

Foglio Name Elected 9r Fra Guiotto de Pana 24 November 1535 Fra Pietro de Grasse 23 January 1536 Fra Gerardo de Massas 17 June 1536 Fra Tolchetto de Caritas (Baglio dei Larigo) 9 February 1541 Fra Ponzetto Turro 18 Luglio 1544 Fra Roberto Stube diet Roccamartin 30 October 1545 Fra Antonio de Barras 27 January 1546 Fra Filippo du Brocq 17 March 1548 Fra Antonio Panin k.a. de Pevies 19 November 1549 Fra Claudio de Couel k.a. La Boul 28 November 1551 Fra Pietro de Beaulach 28 September 1553 Fra Gio[vanni] Valletta k.a. Parisot 9 September 1555 Fra Franc[esco] de Touchebouf k.a Claremonte 18 November 1556 Fra Pietro de Gozzon k.a. Melai 30 August 1557 Fra Carlo Durrè k.a. Testieres 17 March 1558 Fra Ludovico du Porrt 2 May 1560 Fra Guiliotto du Sales 7 April 1562 Fra Antonio de Rodes k.a. Montaligre 10 May 1566 Fra Claudio de Glandeues 26 April 1568 Fra Balthasar de Ventimiglia 21 January 1569 Fra Franc[esco] de Panises 12 October 1570 Fra Pietro Ebrail known as la Ribera 2 March 1573 Fra Martino de Lescuit Romegas 19 February 1574 Fra Franc[esco] de Moreton ka.a Chabillan 27 September 1576 Fra Ugo de Loubenx Verdala 24 July 1579 Fra Carlo Gras known as Brierison 15 January 1581 Fra Fra Fran[ces]co de Puget 17 March 1581 Fra Fra Fran[ces]co de Puget 18 June 1585 Fra Gio[vanni] de Soubirari k.a. Arifat 23 May 1591 Fra Pietro de Montaubari k.a. Uoguederriar 19 September 1594 Fra Pietro de Roccalaura k.a. St Aubin 28 December 1596 Fra Pietro d'Esparier Luan 20 July 1600 Fra Fra Gio[vanni] de Ventimiglia Orioles 8 March 1602 Fra Claudio de Theran k.a. Venasques 2 June 1603 Fra Bonifacio de Puget k.a. Chastirel 19 October 1605

1 AOM 2226, ff.9r-v.

269 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS GRAND COMMANDER

Foglio Name Elected 9r Fra Arturo de Glaudeues Pepin 6 October 1609 Fra Gio[vanni] de Vassadel Vagueras 4 February 1610 Fra Antonio de Paula 12 January 1619 Fra Balthasar d'Agouz Mourier 27 February 1621 Fra Gio[vanni] Fran[cesc]o de Puget Chastuel 11 March 1623 9v Fra Giacomo de Mausleon la Bastide 29 February 1625 Fra Giorgio Le Castellana Dalluys 31 July 1625 Fra Claudio Durre Vanterol 23 January 1630 Fra Paolo de Gerente la Broere 4 September 1631 Fra Honoratio de Cuiqueran Benufeu 14 March 1634 Fra Guilielmo de Vincent Sauolhan 11 August 1637 Fra Alberto de Boneual Faubin 20 May 1642 Fra Enrico de Merles Beauchamps 29 February 1644 Fra Domenico de Pollastron la Jlliere 14 November 1645 Fra Gio[vanni] de la Bastie Mauleon 10 May 1655 Fra Alessandro de Benques 18 November 1655 Fra Beltrando de Luppe Garrane 31 August 1656 Fra Antonio de Puget S.Mare 12 October 1657 Fra Gasparo Castellane Mouneyan 9 June 1659 Fra Gio[vanni] de Thersae Montberault 5 September 1662 Fra Antonio de Glandeues Castellet 27 September 1663 Fra Gio[vanni] de Arpafore 28 March 1664 Fra Paolo Antonio de Piobus Graueson 4 July 1664 Fra Gio[vanni] Giacomo de Verdelia 11 September 1666 Fra Giacomo Deupareus Lussan Carboneu 22 April 1673 Fra Beltrando de Moreton Chabillan 17 February 1674 Fran[cesc]o de Troissemaues Chastueil Fra 4 September 1677 Brunet Fra Lorraro Marcello de Galean Castelnuovo 2 February 1678 Fra Fran[cesc]o de Agoult Seillon 7 February 1678 Fra Giacomo de Ouserune Caderousse 7 March 1681 Fra Thomaso de Villagges 23 January 1683 Fra Vincenzo Amea de Forbius la Fare 2 April 1685 Fra Federico de Berre Colongue 17 May 1688 Fra Fran[cesc]o de Ceynes Caumons 1 December 1688 Fra Fran[cesc]o de Mourges Ventauon 24 August 1691 Fra [Chris]tofero de Baroncellis Jauon 11 August 1692 Fra Gasparo de Panteues Bargenne 23 February 1698 Fra Carlo de Glandeues Crugges 12 December 1700

270

7 Appendix 2

Treasurer c1530-1700 1

Foglio Name Elected 115r Fra Pietro de Nesdes 22 October 1535 Fra Filippo Carleau 11 December 1535 Fra P. della Roche Charidri 12 August 1636 Fra Balthasar de Aspermont 1 December 1537 Fra Claudio de Aursieville Villiers 2 June 1641 Fra Leone de Montelambert 18 March 1644 Fra Gio[vanni] de Nocheres 26 January 1550 Fra P. de la Fontaine 22 December 1557 Fra Gio[vanni] Audebert k.a. Caubuge 18 December 1559 Fra Carlo de Hesselion k.a. Gacourt 19 August 1562 Fra Giacomo de Arquembourg k.a. Turille 13 May 1663 Fra P. Pelloquin 17 August 1663 Fra Guglielmo de Mallain 22 October 1565 Fra Xptofero = [Chris]tofero de Mondauldri 6 April 1571 Fra Gio[vanni] de Gallarbois 30 April 1576 Fra Antonio des Layes k.a. S. Lue 14 May 1577 Fra Enrico de Apoluesin Bodinatiere 3 September 1598 Fra Fran[ces]co demie Guespreay 31 August 1611 Fra P[ietr]o de Beaufeu 2 29 October 1613 Fra Gulieglmo de Meaux Boisbodran 4 February 1621 Fra Armatore della Porta 9 January 1626 Fra Giacomo deu Lieges Charrault 21 March 1629 Fra Tossino de Terves Boisirault 19 July 1632 Fra Guido de Turpin Crissey 14 October 1639 Fra Reviarto de St. Aufarge 10 November 1639 Fra Ugone de Raubustin Eopoi la Roup 5 November 1640 Fra Gicome de Merdavid 13 June 1641 Fra Gabriele de Boisbodran 19 September 1641 Fra Pietro de Torqueran la Neve 21 October 1644 Fra Massimilano de Ampont 7 November 1644 Fra Fran[ces]co de Couvselles Rouvray 26 May 1647 Fra Agostino de Amours 11 October 1649 Fra Nicolò de Paris Boissij 4 November 1651 Fra Enrico de Chastellet Moyencourt 22 December 1652

1 AOM 6430, ff.115r-v. 2 Christian name found in f.13r.

271 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS TREASURER

Foglio Name Elected 115 r Fra Gilberto de Vielbourg 21 June 1655 Fra Filippo de Meaulx Rocourt 26 February 1656 115v Fra Fran[ces]co de Thaluet 22 March 1660 Fra Sorturo de Chesriel demus 1 November 1669 Fra Carlo du Val Couppeaville 19 November 1671 Fra Adriano de Wigniacourt 1 July 1673 Fra Nicolò de Cheuestre Cintray 25 July 1690 Fra Gio[vanni] du Stammel 6 January 1670

272

8 Appendix 3

Venerable Procurators c1530-1700 1

Folio Title Name elected on 1r Bailiff of Morea Giacomo Pellegrin 9 September 1535 Liuet.Drapier Garcia Cortes 15 January 1536 Prior of St Gilles Giraldo de Massas 9 February 1540 Bailiff of Caspe Garcia Cortes 9 February 1540 Turcopilier Egidio Rossel 29 July 1542 Prior of Champagne Roberto Dache 29 July 1542 Prior of Pisa Aurelio Buttigelli 8 February 1543 Liuet.G.Conservator Michele Castellar 8 February 1543 Marshal Humberto de Molinieres 20 February 1544 Liuet.G.Conservator Gaspar Ferrer 18 November 1545 Prior of Toulouse Emerico de Reaulx 29 April 1547 Grand Conservator Gaspar de Sanguesa 29 April 1547 Pietro Numler de Bailiff of Negroponte 24 October 1547 Herrera Marshal Gaspar de Vallies 22 October 1548 Fran[cesc]o de Admiral 31 January 1549 Romagnares Marshal Gaspar de Vallies 31 January 1549 Admiral Filippo Pili 17 April 1551 Treasurer Gio[vanni] de Mucheres 25 May 1551 Liuet.Hospitaller Fran[cesc]o de Piedefort 9 September 1552 Liuet.G.Conservator Ludovico Sabuedo 28 March 1553 Admiral Fran[cesc]o Catana 10 July 1555 Liuet. Grand Chancellor Fon Luis de Lara 10 July 1555 Prior of Capua Filippo Pili 20 April 1556 Liuet. Grand Chancellor [Chris]tofero de Aemilia 16 July 1556 Bailiff of Lango Pietro de la Fontayne 9 January 1557 Fra Lamberto Doria 4 May 1557 Fra Don Pietro de Mendoza 15 June 1557 Treasurer Pietro de la Fontayne 16 January 1558 [Chris]tofero de Grand Chancellor 8 June 1559 Sarnache Bailiff of Aquila Pietro Felices de la Nuca 7 November 1559 Liuet.Admiral Ludovico Broglia 12 August 1560 Bailiff of Morea Gio[vanni] Audifert 8 March 1562

1 AOM 6430, 1r-3r.

273 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS VENERABLE PROCURATORS

Folio Title Name Elected on Giacomo 1r Hospitaller Parquembourch k.a. 24 September 1565 Touville Fra Ferdinando Alarcon 24 September 1565 1v Admiral Pietro Giustiniano 5 October 1566 Prior of England Riccardo Cleyuti 14 November 1567 Fran[cesc]o di S. Grand Conservator 12 January 1568 Clemente Admiral Giuseppe Cambiano 4 July 1569 Grand Bailiff Gioachino Spar 17 December 1569 Admiral Antonio Bologna 1 December 1570 Bailiff of Lango Pietro Mesquita 14 March 1571 Liuet.G.Conservator Don Salquerano de Ros 9 August 1571 Grand Conservator Geronimo Guette 7 August 1572 Marshal Marco de Guette 20 February 1573 Grand Chancellor Alfonso de Solis 23 March 1573 Bailiff of Negroponte Don Gio[vanni] de Ortiz 7 May 1573 Fran[cesco] Gio[vanni] Grand Bailiff 21 February 1574 Giorgio Schamborn Fran[cesco] Nicolo de Bailiff of Naples 4 November 1575 Rivalta Xptofero = [Chris]tofero Treasurer 4 November 1575 de Montgaudi Bailiff of Negroponte Martin de Puero Monroy 13 May 1576 Admiral Bartolomeo Vasco 9 January 1578 Don Ant[oni]o Grand Chancellor 14 January 1579 Maldonado Marshal [Ant[oni]o de Villars 27 March 1579 Grand Conservator Fran[ces]co de Perrer 16 July 1580 Hospitaller Carlo de la Rama 22 September 1581 Admiral Pompeio Suardo 27 July 1582 Grand Chancellor Fran[ces]co Ghiral 1 June 1583 Admiral Centorio Cagnolo 22 September 1583 Grand Chancellor Michele de Quintavilla 5 November 1583 Bailiff of Caspè Lupertio de Ixar 24 November 1583 Grand Chancellor Fran[ces]co de Valentia 25 August 1584 Admiral Reginaldo de Navo 1 October 1585 Grand Conservator Geronimo de Orredes 26 September 1586 Admiral Giulio Cesare Malvicino 16 December 1586 Hospitaller Beltrando de Pellequin 7 April 1587 Bailiff of Maiorca Don Ramon de Verij 17 November 1588 Mari' Ant[oni]o Admiral 14 May 1591 Altavilla Liuet.G.Conservator Martino Garzes 14 May 1591 Isuardo delli Signiori di Prior of Lombardy 31 August 1591 S. Martino

274 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS VENERABLE PROCURATORS

Folio Title Name Elected on 1v Bailiff of Negroponte Ramon de Fortuin 5 June 1593 Alermo delli Conti della Prior of Messina 8 October 1594 Langueglia Don Ant[oni]o de Liuet.G.Conservator 4 November 1594 Cabrera Isuardo delli Signiori di 2r Prior of Lombardy 12 June 1595 S. Martino Castellan of Emposta Girolamo Tores 16 June 1595 Prior of Capua Bernard[i]no Scaglia 11 August 1596 Bailiff of Negroponte Raimondo Fortuin 10 July 1597 Liuet.G.Conservator Don Ramon de Verij 28 November 1598 Alermo delli Conti della Prior of Messina 26 August 1599 Langueglia Don Ant[oni]o de Grand Conservator 8 November 1599 Cabrera Simone Aupigne Hospitaller 19 July 1601 Boisnoset Prior of Hungary Ippolito Malaspina 13 November 1601 Don Bernardo de Prior of Navarre 21 August 1603 Espelita Prior of Hungary Antonio Martelli 20 March 1603 Bailiff of Negroponte Ferdin[an]do de Ouardo 12 January 1604 Grand Bailiff Arbogasto de Andelauu 10 May 1605 Prior of Lombardy Girolamo Alliata 17 June 1606 Bailiff of Negroponte Don Ramon de Verga 16 December 1606 Marshal Pontio de la Porta 10 May 1607 Grand Chancellor Gonsalvo de Porras 7 March 1608 Bailiff of Negroponte Hippolito Malaspina 7 January 1609 Don Bernardo de Prior of Navarre 29 May 1613 Espelita Grand Conservator Filippo de Bardaxi 15 September 1615 Prior of Barletta Gio[vanni] Paolo Carafa 12 November 1616 Prior of Capua Alessandro Beriso 21 October 1617 Liuet.G.Conservator Don Gaspar de Monreal 9 July 1618 Luis Mendes de Bailiff of Acri 13 March 1619 Vasconcellos Guglielmo de Meulx Hospitaller 12 December 1620 Boibodran Marshal Giust de Fay Gerlande 6 February 1621 Admiral Nicolo de la Marra 22 September 1622 Prior of Capua Alosio Mazzinghi 8 November 1622 Grand Conservator Don Luis de Moncada 5 May 1623 Giusto de Brun la Bailiff of Leon 26 January 1624 Liegue Don Gio[vanni] Prior of Navarre 13 November 1624 Ximenes Admiral Nicolo Cavarretta 7 July 1625

275 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS VENERABLE PROCURATORS

Folio Title Name Elected on 2r Bailiff of Negroponte Don Fran[ces]co Sans 3 March 1627 Torsino de Terues Hospitaller 22 November 1630 Boisirault Bailiff Carlo Valdina 19 June 1632 Bailiff of Maiorca Don Onofrio de Ospital 23 July 1632 Bailiff Alessandro Urso 17 October 1633 Giacomo du Liege Bailiff of Morea 29 May 1634 Charrault Prior of Navarre Martin de Redin 25 May 1635 Bailiff Carlo Valdina 21 July 1636 2v Bailiff of Nuevevillas Don Tomaso de Stozes 25 November 1636 Bailiff of Santa Signiorino Gattinara 31 August 1638 Euphemia Don Gio[vanni] de Bailiff 25 February 1639 Villaroel Fran[ces]co de Prior of Auvergne 18 February 1640 Cremaulx Admiral Girolamo Salvago 7 March 1642 Don Diegode Lenzina y Grand Chancellor 30 January 1643 Contrera Bailiff Don Alvaro de Melo 7 February 1644 Admiral Fran[ces]co Piccolomini 29 September 1646 Annetto de Chattes Marshal 30 April 1647 Gessans Bailiff of Lora Don Thomaso de Hozes 16 October 1648 Grand Conservator Don Vincenzo Carroz 21 October 1650 Prior of Messina Flaminio Balbiano 12 July 1651 Bailiff of Negroponte Raffaele Cotoner 30 October 1652 Bailiff of Venosa Girolamo Salvago 11 August 1653 Grand Chancellor Lopez Pereira de Lima 5 November 1654 Admiral Giulio Amati 13 September 1655 Marshal Carlo de Fay Gerlande 13 November 1656 Bailiff of Negroponte Nicolas Cotoner 28 September 1657 Bailiff of Aquila Ottaviano Bandinelli 15 November 1658 Don Gio[vanni] Grand Chancellor 13 October 1659 Ximenes de Vedoya Stefano Maria Prior of England 20 June 1662 Lommelini Marshal Gio[vanni] de Foursat 17 January 1663 Fran[ces]co Conte Grand Bailiff 24 October 1664 Wratislaw Admiral Cappon Capponi 2 May 1665 Grand Conservator Don Michele Cortes 20 November 1666 Prior of Venice Gio[vanni] Deodati 11 August 1667 Alfonso de Miremont Hospitaller 10 December 1668 Brieux Admiral Gio. Capece Zurlo 10 October 1669

276 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS VENERABLE PROCURATORS

Folio Title Name Elected on 2v Bailiff of Cremona Paolo Raffaele Spinola 25 October 1670 Don Lorenzo Mimmos Grand Chancellor 3 March 1671 de Figuera Prior of Capua Gio[vanni] Bichi 3 August 1673 Don Gio[vanni] Prior of Navarre 2 October 1673 Galdiano Felix Yminguez de Grand Conservator 17 July 1674 Ayerbe Giacomo de Cardon Bailiff of Leon 14 August 1675 Luieu Prior of Capua Gaspare Gabuccini 19 January 1676 Giacomo de S. Mour Prior of Auvergne 30 August 1677 Lardoue Grand Chancellor Antonio Perera Braudas 27 January 1678 Admiral Carlo Langueglia 10 October 1679 Grand Chancellor Bernardo de Almeida 5 March 1680 Prior of Capua Carlo Gattola 24 April 1682 3r Grand Chancellor Don Antonio Correa 10 March 1683 Carlo Filippo Barone di Grand Bailiff 2 November 1684 Fridagh Prior of Navarre Don Martin de Noviar 30 April 1685 Paolo Felines de la Marshal 24 May 1687 Renaudie Admiral Averardo de Medicis 15 October 1687 Nicolò de Chevestre Hospitaller 3 June 1689 Cintray Liuet.G.Conservator Don Agostino Sans 1 August 1690 Bailiff of Venosa Fabio Gori 10 November 1690 Fran[ces]co de Hospitaller 19 September 1692 Rochefocault Bayers Bailiff of Acri Gaspar Carniero 13 November 1692 Marshal Hectore de S. Giorgio 24 October 1694 Admiral Roberto Solaro 31 October 1695 Gilberto de Fougeres Marshal 12 February 1696 Desclaseaux Don Gio[vanni] de Prior of Messina 22 November 1697 Giovanni Bailiff of Acri Filippo de Tavora 13 May 1699 Admiral Ottavio Tancredi 6 January 1700

277

9 Appendix 4

Conservatore Conventuale c1530-1700 1

Foglio Name Elected 23r Fra Claudio de la Sengle 25 October 1543 Fra Georgio Vagnoni 27 June 1548 Fra Carlo Durre k.a. Thessieres 21 June 1555 Fra Giorgio di San Gio[vanni] 5 December 1558 Fra Ludovico Cortit 31 January 1564 Fra Francesco dela Motta 12 October 1565 Fra Francesco dela Motta (re-elected) 26 July 1566 Fra Girolamo de Acunha 23 October 1568 Fra Girolamo de Acunha (re-elected) 28 January 1569 Fra Raimondo Fortuyn 9 December 1574 Fra Giocondo Virieri k.a. Pupitieres 9 January 1578 Fra Ludovico de Mailoi Saquenville 16 September 1583 Fra Gio[vanni] Souibiran Ariffat 28 May 1587 Fra Gonsale de Porres 27 May 1591 Fra Girolamo Alliata 23 January 1600 Fra Luis Mendez de Vasconcellos 6 November 1608 Fra Fra Catalano Casate 2 7 November 1608 Fra Oratio de Castellan k.a. Torrion 10 January 1612 Fra Michele de Pontalier k.a. Tallamey 7 February 1617 Fra Michele de Pontalier k.a. Tallamey 29 January 1621 Giacomo Xptofero = [Chris]tofero de Fra ? October 1623 Andlaun Fra Filippo de Gaeta 24 July 1628 Fra Honoratio de Quiqueran Beaufeu 21 July 1633 Fra Paolo Lascaris Castellar 14 March 1634? Fra Gasparo de Maisonville 7 March 1635 Fra Gabriele d’Orin Ligny 14 March 1638 Fra Gio[vanni] de Velù Bab ioni 15 February 1639 Fra Carlo Aldobardini 20 May 1642 Fra Raffael Cottoner 8 April 1645 Fra Christiano de Osterhausen 2 May 1648 Fra Diego de Melo 19 May 1651 Fra Gio. De Blacas Carros 16 June 1654

1 AOM 6430, 23r-v. 2 Elected temporarily as acting conservatore conventuale until Vasconcellos, who was elected in absentia, came to Malta.

278 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS CONSERVATORE CONVENTUALE

Foglio Name Elected 23v Fra Onofrio Alessandro k.a. Bouliers 14 August 1657 Renato le Vexel du Tavara (Also Lieut. Fra 14 May 1660 Treaserur) Fra Gio[vanni] Francesco Ricasoli 5 June 1663 Fra Vincenzo Guinigi 24 October 1663 Fra Spietro Forteza 10 June 1666 Fra Sarnaldo Serralta 9 April 1669 Fra Gio Balthasare Trandorff 4 May 1699 Fra Antonio Correa 23 July 1672 Fra Francesco de Monfaucon Rocquetallade 5 July 1675 Fra Luigi de Fay Gerlande 20 May 1678 Fra Gilberto de Fougeres Descloseaux 12 July 1680 Fra Leonardo la Barre de Sauriay 5 May 1681 Fra Paolo Emilio Argeli 5 May 1684 Fra Agustin Saris 3 2 May 1687 Fra Tomaso Tarsuele 18 August 1687 Fra Carlo Leopoldo Count of Herberstein 22 May 1690 Fra Melchior Alvaro pinto 14 July 1693 Fra Carlo felice Doraison 2 May 1696 Fra Gio[vanni] des S Vianse 7 May 1699 Fra Matteo de Lusignan 10 May 1702

3 Relinquished post on being elected deputy grand conservator.

279

10 Appendix 5

Secretary c1600-1700 1

Foglio Name Elected 27r Fra Giocondo Accarigi 12 October 1604 Fra Pietro Maria de Turaminis 2 28 November 1624 Fra Pietro Maria de Turaminis 24 July 1628 Fra Giacomo Lauregue 3 22 January 1632 Fra Giacomo Lauregue 16 September 1633 Fra Ottavio Brandinelli Fra Pietro Barrigia 4 17 March 1648 Fra Dionisio Ceba` 29 February 1651 Fra Roberto Solaro 28 March 1656 Fra Paolo Raffaele Spinola 8 October 1657 Fra Don Cesare Lopes 24 July 1665 Fra Don Giovanni Caravita 22 November 1666 Fra Don Martin de Novar 5 24 December 1667 Fra Gaspar Carriero 20 September 1678 Fra Giulio Bovio 30 October 1681 Fra Don Gaspar de la Figuera 1 August 1701

1 AOM 6430, 27r. 2 Elected deputy secretary, andonly subsequently elected secretary. 3 Elected deputy secretary, andonly subsequently elected secretary. 4 Elected deputy secretary due to Brandinelly's illness. 5 Elected deputy secretary to substitute Caravita, while the latter was the order’s ambassador in Rome.

280

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Archives of the Order at the National Library of Malta

AOM 73 Liber Concilliorum 1459 – 1466 AOM 74 Liber Concilliorum 1470 – 1472 AOM 75 Liber Concilliorum 1473 – 1478 AOM 76 Liber Concilliorum 1478 – 1488 AOM 77 Liber Concilliorum 1489 – 1494 AOM 78 Liber Concilliorum 1495 – 1501 AOM 79 Liber Concilliorum 1501 – 1502 AOM 80 Liber Concilliorum 1503 – 1505 AOM 81 Liber Concilliorum 1505 – 1511 AOM 82 Liber Concilliorum 1512 – 1516 AOM 83 Liber Concilliorum 1516 – 1522 AOM 84 Liber Concilliorum 1522 – 1526 AOM 85 Liber Concilliorum 1526 – 1535 AOM 86 Liber Concilliorum 1535 – 1543 AOM 87 Liber Concilliorum 1543 – 1548 AOM 88 Liber Concilliorum 1548 – 1553 AOM 89 Liber Concilliorum 1554 – 1557 AOM 90 Liber Concilliorum 1558 – 1560 AOM 91 Liber Concilliorum 1561 – 1567 AOM 92 Liber Concilliorum 1567 – 1570 AOM 93 Liber Concilliorum 1570 – 1573 AOM 94 Liber Concilliorum 1574 – 1577 AOM 95 Liber Concilliorum 1577 – 1581 AOM 96 Liber Concilliorum 1581 – 1585 AOM 97 Liber Concilliorum 1585 – 1589 AOM 98 Liber Concilliorum 1589 – 1594 AOM 99 Liber Concilliorum 1595 – 1597 AOM 100 Liber Concilliorum 1597 – 1603 AOM 101 Liber Concilliorum 1603 – 1606 AOM 102 Liber Concilliorum 1606 – 1608 AOM 103 Liber Concilliorum 1608 – 1610 AOM 104 Liber Concilliorum 1611 – 1613 AOM 105 Liber Concilliorum 1613 – 1616 AOM 106 Liber Concilliorum 1616 – 1620 AOM 107 Liber Concilliorum 1621 – 1623 AOM 108 Liber Concilliorum 1624 – 1626

281 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

AOM 109 Liber Concilliorum 1627 – 1629 AOM 110 Liber Concilliorum 1630 – 1633 AOM 111 Liber Concilliorum 1633 – 1636 AOM 112 Liber Concilliorum 1636 – 1639 AOM 113 Liber Concilliorum 1639 – 1642 AOM 114 Liber Concilliorum 1642 – 1644 AOM 115 Liber Concilliorum 1644 – 1646 AOM 116 Liber Concilliorum 1647 – 1649 AOM 117 Liber Concilliorum 1650 – 1651 AOM 118 Liber Concilliorum 1652 – 1654 AOM 119 Liber Concilliorum 1654 – 1656 AOM 120 Liber Concilliorum 1657 – 1658 AOM 121 Liber Concilliorum 1659 – 1662 AOM 122 Liber Concilliorum 1662 – 1665 AOM 123 Liber Concilliorum 1666 – 1669 AOM 124 Liber Concilliorum 1670 – 1673 AOM 125 Liber Concilliorum 1674 – 1676 AOM 126 Liber Concilliorum 1677 – 1680 AOM 127 Liber Concilliorum 1681 – 1684 AOM 128 Liber Concilliorum 1685 – 1687 AOM 168 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1520 – 1535 AOM 169 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1535 – 1543 AOM 170 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1543 – 1548 AOM 171 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1548 – 1553 AOM 172 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1554 – 1558 AOM 173 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1558 – 1560 AOM 174 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1561 – 1564 AOM 175 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1564 – 1567 AOM 176 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1567 – 1569 AOM 177 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1569 – 1572 AOM 178 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1572 – 1574 AOM 179 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1574 – 1576 AOM 180 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1576 – 1579 AOM 181 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1579 – 1581 AOM 182 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1581 – 1583 AOM 183 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1583 – 1585 AOM 184 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1585 – 1589 AOM 185 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1589 – 1593 AOM 186 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1593 – 1594 AOM 187 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1594 – 1596 AOM 188 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1596 – 1597 AOM 189 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1597 – 1600 AOM 190 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1600 – 1603 AOM 191 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1603 – 1605 AOM 192 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1605 – 1606 AOM 193 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1616 – 1620 AOM 194 Copies of the Liber Concilliorum 1644 – 1646

282 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

AOM 209 Council Decrees 1473 – 1560 AOM 210 Council Decrees 1601 – 1610 AOM 211 Council Decrees 1630 – 1639 AOM 212 Council Decrees 1640 – 1649 AOM 213 Council Decrees 1660 – 1669 AOM 216 Sentences by the council 1535 – 1560 AOM 217 Sentences by the council 1595 – 1610 AOM 219 An index of rulings by the council divided according to the relevant statute bound with some miscellaneous notes AOM 231 An index of decrees by the council 1522 – 1636 AOM 232 An index of decrees by the council of state 1597 – 1688 AOM 233 Extracts from the council minutes 1659 – 1694 AOM 281 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1384 AOM 282 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1454, 1459, 1462 AOM 283 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1466, 1471, 1475, 1478 AOM 284 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1498, 1501, 1504 AOM 285 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1513 AOM 286 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1526, 1532, 1538 AOM 287 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1543, 1538, 1548 AOM 288 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1555, 1558, 1565 AOM 289 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1569 AOM 290 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1574, 1578 AOM 291 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1583 AOM 292 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1587 AOM 293 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1597 AOM 294 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1603 AOM 295 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1612 AOM 296 Statutes and deliberations by the general-chapters 1631 AOM 315 Summary of statutes enacted by general-chaters 1118 – 1548 AOM 644 Register of deliberations of the Camera dei Conti AOM 645a Register of deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1667 – 1678 AOM 645 Register of deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1653 – 1666 AOM 646 Register of deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1678 – 1686 AOM 663 Deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1604 – 1619 AOM 664 Deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1619 – 1637 AOM 665 Deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1637 – 1654 AOM 666 Deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1652 – 1657 AOM 667 Deliberations of the Camera dei Conti 1657 – 1667 AOM 900 Register containng the hioe given to the conventual church AOM 924 Disproprii of the grandmasters 1622 – 1680 AOM 925 Disproprii of the grandmasters AOM 927 Disproprii of Italian, French and Spanish Hospitallers

283 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

AOM 928 Disproprii of Italian, French and Spanish Hospitallers AOM 929 Disproprii of Italian, French and Spanish Hospitallers AOM 930 Disproprii of Italian, French and Spanish Hospitallers AOM 931 Various disproprii AOM 932 Index of AOM 931 AOM 933-90 Accouts of the spogli of various Hospitallers 1729 – 1790 AOM 944 Deliberations of the commisarij degli spogli 1750 – 1754 AOM 945 Deliberations of the commisarij degli spogli 1669 – 1703 AOM 946 Deliberations of the commisarij degli spogli 1704 – 1743 AOM 947 Deliberations of the commisarij degli spogli 1743 – 1798 AOM 948 Spoglio del prior of Boemia Count Leopold d’Herberstein – 1726 AOM 949 Various papers relating to the spogli AOM 950-1 Papers on the spoglio del receiver Fra Constantino Gigi Boldieri AOM 1002 Miscellaneous papers relating to the Treasury AOM 1117 AOM 1121 Reports by commissioners appointed by the 1608 – 1638 Camera dei Conti AOM 1122 Reports by commissioners appointed by the 1652 – 1707 Camera dei Conti AOM 1298 Correspondence with Hospitaller ambassadors to the Holy See AOM 1649 Comendium of statutes and ordinances AOM 1650 Material relating to the general chapter of 1330 AOM 1651 Compendium of general chapter decrees 1004 – 1631 AOM 1679 Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro Vol I AOM 1680 Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro Vol II AOM 1681 Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro Vol I AOM 1688 Caravita’s Trattato dei Fratelli, Trattato delle Commende and others AOM 2166 List of Italian Hospitallers in Malta AOM 2125-31 Deliberations of the Italian langue AOM 2189 Papers relating to the Aragonese foundations AOM 2222 Dues by commanderies according to the general-chaprter of 1583. AOM 2226 Hospitaller Office Holders (Malta period) AOM 2228 Debtors of pensions Late XVIII Century AOM 6385 Disproprii of grandmasters from Vasconcellos to Caraffa AOM 6392 Disproprio of grandmaster Perellos AOM 6397 Miscellaneous papers including some on coinage problems afflicting Castilain commanderies, and two loose chapters from Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro AOM 6402 Miscellaneous papers including report on receiver’s duties drawn up by the general chapter of 1598 and annotated by secretary Accarigi and a report on the rights of the Camera dei Conti AOM 6430 Hospitaller office holders (Malta period) AOM 6432 Treatise on the duties of Hospitaller officials, including part on the Treasury AOM 6568 Miscellaneous papers relating to the spogli

284 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Libray Manuscripts at the National Libray of Malta

Lib 4 Miscellaneous papers including a short biography of Caravita Lib 277 Caravita’s Trattato del Ben Concettare Lib 486 Caravita’s treatise on Hospitaller privileges Lib 509 Uncomplete version of Caravita’s Trattato del Comun Tesoro Lib 533 A compendium of short treatises by Caravita Lib 538 Caravita’s treatise on Hospitaller statutes

Manuscripts at the Archive of the Order of St John in Rome

ASJ 535-626 Accounts of the receiver in Rome

285

Secondary Sources

Thesis

Cachia Stefan, ‘The Family and the Land in Late Medieval Malta: A Study of

the Acts of Notary J. Zabbara (1486-1488)’ (Unpublished BA Hons.

Dissertation 1999). [Helpful for its definition of terms relating to family

structures and notarial jargon in late medieval and early modern Europe,

and its discussion on the weight that families across Europe gave to

keeping land within their lineage.]

Grech, Ivan, ‘Hospitaller Commandery of San Giovanni di Prè in Genoa’

(Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Malta 1996). [Useful as a case

study on the administration of a commandery.]

Mercieca, Simon, ‘Aspects of the Hospitaller Commandery 1631-1798’

(Unpublished MA Thesis University of Malta 1993). [Useful in providing

general norms on the administrative function of a commandery and its role

within the Hospitaller structure]

______, ‘Aspects of the Office of the Receiver of the Hospitaller Order of St

John’ (Unpublished B.A. Hons. Dissertation, University of Malta 1991).

[Defined the function of the receiver within the Hospitaller structure,

providing useful information on his various duties]

Mifsud, Shirely, ‘The Commandery of Sacile Pordenone 1672 –1774’

(Unpublished B.A.(Hons.) Dissertation, University of Malta 1999). [Useful

as a case study on the administration of a commandery.]

Tabone Catherine, ‘Tales from the Grave: Funerary Ritual and Attitudes

towards Death in Eighteenth Century Malta’ (Unpublished BA Hons.

286 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dissertation, University of Malta 2003). [Handy in its discussion on the

attitudes towards death in Hospitaller Malta]

Secondary works

Abela, Gian Francesco, Della descrittione di Malta isola nel mare siciliano con

le sue antichità ed alter notitie (Malta 1647; Facsimile edn: Malta 1984).

Alosio, Mark, ‘From Jerusalem to Valletta: The Evolution of the Order of St

John’s Chapter-General (1131-1631)’, Storja 96 [Malta], 7-11.

Atiya, Azziz S., The Crusades in the Later Middle Ages (New York 1965). [A

study of the crusades after the fall of Acre, including a short part on the

Hospitaller conquest of Rhodes; useful as background reading and for

reference on matters of fact.

Barber, Malcolm, A New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple

(Cambridge 1994. [Looks at the history of the Templars in terms of their

political relationships within Outremar, their military feats, and the trial

which led to their demise]

______(ed.) The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the

Sick (Hampshire 1994). [A collection of articles on the various military

orders, including the Order of St John. Apart from being useful for

comparing the different military orders, it included a number of articles on

the acquisition of estates by the Order.]

Bartlett, Robert, The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization, and Cultural

Change, 950-1350 (Princeton 1994). [A history of the expansion of

Christian Europe in the Middle Ages. The discussion on the expansion of

287 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

monastic institutions in the newly colonised Eastern Europe was

particularly informative.]

Bloch, Marc, Medieval Society , trans. L.A. Manyon (Chicago 1964). [A major

study on feudalism; provides unequalled insights on feudal society across

Europe].

Boisgelin, Louis de, Ancient and Modern Malta (London 1804-5; Facsimile

edn: Malta 1988). [A history of Malta and the Order of St John from an

early eighteenth century standpoint, includes a discussion of the Treasury’s

structure and the duties of its officials, and presents a summary of the

Order’s accounts for the period between 1779 and 1788.]

Bono, Salvatore, ‘Naval Exploits and Privateering’, in Hospitaller Malta 1530-

1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of

Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta 1993), 351-399. [A brief

study on corsairing and other exploits carried by the Hospitaller navy

during the Maltese phase of its history; used in relation to the establishment

of two foundations to finance the building of galley hulls.]

Borchardt, Karl, ‘The Hospitallers in Pomerania: Between the Priories of

Bohemia and Alamania’, in (ed.) Helen Nicholson, The Military Orders:

Welfare and Warfare , ii, (Hampshire 1998), 295-306. [A brief study which

traces the evolution of the Hospitaller presence in Eastern Europe in the

twelfth and thirteenth century; useful for coming to terms with the

geographical spread of Hospitaller estates in the middle ages.]

288 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bosio Giacomo, Dell’ Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di

San Giovanni Gerosolmitano, di nuovo ristampata e dal medesimo autore

ampliata et illustrata , Rome, Stamperia Appostolica Vaticana, (Parts I, II)

1594, Guglelmo Facciotti, (Part III) 1602. [The first official history of the

Order, narrated from a sixteenth century Hospitaller viewpoint. Though its

raison d’etre was to glorify the Order, its deeds and its privileges, this

history does allow various glimpses at the evolution of the Hospitaller

structure, and that of its Treasury]

______, Privilegii della Sacra Religione di S. Gio Gerosolmitano (Rome

1589). [Transcribes Papal Bulls by Pius IV, Pius V, Sixtus V, and Gregory

XIII conferring privileges to the Order of St John.]

Boutruche, Robert, Signioria e feudalismo: Signioria rurale e feudo (Bologna

1974). [A discussion of feudalism and feudal society, particularly useful

was the chapter on land organisation.]

Bozzi Marcellina and Grilli Alberto, Regola del Maestro (Brescia 1995). [Edits

and discusses St Benedict’s rule, which served as the basis for the Rules of

most western monastic institutions; usefull for comparison with the Rule of

the Order]

Braudel, Fernand, Capitalism and Material Life: 1400-1800 , trans. Miriam

Kochan (London 1973). [A general discussion history on material life and

economic conditions in the early modern period with particular emphasis

on Europe; particularly useful were the chapters on money and the

relationship between the economy and imperfect money.]

289 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

______, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip

II , (Glasgow 1990). [Braudel’s masterpiece on the Mediterranean in the

sixteenth century, imparts an invaluable insight on the social, economic and

political history of states situated along the Mediterranean rim, and aids in

understanding the forces which shaped an important part of the Order’s

history.]

______, The Wheels of Commerce (London 1985). [Part of Braudel’s three-

volume study on civilization and capitalism between the fifteenth and the

eighteenth century; useful for its wealth of information as well as the

authour’s insights, providing a background for understanding the society

within which the present dissertation unfolds.]

Bresc, Henri, ‘Europe: Town and Country’ (Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries’,

in A History of the Family: Distant Worlds, Ancient Worlds , ed. A.

Bruguière et al , i (Cambridge 1996), 430-466. [An analysis of the family in

Europe in the late middle ages, useful for its insights on how families

across Europe looked at landownership.]

Brundage, James A., Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader , (Milwakee and

London 1969). [A profound analysis of the notion of the ‘vow’ within the

crusading movement, and how it evolved in cannon law throughout the

medieval period]

______, ‘The lawyers of the Military Orders’, in The Military Orders: Fighting

for the Faith and Caring for the Sick , ed. Malcolm Barber, i (Hampshire

290 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

1994). [An interesting comparison between the roles of lawyers in the three

main military orders.]

Burckhardt, Jacob, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy , trans. S.G.C.

Middlemore (England 1990). [A path setting study on the Renaissance,

which although written in the mid-nineteenth century is still a most valid

contribution on Renaissance studies. Particularly useful for understanding

the mentality of the Renaissance, which heavily influenced the Hospitaller

way of life.]

Burke, Peter, The Renaissance (London 1987). [A modern, all encompassing

study of the Renaissance; particularly useful for understanding the

mentality of that era which influenced a lot the Hospitaller way of life.]

______, History and Social Theory (New York 1992). [A usefull guide to the

theory of history writing and the historiography of social history, it was

quoted in relation to generalisation and the use of models.]

Camilleri, Maroma, ‘The Pie Postulatio Voluntatis Papal Bull of 1113: A

Diplomatic and Paleographical Commentary’, in eds. Cortis, Tony, Freller,

Thomas, and Bugeja, Lino, Melitensium Amor: Festschrift in honour of

Dun Ġwann Azzopardi (Malta 2002). [Analyses, and transcribes the Pie

postulatio voluntatis .]

Chaussinand-Nogaret, Guy, The French Nobility in the Eighteenth Century:

From Feudalism to Enlightenment (Cambridge 1985). [A interesting study

on nobility in eighteenth century France, the country of origin of the

majority of Hospitallers.]

291 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cheyette Frederic, ‘Choice of Law in Medieval France’, in Essays in Legal

History in Honour of Justice Felix Frankfurter , ed. M. Forkosch,

(Indianapolis, 1966), 481-96. [An interesting article on the legal systems in

medieval France, particularly its discussion of different customary legal

systems, one next to the other.]

Cipolla, Carlo M., Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and

Economy, 1000-1700 (London 1981). [An economic history of medieval

and early modern Europe, sheds light on the economic, social, and cultural

factors which paved the way to the industrial revolution; particularly useful

as background reading for understanding the evolution of credit and

finance, which heavily influenced the changes affecting the Hospitaller

way of life.]

Collins Dictionary of Economics , cmpl. Christopher Pass, Bryan Lowes and

Leslie Davis, (Glasgow, 2000). [Useful for understanding, and defining,

‘economics’ related terminology.]

Ehess Stephanus ed., Concilium Tridentinum: Diariorum, Actorum,

Epistularum, Tractatum (Friburg 1923). [An edited collection of the

conclusions of the Council of Trent, and other material relating to that

council; used for the rules regulating inheritance by monastics.]

Constable, Giles, Monks, Hermits and Crusaders in Medieval Europe , (London

1988). [A compendium of papers by Constable on religious life and the

crusades in the Middle Ages; especially useful were the paper and that on

the financing of the crusades.]

292 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

______, The Reformation of the Twelfth Century (Cambridge 1996). [A study

of the monastic reform movement in the longer twelfth century. That same

movement led to the foundation of the Hospital during that same period.]

Cutajar, Domnic and Cassar, Carmel, ‘Budgeting in 17 th Century Malta: An

insight into the Administration of the Comun Tesoro’ in Mid-Med Bank

Limited, Report and Accounts , Malta: Mid-Med bank, 1983, 22-32. [A

historical sketch of the Treasury during the Maltese phase of Hospitaller

history which looks at the composition of that institution, how the Order

collected its revenues and the penalties imposed on those who failed to

send to the Convent their annual responsions.]

Dal Pozzo, Bartholomeo, Historia della Sacra Religione Militare di San

Giovanni Gerosolmitano detta di Malta (Verona 1703-1715). [A history of

the Order of St John which builds upon Bosio’s Istoria ; it refers

sporadically to matters relating to the Order’s financial and fiscal history.]

John Debono, ‘The Chamber of Commerce and the Cotton Trade of Malta in

the Eighteenth Century’, in Melita Historica , x, 1 (1988), 27-50. [One of

the various articles by the author on different aspects of the Maltese

economy in the last century of Hospitaller rule over the island.]

______, ‘The Cotton Trade of Malta, 1750-1800’ in Archivium, Journal of

Maltese Historical Research , i (1981), 94-125. [Another article by Debono

on a particular aspect of the Maltese economy, in this case cotton trade, in

the last century of Hospitaller rule over the island.]

293 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

______, ‘The Wine Trade in Malta in the Eighteenth Century’, in Melita

Historica , ix (1984). [Another article by Debono on a particular aspect of

the Maltese economy, in this case wine trade, in the last century of

Hospitaller rule over the island.]

Deguara Aloysius, ‘The Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro dell Urbe’ in Malta’,

in Proceedings of History Week 1982 (Malta 1983), 69-88. [Look at the

foundation of the Vatican institution responsible for the building an

maintenance of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and its Malta connections;

useful as the Reverenda Fabbrica enjoyed a number of privileges similar to

those enjoyed by the Order.]

Delaville Le Roulx, Joseph, ‘Fondation du Grand Prieurè de France de l’Ordre

de l’Hopital’ in Melange Ordres de S. Jean de Jerusalem , ed. Joseph

Delaville Le Roux (Paris 1910). [Traces the evolution of the grand priory

of France – a useful case study on the evolution of Hospitaller structures in

the prories.]

______, Le Archives, La Bibliotèque et le Tresor de l'Ordre de Saint Jean de

Jérusalem a Malte , (Paris 1883). [Lists various sources on the Treasury

found in the National Library, amongst others.]

______, ‘Le Statutes de l'Ordre de l'Hopital de Saint Jean de Jérusalem',

Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes , t, xlviii, (1887). [A brief study on

Hospitaller statutes]

294 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

______, Les Hospitaliers à Rhodes jusqu’ à la mort de Philibert de Naillac

(1310-1421) (Paris 1913). [An interesting positivist history of the early

Rhodian phase of Hospitaller history.]

______, Melange Ordres de S. Jean de Jerusalem , (Paris 1910). [A collection

of papers by Delaville Le Roulx on Hospitaller history.]

Donna d’Olderico, Adalberto, Redditi e Spese dell’ Ordine Militare

Gerosolmitana di Malta nel 1587 (Curie 1964). [Publishes a report on the

finances of the Order, submitted by Grandmaster Hughes Loubenx de

Verdalle in 1587, discussing it briefly.]

Elias, Norbert, The Court Society (London 1983). [A particularly fascinating

analysis on European court society; particularly useful was its discussion

on the economical behaviour of aristocrats across Europe.]

Elliot J. H., Imperial Spain 1469-1716 , (London 1963). [A standard textbook

for Spanish history from the accession to the throne of Ferdinand and

Isabella to the Spanish war of succession, useful for its discussion of the

problems afflicting Spanish coinage in the seventeenth century, which left

the mark on the Responsions due to the Treasury from the Order’s Spanish

possessions].

Ellul, Michael, ‘The Holy Infirmary: The Hospitaller Vocation of the Knights

of St John’, in in Melitensium Amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Ġwann

Azzopardi , eds. Cortis Tony, Freller Thomas, and Bugeja, Lino (Malta

2002), 149-162. [A useful background reading, mostly for highlighting the

continuous importance, given by the Order to its Hospitaller vocation.]

295 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Evangelisti, Silvia, ‘Monastic Poverty and Material Culture in Early Modern

Italian Convents’, The Historical Journal , 47, i, (2004), 1-20. [An inspiring

article on the importance given to material goods in a Hospitaller female

convent in Florence where nuns had full usufruct of their own properties in

similarity with their male counterparts in Malta – a topic underscored by

this thesis.]

Fontaney, Michel, ‘Le Revenu des Chevaliers de Malte en France d’apres les

‘etstime’ de 1533, 1583 et 1776’ in La France d’Ancien Régime: etudes

reunites en l’honneur de Pierre Goubert’ , ed. Société de Démographie

Historique Private (Toulouse 1984), 259-271. [A concentrated analyses of

the Order’s revenues from French estates between 1530 and 1798,

extrapolating patterns of change in remittances for each priory as well as

for each commandery throughout the period.]

______, ‘The Mediterranean, 1500-1800: Social and Economic Perspectives’,

in Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the

Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta, 1993). [A

brief study on socio-economic patterns in the Mediterranean during the

early modern period provides a background for understanding the forces

which shaped the Order’s history during the last two centuries being

considered for the scope of this thesis.]

Forey, Alan, ‘The Militarisation of the Hospital’, in Military Orders and

Crusades , (Hampshire 1994), ix, 75-89. [A short, though intriguing

discussion on the militarisation of the Order of St John – a factor which

296 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

heavily shaped the future Order’s history, the evolution of its structures and

the Hospitaller way of life.]

______, ‘The Emergence of the Military Order in the Twelfth Century’, in

Military Orders and the Crusades , i (Hampshire 1994). [A short study on

the emergence of the various military orders, including the transformation

of the Hospital into a military Order.]

Gauthier, Albert, Roman Law and its Contribution to the Development of

Canon Law (Ottawa 1996). [An interesting succint discussion on the

influence that Roman Law bequeathed to Cannon Law, it was particularly

usefull with regards to its discussion of the concept of ‘juridical

personality’.]

Gervers, Michael, ‘Pro Defensione Terre Sancte: The Development and

Exploitation of the Hospitallers’ Landed Estate in Essex’, in The Military

Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick, ed. Malcom Barber,

(Hampshire1994), 3-20. [Traces the development of the Hospitaller

presence in Essex; useful for coming to terms with the geographical spread

of Hospitaller estates in the middle ages.]

Goni, Carlos Barquero, ‘The Hospitallers and the Castillian Leonese

Monarchy, the Concession of Royal Rights in The Military Orders:

Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick , ed. Malcom Barber,

(Hampshire1994), 28-33. [Traces the concession of royal rights, including

exemption from taxation in Castille]

297 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Green, V.H.H., Renaissance and Reformation: A Survey of European Society

between 1450 and 1660 (Arnold 1964). [An interesting discussion of

society at the end of the middle ages and the beginning of the early modern

period; particularly useful for understanding the mentality of the

Renaissance – which heavily influenced the Hospitaller way of life.]

Hay, Dennis, The Italian Renaissance in its Historical Background (Cambridge

1987). [An appealing analysis of the Renaissance in Italy; particularly

valuable for its insights on the mentality of that era – which heavily

influenced the Hospitaller way of life.]

Hellriegal, Don , Jackson, Susan E., & Slocum John W. Jr., Management

(Canada 2001). [A textbook on management, useful for understanding

management aims, and procedures as well as technical jargons.]

Hellwald, Ferdinand de, Bibliographie Metodique de l’Ordre Souverain de S.

Jaen de Jérusalem (Rome 1885). [A bibliography of works related to

Hospitaller history.]

Hoppen Alison, The Fortification of Malta by the Order of St John, 1530-1798 ,

(Edinburgh 1979). [A study of Hospitaller fortification projects in Malta,

including the financial impact of these projects.]

______, ‘Military Priorities and Social Realities in the Early Modern

Mediterranean: Malta and its Fortifications’ in Hospitaller Malta: Studies

on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor

Mallia-Milanes, (Malta 1993), 399-428. [Another analysis of the

298 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

fortification projects undertaken by the Order in Malta, and their impact,

including financial, on the local population.]

______, ‘The Finances of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in the Sixteenth

and Seventeenth Centuries’, in Europe Studies Review , iii, 2, (1973). [A

major, considering the lack of material on the subject, study on the finances

of the Order in the first two centuries of the Maltese phase of Hospitaller

history. Apart from analysing the different revenues and expenditures, it

discusses the financial problems afflicting the Order.]

Housley Norman, The Later Crusades: From Lyons to Alcazar 1274-1580

(Oxford, 1992). [A general discussion of the crusades from the years

leading to the fall of Acre to the aftermath of Lepanto. Comprises various

parts on Hospitaller history, including discussions on the financial

problems afflicting the Order and the strain these put on its military

resources.]

Hughes J. Q., The Building of Malta during the period of the Knights of St

John of Jerusalem 1530-1795 (London, 1956). [A historical analysis of the

building projects undertaken by the Hospitallers in Malta.]

Jardine Lisa, Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance , (London

1996). A particularly informative book on the role of material goods in

Renaissance Eururoe, particularly useful for the light it sheds on

Renaissance mentalities concerning debts, and the consumption of material

goods.]

299 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

King, E. J., The Knights Hospitallers in the Holy Land (London 1931). [A

history of the early Order.]

______, Rules, Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers 1099-1310 , (Reprint,

New York 1980).[A collection of Hospitaller statutes, translated in English,

enacted by the different General Chapters until the order settled in Rhodes].

______, The Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of

Jerusalem in England: A Short History , (London 1924). [A history of the

Order’s presence in England].

Lawrence C.H., Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western

Europe in the Middle Ages (London 1984). [Traces the evolution of forms

of monastic life in the Middle Ages, from the desert hermits of the fourth

century to the military orders in the twelfth and the friars in the thirteenth

centuries; useful for the scope of comparisons, especially with regards to

the interpretation of the religious vows.]

Larking, Rev. Lambert B., The Hospitallers in England: Being the report of

Prior Philip de Thame to the Grand Master Elyan de Villanova for AD

1338 (London 1857; Reprinted: New York 1968). [Transcribes, and

discusses the report earmarked in the title.]

Lo Zingarelli: Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana , cmpl. Nicola Zingarelli

(Rome 2002). [Cited for words in Italian].

Lippini, Pietro La vita quotidiana di un convento medioevale: gli ambienti, le

regole, l’orario e le mansioni dei frati Domenicani del tredicesimo secolo ,

300 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Bolognia 1990). [Traces the daily life in a Dominican convent; useful as a

comparison with the Hospitaller way of life.]

Luttrell Anthony, Latin Greece, the Hospitallers and the Crusades (1291-

1440) , (London 1982). [Looks at the history of the between the fall of Acre

and the first of the sieges of Rhodes.]

______, The Hospitallers in Cyprus, Rhodes, Greece and the West, 1921-1440

(London 1978). [Looks at the history of the between the fall of Acre and

the first of the sieges of Rhodes.]

______, ‘From Jerusalem to Malta: the Hospital’s Character and Evolution’, in

Peregrinationes – Acta et Documenta , (Palermo and Messina 2000), 6-11.

[Traces the evolution of the Order of St John from its foundation until the

expulsion from Malta.]

______, ‘Malta and Rhodes: Hospitallers and Islanders’, in Hospitaller Malta:

Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St John of Jerusalem , ed.

Victor Mallia Milanes (Malta 1993), 255-284. [Looks at the Order’s history

during its Rhodian and Maltese phase, analyses its government function

over the two islands and discusses its relationship with the local

populations.]

McManners John, Death and the Enlightenment: Changing attitudes to death

among Christians and Unbelievers in Eighteenth Century France (Oxford

1981). A study on the attitudes towards death in pre-revolutionary France,

providing interesting background reading on outlooks towards death in the

country from which most Hospitallers derived.]

301 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Macchiavelli, Luigi Rangioni, ‘L’Ordine di Malta’, in Il contributo degli ordini

religiosi all Concilio di Trento , Paoulo Cherubelli ed. (Florence 1946),

361-378.

Mallia-Milanes, Victor, ‘Introduction to Hospitaller Malta’, in Hospitaller

Malta 1530-1798: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St

John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes, (Malta 1993), 1-42. [A brief,

but in dept general study of Hospitaller Malta].

______, Venice and Hospitaller Malta: Aspects of a Relationship , (Malta

1992). [A study of the relationship between the two Mediterranean state,

one which was often marred by the attacks of Maltese corsairs on Venetian

shipping, and the Serennissima’s confiscation of Hospitaller estates.]

______, ‘The Hospitaller Receiver in Venice: A Late Seventeenth Century

Document’, in Studi Veneziani , xliv (2002). [Transcribes and analysis a

report by a seventeenth century receiver in Venice who sought to provide

successors with suggestions on how to carry out their duties, particularly

ambassadorial duties; the part on finances was an interesting addendum to

other material on the subject.]

______ed., Descrittione di Malta Anno 1716 – A Venetian Account , Malta:

Bugelli Publications, 1988.

Marullo di Codojanni, Carlo, La Sicilia ed il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta ,

(Messina 1953). [A study on the Hospitaller presence in Sicily with a

chapter totally dedicated to the revenues accruing to the Order from that

island.]

302 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mizzi, J., ‘A Bibliography of the Order of St John of Jerusalem’, in The Order

of St John in Malta with an exhibition of paintings by Mattia Preti (Malta

1970), 180-204. [A bibliography of works relating to Hospitaller history.]

Moorman, John, The Franciscan Order: From its Origins to the Year 1517

(Oxford 1968). [A history of the Franciscan order during the Middle Ages;

useful for the scope of comparisons, especially on the interpretation of the

religious vows.]

Muscat, Joseph, ‘Rules and Regulations for Maltese Corsairs’ in Melitensium

Amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Ġwann Azzopardi , eds. Cortis Tony,

Freller Thomas, and Bugeja, Lino (Malta 2002), 185-198. [An appealing

study on rules regulating the corsairing industry in Malta under the Order,

useful for understanding the role of the Magitrato degli Armamenti .]

Nicholson Helen, ‘Knights of Christ? The Templars, Hospitallers and other

Military Orders in the eyes of their contemporaries, 1128-1291’, in

www.the-orb.net/ency clop/religion/monastic/knights.html eds Paul

Crawford and Erik P. Opsahl. [An interesting discussion of how

contemporaries saw the members of the different military orders, including

the Hospital.]

______, Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights: Images of the Military

Orders – 1128-1291 (Leicester 1993). [Another interesting work on how

contemporaries saw the members of the different military orders.]

______, The Knights Hospitaller (Woodbridge 2001). [An in depth, recent,

monograph on the history of the Order of St John from its foundation to the

303 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

present day. Particularly useful for its detailed sketches of various aspects

of Order’s structure.]

Nisbet, James E., ‘Treasury Records of the Knights of St John of St. John in

Rhodes’ in Melita Historica , ii (1954), 95-104.[A short publication

comprising a report submitted by the general receiver in the west in 1365, a

definition of various terms used to describe sources of revenue and

expenditure, and a summary of the revenues, expenditures, and deficit for

the general receptory in Western Europe for the last 40 years of the

fourteenth century.]

Oakley, Francis, The Western Church in the Later Middle Ages (Itacha and

London 1979). [A history of the church in the late middle ages, it was

particularly useful for providing a context, namely the changes undergoing

in the Western church between the fourteenth and the fifteenth century. Of

particular interest were the chapters on modes of piety, and movements of

reform.]

Oxford Latin Dictionary , cmpl. A Souther et al . (Oxford 1968). [Cited for

words in Latin.]

Penco, Gregorio, Storia del monachesimo in Italia: Dalle origini alla fine del

medioevo (Milan 1995). [Traces the history of monasticism in Italy during

the middle ages. Mostly used were the chapters dealing with attempts to

reform in the fourteenth and fifteenth century.]

Poleggi Ennio, ‘Proprietà e Paesaggio Urbano Cabrei degli Ospedalieriei (Secc

XVI-XVII)’, in Cavalieri di San Giovanni e territorio: La Liguria tra

304 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Provenza e Lombardia nei secoli XIII-XVII , ed. Costa Restagno Josepha

(Genoa, 1999), 27-68. [Analyses the role of the cabrei as a source for

studying the local history of regions where Hospitaller estates were

situated; provides interesting material on the cabrei themselves.]

Postan, M.M., Medieval Trade and Finance (Cambridge 1973). [Analyses the

role of trade and financial instruments, with particular emphasis on Britain;

useful as background reading for understanding the evolution of trade,

credit and finance, which heavily influenced the changes affecting the

Hospitaller way of life.]

Pounds, N.J.G., An Economic History of Medieval Europe (London 1994).

[Another study on the medieval economy useful as background reading for

understanding the evolution of trade, credit and finance, which heavily

influenced the changes affecting the Hospitaller way of life.]

Rees, William, A History of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Wales, and

on the Welsh Border (Cardiff 1947). [Traces the establishement,

consolidation and history of the Order’s precence in and around Wales.

Useful for its insights on the how the Order administered its estates and the

different sourcesof revenue it had theirin.]

Reeves, Rev. John-Baptist, OP, The Domenicans , (London 1929). [A history of

the Domenican order during the Middle Ages; useful for the scope of

comparisons, especially on the interpretation of the religious vows.]

305 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Riahi-Belkaoui, Ahmed, Accounting Theory , (London 2000) [A textbook on

accounting theory, useful for understanding its evolution, as well as

accounting techniques, procedures and technical jargons.]

Riley Smith, Jonathan, Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St John

(London and Rio Grande 1999). [A monograph on the history of the Order

of St John from its foundation to the present day; predominantly useful as a

reference book for matters of fact on the evolution of the Order’s structure.]

______, The Knights of St John in Jerusalem and Cyprus 1050-1310 , (London

1967). [A appealing, all encompassing study of the early Order.]

Roover, Raymond de, ‘The Development of Accounting prior to Luca Pacioli’

in Business, Banking and Economic Thought in Late Medieval and Early

Modern Europe: Selected Studies of Reymond de Roover , ed. Julius

Kirshner (London 1974), 119-179. [An interesting study on the evolution

of accounting thecniques in the Middle Ages.]

Rossi, Ettore, Aggiunto alla Bibliographie Metodique de l’Ordre Souverain de

S. Jaen de Jérusalem di Ferdinand de Hellwald (Rome 1924). [A

bibliography of works relating to Hospitaller history.]

Samuelson, Paul A., Nordhaus, William D., Economics (USA 1995). [A

remarkably helpful textbook on economic theory; particularly due to its

easy to follow explanations.]

Sarnowsky, Jürgen, ‘The Rights of the Treasury’: the Financial Administration

of the Hospitallers on Fifteenth Century Rhodes, 1421-1522’ in The

Military Orders: Welfare and Warfare , ed. Helen Nicholson, ii (Hampshire

306 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

1998), 267-274. [Traces the financial difficulties afflicting the Order of St

John during the fifteenth century.]

Schiavone, Lorenzo ‘La visita priorale della commenda d’Asti nel 1710’ in Il

Platano , vii (1982), 25-48. [While analysing that particular priorial visit, it

sheds light on how such visits were carried out, as well as on the

administration of a commandery.]

______, ‘Il Primo Albergo d’Italia a Valletta e i Primi Contributi per la sua

Costrutione’, in Melita Historica , x, 1 (1988), 89-108. [Discusses the

events leading to the construction of the Italian auberge in Valletta;

particularly expedient was the reference to the tax imposed by the Italian

langue to finance the construction.]

Scicluna, Hannibal P. The Book of Deliberations of the Venerable Tongue of

England, 1523-1567 , (Malta, 1949). [A transcription, cum brief discussion

of the deliberations of the assembly of English Hospitallers until their

langue’s dissolution.]

Selwood, Domenic, Templars and Hospitallers in Central and Southern

Occitania 1100-1300 , Boydel Press, 1999.[Analysis the Hospitaller

establishment, in the said geographically defined area transcending the

traditional quai-chronological enlisting of land tenures acquisition]

Setton, K. M., The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571 , (Philadelphia 1976-

1984). [The major study on the crusades between the and the

Battle of Lepanto, includes important chunks on the Hospitaller

contribution to the crusading movement throughout the whole period.]

307 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sire, H.J.A, ‘The Character of Hospitaller Properties in Spain in the Middle

Ages’ in The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the

Sick , ed. Malcom Barber, (Hampshire1994), 21-27. [Traces the

establishemtn and consolidation of the Hospitallers in the Iberian peninsula

during the Middle Ages.]

Thornton, William Henry, Memoir on the Finances of Malta under the

Government of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, during the last days of

its dominion and as compared to the present time (Malta 1836). [A concise

study on the finances of the Order between 1779 and 1788, providing a

delineation of the Order’s fiscal structures, and differentiating between the

moneys of the Treasury, the personal burse of the grandmaster, and the

fiscal resources of the local municipal authorities.]

Spike, John T., Mattia Preti: Catalogo Ragionato dei Dipinti (Florence 1999).

[Catalogues, and analyses Mattia Preti’s paintings, providing useful

biographical information. Used in relation to the painter’s choice of

residence in Zurrieq.],

The Oxford Popular English Dictionary and Thesaurus , compl. Hawker Sara

and Hawkins Joyce M. (Oxford 2001). [Cited for the definition of ‘death’.]

Tipton, Charles L., ‘The Origins of the Preceptory of West Peckham’, in

Archeologia Catana , lxxx, (1965), 92-97. [Sketches the events which lead

to the formation of that Hospitaller commandery.]

Toomaspoeg, Kristjan, ‘L’insediamento dei grandi ordni militari cavallereschi

in Sicilia, 1145 – 1220’, in www.acsimom.org/publicazioni/

308 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

cavalieri_in_sicilia/0ag22.htm . [[Analyses the establishment of the three

major military Orders,including the Hospital, in Sicily.]

Vella, Andew P., Storja ta’ Malta (Malta 1979). [A History of Malta, with a

whole volume dedicated to the Hospitaller phase of Maltese History.]

Vertot, Abbè Renè Aubert de, The History of the knights of Malta (Amsterdam

1772; Facsimile Edition: Malta 1989). [A history of the Order of St John

from its origins until the eighteenth century, particularly useful was the

section transcribing, in English translation the statutes of the Order.]

Wedgwood, C.V., The Thirty Years War (London 1938). [A detailed narration

of that major war of the seventeenth century, useful for the details it

supplied in relation to instances when particular Hospitaller commanderies

were devastated.]

Williams, Ann, ‘Constitutional Development of the Order of St. John’, in

Hospitaller Malta: Studies on Early Modern Malta and the Order of St

John of Jerusalem , ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes, (Malta 1993), 285-296.

[Traces the evolution of the Order’s superstructure during the Maltese

phase of the Order’s history.]

______, ‘Boys will be Boys: The Problem of the Novitiate in the Order of St.

John’, in Melitensium Amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Gwann

Azzopardi , eds. Tony Cortis, Thomas Freller, and Lino Bugeja (Malta

2002), 179-184. [Lokks at the novitiate within the Order, with emphasis on

the frequent sqabbles between novices.]

309 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Words and Phrases legally defined , (ed.) John B. Saunders, (London 1989). [A

dictionary of legal terminology, used for a better understanding of the

concept of ‘separate legal personality’.]

Web pages www.acsimom.org/publicazioni/cavalieri_in_sicilia/0ag22.htm . [Article on the

establishment of the Order of St John in Sicily. Useful with reference to the

spread of commanderies.] www.lawinfo.com/lawdictionary/#P [Legal definition of separate legal

personality.] orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/religion/monastic/T_Rule.html [The rule of the

Templars, useful for comparison with the Hospitaller Rule .] orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/religion/monastic/Tk_Ru le.html [Rule of the

Teutonic Knights, useful for comparison with the Hospitaller Rule .] www.corteconti.it/visita-vir/index.asp [Website of the present day Italian court

of the exchequer, it contains some information on the historical origins of

similar tribunals in medieval Europe.] www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod.18beccaria.html [Quotations from Cesare

Beccaria’s ‘On Crimes and Punishments’] www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1k.html [Internet Medieval Source Book. It

provides various transcriptions of medieval sources, including the gesta on

the feats of participants in the different Crusades.] www.lameziastorica.it/storia_seuf1ing.htm [A short history of the Hospitaller

bailiwick of Santa Euphemia in Calabria]

310 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY www.orderofmalta.org.uk/grandmasters.htm [An official Anglicised list of the

grandmasters of the Order of St John, used for standardizing names]. www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_1_3.htm [English translation of the Pio Postulatio

Voluntatis ] www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_hosp.htm [English Translation of the Statutes of

Master Gilbert promulgated by the Chapter General of 1177] www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_moul.htm [English Translation of the Statutes of

Master Roger de Moulins] www.smom-za.org/bgt/bgt_rule.htm [English Translation of the Rule of

Raymond du Puy] www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/monastic.html [Web page

containing link to various online articles and digitalised version of primary

sources.] www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/knights.html [Article By Helen

Nicholson. See Above] www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/ordergif/hospitallers.gif . [The

structure of the order of St John in the late thirteenth century, when the

Order was still in Palestine] library.mcmaster.ca/archives/findaids/fonds/m/ms34.htm . [Reference to the

copy of the Trattato del Comun Tesoro which is found at the McMaster

University in Ontario, Canada].

311

Index

Priory of, 25 A Aragonese foundations, 39, 134, 146

Arasi, Fra Claudio, 122 Abuse, 69, 106, 155, 191 Aristocratic background, 77, 85, 90. See and the sending of receivers to every priory, Nobility 49, 65 Arnal, Fra Hyacinto Perez, 147 Attempts to curtail, 65 Arpasou, Fra Giovanni, 35 by Grandmasters, 208 Auberge, 29, 88, 89, 131, 307 Accarigi, Fra Giocondo, 146, 152 Auditors, 43, 44, 45, 48, 51, 65, 67, 68, 73, 79, Accounting practices, 94 95, 146 Submit accounts, 142 Role of, 51 Accounts Aux, Fra Luiz Diez de, 245 Submitting of, 67 Acre B Fall of, 1, 159

Admiral, 35, 131 Ballatti, Prior Alessandro, 126, 127, 167

Aiazza, Prior Bonifacio, 153 Banca di San Giorgio , 26

Aliatta, Conservatore conventuale Geronimo, Barros, Fra Giovanni de, 244

80 Belva, Fra Giovanni, 147

Almeyda, Fra, 141 Bere, Fra Gaspare de, 122

Amico, Balthassar de, 154 Berenger, Master Raimond, 192

Amili, Fra Giuliano, 36 Berzetti, Prior, 156

Anselmo, Fra Pietro, 119 Bezzini

Antioch Commandery of, 156

Bailiwick of, 32 Bishop of Malta, 37

Aragon Boldieri, Receiver Fra Francesco, 138, 139,

Langue of, 132 144, 211, 218, 228

312 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bonanno, Fra Giacomo, 172 Author of the Trattato del Comun Tesoro ,

Bosio, Fra Giacomo 24, 52, 59, 61, 68, 95, 132, 150, 154,

Historian of the Order, 24, 107 172, 183, 218, 242

Bourbon Malause, Fra Armando, 126 Author of Treatise on Order's Rule, 87

Buonaventura, Fra Nicola, 241 Short biography, 11

Bureaucratisation Carbinaye de Bosingon

of Treasury structures, 65 Fra Francesco del, 34

Business, Investment in Carbinaye de Bosingon, Fra Francesco del, 130

Considered as sin, 61 Carboneani, Bailiff Giacomo, 79

Carroz, Fra Vincenzo, 147 C Carusi, Fra Gio Batta, 236

Cashflow (within Order), 104 Cabreo , 69, 84, 127, 138, 139, 140, 141, 148, Castellania d’Emposta. See Aragon 154, 165 Castellar, Bailiff, 35 Cagnac, Fra Philippo Ludovico de, 114 Castellar, Prior Michele Giovanni del, 135 Cagniolo, Bailiff Antonio, 200 Castile Cagnolo, Bailiff Centorio, 195 Langue of, 245 Calasparra Centrino, Fra Angelo, 96, 146 Commandery of, 246 Chancellor, 35 Calligola, Fra Fabritio, 154 Changes to Treasury structure, 42, 46, 51 Camera dei Conti , 15, 36, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, Chaplains of obedience, 190, 201 52, 53, 62, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 109, Chiergi, Receiver Giuseppe, 229 110, 118, 142, 146, 153, 155, 164, 172, 190, Chisson 198, 200, 202, 206, 209, 216, 217, 228, 229, Commandery of, 169 230, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239, 245, Christian framework of Hospitaller 246 management, 54 Ascendency over the spogli , 229 Christophorum, Fra Georgio, 124 Canabiers Clement V, pope, 197 Commandery of, 35 Coinage problems, 121 Capece, Receiver Bernardo, 229 Coledoon, Prior Rudolfo, 166, 170 Capello, Giacomo, 222 Colla, Fra Theodoro de la, 175 Caraffa, Fra Vincenzo, 190 Collecta , 32, 146. See Langue's assembly Caravita, Fra Giovanni, 211

313 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Colma, Fra Francesco, 245 Conventual church, 134

Commander, 26, 30, 42, 67, 118, 124, 138, 139, Corneillan, Master Pierre de, 192

157, 201, 206, 244, 247 Corruption, 64. See See Abuse

Commandery, 26, 137 Corteson, Fra Giovanni Felice de, 130

Administration of, 30 Costa, Bailiff Doardo da, 141

and Seniority, 82 Cottoner, Fra Nicola, 53

Loss of charitable aspect, 88 Cottoner, Grandmaster Nicholas, 209

Commissari degli spogli , 47, 58, 66, 73, 81, Council of Trent, 220

125, 128, 130, 184, 185, 193, 194, 196, 198, Crispo, Chaplain Fra Giovanni Battista, 127

214, 225, 228, 238, 243 D Communality of ownership, 55, 87

Complete council, 34, 113, 117, 119, 128, 129, d’Amico, Fra Igniazio, 235 164, 169, 240 d’Aubusson, Grandmaster Pierre, 56, 131, 201 Comun Tesoro . See Treasury d’Avila, Fra Giovanni, 201 Conservatore conventuale , 41, 43, 44, 45, 51, d’Esconedo, Bailiff Fra Filippo Carlo, 125 52, 65, 73, 79, 110, 115, 122, 145, 152, 153, d’Herberstein, Prior Carl Leopold, 195, 211 154, 157, 185, 203 d’Homedes, Grandmaster Juan, 131 Role of, 47 d’Olivares, Fra, 126 Conservatore delle prove della nobbiltà e della d’Orin Ligny, Fra Gabriele, 168, 169 purità , 76 dal Bene, Fra Francesco, 247 Constantinople Danes, Fra Giacchi, 236 Conquest of, 42 Dargouges, Fra Aloisio, 126 Contavina, Fra Giovanni, 196 de Argaiz, Fra Isidoro, 36 Contreras, Fra Alonso de, 114 de Boise, Fra, 126 Convent, 5, 7, 9, 11, 25, 29, 32, 33, 35, 40, 43, de Galliano Castelnuovo, Fra Marcillo, 36 45, 50, 51, 54, 64, 65, 66, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, de Nozet, Fra, 128 84, 87, 89, 105, 114, 122, 131, 137, 143, de San Blas, Fra Claudio, 37 144, 145, 156, 157, 159, 160, 163, 169, 170, de Velù Babioni, Fra Giovanni, 36 172, 174, 184, 198, 207, 212, 214, 227, 228, Debt, 107, 108, 115 229, 230, 236, 242, 243, 261, 293 as understood within the Order, 109 Conventual bailiff, 34, 36, 131, 135, 147 with Treasury Conventual chaplains, 207 Being in debt, 152

314 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Could not leave Convent, 170 Fiernaldo , 81, 114

Defrocking, 161, 173 Fondatione Cottoner , 38, 133

Excommunication, 175 Fondatione Marulli , 38, 39, 146

Imprisonment, 172 Fondationi Claramonte , 39, 146

Interest as punishment, 150 Fort Ricasoli, 38

Magnitude of, 147 Foundation, 10, 37, 38, 75, 293, 294, 301, 303,

Moral punishment, 149 306

Notification of debtor, 154 Administration of, 146

Permanent confiscation, 172 Debts with, 133, 146

Punishment according to Rule , 159 Seperate legal and fiscal personality, 39

Treasury's reaction, 152 Fouqueran La Nove, Pilier Pietro de, 120, 122 della Torre, Fra Ernesto, 246 France

Denti, Fra Ignatio, 156 Auberge of, 120

Departments Priory of, 25

in Convent, 5, 35, 46, 74, 105, 260 Fresnoy Marigny, Jacobo de, 169 di Giovanni, Fra Antonio Maria, 237 G di Pietro, Fra, 237

Disproprio , 95, 210 Garcia, Fra, 135 Dolomieu, Fra Gio Batta, 88, 229, 245 Garidec, Fra Francesco Carboric de, 168 Double responsion, 140, 165 General-chapter, 48 Draper. See Grand conservator Appeal to, 37 du Puy, Master Raymond (Blessed), 19, 55, 74, Role of, 36 187 Giarrattano, Fra Vincenzo, 230 E Gilbert, Master, 20 gioa , 134

Eugenius IV, Pope, 160 Giona, Fra Francesco, 34

Gottho, Receiver Antonio, 237 F Gozon, Grandmaster Dieudonné de, 49

Grand bailiff, 35 Family (natural) Grand commander, 34, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 55, and Inheritance, 37, 201, 219 65, 79, 81 Ferro della Madalena and administration of Treasury, 45 Commandery of, 217

315 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

and the spoglio , 213 and the liability for errors, 95

Receive responsions, 20 and the management of the Order's assets,

Role of, 45 137

Grand conservator, 35, 39, 131, 134, 146, 147, and the seperate fiscal and legal personality

203, 279 of the individual, 92

Grandmaster, 20, 78 Seperate legal and fiscal personality and the

and Dispensation to alienate property, 93, spoglio , 185, 210

191, 242 I and the accumulation of wealth, 207

and the issue of bills, 48, 51 Imbrol, Prior Salvatore, 224 Role of, 35 Imperial levies, 235 Graueson, Prior, 35 Imposition, 72, 73, 117 Grignon, Fra Giovanni de, 168 Incapacità, 82, 133, 135, 142, 143, 147, 162, Guidotti, Bailiff Opizo, 216 164, 167, 169 Guilty until proven innocent, 152 Intendant, 48, 63 Guispres, Receiver, 235 Italian langue, 129 Guzman Olivares, Count-Duke Gaspar de, 120 Italy H Auberge of, 38, 129 Langue of, 32

Henry VIII, 162 J Holy Roman Empire, 23, 235

Homedes, Grandmaster Jean de, 162 Jxar, Fra Vincenzo de, 245 Honrein and Reyden Commandery of, 124 L Hospitaller

Head of French Langue and Sacra la Cassiere, Grandmaster Jean Levesque, 37,

Infermeria , 34 164

Hospitaller (individual) la Fais Gerlande, Prior Giusto, 240

and administration of Order's assets, 83 la Farina, Fra Giovanni, 186

and circumventing of the Order's la Marra, Prior Nicolo de, 202

regulations, 219 la Sengle, Grandmaster Claude de, 192, 228

and the consumprion of commodities, 102 la Vallette, Grandmaster Jean de, 169, 201

316 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Landi, Fra, 139 M Langues, 3, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36, 44, 74, 128, 130,

145, 156, 164, 165, 200 Magistral palace

Assembly of, 33, 164 Accumulation of wealth at, 73

Seperate legal and fiscal personality, 33 Magistrato degli Armamenti , 231

Lanzegue, Fra Giacomo, 168 Maladministration. See . See Abuse

Lascaris Castellar, Grandmaster Juan de, 88, Malta

121, 208, 247 Move to, 2

Lastic, Grandmaster Jean de, 42, 43, 44, 74, Mamluks, 42, 72, 112, 197

160, 212, 216 Marchesi, Fra Giacomo de, 202

Latomer Margallet, Fra, 35

Membro of, 169 Marshal, 34, 131, 203, 204, 209, 243 le Feure, Fra Michele, 235 Marulli, Fra Hectoris, 38 le Seure, Prior Michele, 246 Marullo, Bailiff Girolamo, 206

Legati pii , 226 Massas, Fra Giacobo de, 171

Lenzina, Grand Chancellor, 246 Master. See Grandmaster

Ligneres, Fra, 195 Mataxxi, Fra Antonio, 125

Limoges, Fra Pietro, 234 Mathew Paris

List of debtors, 164 Medieval Chronichler, 23

Little commander, 203, 209 Mazzara, Fra Antonio, 235

Loans Mdina, 163

Between Hospitallers, 125 Melling

Lodoin Commandery of, 235

Commandery of, 168 Melzio, Prior Ludovico, 96, 167

Lombardy Membrista . See Membro

Priory of, 211 Membro , 27, 119

Lopez, Fra Diadcio, 114 Messina

Lopez, Fra Giovanni, 245 Priory of, 25

Loss of seniority. See Incapacità Meun, Fra René, 122

Louis IX, king of France, 52 Michallef, Fra Carlo, 224 Miglioramento , 138

Modica

Commandery of, 230

317 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Monfaucon Rocatagliata, Fra Giovanni, 196 Oliveria de Hospital

Mont Pererin Commandery of, 141

Priory of, 32 Order of St John

Montalto, Fra Ferdinando, 194 and Banking, 101

Monte di Palma and other monastic institutions, 85, 186

Commandery of, 211 Ascendency over the individual, 56, 227

Montreal, Fra Gasparo de, 201 Defined as House of God, 59

Montsaunes Financial problems, 160, 162

Commandery of, 28, 82, 168 Hierarchical Order, 21

Mortaliu, Fra Girolamo, 125 Historical sketch, 1

Moschita Ordinary council, 28, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 48,

Commandery of, 172 51, 53, 54, 57, 66, 69, 71, 72, 76, 78, 79, 80,

Moulins 81, 82, 105, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 118,

Commandery of, 168 119, 124, 128, 129, 132, 134, 135, 140, 142,

Moulins, Master Fra Roger des, 31 145, 146, 147, 150, 151, 154, 155, 156, 157,

164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173, N 174, 189, 190, 196, 199, 206, 207, 208, 209,

214, 215, 217, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, Naillac, Master Philibert de, 157, 227 229, 230, 232, 233, 235, 239, 240, 241, 243, Naples 246 Priory of, 32 Orsini, Grandmaster Giovanni Battista, 52, 162 Report on, 84 Outremar, 21, 287 Nobility and Maladministration, 63 P and notion of precedence, 78

Nollant, Fra Stefano de, 234 Palermo

Novitiate Hospitaller Judge in, 230

and the Spoglio , 189 Palermo, Fra Diego di, 172

Nuzla, Fra Giovanni della, 245 Palij (of St. John), 121

Palmieri, Fra Giovanni Maria, 174 O Paschal II, 2

Passaggio , 112, 123 Olesa, Fra Francesco, 53 Passionisi, Fra Paolo, 96, 146 Olicerio, Fra Michele, 124

318 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Patrimonial Property Prior, 30, 244

right to bequeath, 225 Prior of the conventual church, 36

Paule, Grandmaster Antoine de, 74 Priories, 3, 9, 19, 25, 28, 32, 33, 35, 36, 49, 64,

Payments 66, 69, 71, 74, 78, 87, 118, 129, 137, 164,

procedure to make, 66 198, 212, 213, 214, 227, 228, 233, 236

Pensione, 124 and the sperate legal personality, 75

and the Spoglio , 196 Visitation of, 58

Pensionisti Procurator of the Treasury fuor di Convento ,

and the spoglio , 245 122, 212, 214, 233

Pereira, Fra, 128 Procuratore delle cause , 81, 165, 202, 217

Perellos y Roccaful, Grandmaster Ramon, 218 Role of, 48

Perrot, Fra Claudio, 235 Procurators of the langue, 33, 145

Pettinatti, Fra Filippo Ascanio, 96, 167 Procurators of the Treasury fuor di Convento ,

Piazza 45, 142

Commandery of, 34 Role of, 50

Piccolomini, Fra Sigismondo, 127 Property of the Order

Piccolomini, Prior Francesco, 154 non alienation of, 191

Pie postulatio voluntatis , 2, 291 Protomartire, Fra Stefano, 96

Pins, Master Odon de, 192 Provincial-chapter, 28, 31, 32, 50, 51, 69, 129,

Pinto, Fra Vincenzo Alvarez, 128, 240 213, 229, 230

Pisa Q Priory of, 26, 31

Pius IV, pope, 197 Quebedo, Fra Emanuele de, 153 Plante and Cadeglian Quinta camera , 135 Membro of, 28, 82, 168 Quinto , 221 Porras, Conservatore conventuale Gonsale de, Quiqueran Beaufeu, Prior Honoratio de, 215 53 Pouet, Fra Guillermo de, 133 R Precedence

and Nobility, 78 Racconigi

in Camera dei Conti , 79 Commandery of, 211

Preti, Fra Mattia (Painter), 88 Radat, Fra, 153

319 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Receiver, 31, 45, 65, 69, 110, 152, 157, 161, Royal tithes, 235

163, 166, 185, 198, 214, 233, 237 Rule , 19, 20, 23, 74, 85, 90, 92, 149, 158, 159,

and the spoglio , 213 187, 191, 289

Role of, 49 S Receivers, 142, 143

Reitano, Fra Giuseppe, 126, 167 Sacra Rota Romana , 37, 141 Religious language Saint Gilles Use of in official documentation, 58 Hospital of (Naples), 32 Renaissance, 90, 291, 298, 299 Priory of, 10, 24, 25, 224 Report on the functioing of the Treasury, 70, Saliers 147 Commandery of, 171 Responsions, 104, 116 Salvaterra, Fra Francesco, 28, 82, 168 Default in payment of, 160 San Gilles Default in payments, 118 Priory of, 31 In the Rule , 20 San Giovanni a Mare Increase of, 72 Bailiwick of, 126 of 1181, 31 Commandery of, 167 Revel, Master Hugues de, 192, 221 San Giovanni d’Acri Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro , 197 Benefice of, 201 Rhodes San Giovanni di Prè Attacks on, 42, 72 Commandery of, 11, 26, 286 Conquest of, 1 San Lorenzo Expenses due to defence requirements, 108 Commandery of, 138 Right of appeal, 53 San Mauritio, Fra Gio Bata, 170 Riviere, Grandmaster Antonio Fluvian de, 42 San Pietro Roccalentin, Bernardo Ugo di, 161 Commandery of, 175 Rocuhe Foucaule de Bayaz, Fra Francesco de Santa Eulalia la, 88 Commandery of, 35 Roero, Receiver, 153 Santa Euphemia Roggier, Fra Francesco de, 234 Fort/Bailiwick of, 33, 129 Romano-Christian legal legacy, 61 Santa Maria e Calogero Romegas, Prior Mathurin Lescat, 37 Commandery of, 127

320 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Savina, Fra Angelico, 217 and Medical expenses, 236

Schaunembourg, Prior Gianbattista di, 88 and Novices, 189

Sciortino, Fra Cola, 96, 146 and the gradation of creditors, 237

Secretary, 48, 65, 66, 209 and Vow of poverty, 188

and the Auditing of accounts, 68 Apportionment of goods within Order, 203–

Role of, 48–49 6

Secularisation Consisted of, 190

Reflected in statute's language, 57 Definition of, 183–86

Seguins Cabasole, Fra Giuseppe Spirito de, 199 Pre-eminence of the Treasury, 237

Senglea, 93, 130, 191, 200, 222, 223 Renounciation of, 233

Seniority, 77, 79, 81, 82, 114, 126, 135, 141, The Order as the Hospitaller's ‘heir’, 191

142, 150, 228 St Catherine

Separate legal personality, 75 Commandery of, 168

Sequestro , 163, 166, 239 St Christopher

Resistance to, 171 Commandery of, 171

Serra, Fra Giorgio, 88 St Gilles

Serraucourt, Fra Giovanni di, 124, 246 Priory of, 35

Sese, Fra Martino de, 134, 147 St Peter’s Basilica, 197

Sessi, Fra Carlo, 125 Stampes, Fra, 199

Seure, Prior Michele le, 124 Stato del magistero , 207

Siggiewi, 88 Stato del palazzo , 208

Soldea , 112, 115 Stuniga, Fra Alvaro di, 161

Sorau, Fra Ernesto, 246 Suares, Fra Blasius, 174

Sousa, Bailiff Gonsalvo, 193 T Sousa, Receiver of Portugal, 95

Spinelli, Admiral Vincenzo, 244 Tabarie Spinola, Bailiff of Raffaele, 80 Bailiwick of, 32 Spoglio , 34, 47, 73, 93, 125, 127, 128, 153, Tancredino, Fra Gasparo, 170 156, 157, 184, 187, 191, 196, 221, 227, 228, Tattempach, Prior, 235 230, 232, 240, 244, 246, 247 Tavole , 53, 89, 114, 116, 189 and Funeral expenses, 236 Templars, 4, 22, 23, 100, 108, 287, 303, 307 and goods acquired illicitly, 197 Terves Boisirault, Treasurer Tossino de, 80

321 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Teseo, Fra, 240 Turcoplier, 35

Teutonic Knights, 22, 23, 303 V Thesan Venasques, Receiver Antonio de, 171

Tiles Vacgueras, Grand Commander Giovanni de Use of prohibited, 78 Vassadel, 70 Toledo, Fra Bernardino di, 201 Valdina, Fra Carlo, 69, 80, 95, 156 Tornaquinci, Fra Raffaello, 173 Valenzuola, Prior Giovanni, 161 Torres Novas u Torres Vedvas Valera, Fra Prospero, 173 Commandery of, 141 Vallari, Fra Gio-Domenico, 240 Torriglia, Fra Oratio, 239 Valletta, 71, 72, 88, 93, 117, 121, 127, 129, Tourcinch, Prior Cesare, 127 130, 164, 174, 191, 200, 222, 223, 287, 307 Trattato del Comun Tesoro , 11, 14, 15, 16, 59, Valmacca, Bailiff Cavagliati, 240 222 Vasconcellos, Fra Gonsalvo Mendez de, 153 Treasurer, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 65, 74, 271 Vasconcellos, Grandmaster Louis Mendez de, Treasury, 4 73, 207 Administration by grandmaster, 44, 74 Vellón , 121 As binding element within Order, 4 Venerable procurators of the Treasury, 43, 45, Bureaucratisation of, 65 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 62, 65, 66, 69, 73, 74, 76, Earliest Reference, 20 79, 96, 108, 142, 144, 145, 156, 157, 195, Impact on Order, 5 212, 214, 215, 227, 230, 233, 242 Items which it received from the Spoglio , Role of, 46 201–3 Venice Lack of attention by historians, 5 Priory of, 31 Role of, 40 Verani, Fra Gio Giacomo, 108 Structure of, 40, 41 Verdalle, Grandmaster Hugh Loubenx de, 131, Treatise on the Treasury 200, 237 (Anonymous), 41 Verra Cameras, Fra Pietro, 207 Tripoli, 163 Villeneuve, Grandmaster Hellion de, 212 County of, 32 Vitelli, Fra Geronimo, 239 Tronchon Vitelli, Fra Giulio Cesare, 170 Commandery of, 135 Vittoriosa, 72, 93, 130, 191, 200, 222 Tudesillas, Receiver Giovanni, 236

322 THE TREASURY , DEBTS , AND DEATHS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vow of poverty, 186 Wigniacourt, Grandmaster Adrienne de, 13

interpretation of, 92 Z Vratislav, Prior, 225

W Zurrieq, 88

Wignacourt, Grandmaster Alof de, 58, 84, 140,

207

323