Charles Dalli

This is what happens when you write a book without a clear sense of who your audience is. The glossy pages, copious illustrations, and fact that it was on sale in the majority of historic tourist attractions I visited in Malta would seem to indicate that Malta: The Medieval Millennium is aimed at the interested general reader.

Much of the book's text, however, assumes more than a passing familiarity with medieval history and with Maltese concepts. Many technical terms are used without any explanation (I don't think the average person knows what a cathedral prebend is, for instance); I think I had to work out the rough meaning of the Maltese word raħal from context; events such as the Sicilian Vespers are repeatedly referenced but not explained for perhaps 100 pages; quotations in Spanish, Italian, and Latin are dropped in without translation; and there's a repeated failure to construct any kind of narrative or explain the significance of the facts deployed. I can't imagine anyone who doesn't have a background in medieval history being able to finish this without being thoroughly confused. It's a shame given the island's fascinating medieval history and the intriguing challenge of reconstructing it given the scant written sources.… (meer)