July 30. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



99 



ORIGINAL ROYAL LBTTERS TO THE GRAND MASTERS 

 OF MALTA. 



In searehinj? through the manuscripts now filed 

 away in the Record Office of this island with Dr. 

 Villa, who has charge of them, and for whose 



assistance in my search I am greatly indebted, I 

 have been gratified by seeing several original 

 letters, addressed by difierent monarchs of Eng- 

 land to the Grand Masters of the Order of St. 

 John of Jerusalem. Each of the royal letters in 

 the following list bears the signature of the writer : 



* The letter of George I. is countersigned « Carteret ; " those of George 1 1, by " Harrington," " H, Fox," 

 and " Bedford." None of the other letters in the above list bear any signature but that of the king or queen 

 who wrote them. Among the letters nf Henry VIII., addressed to Villiers de L'Isle Adam, there is one of 

 much interest. I refer to that of the earliest date, in which his majesty strongly recommended the Grand 

 Master to accept of Tripoli, on the coast of Barbary, and the islands of Malta and Gozo, as a residence for the 

 convent, which Charles V. had offered him. The importance of Malta as a military station was known in 

 England three hundred years ago. L'Isle Adam (with the exception of La Valetta), the most distinguished of 

 all the Maltese Grand Masters, died on the 21st of August, 1534. The last letter of Henry VIII., addressed to 

 him, came to his successor, Nicholas Cotoner. On the mantle which covered the remains of this great man these 

 few words were inscribed, — " Here lies Virtue triumphant over Misfortune." 



Intending in a short time to examine these royal 

 letters more closely, and hoping to refer to them 

 again in " N". & Q.," I refrain from writing more 

 at length on the present occasion. W. W. 



La Valetta, Malta. 



P.S. — Perhaps the following chronological table, 

 referring to the Maltese Grand Masters who are 

 mentioned in the above Note, may not be un- 

 interesting to the readers of " N. & Q." : 



