July 13 – The Crusaders attack Jerusalem
The attack began the night of July 13, [1099,] and the defenders let loose a hail of stones and rivers of Greek fire…. The battle hung in the balance during the morning hours of July 15. Archers shot...
View ArticleJuly 18 – A soldier of hell who became a soldier of heaven
Godfrey of Bouillon Duke of Lower Lorraine and first King of Jerusalem, son of Eustache II, Count of Boulogne, and of Ida, daughter of Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Lower Lorraine; born probably at...
View ArticleAugust 21 – La Vallete
Jean Parisot de La Valette Forty-eighth Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem; born in 1494; died in Malta, 21 Aug., 1568. He came from an old family of Southern France,...
View ArticleAugust 25 – How do you portray a saint?
August 25 is the feast of Saint Louis IX, king, confessor of the Faith, Crusader and model of a Catholic head of state. There are two different ways people picture Saint Louis IX. One is as he truly...
View ArticleSeptember 29 – Military Orders of St. Michael
Military Orders of St. Michael (1) A Bavarian Order, founded in 1721 by Elector Joseph Clemens of Cologne, Duke of Bavaria, and confirmed by Maximilian Joseph, King of Bavaria, 11 September 1808. Pius...
View ArticleSister Filipina, a Dominican nun of high nobility
Sister Filipina was of a princely line. Her father, Philip II of Savoy, Prince of Acaia, was born in 1344, and had to defend his rights to the paternal fief by force. He was disinherited by his...
View ArticleSister Filipina, a Dominican Nun of High Nobility – Part II
Part I Prince Philip dies without meeting his daughter The fact is that Prince Philip returned to the land of his birth after years of absence. He presented himself first to his uncle, the bishop of...
View ArticleNovember 25 – The day a 16 year old invalid and a handful of men defeated a...
The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Ayyubids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem on November 25, 1177. The 16 year old King Baldwin IV, seriously afflicted by leprosy, led an out-numbered...
View ArticleNovember 29 – The coronation of St. Louis IX of France
Traditionally, new sacred music was composed for a coronation. The motet…which was sung for the anointing of Louis IX has come down to us. It was called Gaude, felix Francia…. The boy who was to be...
View ArticleThe Cid Captures Alcocer, Making It His Base of Operations Against the Moors
They rode all that day and the next, taking some spoils on the way, and then came to Alcocer, which the Cid wished to capture. There they pitched their tents upon a great hill, near the river Salon....
View ArticleSaintly Genealogy
Philip [III], Crown-prince of France, once said to his father, [King] St. Louis [IX]: “Thou are my good shepherd, watch over me that I may not be lost.” Flowers of Mary: addresses in honor of the...
View ArticleMay 16 – Leper King
Modern society obsessively avoids suffering, risk and danger. It secures everything with seatbelts and safety rails, air conditions the summer heat, prints warnings on coffee cups and advises that that...
View ArticleJuly 13 – The Crusaders attack Jerusalem
The attack began the night of July 13, [1099,] and the defenders let loose a hail of stones and rivers of Greek fire…. The battle hung in the balance during the morning hours of July 15. Archers shot...
View ArticleHow El Cid Tuned a Cowardly Knight Into a Hero
At this time Martin Pelaez came with a caravan of laden animals, bringing provisions to the army of the Cid; and as he passed near the town [Valencia], the Moors came out in great numbers and attacked...
View ArticleNovember 25 – The day a 16 year old invalid and a handful of men defeated a...
The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Ayyubids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem on November 25, 1177. The 16 year old King Baldwin IV, seriously afflicted by leprosy, led an out-numbered...
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