REFERENCES
- Sampson's fight with Maltese galleys 1628. 281 55 p. ff. Michael Strachan
- There is little on Don Ruffo in the published sources or secondary authorities. Unfortunately I have not been able to consult the library in Malta. A few scant facts regarding his life were available in the library at the Orders' seat in Rome. Enquiries with the present members of the family regarding the existence of papers or manuscripts were not favoured with the courtesy of a reply.
- Regolamenti risguardanti l'Ordine Gerosolimitano. , MS.No. NA 1185. 4to. (306 x 220 mm.) Vellum. With a fold-over flap held in place by a raw-hide toggle and loop. On front cover by a contemporary hand:147 leaves, (the first 12 unnumbered, 134 numbered, 1 unnumbered, the last 10 blank.) Leaf 1 r.: L'Ansiani miei che sono hoggi p. 1676/Ammiraglio Spinola non uole, che Santo Stefano/Rocella non gode Ammiragliato/Fr`a Carlo Langueglia non tiene la deceannale/Frà Dom. co del Carretto decrepito al suo paese/Frà Alberto Orsi il simile/Frà Bernardo della Chaia Proc.re della Religione/Frà D. Fran.co Bisagni incapace/Frà Tomase Aristoro simile/Frà Guglielmo Balbiani Ricev.re in Torino/Frà Lodovico Galilei assente dal Convento, e si sappia che fu capi/tano di galera/Baglivo Gattola capacissimo/Prior frà D. Gioseppe Brancaccio dice esser capace, e con dispen/sa, che le si sappia/Frà Mario Bolognetti decrepito al paese/Frà Carlo Chiggi assente da Convento si sappia se è capace/Frà Giulio Amelsi il medesimo./Priore di Bagnara capacissimo./ Underneath: Utile estratto de stabilimenti et usi della S.(acra) R.(eligione) H.(ierosolamitana) e/maniere per uantagiarsi al seruitio di essa, e delle/sue galere. Composta dal Sig. Frà D. Fabritio Ruffo/Priore della Bagnara. V.blank. Leaf 2 blank. Leaf 3 r. repeats the title: Utile estratto… v.blank. Leaf 4 r.: Introduttione della presente opera…Leaf 13 (Numbered 1) text begins: ‘La celeberrima città d'Amalfe (sic) situata al lido del mare 40 miglia lontana da Napoli era ne secoli andati famosa e ricca…’ Leaf 119: Il fine. Follow 6 ff. listing the salaries of various officials. 27 lines to a full page
- Catalogo della Biblioteca del Sagro Militar Ordine di S. Giovanni Gerosalimitano oggi detto di Malta. 1932 The interested reader can consult the extensive bibliography, the most important titles of which are: De Smitmer, Paolo. 1761. Hellwald, Ferdinand. Bibliographie Méthodique de l'Ordre de St. Jean de Jerusalem. Rome, 1885 and the Aggiunte to this by Ettore Rossi published in 1924. By the same author: Storia della Marina dell'Ordine di S. Giovanni di Gerusalemme. Firenze, 1926 and: Il Sovrano Militare Ordine Gerosalemitano. Roma,. Guarnaschelli, T. and E. Valenziani, Saggio di una Bibliografia di Malta. Roma, 1938
- Tolemaide di Fenicia Tolomaide—also known as S. Giovanni d'Acre or Acre. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem received this city from Richard Lionheart in 1229 but lost it again in 1291
- Buchi. A sort of large fishing vessel fitted with three single spar masts, each with a square sail. Also used as fleet auxiliaries
- Main, chief or principal.
- The exact places meant are uncertain, also on account of the highly individual and archaic spelling.
- Koron. At the Southern tip of the Peloponnese it was known as “The eyes of Venice.” It must be recalled that Venice was in a state of almost constant war with the Turks.
- The Turks were expanding Westwards. They occupied Egypt, entering Cairo in 1517 and besieged Vienna in October of 1529. In 1534 one of the most celebrated and feared of the Barbary pirates, Khair ed-Din called “Barbarossa” took Tunis for the sultan Suleiman. The French were negotiating both with the Porte and Barbarossa. Partly as a contribution towards his struggle with France, partly to free the Italian and Spanish coasts from the deprivations suffered at the hands of Barbarossa and his bands, Charles V lead his famous expedition against Tunis which he captured in 1535. This was the only occasion on which he had taken personal command of his armies. A less successful attempt on Algiers followed in 1541 but Charles was no longer present.
- “Il Marchese di Santa Croce.” It is not certain whether he meant a descendent of the celebrated Santa Cruz of Armada fame, or a scion of the Roman family of Santa Croce who also produced some military men of note
- 1667–1668 . The so-called “War of Devolution”
- May 1645 . May , Candia, now Crete. In a Turkish fleet of four hundred sail with fifty thousand men appeared off the island. Canea and Retino were quickly taken, but Candia held out for over twenty years (it finally fell in 1669). The Venetians appealed for help which came in the shape of five papal galleys, five each from Tuscany and Naples and six from the Order of St. John
- He never comes back to this argument in this manuscript.
- 1648 . The Peace of Westphalia
- 1647 . Almerigo d'Este was the brother of Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena. Their father, Francesco I d'Este, had abandoned the Spanish cause in and gone over to the French, being appointed Generalissimo of the French troops in Italy in their war against the Empire. Almerigo, due to this French connection, had been promised the hand of Hortense Mancini, niece of Mazarin, together with a huge fortune. He lived to enjoy neither as he died of disease whilst aiding the Venetians against the Turks in 1660
- Here written Livree, modern Italian Livrea. Can mean the same as the English term Livery in the sense of dress, but also ornament, luxury and ostentation.
- Ricevitori. (He writes “Ricevitori” or also “Reviditori” indifferently. An official appointed by the Grand Master and Council to represent the interests of the treasury, he collected all fees due to it and disposed of them according to the wishes of the Grand Master and Council. He also took under his charge the chattels of deceased knights. His appointment lasted for a term of three years
- Comito. Boatswain. On a galley, the chief petty officer in charge of the crew. The Comito Reale was the Boatswain on the flagship, in the same way as the Pilota Reale was the pilot of the flagship. He also looked after the sails, rigging etc. and supervised the stowage of the holds. Sopracomito. One of the aristocratic officers, second in command
- Aguzzino. Jailer. The petty officer in charge of the oarsmen, especially the slaves. His instruments were a whip, sword and whistle. He would belabour the oarsmen with his whip and occasionally also with the sword
- The barber, who also performed surgical duties.
- Comito di Rispetto. A reserve boatswain
- Comito di Rispetto). Boatswain's mate. (As opposed to the
- Capo Mastro. Shipwright
- Scapolo. Those members of the crew not chained to the oar
- Barberotto. Assistant barber or surgeon's mate. Usuallly a Bonavoglia, sometimes a trusted convict
- Prodieri. Bowmen. Usually the youngest and most active rowed in the bows, looked after the foremast, anchors etc
- The figures do not tally. The people listed come to 575 (18 short) and the sum of the expenses is 613 scudi, 11 tari and 3 grana.
- Ruffo is probably more accurate in his totals than in the details. The overcrowding in a vessel probably between 46–47 meters on the keel with a beam of 5–6 meters and a depth in the hold of 2–3 boggles the imagination.
- See introduction.
- This is not clear. Probably he meant absent in the service of the Order on its estates.
- See introduction.
- Turcopiliere. The knight at the head of his Language in the war against the Turks
- By “A member of the Council” he must mean the complete council, and so ex-officio also of all the smaller ones. The position of the Small Cross is not quite clear from this passage.
- Turcopiliero The offices of the Admiral and the Maresciallo are defined in chapter ten of the statutes. They formed part of the Grand Council, together with the Grand Commander, the Hospitaler, the, the Grand Chancellor and the Grand Bailiff. These are known as Baglivi Conventuali, (Bailiffs of the Convent)
- Commendary or benefice. He would receive part of the revenues from one of the numerous estates belonging to the Order scattered throughout Europe.
- Padrone. A term whose meaning changed radically throughout the centuries. It no longer had the significance which it had in the Middle Ages and did not yet imply what we understand nowadays as Le Patron of, for instance, a fishing vessel. In the next paragraph Don Ruffo explains what some of his duties were. But he was also the officer in charge of the economy of the galley, accounting for the hull and its fittings, the sails and rigging and the arms carried aboard. Broadly, the duties of the first lieutenant on a modern warship
- Professed knights. Full knights (not novices), who had taken the vows of Obedience, Poverty and Chastity.
- Minestra. Literally soup. But it can mean also pasta (minestra asciutta) or a thick soup with bread, pasta and beans in it
- “ 10 ” . In Pane di Ballio 153 and later: Pane di cavaliere di Ballio. These terms are not to be found in the dictionaries. By deduction, therefore; in view of Ruffo's archaic or individualistic spelling, “Ballio” can almost certainly be equated with “Balio.” From Guglielmotti col.186 we have: “Si dice pur Balivo, Balio, e Bailo…Grado cavalleresco di colui che gode il baliaggio…” In other words, “Ballio” can be equated with “Baglivo” as defined in chapter De i Baglivi of the Order's constitution (see the introduction to these notes). Here we read (p.) “Del Commendatore del Grano….Si debbe usare diligente custodia intorno la conservatione delle vettovaglie, e de i grani….e perciò…statuimo che tuttili frumenti, orzi & altri grani, biscotti & altre vettovaglie, appartenenti al commun Tesoro, si riponghino in un granaro, luogo atto, sicuro & a proposito, e…per conservatane loro…si elegga un Religioso di buona vita e di esperimentata discretione, per Commendatore del Granaro…” The statutes then go on to specify that there are to be two sorts of stores, one closed with the seal of the Grand Master, the other “Un Magazeno libero, dove possino fare le continue distributioni… “In other words, the Cavaliere di Ballio must have been that knight who acted as Baglivo or bailiff, in this case of the granaries and the “Pane di Ballio” or “Pane di cavalieri di ballio” must have been that bread which was drawn as rations from the Order's stores
- Pane scacciato. A sort of flat bread, (but with leaven) still much used in Italy nowadays
- Obviously a rougher and heavier bread.
- Young gentlemen of good family who were learning the trade of the sea and in particular the art of navigation.
- Pietanze morte. Literally “Dead meals.” Those supernumerary victuals allowed for non existent crew over and above those actually on the muster roll
- Pane di tutta pasta
- Ruffo here gives these figures, without saying what they stand for. As later in the text (when referring to the distribution of biscuits) he clearly states that he is talking of pounds and ounces, it is legitimate to suppose that he is doing so here too. This would give a daily ration of about a kilo and a half of bread per man per day, which is not unreasonable if one considers that the type of bread they ate was probably much heavier than ours.
- The numbers of the people here does not tally with those listed in the previous table.
- Pane biscottato. Twice baked bread
- Pane biscottato.
- Comito. These people received their rations partly in kind, partly in cash presumably to spend at the slop shop on board kept by the Pantero Pantera says that the crew could earn a little extra with handicrafts when ashore. They used the money to supplement their rations which, according to this authority, were not usually sufficient in view of the physical labour they were subjected to
- These sardines must not be thought of in terms of the modern tinned fish. Fresh baked or fried sardines as currently served in Italy are respectably sized fish of which two to three make a good supper.
- About 1.27 Kg.
- Pasticcetto. From pasticcio. A small pastry or pie
- This reads almost like “Drotola” but must read “Rotula” which would be about 59 Kg. per day; not unreasonable for the number of people
- Sorra. The back of the tunny fish, salted or kept under oil
- Baccalà. Dried and salted cod
- Salted in barrels. Till recently a very popular dish in Italy.
- “Scalco,” The word used here is According to Pantero Pantera this was a prisoner put in charge of the victuals and distribution of the rations, wine etc. Raw olive oil is often added in Italy to minestrone, rice, toasted bread and many other dishes as a condiment
- See introduction.
- “Botte” The term used is and equals about 1100 Litres
- No price given. Obviously not the best olive oil.
- No price given.
- With the benefit of a calculator: 956–5–10.
- Figure omitted. But the total given at the bottom is 9–6–0. If we add up Don Ruffo's figures how-ever we get 17–1–0. Does the 9–6–0 represent the cost of the bread merely copied out of place?
- But the true figure is 396–8–0 if he spends 2–10–0 per day for 140 days.
- A soft, creamy cheese made from the milk of an ewe. The milk should be boiled by the shepherd himself over a woodfire to get a slightly smoky flavour. It can be eaten with sugar as a sweet or as a savoury. It is almost impossible to get the genuine article nowadays as it is mostly factory made and adulturated with cows milk.
- Really: 16–19–0.
- Presumably the captain's own house.
- Mallmarra. Have been unable to identify this term
- Pilastri Those knights who by merit or seniority were chosen as heads of their Languages. The term comes from meaning a pillar (of his Language)
- Fiamma con li suoi gagliardetti.
- “La traversa” later defined as the captain's table, presumably because it was placed athwart ship as opposed to the knight's tables which went fore and aft
- Sacchi per la campagna. Literally “campaigning sacks.” Knapsacks?
- “Punte di campagna” The fiasco at this time was a round bottomed vessel made of glass, earthenware or tin, with a long neck. Unlike the bottle, it will not stand unaided. The modern glass fiasco has solved the problem by being encased in straw or plastic with a ring at the foot for the fiasco to stand on. The was probably a tripod for resting the fiaschi on during campaigns. The four quartari gave each fiasco a capacity of about sixty eight litres which resembles the modern damigiana or demijohn. This is also a blown glass bulb encased in wattle and looks like a very much larger version of the familiar table fiasco, only with a shorter and wider neck
- “Carratello” The term used is (also spelt caratello). “A small cask of various shapes, usually long and narrow.” (Crusca). Probably best translated by firkin or kilderkin
- Capitana. The first galley, or flagship, was called the The second the Padrona, from padrone in the sense of lieutenant (see note 37). The others were called sensili. The padrona was bigger and better armed than the sensili.
- Re. According to Guglielmotti the exact definition of this term is not clear. Some consider him to have been an inspector of the guard and equivalent of the Cercamare. This latter was what one might call a reconnaissance officer, whose duty it was to seek out the enemy. He was also in charge of the artillery
- Scandolaro. The first space after the Great Cabin in the poop, usually formed of planks covered by a cloth or tarpaulin
- Orondazzia. A pole arm used for boarding
- Se è cavaliere 100 scudi, e se è secolare 500.” He writes: “ This must surely be a slip of the pen, as from what follows it is plain the knight received more, not less than the secular members and so he must have meant 1000 scudi
- He does not specify the exact year.
- Captain or chief, usually of a pirate ship.
- This passage is not clear, possibly he meant that in the Autumn cruise they cast dice to see who would land and in the Spring they did it the otherway round and threw them to see who would remain behind.
- “Les mauvaises odeurs sont alors si fortes qu'on ne peut s'en garantir, malgré le tabac don't on est obligé de se bourrer le nez depuis le matin jusqu'au soir. Il y a toujours en galère certains petits betes qui sont le supplice de ses habitants. Les mouches exercent leur empire le jour, les punaises la nuit; les puces et les poux, la nuit et le jour.” The slaves at the oar were undoubtedly not treated with kid gloves. Conditions must have been indescribable. Barras de la Penne who wrote about galleys in 1713 talks of their exposure to the elements (they only had the benefit of a sort of tent -wool in Winter, linen in Summer—over the waist of the galley when at anchor). One must recall that most of the wretches at the oar were chained to their places and could not leave them for any purpose whatsoever. The results are vividly described by him: Nevertheless, the oarsmen represented the motive power of the galley, their very raison d'etre, so it would be counter productive to treat them with wanton cruelty, to injure or worse still to kill them
- According to Pantero Pantera the slaves could execute some handicrafts whilst ashore in Malta which they were able to sell. (Rather like the French prisoners during the Napoleonic wars). The money so raised was used in the Comito's slop shop to supplement the rations which, according to Pantera “Were not sufficient to support the physical labour they were subjected to.”
- Congregazione delle Galere. The
- A Commissioner or Inspector. A revisor.
- Pagliola (Pagliuola) from Paglia, straw. That room in the hold which held the bread, flour, dried peas and beans or similar provisions. It took its name from the fact that it was covered with straw mats to keep the stores fresh and ventilated
- Senior commendatories.