The 1565 Great Siege of Malta and Hipólito Sans's La Maltea

This year being the 450th anniversary of the 1565 Great Siege of Malta, revisiting Hipólito Sans's eyewitness account becomes a real must both for the professional academic and lovers of history, in particular Ottoman, Christian and Maltese.

This work is about the fully fledged epic poem 'La Maltea', consisting of twelve cantos built on the model of the classical tradition, of Virgilian fame. The author is Hipólito Sans (?-1604/1605), who published 'La Maltea' in Valencia in 1582. Sans’s real intention in 'La Maltea' was the glorification of the heroism of the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, in their defence of the island of Malta against the mighty Armada sent by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1565 to conquer the island.

Sans must have had first hand knowledge of what went on in Malta during the 1565 Siege. Of course, one must keep in mind that Sans’s La Maltea is a poetical work, which cannot fulfil the role of a faithful historical chronicle. History and fiction are intermingled in 'La Maltea', as Sans himself admits in the prologue. However, much of what he relates is credible not only because the author was a witness to events during the Siege of Malta but even more so because at the beginning of the sixth canto he insists strongly on the fact that he only wants to stick to factual truth (Sans 1582: f. LXXI v.)