Here we expand on the topics covered in my-malta.com's table-format 'Rich History' pages.
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Norman Conquest
Count Roger of Hauteville took over Malta from the Arabs when he crossed from Sicily with an army of Norman soldiers. Legend has it that it was he who gave us the Maltese flag, from his own colours. It is also said that Count Roger allowed the Arab rulers to remain in Malta after they lost their struggle and they, in turn, acknowledged him as their master, to whom they even paid taxes.
When his son, Roger II took over however -- circa 1127 AD -- he placed a Norman nobleman as the islands' governor, for he did not trust the Arabs.
This was the height of Norman supremacy, at around the same time as the Battle of Hastings, when the Normans invaded England (in 1066).
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Feudal Malta
Malta's Timeline, A Handbook of Maltese Chronology, gives (among other things) detailed lists of the Feudal Lords governing Malta and of the rulers of that era, starting from the Norman count Roger I, through the Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese Kings, down to Charles V of Germany in the Castillian age, when Malta was finally handed to the sovereign Order of the Knights of S. John of Jerusalem in 1530.
In summary, the Norman period in Malta lasted some 103 years, between c.1091 and 1194. The 272-year Swabian rule followed, until February 1266, when the Angevins took over for the next 16 years. In September 1282, the fleet of Peter of Aragon defeated them off the Maltese shores, leading to the house of Aragon's 128-year reign, followed in line by the Castillians:
1412 -- 1416 Ferdinand I, the Just
1416 -- 1458
Alphonsus I, the Magnanimous
1458 -- 1479 John
1479 -- 1516 Ferdinand II, the Catholic
1516 -- 1558 Charles V of Germany,
who conceded Malta to the Knights of Saint John on the 24 March 1530.
Back to Main Text -- Magna Charta Liberatis
King Alphonsus I
This Holy Roman Emperor was known as the Magnanimous (high-spirited, courageous, a name derived from the Latin 'magnus' and 'animus').
Alphonsus, or Alfonso, ruled between the 2nd April 1416 and the 27th June 1458. In the year 1420, the king mortgaged the Maltese archipelago to Antonio Cardona, only to allow them to be redeemed 8 years later by the Maltese people when he issued the Magna Charta Liberatis, a document which forms part of Malta's National Archives at the Biblioteca or National Library of Malta.
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Magna Charta Liberatis
This was the decree issued by the Castillian King Alphonsus I, recognized as Magnanimous, on the 20th June 1428, whereby the Maltese Islands were proclaimed as being redeemed from the power of their harsh masters, who had grossly disregarded the rights of their subjects.
Following a popular uprising, the nation's farmers raised the necessary funds, which the people's representatives (from the Consiglio Popolare, or the People's Council) presented to the King, who accepted their plea. The decree made it possible for the office of Military Governor (1), the Captain of the Ports, as well as other official posts, to be commissioned to Maltese citizens.
Their hard-earned freedom was short lived, however, when King Charles V, of Germany, later conceded the islands to the Order of Saint John; an act that returned the people's situation to one of supreme master and oppressed subjects once more.
(1) Antonio Isguanez was the first Maltese Military Governor.
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Consiglio Popolare
(excerpt from Malta's Timeline)
The Consiglio Popolare was the island's traditional Council. No records are extant of the early years of the institution, and the first mention of the Consiglio occurred when King Alphonsus of Aragon had mortgaged the islands to Antonio Cardona in 1420. But it was certainly in existence since the 13th century.
The council controlled to a certain degree of independence the internal affairs of the islands.
The known functions of the Consiglio were to send envoys, styled ambassadors, to the Viceroy of Sicily, and to the king himself; to ask for redress of grievances, and to suggest...
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The Knights of Saint John
Go to dedicated page - click this link.
Part 1 - Prehistory and the B.C. years
Part 2 - Early History, leading to the year 1800
Part 3 - Later History, covering the years that followed
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