Originally Published May 15 2019

According to archival sources found at the Mdina Cathedral Archives, the majority of Jews in medieval Malta lived within the walled town of Mdina. They were considered as citizens of the town and were involved in landowning, economic activities and employing Christians to work the land under their responsibility. On a day-to-day basis, the trade of goods was their main activity. In 1461 Jews were prohibited from selling in villages but had to be confined to selling in their shops in Mdina. With the help of Pietru Caxxaro, a member of the town council, in 1467 the Jews were allowed to sell in the streets and villages provided they used open containers and not baskets to carry their goods. Jews also were involved in the defence of the Island as we can tell from Jewish surnames listed in militia lists from the period.

This Medieval Mdina one of our members portrayed a Jew from Mdina, Rafaeli Ketieb, who traded in the streets outside the city. In 1473 he was fined fifteen Carlini for tampering with the scales he used to calculate the prices of his goods. As a historical interpreter portraying such a class of merchants, research into what type of ceramic vessels used to contain goods such as different spices coming from the East via Sicily was also important. Another important characteristic of such an impression is the red fabric circle sewn onto the farsetto, as Jews were obligated by law to mark their clothing. Observing The Dormition Panel, (showing the Resurrection, Dormition of the Virgin, and St Michael) a late 13th/ early 14th century tempera panel housed at the Mdina Cathedral Museum, one can spot a reference to a Jew in the centre panel beneath the Virgin by the red circle worn on his chest.