July 22 – With his lady’s permission, this lord left court to become a monk, then abbot

July 22, 2013

St. Wandrille, or Wandregisilus, Abbot [Abbot of Fontenelles, in Normandy.]  He was nearly related to Pepin of Landen and Erchinoald, the two first lords in the kingdom of Austrasia; and in his youth was made count of the palace under Dagobert I. He was humble on the highest pinnacle of honors, and mortified amidst pleasures. […]

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July 23 – The most celebrated saint of the Northern kingdom

July 22, 2013

St. Bridget of Sweden The most celebrated saint of the Northern kingdoms, born about 1303; died 23 July, 1373. She was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and provincial judge (Lagman) of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the wealthiest landholders of the country, and, like her mother, distinguished by deep […]

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July 24 – Chaste Queen

July 22, 2013

Saint Kinga of Poland (also known as Cunegunda, Kunigunda, Kunegunda, Cunegundes, Kioga, Zinga; Polish: Święta Kinga, Hungarian: Szent Kinga) Poor Clare and patroness of Poland and Lithuania; born in 1224; died 24 July, 1292, at Sandeck, Poland. She was the daughter of King Bela IV and niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and from her […]

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July 24 – She Was Fearless, Courageous, and Unswerving

July 22, 2013

Matilda of Canossa Countess of Tuscany, daughter and heiress of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany, and Beatrice, daughter of Frederick of Lorraine, b. 1046; d. 24 July, 1114. In 1053 her father was murdered. Duke Gottfried of Lorraine, an opponent of the Emperor Henry III, went to Italy and married the widowed Beatrice. But, in […]

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July 24 – St. John Boste

July 22, 2013

St.  John Boste (Or JOHN BOAST.) Priest and martyr, born of good Catholic family at Dufton, in Westmoreland, about 1544; died at Durham, 24 July, 1594. He studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, 1569-72, became a Fellow, and was received into the Church at Brome, in Suffolk, in 1576. Resigning his Fellowship in 1580, he went […]

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Shame! Queen Elizabeth signs same-sex “marriage” into law

July 18, 2013

by Hilary White LONDON, July 17, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Queen Elizabeth II has today given Royal Assent to the coalition government’s bill creating gay “marriage,” after the House of Commons approved minor amendments on Tuesday. The law will come into effect mid-2014. All three of the main parties in Parliament supported the bill, though there […]

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The Marquis of Anglesey died July 13 – The Telegraph

July 18, 2013

According to The Telegraph: The 7th Marquis of Anglesey…died July 13 2013. His father, …a farmer and sportsman, had served …as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Mary. Henry Paget was educated at Eton… His first task on coming into his inheritance was to clear a massive bill for death duties amounting to some £2.5 million of […]

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Heredity in Traditional Elites

July 18, 2013

There is, before all else, a natural fact linked to the existence of traditional elites that needs to be remembered, namely heredity. “The nature of this great and mysterious thing that is heredity—the passing on through a bloodline, perpetuated from generation to generation, of a rich ensemble of material and spiritual assets, the continuity of […]

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July 16 – Alfonso VIII of Castile crushes the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa

July 18, 2013

The Almohads, the new dynasty of Moroccan fanatics who had subdued all the Moslems in al Andalus, launched an all-out attack on the Christians by moving a huge army north into south central Spain. The impetuous Alfonso VIII of Castile, without waiting for reinforcements, attempted to bar the way at Alarcos. On July 18, 1195, […]

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July 18 – A soldier of hell who became a soldier of heaven

July 18, 2013

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 Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1060; died at Jerusalem, 18 July, 1100 (according to a thirteenth-century chronicler, he was born at Baisy, in Brabant; see […]

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July 18 – “Don’t drink water, drink beer” said the bishop

July 18, 2013

Saint Arnulf of Metz Statesman, bishop under the Merovingians, born c. 580; died c. 640. His parents belonged to a distinguished Frankish family, and lived in Austrasia, the eastern section of the kingdom founded by Clovis. In the school in which he was placed during his boyhood he excelled through his talent and his good […]

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July 18 – She Married a Man to Change Him and It Worked

July 18, 2013

Saint Hedwig, Queen of Poland Born, 1371. Died, 17 July 1399 during child birth. Hedwig was the youngest daughter of King Louis I of Hungary. Because she was great-niece to King Casimir III of Poland, she became Queen of Poland in 1382 upon her father‘s death. She was engaged to William, Duke of Austria, whom […]

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July 19 – Her whole family became saints

July 18, 2013

St. Macrina the Younger Born about 330; died 379. She was the eldest child of Basil the Elder and Emmelia, the granddaughter of St. Macrina the Elder, and the sister of the Cappadocian Fathers, Sts. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa. The last-mentioned has left us a biography of his sister in the form of a […]

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July 19 – Penitent Nobility

July 18, 2013

St. Arsenius Anchorite; born 354, at Rome; died 450, at Troe, in Egypt. Theodosius the Great having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, they made choice of Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, member of a noble Roman family, and […]

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July 20 – Carolingian Reformer

July 18, 2013

St. Ansegisus Born about 770, of noble parentage; died 20 July, 833, or 834. At the age of eighteen he entered the Benedictine monastery of Fontanelle (also called St. Vandrille after the name of its founder) in the diocese of Rouen. St. Girowald, a relative of Ansegisus, was then Abbot of Fontanelle. From the beginning […]

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July 19 – The knight who was afraid of water, but not afraid of martyrdom

July 18, 2013

Blessed Hroznata of Bohemia Founder of the Monasteries of Teplá and Chotěšov, born (c) 1170, died July 14, 1217. In the happy reign of Premysl, – also called Ottacar, – king of Bohemia, among the other magnates of the kingdom the first place at court, next to the king’s magnificence, was held by Hroznata, the […]

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Royal baby to be celebrated with new £5 Silver “St George” coin – The Telegraph

July 15, 2013

According to The Telegraph: [T]he Royal Mint yesterday confirmed it …plans to mark one of the most eagerly anticipated moments of the summer. The new coin will be a silver version of an existing gold Sovereign coin featuring…”St George and Dragon” design, first used in 1817. Media from around the world are camped out on […]

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French nobles give Bastille Day a royal ‘No’ – The Irish Times

July 15, 2013

According to The Irish Times: Some 15 de La Rochefoucaulds were guillotined in the revolution. The present-day scion has a special fondness for Pierre-Louis de La Rochefoucauld, Bishop of Saintes… [who] would have been canonised, the duke believes, had the church not been intimidated by the government. “In France, the legal government considers that the […]

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Coronation Festival brings royal warrant holders to Buckingham Palace – BBC News

July 15, 2013

According to BBC News: More than 200 suppliers to the Royal Family have gathered at Buckingham Palace for a festival… Members of the public are able to attend…, and 48,000 have paid £30 for a day ticket or £90 to attend an evening gala. The firms involved are all royal warrant holders, so-called because the […]

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Chicago exhibit on Nazi and Communist extermination of Poland’s elite

July 15, 2013

The Polish Consulate in Chicago has opened an exhibit titled: ”The Destruction of the Polish Elite: Operation AB – Katyń” The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland has brought to Chicago a historical exhibit by Poland’s National Institute of Remembrance IPN. It will be displayed across the region in cooperation with the Consulate’s many […]

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Churchill on American Presidential Elections

July 15, 2013

To turn his thoughts I [Lord Moran] told him of an article about the Presidential election in America. There seems to be no market in an election there for close reasoning; all they appear to want are vague generalities and a comfortable personality like Ike [General Eisenhower]. Winston commented drily: “It is as well to […]

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A Principle of Autonomy

July 15, 2013

Man is a rational being endowed with free will. As such, he naturally enjoys a personal autonomy where he exerts control of himself, his character, and the world immediately around him. The individualist limits this personal autonomy to a mere means to construct a separate little world and further a pursuit of happiness, while in […]

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Queen Elizabeth II Tea Scones

July 15, 2013

Queen Elizabeth II tea scones   3 Cups all purpose flour 1/3 Cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 ½ teaspoons (double acting) baking powder ½ teaspoon salt * 1½ sticks ( ¾ Cup) salted butter softened ¾ Cup buttermilk 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 1 Cup cranberries   3 teaspoons (your choice) of loose Orange […]

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July 17 – Martyred in the Name of Equality

July 15, 2013

The Sixteen Blessed Teresian Martyrs of Compiègne Guillotined at the Place du Trône Renversé (now called Place de la Nation), Paris, 17 July, 1794. They are the first sufferers under the French Revolution on whom the Holy See has passed judgment, and were solemnly beatified 27 May, 1906. Before their execution they knelt and chanted […]

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July 17 – The day the Tsar was murdered

July 15, 2013

Execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family In the early hours of 17 July 1918, the royal family was awakened around 2:00 am, told to dress, and led down into a half-basement room at the back of the Ipatiev house. The pretext for this move was the family’s safety — that anti-Bolshevik forces were […]

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Republican MPs to boycott king’s swearing-in – Flanders News

July 11, 2013

According to Flanders News: On 21 July Crown Prince Filip will take his oath of allegiance to the Belgian Constitution making him the seventh King of the Belgians. The prince will swear the oath in front of a joint meeting of the two houses of the Belgian Parliament, but some Republican lawmakers are boycotting the […]

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Baby will be called Prince or Princess of Cambridge – The Royal Forums

July 11, 2013

According to The Royal Forums: Buckingham Palace has announced today that the child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will get the title Prince or Princess of Cambridge. A palace spokesman said, “The royal couple’s child will officially be known as His or Her Royal Highness the Prince or Princess of Cambridge.” The Duke […]

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The virgin-warrior urged her men to righteousness

July 11, 2013

“Joan was chaste, and she loathed those women who follow the soldiers. I once saw her at Saint Denis, on the way back from the King’s coronation, chase a girl who was with the soldiers so hard, with her sword drawn, that she broke her sword. She was furious when she heard soldiers swearing, and […]

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The Nobility: A Particularly Distinguished Order in Human Society—It Will Have Special Accounts to Render to God

July 11, 2013

An application of these rich and solid teachings to the contemporary condition of the nobility may be found in the allocution of John XXIII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on January 9, 1960. “The Holy Father is pleased to note that the distinguished audience is a reminder of what human society is as a […]

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July 11 – The noble saint who fled the world, but the world ran after him

July 11, 2013

Saint Benedict of Nursia Founder of western monasticism, born at Nursia, c. 480; died at Monte Cassino, 543. The only authentic life of Benedict of Nursia is that contained in the second book of Saint Gregory’s “Dialogues”. It is rather a character sketch than a biography and consists, for the most part, of a number […]

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July 13 – The Crusaders attack Jerusalem

July 11, 2013

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. […]

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July 13 – Saintly Elite

July 11, 2013

St. Marie-Azélie “Zélie” Martin née Guérin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) was a French laywoman and the mother of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. Her husband was Saint Louis Martin. Marie-Azélie Guérin was born in Saint-Denis-sur-Sarthon, Orne, France and was the second daughter of Isidore Guérin and Louise-Jeanne Macé. She had an older sister, […]

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July 13 – Good King Henry

July 11, 2013

St. Henry II German King and Holy Roman Emperor, son of Duke Henry II (the Quarrelsome) and of the Burgundian Princess Gisela; b. 972; d. in his palace of Grona, at Gottingen, 13 July, 1024. Like his predecessor, Otto III, he had the literary education of his time. In his youth he had been destined […]

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July 13 – Author of “The Golden Legend”

July 11, 2013

Bl. Jacopo de Voragine (Also DI VIRAGGIO). Archbishop of Genoa and medieval hagiologist, born at Viraggio (now Varazze), near Genoa, about 1230; died 13 July, about 1298. In 1244 he entered the Order of St. Dominic, and soon became famous for his piety, learning, and zeal in the care of souls. His fame as a […]

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July 13 – Saint Mildthryth

July 11, 2013

Saint Mildthryth (694–716 or 733), also Mildrith, Mildryth or Mildred, was an Anglo-Saxon abbess. Mildthryth was the daughter of King Merewalh of Magonsaete, a sub-kingdom of Mercia, and Eormenburh (Saint Eormenburga), herself the daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent, and as such appearing in the so-called Kentish royal legend. Her sisters Milburh (Saint Milburga of […]

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July 14 – The Lily of the Mohawks

July 11, 2013

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks Kateri Tekakwitha was daughter of Kenneronkwa, a Mohawk chief, and Tagaskouita, a devout Roman Catholic Algonquian woman. She was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York, in 1656. Kateri’s mother was baptized and educated by French missionaries in Trois-Rivières, like many of Abenaki […]

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More modern monarchs choose not to rule until death – AFP

July 8, 2013

According to AFP: Retirement is not traditionally on the cards for queens, kings or popes, but a string of abdications in recent months, some unprecedented, show many are choosing to step aside instead of labouring on until death. Belgian King Albert, 79,  became the latest…, a little over a week after the emir of Qatar […]

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Children increase popularity of the monarchy – The Royal Forums

July 8, 2013

According to The Royal Forums: …support for the monarchy in Denmark as a form of government has increased in recent years. This was not the popularity of each individual member, which typically fluctuates over time, but the monarchy as a whole. The 1,015 respondents…polled in June this year…saw support for the monarchy increase for the […]

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Abdication gives rise to debate on reduction of royal power – Together Magazine

July 8, 2013

According to Together Magazine: The announcement of the abdication of King Albert II in favour of Crown Prince Philippe has opened up the debate about the powers of the Belgian monarchy. Following the announcement from the Palace, the politicians were quick to launch into the debate. The Flemish nationalists (N-VA) immediately told parliament that King […]

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Young Don Juan fans the flame of Spanish chivalry

July 8, 2013

The Turkish Fleet was gathering in strength in the Golden Horn (spring 1565)…. Jean de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, had no doubt of the objective of this great fleet. He sent out an appeal from Malta to all the Christian princes…. Don John had gone…. Nobody knew where he had gone […]

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The Formation of Elites Even in Countries Without a Monarchical or Aristocratic Past

July 8, 2013

The formation of traditional elites with an aristocratic note is so profoundly natural that it occurs even in countries without a monarchical or an aristocratic past. “Even in democracies of recent date that have no vestiges of a feudal past behind them, a kind of new nobility or aristocracy has been forming by force of […]

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July 8 – The Pope who fought the democrats

July 8, 2013

Pope Blessed Eugene III Bernardo Pignatelli, born in the neighbourhood of Pisa, elected 15 Feb., 1145; died at Tivoli, 8 July, 1153. On the very day that Pope Lucius II succumbed, either to illness or wounds, the Sacred College, foreseeing that the Roman populace would make a determined effort to force the new pontiff to […]

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July 9 – St. Veronica Giuliani

July 8, 2013

St. Veronica Giuliani Born at Mercatello in the Duchy of Urbino, Italy, 1660; died at Città di Castello, 9 July, 1727. Her parents, Francesco Giuliana and Benedetta Mancini, were both of gentle birth. In baptism she was named Ursula, and showed marvelous signs of sanctity. When but eighteen months old she uttered her first words […]

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July 10 – Seven Holy Noble Brethren

July 8, 2013

Saints, martyred in Rome, in 150. According to legend, they were the sons of Saint Felicitas, and suffered martyrdom under Emperor Antoninus. Januarius, Felix, and Philip were scourged to death; Silvanus was thrown over a precipice; Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis were beheaded. Feast, Roman Calendar, 10 July. St. Felicitas, Martyr The earliest list of the […]

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July 10 – Charlemagne Was Punished for His Rudeness to Her

July 8, 2013

St. Amalberga A virgin, very much revered in Belgium, who is said to have been sought in marriage by Charles, afterwards Charlemagne. Continually repulsed, Charles finally attempted to carry her off by force, but though he broke her arm in the struggle he was unable to move her from the altar before which she had […]

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King Albert II of Belgium announces he will abdicate on July 21

July 4, 2013

The Royal Forums reports: Come July 21st, Belgium will have a new monarch – King Philippe. King Albert II, the current monarch, announced his pending abdication earlier this evening, Belgian time, in a live address to the nation. The King cited health issues and his age as reasons for his decision. For the full story […]

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“A people without a king is not to be feared” – a Muslim general

July 4, 2013

These things happened on the first day of Lent (the 9th of February, 1250). On that very day a valiant Saracen—made sheik by our enemies in the place of Scecedin, the sheik’s son, whom they had lost in the battle on Shrove Tuesday—took the Count of Artois’s coat of arms, and showed it to all […]

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The Highest Social Function of the Nobility: To Preserve, Defend, and Spread the Christian Teachings Contained in Its Distinctive Noble Traditions

July 4, 2013

In his 1958 allocution, the Pontiff mentions the moral duty to resist modern corruption as a general charge to the upper classes, which include the Roman Patriciate and Nobility: “We would like, finally, for your influence on society to save it from a grave danger inherent in modern times. It is well known that society […]

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July 4 – Patroness of victims of adultery, jealousy and unfaithfulness

July 4, 2013

St. Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal A.D. 1336. ST. ELIZABETH was daughter of Peter III,  king of Aragon, and granddaughter of James I, who had been educated under the care of St. Peter Nolasco, and was surnamed the Saint, and from the taking of Majorca and Valentia, Expugnator or the Conqueror. Her mother, Constantia, was daughter […]

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July 5 – He founded the Barnebites and reformed two religious orders, but only lived 37 years

July 4, 2013

St. Antonio Maria Zaccaria Founder of the Clerks Regular of St. Paul, commonly known as the Barnabites; born in Cremona, Italy, 1502; died 5 July, 1539. While he was still an infant his father died, leaving the care of the child’s education to his mother, who taught him compassion for the poor and suffering by […]

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July 6 – Mother-in-law Woes

July 4, 2013

St. Godelina Born at Hondeforte-lez-Boulogne, c. 1049; died at Ghistelles, 6 July, 1070. The youngest of the three children born to Hemfrid, seigneur of Wierre-Effroy, and his wife Ogina, Godelina was accustomed as a child to exercises of piety and was soon distinguished for a solidity of virtue extraordinary for one of her years. The […]

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July 6 – The King Had Three Daughters, All Saints

July 4, 2013

St. Sexburga of Ely Died about 699. Her sisters, Sts. Ethelburga and Saethrid, were both Abbesses of Faremontier in Brie, St. Withburga was a nun at Ely, and St. Etheldreda became Abbess of Ely. Sexburga was the daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, and was married about 640 to Earconbert, King of Kent. […]

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July 6 – Bl. Thomas Alfield

July 4, 2013

Bl. Thomas Alfield (AUFIELD, ALPHILDE, HAWFIELD, OFFELDUS; alias BADGER). Priest, born at Gloucestershire; martyred at Tyburn, 6 July, 1585. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge (1568). He was afterwards converted and came to Douai College in 1576, but the troubles there compelled him to intermit his studies for four years, and he was eventually […]

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July 6 – Nobility dedicated to the eradication of slavery

July 4, 2013

Blessed Maria Teresia Ledóchowska (29 April 1863 – 6 July 1922) was a Roman Catholic nun and African missionary. She was the eldest of seven children. Members of the Polish nobility, she and her siblings – including Wlodimir Ledóchowski, Ursula Ledóchowska and Ignacy Kazimierz Ledóchowski were born on the estate of their father, Count Antoni […]

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July 1 – Found guilty of “high treason” for promoting the Catholic faith, he responded “Deo gratias”

July 1, 2013

Saint Oliver Plunket Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, born at Loughcrew near Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland, 1629; died 11 July, 1681. His is the brightest name in the Irish Church throughout the whole period of persecution. He was connected by birth with the families which had just then been ennobled, the Earls […]

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Teacups and mugs: quality and quantity

July 1, 2013

For generations, we have taken teacups for granted. They were a happy part of family life. But today, due to our egalitarian culture, the teacup is coming under some pressure. While formal dining sets are still widely available, many dishware sets, and not just the cheaper ones, feature only mugs. This is a disturbing trend, […]

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The Marquis of Lescure destroys two thirds of Westermann’s army and saves the lives of captured enemy soldiers

July 1, 2013

While the grand army were under the walls of Nantes, several engagements had taken place in La Vendée. Westermann, at the head of a German legion, advanced into the heart of the Bocage, after making himself master of Parthenay, on the 20th June. On the 1st July he burned the town of Amaillon; he then […]

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July 1 – Born to Gallic nobility, he renounced all to embrace religious poverty

July 1, 2013

Saint Gal (Gall) of Clermont Saint Gal was born at Clermont in Auvergne, about the year 489. His father was of the first houses of that province, and his mother was descended from the family of Vettius Apagatus, the celebrated Roman who suffered at Lyons for the faith of Christ. They both took special care […]

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July 1 – Venerable Thomas Maxfield

July 1, 2013

Ven. Thomas Maxfield (Vere Macclesfield) English priest and martyr, born in Stafford gaol, about 1590, martyred at Tyburn, London, Monday, 1 July, 1616. He was one of the younger sons of William Macclesfield of Chesterton and Maer and Aston, Staffordshire (a firm recusant, condemned to death in 1587 for harbouring priests, one of whom was […]

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July 2 – Caught Between Two Masters

July 1, 2013

Saint Otto Bishop of Bamberg, born about 1060; died 30 June, 1139. He belonged to the noble, though not wealthy, family of Mistelbach in Swabia, not to the Counts of Andechs. He was ordained priest, but where he was educated is not known. While still young he joined the household of Duke Wladislaw of Poland; […]

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