The Malta University Historical Society (MUHS) is organising its annual Prof Andrew Vella Memorial Lecture, followed by the dinner.

The MUHS said that this year’s speaker will be Dr Christine Muscat, who will provide the audience with glimpse into her doctoral research about women and prostitutes in eighteenth-century Valletta – Regulating the Public Commerce of Women in Hospitaller Malta: The Grand Masters’ Bonus Pater Familias approach.

After the lecture, patrons are invited to a meal being organised by the MUHS at Don Berto Restaurant, next door to the Malta Maritime Museum.

Dr Muscat will talk about the “complex heterogeneous system of government controlled the harbour district in early modern Malta. The legislation and enforcement of regulations concerning the commercial activities of public women fell under the responsibility of the Grand Master and the Council of the Order. As a religious organisation, the Order of St John was expected and advised to criminalise and abolish such commerce.”

“This, however, did not happen. Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Grand Masters appear to have leaned heavily towards precautionary legislation and governance and were generally reluctant to reform archaic laws enacted by their predecessors. Precaution evoked the ultimate standard for care and responsibility – that of the bonus pater familias, the good father of the family. Laws operate in distinctive ways. The moral voice of laws targeting public women offers an opportunity to understand the intrinsic socio-political climate embedded in these laws.”

The speaker explained that this lecture sheds light on which public women were perceived to be mischievous and which aspects of the publico commercio delle meretrici were culturally understood to be socially harmful.

“It explores diverse creative ploys adopted by some entrepreneurial public women in Hospitaller Valletta to navigate their way around legal strictures and structures.”

Christine Muscat graduated in anthropology from the University of Malta in 2002, following which she pursued studies with FEG (Federation of European Guides) and WFTGA (the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations) and achieved certification as a European and International Tourist Guide trainer and examiner.

She has delivered lectures, training programmes and consultancy for tourist guides and tourism personnel locally and in Latvia, Austria, Portugal and Morocco. In 2011 she carried out primary source research on the Magdalene nuns in Hospitaller Malta and achieved her Masters Degree in Hospitaller Studies. She completed her Ph.D studies at the University of Malta in 2016.

Her doctoral dissertation is titled ‘Female Prostitution and Entrepreneurship in Valletta c.1630- c 1798.’ Her research explores an entrepreneurial approach to understanding prostitution in early modern Valletta.

Christine Muscat has contributed articles to various publications and in 2013 she published her book entitled Magdalene Nuns and Penitent Prostitutes.

The lecture and dinner will be held on Friday, the 1st of December, starting at 6:30pm at the Malta Maritime Museum, Vittoriosa. Patrons are requested to be seated by 6.15pm.

A €5 donation is kindly solicited at the door. This will contribute towards the activities of the MUHS.

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