Unveiling the author : a study of the anonymous authorship of NLM, Libr MS 1123

Abstract

MS 1123, Uomini Illustri di Malta, represents a crucial source within Maltese art historiography, offering a meticulously compiled register of artists, architects, sculptors, and master builders who shaped the island's artistic landscape from the early modern period onwards. The document, preserved in the National Library at Valletta, is a transcription by Count Saverio Marchese derived from an original manuscript attributed to an "anonymous Capuchin friar." Despite the loss of the original, the transcription reveals a profound engagement with Malta's artistic patrimony, demonstrating erudition and a methodical approach to biographical and artistic documentation. This study undertakes a critical analysis of the internal textual evidence within MS 1123 to advance the hypothesis that the anonymous Capuchin author is in fact Padre Pelagio Mifsud Gauci Piscopo from Haz-Zebbug.