Infirmities and invisible ink: enslaved Muslims and magic in Malta, c.1598–c.1608.

This article examines accusations of magic made against enslaved Muslims in Malta over the period 1598–1608. In this period numerous enslaved Muslims were accused of magic before the Roman Inquisition, and the surviving records describe these accusations and magical practices in detail. This article...

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Publicado en:Mediterranean Historical Review Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 43 - 68
Autores principales: Rider, Catherine, Agius, Dionisius A., Farrugia, Gabriel
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2024
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Infirmities and invisible ink: enslaved Muslims and magic in Malta, c.1598–c.1608.
      aug:
        au:
          Rider, Catherine
          Agius, Dionisius A.
          Farrugia, Gabriel
        affil:
          Department of Archaeology and History, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
          Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
          Department of History and Civilisation, European University Institute, Florence, Italy
      su:
        Muslims
        Enslaved persons
        Slavery
        Inquisition
        Malta
      sug:
        subj:
          Malta
          Muslims
          Enslaved persons
          Slavery
          Inquisition
      keyword:
        Christian–Muslim relations
        magic
        medicine
        slavery
        witchcraft
      ab: This article examines accusations of magic made against enslaved Muslims in Malta over the period 1598–1608. In this period numerous enslaved Muslims were accused of magic before the Roman Inquisition, and the surviving records describe these accusations and magical practices in detail. This article explores the types of magic Muslims were accused of, and why they seem to have been attractive to Christians as magical practitioners. It employs a statistical analysis to outline patterns of accusation, and uses the detail from individual cases to discuss these patterns. The authors argue that accusations against enslaved Muslims had several distinctive features. Muslims were believed to be particularly good at curing illnesses caused by sorcery, which was linked to wider early modern stereotypes about Islam. They were also more likely to use books and writing in the Arabic language. Finally, their practice of love magic for Christian women crossed gender boundaries in a way that male Christian practitioners did not, although this particular aspect should be seen in the context of a wide variety of types of magic practised for both men and women. However, despite these differences, their services were not seen as completely distinct from those of Christian practitioners. Magic was thus an area where people of different faiths interacted, especially in certain circumstances. This picture corresponds to some degree to patterns identified in recent studies of enslaved and non-Christian healers who came before the Inquisition in Latin America and Africa, and the article thus offers suggestions for comparison with these studies.
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    language: English
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      custom: Copyright of Mediterranean Historical Review is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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