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 blazing firebrands to drive the defenders from the walls, but the siege towers were battered and burned. … Read more
By contrast with the catastrophic loss of Spain, the chroniclers tell us that through Divine Providence liberty was restored to the Christian people and the Asturian kingdom was brought into being. This reportedly occurred when the majority of the Goths of royal blood came to the Asturias and elected as king Pelayo (719-737), son of … Read more
Founded in Castile, in the twelfth century, as a military branch of the great Cistercian family. In the Cistercian Order, then only recently formed (1098), there had been a large number of knights or sons of knights. In Calatrava, on the contrary, those who had been monks became knights. Monastic life has been called “a … Read more
Including under this term every kind of brotherhood of knights, secular as well as religious, historians of the military orders have enumerated as many as a hundred, even after eliminating the apocryphal and stillborn. This great number is explained by the eagerness with which the Middle Ages welcomed an institution so thoroughly corresponding to the … Read more
The problem is that when we are faced with too many choices in modern markets, there is a cost of having choice overload. This can lead to bad decisions, anxiety, stress and dissatisfaction – even clinical depression. Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got … Read more
A culture cannot be conceived as a mere collection of individuals. There must be a unifying element that gives the community expression. There must also be an element of striving toward a goal. Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We … Read more
On January 1, 2017, I made a New Year’s resolution to make my Sundays Internet free. This involved not going online Sundays for any reason, whether it be for email, updates or inquiries. I did this because I realized just how much leisure time I was wasting on the Internet. I wanted to devote Sunday … Read more
A lady recently wrote me with a question about the role of material things in life. She was confounded by apparent contradictions between living a pious life while enjoying material things that are all around us. She had read the stories of the saints and how they often scorned material things. Since we are all … Read more
The standard narrative about today’s millennials is that they are unpredictable. They are very fluid and undefined. Despite this changeability, most people automatically assume that millennials are predictably liberal. The facts, however, tell a different story. Researchers who study the habits and attitudes of millennials do not support this forgone conclusion. Indeed, liberal-minded people are … Read more
A verdict has just been passed on Facebook, and the news is not good. A new study has come out pointing out the negative effects of Facebook. This study claims to be much more rigorous than those of the past. Of course, Facebook has always had its enemies. It is not surprising that there are … Read more
