Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535170
6 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 9 MAY 2025 NEWS Christian captives in North African Bagnos during the early modern period IN the last public lecture of the Saturday morning series before the summer hiatus, on Saturday 17 May at 11am, Dr Matthias Ebejer and Maria Dobos Falzon will dis- cuss Religious Materiality: Chris- tian Captives in North African Bagnos during the Early Modern Period. The Mediterranean Sea was a backdrop to conflicts and con- vergences between North African Muslim mariners and European Christians in the early modern pe- riod. As much as the sea allowed for commercial, diplomatic, and leisurely voyages, it was also a the- atre for conflict. While not all con- flict was religiously motivated, in the Mediterranean, religious was a main factor behind captivity and segregation. Furthermore, faith was not only a distinguishing fac- tor of the captive's otherness in an alien society, but also as a channel of comfort and unity within the prison walls (bagnos). Detailed accounts of religious cer- emonies held by slaves during their captivity attest to the unexpectedly large quantity of religious material- ity obtained by these captives, often with the assistance of their jailors. These objects served as a medium that, for a limited time, suspended the feeling of captivity and offered the captives a semblance of home. This materiality can be studied through both the lens of the cap- tive, who is finding in it a conduit of solace; or the captor who ex- tends an offering in the hope of a more docile inmate. This paper will consider examples of religious ma- teriality connected to Christians in captivity in the bagnos of Morocco, Tripoli and Algiers. Rather than fo- cusing on personal materiality that belonged to displaced individuals, this lecture seeks to concentrate on objects which were either shared with all the inmates, or tokens of remembrance offered to churches or mosques by those individuals who managed to return home. Maria Dobos Falzon is a Collec- tions Officer with the Archdiocese of Malta and holds an MSc in Mu- seum Studies from Leicester, where she won the Jim Roberts Prize for her research on museums and bi- odiversity. Dr Matthias Ebejer is a historian and senior collections specialist with the Archdiocese, with a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence and curatorial roles across Malta. Admission is free, but seat reser- vations are recommended by send- ing an email to events@heartofgozo. org.mt.