Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis
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Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis ( mt, Ġan Piet Franġisk Agius de Soldanis, 30 October 1712 – 30 January 1770), often called de Soldanis ( mt, Sultana), was a Maltese linguist, historian and cleric from the island of Gozo. He wrote the first lexicon and systematic grammar of the
Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offic ...
, and he was the first librarian of the ''Bibliotheca Publica'', the precursor of the
National Library of Malta The National Library of Malta ( mt, Bibljoteka Nazzjonali ta' Malta), often known as the Bibliotheca ( mt, Bibljoteka), is a reference library in Republic Square, Valletta, Malta. It was founded by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1776 ...
.


Life

De Soldanis was born on 1 November 1712 in Rabat, Gozo, to Andrea agius and Valenzia Sultana. He was baptised in the Parish Church of St. George the following day. He was born ''Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius'', but he later added ''de Soldanis'' to his name, a
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
ized version of his mother's surname Sultana, and he is now commonly known by that name. De Soldanis was privately educated by a Capuchin friar at the convent of Our Lady of Graces. He later studied literature, philosophy, theology and law at the Collegium Melitense in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
. De Soldanis was appointed canon of the Gozo Matrice by Bishop
Paul Alphéran de Bussan Paul Alphéran de Bussan was a French Roman Catholic archbishop who served as Bishop of Malta from 1728 till 1757. Early life Born in Aix-en-Provence, France on 28 October 1686 of noble parentage, Paul Alphéran de Bussan graduated in Bachelor ...
in 1729, and he was ordained priest six years later in 1735. De Soldanis was interested in history, culture, archaeology and the Maltese language. He had an extensive library and a
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
in his house, which contained various old coins and medals, inscriptions, pottery and statues. He wrote several manuscripts in a number of languages, including Maltese,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
and French. He published some of his works in
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,
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,
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and Avignon, but he never published anything in Malta since there was no printing press at the time. In 1753, he was appointed ''quaresimalista'' of Gozo, the official preacher of Advent and
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
en sermons at the Matrice, which was considered to be a position of privilege. Due to the influence of the bishop's brother, De Soldanis traveled throughout Italy and France in the 1750s. At this point, he studied at the
University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
and graduated as a lawyer. He also became a member of the ' in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
, the ''Accademia Botanica'' of Cortona, and the ''Accademia di Buongusto'' and the ''Accademia degli Erranti'' in Palermo. In 1758, de Soldanis returned to Gozo, but he moved to mainland Malta in 1763, when the knight Louis Guérin de Tencin chose him as the first librarian of the ''Bibliotheca Publica'' in Valletta, the precursor of the
National Library of Malta The National Library of Malta ( mt, Bibljoteka Nazzjonali ta' Malta), often known as the Bibliotheca ( mt, Bibljoteka), is a reference library in Republic Square, Valletta, Malta. It was founded by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1776 ...
. De Soldanis' health began to deteriorate in 1768. He died on 30 January 1770, and he was buried at the
Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck The Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, also known as simply the Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Valletta, Malta. It is one of Valletta's oldest churches. History Saint Paul the Apostle is consi ...
in Valletta.


Works


Maltese language

Throughout his life, De Soldanis wrote a number of works about the
Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offic ...
, which was his main area of interest. He wrote the first grammar of the Maltese language in 1750, after he was informed that the Portuguese knight Almeida wanted such a grammar to be published. The book was entitled ''Della Lingua Punica presentemente usata da Maltesi, ovvero Nuovi Documenti li quali possono servire di lume all'antica Lingua Etrusca, stesi in due dissertazioni'', and it was published in
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. In this work, de Soldanis hypothesizes that Maltese originates from the
Punic language The Punic language, also called Phoenicio-Punic or Carthaginian, is an extinct variety of the Phoenician language, a Canaanite language of the Northwest Semitic branch of the Semitic languages. An offshoot of the Phoenician language of coastal W ...
which he thought descended from the
Etruscan language Etruscan () was the language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria (modern Tuscany, western Umbria, northern Latium, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Campania). Etruscan influenced Latin but was eventua ...
. This hypothesis was later disproven, and Maltese is now regarded as descended from
Siculo-Arabic Siculo-Arabic ( ar, الْلهجَة الْعَرَبِيَة الْصَقلِيَة), also known as Sicilian Arabic, is the term used for varieties of Arabic that were spoken in the Emirate of Sicily (which included Malta) from the 9th century ...
. From 1750 to 1762, de Soldanis worked on a second grammar entitled ''Nuova Scuola della Lingua Punica'', but it was never published. He also wrote a four-volume Maltese-Latin-Italian dictionary entitled ''Damma tal-Kliem Kartaginis mscerred fel fomm tal Maltin u Ghaucin'' between 1750 and 1767. Although it also remained unpublished, this is regarded as his most influential work about the Maltese language, since it presents a unique picture of mid-18th century Maltese.


Other works

Apart from studies on the Maltese language, de Soldanis also wrote works relating to history, archaeology and other topics related to Malta and Gozo. His
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
is ''Il Gozo Antico-Moderno e Sacro-Profano'', a two-volume manuscript dealing with the history of Gozo completed in 1746. The manuscript served as the basis for further studies on Gozo, but it remained unpublished until 1936, when the Government Press published a translation in Maltese by Giuseppe Farrugia Gioioso. A translation in English by Anthony Mercieca was published in 1999. In 1751, de Soldanis published ''Mustafà Bassà di Rodi schiavo in Malta, o sia la di lui congiura all'occupazione di Malta descritta da Michele Acciard'', dealing with the
Conspiracy of the Slaves The Conspiracy of the Slaves ( mt, il-konġura tal-ilsiera or ) was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller-ruled Malta to rebel, assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and take over the island. The revolt was to have taken pla ...
which had occurred two years earlier. This book landed him in trouble with Grand Master
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (also ''Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca''; 24 May 1681 – 23 January 1773) was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death. He undertook many building projects, introduc ...
, since in it he attacked the Order of St. John and argued for the rights of the Maltese. De Soldanis had to go to
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to defend himself in front of
Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...
, but he returned to Malta in 1752 and was forgiven by Pinto. De Soldanis also wrote a series of dialogues, which are now regarded as having linguistic and socio-cultural importance. Many of De Soldanis' works and manuscripts are now found at the National Library of Malta.


Commemorations

Agius de Soldanis Girls' Junior Lyceum and Secondary School in
Victoria, Gozo Victoria ( mt, Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, the largest and most p ...
, the only girls' school in Gozo and one of the largest schools in Malta, is named after de Soldanis. His bust is found in Villa Rundle Gardens in Victoria. The 300th anniversary of de Soldanis' birth was celebrated in 2012 with exhibitions and other events in Victoria and Valletta. A plaque in his honour was unveiled at St. George's Square, Victoria in 2013.


References


Citations


Bibliography

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Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agius de Soldanis, Giovanni Pietro Francesco 1712 births 1770 deaths People from Victoria, Gozo Linguists from Malta Maltese historians 18th-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests Maltese librarians 18th-century linguists 18th-century historians 18th-century Maltese lawyers University of Padua alumni Italian-language writers from Malta