Are Finishing Schools Finished?

July 12, 2012

According to The Financial Express: Their day begins with a lecture from Mme Neri on protocol. It soon becomes clear that, for some people, seating your guests at dinner can be a worryingly complicated affair. Where should you put the second son of a duke, for example? Is he more important than a daughter? Which […]

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The Crusaders storm into Jerusalem

July 12, 2012

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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Aristocracy and sanctity

July 12, 2012

It should not be deduced from the preceding that the condition of aristocrat is synonymous with sanctity. For it cannot be denied that there have been many saints who were not aristocrats and many aristocrats who were not saints. But if aristocracy is not to be confused with sanctity, neither can it be entirely dissociated […]

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July 13 – Good King Henry

July 12, 2012

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 – Saintly Elite

July 12, 2012

Blessed 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 Blessed 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 14 – The Lily of the Mohawks

July 12, 2012

Blessed 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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AFP: Australian Girl Guides No Longer Pledge to Queen and God

July 9, 2012

According to AFP: Australia’s Girl Guides will no longer promise to serve the queen or uphold their duty to God, choosing instead to “be true to myself” and “serve my community and Australia”. Girl Guides Australia has been reviewing the wording of the promise for close to two years, and some members had strong objections […]

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Thai Princess Chulabhorn impresses nation with her efforts to save people from cancer

July 9, 2012

According to the Pattaya Mail: People recognize Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn as founder of Chulabhorn Hospital, but not many know that the Princess also takes her roles in diagnosing illnesses at the hospital ward. The Princess, as a qualified scientist, often joins a grand-round ward activity to follow the progress of treatment in cancer […]

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Young Washington’s martial spirit is fostered by his older brother Lawrence

July 9, 2012

Lawrence Washington had something of the old military spirit of the family, and circumstances soon called it into action. Spanish depredations on British commerce had recently provoked reprisals. Admiral Vernon, commander-in-chief in the West Indies, had accordingly captured Porto Bello, on the Isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were preparing to revenge the blow; the French […]

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Christian aristocracy

July 9, 2012

Aristocracy(1) is the class in which the distilling of this ideal human type, the quest for this perfection toward which all society should tend, was more complete. In other words, it fell to the aristocracy to realize the most perfect, the most elevated, and the most noble human type. Hence, the human type of Our […]

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July 10 – Charlemagne Was Stricken for His Rudeness to Her

July 9, 2012

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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July 10 – Seven Holy Noble Brethren

July 9, 2012

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

July 9, 2012

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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Video – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee interview: The royal herald

July 5, 2012

  As part of a series of interviews to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Professor Alastair Bruce OBE explains to the Telegraph what it is like to be the Queen’s Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary herald, who advises about state pomp and ceremony. The Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary is an appointment made by Her Majesty as part of […]

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Luxemburger Wort: Luxembourg adopts egalitarian Crown succession rights

July 5, 2012

In future, the first-born child of the Grand Ducal couple, whether boy or girl will be able to accede to the throne, the royal household announced on Friday. The announcement comes just a year after the Grand Ducal household announced it was revising the “Pacte de famille” of the Luxembourg-Nassau house. Grand Duke Henri, as […]

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Sir Winston Churchill’s Ancestral Grandeur

July 5, 2012

“He was not only the foremost of English soldiers, but in the first rank among the statesmen of our history.” Thus Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill summed up the greatness of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, his ancestor eight generations removed. Pondering what he called the “various long-descending channels” of heredity that produced the […]

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Our Lord Jesus Christ: the perfect human type

July 5, 2012

In their journey toward perfection, the different classes naturally develop human types proper to each, gradually approximating an ideal type. This model, the ideal human type for all classes, this personification of perfection, is not a theoretical model, but a historic reality. The human type par excellence is the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, […]

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July 6 – The King Had Three Daughters, All Saints

July 5, 2012

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 – Mother-in-law Woes

July 5, 2012

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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Reuters: Liechtenstein votes to keep prince’s veto

July 2, 2012

Voters in Liechtenstein rejected a proposal to abolish the ruling prince’s right to veto the results of popular referendums on Sunday… The referendum was proposed by pro-democracy campaigners after Crown Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein said last year he would block the legalization of abortion if citizens approved it in a referendum. In the […]

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The Guardian: Queen unveils memorial to Bomber Command

July 2, 2012

Unlike the heralded famous “Few” whose fighters defended Britain in 1940, those who went by day and mostly night to destroy enemy cities have felt years of hurt. At last they have a permanent memorial… The German city of Dresden, where 25,000 civilians died in bombing raids, initially objected to the memorial. But this was […]

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In saving Don John of Austria’s life, Don Luis Quijada loses his own

July 2, 2012

Meanwhile D. John of Austria was driving the Moors from place to place, and from rock to rock, towards the Alpujarras, where the other wing of the army was to cut them off. And such were his ardor, forethought, and wish to participate as much in the responsibilities of a leader as in the fatigues […]

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All classes should tend to perfection

July 2, 2012

It is proper for everything that has a sound and healthy existence to tend continually toward perfection. This natural tendency should also manifest itself in the social classes.(1) Perfection has degrees, as we have noted. From this perspective, a social class is a group of families that has achieved a degree of perfection proper to […]

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July 2 – Caught Between Two Masters

July 2, 2012

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

July 2, 2012

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 4 – HIRH Archduke Otto of Hapsburg-Lorraine Died One Year Ago Today

July 2, 2012

Obitiuary.   The Traditional Burial Ceremony of a Hapsburg Prince This traditional ceremony for the burial of Hapsburg emperors and princes is a glorious specimen of the profound influence of Christianity on this “first family of Christendom” and a luminous example of faith for Christians not just in Austria, but throughout the world. It will […]

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Queen’s swans ‘killed by floods, disease and yobs’

June 28, 2012

According to The Telegraph: The Queen’s Swan Marker, David Barber, said…”Vandalism remains a constant threat to swan numbers and is one of the primary causes of fatalities among mute swans and young cygnets together with fishing tackle injuries. The number of vandal attacks has continued to increase over the past year.” Mr. Barber also noted […]

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“If I died tomorrow, I would die a happy man.”

June 28, 2012

According to the Daventry Express: A butcher from Spratton presented his award-winning Diamond Pie to the Queen on her recent Diamond Jubilee tour of the East Midlands. Chris Saul, of Sauls of Spratton was among a number of county producers…who were displaying their wares at Burghley House. Mr Saul said: “I told the Queen that […]

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The Marquis de Chastellux draws a sketch of General Washington

June 28, 2012

As de Chastellux rode up, he observed Lafayette in front of the house, conversing with an officer, tall of stature, with a mild and noble countenance. It was Washington. De Chastellux alighted and was presented by Lafayette. His reception was frank and cordial. Washington conducted him into the house. Dinner was over, but Generals Knox, […]

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A Sauce in Honor of a Marquis

June 28, 2012

Before the French Revolution, creative chefs commonly dedicated their new recipes to members of the royal family or of the nobility. This is what François Pierre de la Varenne did with one of his creations, a white roux sauce. As the chef of the Marquis of Uxelles, de la Varenne made the first Bechamel by […]

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The concept of perfection applied to individuals and families

June 28, 2012

The concept of perfection is readily understood. Perfection is the state of a being that contains all the necessary attributes for its own integrity. For a rational being, perfection implies the ability to discern one’s ends and to possess the means to realize them. Perfection admits several degrees. First, there is a minimal perfection, which […]

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June 28 – To Avoid Their Desecration, He Ordered the Relics of the Saints to be Brought Inside the Walls

June 28, 2012

Pope Saint Paul I Date of birth unknown; died at Rome, 28 June, 767. He was a brother of Pope Stephen II. They had been educated for the priesthood at the Lateran palace. Stephen entrusted his brother, who approved of the pope’s course in respect to King Pepin, with many important ecclesiastical affairs, among others […]

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June 30 – How the New York Upper Class Was Transformed by One Humble Servant

June 28, 2012

Servant of God Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853) Born to slavery in Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti), Toussaint came to New York in 1789 with his master, Jean Bérard du Pithon, a French noble and prosperous planter who was fleeing the turmoil unleashed in Saint Domingue by the French Revolution. Two years later, his master died without having […]

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Luxemburger Wort: Te Deum and military parade mark National Day

June 25, 2012

  It was an early start for the Grand Ducal family, as they set out to attend the traditional Te Deum church service on Saturday morning, followed by a military parade on the Avenue de la Liberté. At 10.30am the Grand Ducal family was joined by Luxembourg’s ministers, deputies, ambassadors and other figures of political […]

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Video: Order of the Garter Service and Procession at Windsor Castle

June 25, 2012

Order of the Garter Service and Procession at Windsor Castle

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Time Magazine: Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II

June 25, 2012

The Queen has received over 3.5 million items of correspondence during her reign. Since 1952, she has conferred over 404,500 honors and awards. She sent her first e-mail in 1976, from a British army base. About 1.5 million people have attended garden parties at Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland since Elizabeth […]

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Madame Elizabeth ponders the horrors afflicting France during the Revolution

June 25, 2012

To the Abbé de Lubersac. June 25, 1792 This letter will be rather long on its way; but I prefer not to let this opportunity of talking with you pass. I am convinced that you will feel almost as keenly as ourselves the blow that has just been struck us; it is all the more […]

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The Different Roads of the Authentic and Inauthentic Elites

June 25, 2012

When a person acquires a fortune, whether by his own merit or inheritance, two roads lie before him: He can take the arduous road to secure for himself, or his descendants, an entrance into the traditional elites; or he can take the easy path, becoming a toad. The road of assimilation into the traditional elites […]

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June 25 – Simon de Montfort

June 25, 2012

Simon de Montfort An Earl of Leicester, date of birth unknown, died at Toulouse, 25 June, 1218. Simon (IV) de Montfort was descended from the lords of Montfort l’Amaury in Normandy, being the second son of Simon (III), and Amicia, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, third Earl of Leicester. Having succeeded his father as Baron […]

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June 26 – Chartreuse is not only a drink

June 25, 2012

St. Anthelm of Belley (1107 – 1178) Prior of the Carthusian Grand Chartreuse and bishop of Belley. He was born near Chambéry in 1107. He would later receive an ecclesiastical benefice in the area of Belley. When he was thirty years old, he resigned from this position to become a Carthusian monk at Portes. Only […]

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June 27 – The Saint-King elected to lead the First Crusade

June 25, 2012

St. Ladislaus (or Ladislas) St. Ladislaus the First, called by the Hungarians László, and in old French, Lancelot, was son of Bela king of Hungary, and born in 1041. By the pertinacious importunity of the people he was compelled, much against his own inclination, to ascend the throne in 1080, the kingdom being then elective. […]

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Beautiful Video – Trooping the Colour 2012 Highlights

June 21, 2012

The Mall 16th June 2012 Video Pictures

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A man never cries except in confessing his sins

June 21, 2012

At three o’clock in the morning of the 2nd of October, 1556, a horseman arrived at Villagarcia by road from Valladolid, and knocked furiously on the door of the castle. The night watchman hastened at the noise from the top of the wall, and asked who went there. “Praised be God,” said the person below. […]

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The jet set

June 21, 2012

The jet set constitutes yet another inauthentic elite. The expression indicates the very wealthy who live to spend money and enjoy life traveling between the most fashionable places. It includes the most disparate persons: a royal princess, a high-rolling gambler, a famous jockey, a scandal-ridden movie star. The criteria for membership are wealth, a taste […]

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June 21 – More Angel than Man

June 21, 2012

St. Aloysius Gonzaga Aloysius Gonzaga was son of Ferdinand Gonzaga, prince of the holy empire, and marquis of Castiglione, removed in the third degree of kindred from the duke of Mantua. His mother was Martha Tana Santena, daughter of Tanus Santena, lord of Cherry, in Piedmont. She was lady of honor to Isabel, the wife […]

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June 22 – He Confronted the Mandate

June 21, 2012

St. Thomas More Saint, knight, Lord Chancellor of England, author and martyr, born in London, 7 February, 1477-78; executed at Tower Hill, 6 July, 1535. He was the sole surviving son of Sir John More, barrister and later judge, by his first wife Agnes, daughter of Thomas Graunger. While still a child Thomas was sent […]

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Ireland’s ancient coronation stone vandalised

June 18, 2012

Ireland’s ancient coronation stone vandalised (via AFP) One of Ireland’s ancient monuments, the Lia Fail standing stone which according to legend served as the coronation stone for the high kings, has been vandalised, the government said Wednesday. Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan said the granite Lia Fail, which is Gaelic for Stone of Destiny, appeared…

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Southern aristocracy dazzled ante-bellum Washington

June 18, 2012

With the installation of the aging Buchanan as President and the coming of young Lord Napier as British minister, society in Washington had taken on a brilliant luster. The lovely, cultivated Lady Napier was perhaps the most popular foreign hostess the capital had known, while the President’s niece, Harriet Lane, was as competent as any […]

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Toads and communism

June 18, 2012

Observing the attitude of these toads toward the communist world, we witness a perplexing fact. Far from being in the vanguard of a broad action against international communism, as their privileged station would seem to demand, many toads promoted conciliation, ever ready to negotiate with and extend Western credit to the communists and their allies. […]

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June 19 – Execution of second group of those who believed in the religious exemption, but only at first

June 18, 2012

Carthusian Martyrs – the Second Group After little more than a month after the first group, it was the turn of three leading monks of the London house: Doms Humphrey Middlemore, William Exmew and Sebastian Newdigate, who were to die at Tyburn, London on the 19 June. Newdigate was a personal friend of Henry VIII, […]

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June 19 – His father the Duke was a murderer

June 18, 2012

St. Romuald Born at Ravenna, probably about 950; died at Val-di-Castro, 19 June, 1027. St. Peter Damian, his first biographer, and almost all the Camaldolese writers assert that St. Romuald’s age at his death was one hundred and twenty, and that therefore he was born about 907. This is disputed by most modern writers. Such […]

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June 19 – Love Accepts No Limitations

June 18, 2012

St. Juliana Falconieri Born in 1270; died 12 June, 1341. Juliana belonged to the noble Florentine family of Falconieri. Her uncle, St. Alexis Falconieri, was one of the seven founders of the Servite Order. Through his influence she also consecrated herself from her earliest youth to the religious life and the practices of Christian perfection. […]

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Reuters: Liechtenstein prince faces vote over veto power

June 14, 2012

The July [1] vote is only on the prince’s right to veto the results of popular referendums; he would retain the right to veto decisions made by parliament. The campaign was triggered last year after Crown Prince Alois said he would block the legalization of abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy if his […]

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Video – Royal family treated to flypast and gun salute

June 14, 2012
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Through self-mastery, Don John of Austria saves the Catholic fleet from self-destruction

June 14, 2012

D. John, satisfied with this information, ordered the decks to be cleared for action, and this time, in agreement with all the Generals, decided to wait at Gomenizza, while the wind, then contrary, did not permit them to make for Lepanto. The bay of Gomenizza is on the Albanian coast, thirty miles southeast of the […]

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Harmful character of the toads

June 14, 2012

Under these conditions, the toads are virtually a cancer within the social body. Far from crowning a harmonic hierarchy of elites, they build their own structure of power, influence, and prestige, without overlapping with the other levels of elites. The dynamism of their anti-natural structure ultimately harms the political, economic, social, and cultural life of […]

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June 15 – Battle of Lyndanisse during the Northern Crusades

June 14, 2012

The Battle of Lyndanisse was a battle which helped King Valdemar II of Denmark establish the territory of Danish Estonia during the Northern Crusades. Valdemar II defeated the Estonians at Lyndanisse (Estonian: Lindanise), during the Northern Crusades, by orders from the Pope. The Battle Valdemar II, along with Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund, Bishop Theoderik […]

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June 15 – St. Bernard dogs carry his name

June 14, 2012

St. Bernard of Menthon Born in 923, probably in the castle Menthon near Annecy, in Savoy; died at Novara, 1008. He was descended from a rich, noble family and received a thorough education. He refused to enter an honorable marriage proposed by his father and decided to devote himself to the service of the Church. […]

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June 15 – King John of England signs Magna Carta

June 14, 2012

Magna Carta The charter of liberties granted by King John of England in 1215 and confirmed with modifications by Henry III in 1216, 1217, and 1225. The Magna Carta has long been considered by the English-speaking peoples as the earliest of the great constitutional documents which give the history of England so unique a character; […]

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June 16 – Death threats meant nothing to him

June 14, 2012

Saint John Francis Regis Born 31 January, 1597, in the village of Fontcouverte (department of Aude); died at la Louvesc, 30 Dec., 1640. His father Jean, a rich merchant, had been recently ennobled in recognition of the prominent part he had taken in the Wars of the League; his mother, Marguerite de Cugunhan, belonged by […]

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