Qalaat al-Hosn (قلعة الحصن), more famously known as Krak des Chevaliers, is arguably the best preserved and most impressive Crusader castle surviving today. It is one of the highlights of a visit to Syria, and should be considered a must on any itinerary. The castle was been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2006.
Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (French pronunciation: [kʁak de ʃ(ə)valje]; Arabic: قلعة الحصن, romanized: Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn), also called Ḥiṣn al-Akrād (حصن الأكراد, literally “Fortress of the Kurds”) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the Mirdasids. In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the order of the Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell in 1271.
four horsemen stormed in i tried to warn em false gods aint reform this the new corinth adorned in course leather forged in moria hide of moloch took no pleasure killed the sorcerer crusader no better than the forfeiter still searching for the source code to glory still searching for the meaning of my story found motivation love and connection pride still got me 2nd 3rd guessing wonder if theres real estate right outside the pearly gates trying get my story straight fore i put my life at stake floating thru a dreamstate surfin on the astral plane never felt more lucid than on acid and forgot my name this the kind of passion making pancakes of the fallen man pavarotti weeping from the beauty singing sonograms take command make a stand
Snippets from the introduction of a recent essay I wrote on women and gender in the crusades:
Besieged in Jerusalem in 1187, Margaret of Beverly proved herself an active participant in the crusades by patrolling the walls, describing herself as ‘a fierce warrior woman’.
Crusading was unmistakably gendered with socially constructed, rather than biologically determined, masculine and feminine roles. Participation was geared towards men, narratives favoured male exploits and contemporary gender constructs dictated women should merely support and encourage the masculine pursuit of warfare.
Despite being discouraged and marginalised, many women joined the crusade as pilgrims and camp followers where they provided services such as moral support, menial labour, cookery and prostitution. They assisted with siege warfare, defence and the provision of supplies to frontline fighters. In emergencies, noblewomen took leadership roles and lay women likely took part in direct combat. Those left at home took on the challenging burden of managing families, estates and businesses to facilitate the absence of male relatives.
Women within the army and crusader settlements faced a myriad of grave dangers including starvation, captivity, rape, family separation, injury and death.
The contribution of women to crusading was significant and varied, but the tendency to define a ‘crusader’ only as a direct combatant has led some historians to suggest only women who fought could be considered crusaders. As the crusades were a spiritual and societal movement as well as a military enterprise, I argue it is more appropriate to define a crusader as a participant. It is oversimplified to ignore the vast contribution of women who, like their male counterparts, took vows and committed to the Christianisation of the east at great personal risk. Therefore, I argue women should be called crusaders for their dedication, courage and sacrifices for the crusade effort.
An interesting segment on medieval Muslim women from the Memoirs of Usamah Ibn Munqidh in ‘The Crusades: A Reader’, edited by S.J. Allen and Emilie Amt
*Look, we’re only going to talk about the original Star Wars films. No I don’t care that they are technically parts IV, V, and VI. I really don’t. Also please note that Crusaders aren’t actually the good guys in the story of the Crusades.
Star Wars v. The First Crusade
Original Catchy Slogan: Star Wars: May the Force Be With You Crusades:Deus Vult
Intervention as a result of a direct request Star Wars: From Princess Leia to stop the Death Star Crusades: From the Eastern Orthodox Church (allegedly) to stop the invasion of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks
Old dude acting as mentor/instigator/quote originator Star Wars: Obi Wan Kenobi Crusades: Pope Urban II
Rag-tag army of true believers Star Wars: The Rebels Crusades: The People’s Crusade
Events precipitated by the death of a tiny little sickly dude Star Wars: Yoda Crusades: Baldwin IV
Provisionally an attempt to reverse the gains of the ‘enemy’ Star Wars: The rebuilt Death Star Crusades: The Ayyubid dynasty’s conquest of Egypt to Syria
Ultimately a showdown with a bad motherfucker Star Wars: Darth Vader Crusades: Saladin
All hopes pined on one messianic figure Star Wars: Luke Crusades: Richard the Lionheart
Success? Star Wars: Is anyone a winner when Ewoks are involved? Crusades:Is anyone a winner?
On this day in 1314, Jacques de Molay, the twenty-third and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake. The Templar knights were a major fighting unit of the Crusades, aiming to preserve Christendom and regain control of the Holy Land. After control the Holy Land was lost to Muslim forces, support for the Knights Templar started to fade. King Philip IV of France began to mistrust the group and wanted to free himself of his debts to the Templar; he thus had many leading Knights burned at the stake. Pope Clement V disbanded the group in 1312, and the hunt continued for remaining members. The Knights were tortured until they confessed to a range of crimes, including heresy, obscene rituals, and idolatry. De Molay had been forced to make such a confession, and despite retracting the confession, he was charged with heresy and burned at the stake. Pope Clement died a month later and King Philip died that year. With their leader gone, the remaining Templars were arrested or removed from the group and the Knights Templar were no more.
“God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death" - De Molay’s words from the stake
⚔️ Diver Discovers 900-Year-Old Sword Dating to the Crusades ⠀ The sword’s blade, believed to be made of iron, measures around 40 inches and the hilt some 14 inches and dates back to the 12th century. ⠀ Scientists hope that under the layer of shells and other remnants of sea life are hidden emblems and perhaps even the name of the owner of the sword. ⠀ - - ⚔️ На дне Средиземного моря нашли меч крестоносца — ему почти 1000 лет ⠀ Дайвер Шломи Кацин нашел на дне Средиземного моря древний меч. Эксперты говорят, что он лежал там около 900 лет. ⠀ По мнению специалистов Израильского управления древностей, железный меч с клинком около одного метра и 30-сантиметровой рукоятью принадлежал крестоносцу и датируется XII веком. ⠀ Ученые надеются, что под слоем ракушек и других остатков морской жизни скрываются эмблемы и возможно даже имя владельца меча. ⠀
Venetian chastity belt on display in the Doge’s palace. (Claimed to be 16th–17th century.)
A chastity belt is a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse. They may be used to protect the wearer from rape or temptation. Some devices have been designed with additional features to prevent masturbation. Chastity belts have been created for males and females, ostensibly for the purpose of chastity.
According to modern myths the chastity belt was used as an anti-temptation device during the Crusades. When the knight left for the Holy Lands on the Crusades, his Lady would wear a chastity belt to preserve her faithfulness to him. However, there is no credible evidence that chastity belts existed before the 15th century (more than one hundred years after the last Crusade), and their main period of apparent use falls within the Renaissance rather than the Middle Ages.
In any case, Renaissance chastity belts were said to have had padded linings (to prevent large areas of metal from coming into direct prolonged contact with the skin), and these had to be changed fairly frequently, so that such belts were not practical for uninterrupted long-term wear. Uninterrupted long-term wear could have caused genitourinary infection, abrasive wounds, sepsis and eventual death.
Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) is a polyphonic mass composed before 1365 by French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut. It is one of the great masterpieces of medieval music and of all religious music; it is historically notable as the earliest complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass attributable to a single composer, in contrast to earlier compilations such as the Tournai Mass.
Interesting addition of melismata, quite unlike previous recordings. I’d like to read where they got the interpretation of the opening chant from; their way of singing it makes sense based on the notation, and I’m somewhat surprised that nobody has come up with singing it in an “ornamented” way rather than just melodic chant before. One only has to think of Arabic muezzin chanting in calls to prayer, which also uses varied “ornamentation”, depending on the muezzin, time and place, to make the connection. Although the crusaders had been booted out of Palestine in 1291, there were still crusades going on in Machaut’s time (Smyrniote 1343–1351, Alexandrian 1365, Savoyard 1366) and half of Spain was still ruled by Muslims (it’s probably no accident that the first treatises on diminutions – “glosas” in Spanish and “divisions” in English – first appeared in Spain in the first half of the 16th century given that the last Iberian Muslims weren’t conquered until 1492 when Spain was united). Considering how much influence over European music and culture in general that the crusades and Al -Andalus had had since the 8th century, the interpretation makes sense. I have always thought that Monteverdi got the stutter trill on one note found in L'Orfeo and Missa Beata Vergine et al. from coming into contact with Middle Eastern vocal music in Venice (not that Muslims were allowed to chant prayer calls in Venice around 1600 though they probably frequented the city as traders; perhaps through cantorial singing in the Ghetto). It’s a rather under-researched phenomenon in music history. [Tony Villamotte]
Quite simply the best performance of this masterpiece that I have ever heard: note the embellishments, reminiscent of Bulgarian folk music, the nasal-toned voices, and the straightforward yet emotive style of performance. Note also theFrenchified pronunciation of the Latin text. [Daniel Waitzman]
@mykristeva I think this recording is brilliant, and the ornamentation plays a major role in that. The link with Middle Eastern chanting is valid, and I completely agree with the link to Bulgarian folk music. I wonder, however, if any influence also came from the Byzantine Empire, as Byzantine and subsequent Eastern Orthodox music also makes use of this ornamentation and their singing tradition predates the influence of Muslims in the East.
Baldwin of Boulogne entering Edessa in February 1098. He is shown being welcomed by the Armenian clergy, who welcomed the end of tutelage to Constantinople.
Painting by J.Robert-Fleury, 1840, “Les Croisades, origines et consequences”
Analysis of residues taken from ceramic vessels from ancient #Jerusalem has discovered some to contain explosive chemicals, leading to the conclusion they were used by Saracens as hand grenades against the #Crusaders.
When the Church in Mexico was persecuted by the judeo-masonic government of Plutarco Elías Calles, Father Álvarez, a humble parish priest, began celebrating Holy Mass in the nearby farms and baptizing in the mountain streams in total secret. When he became aware that his brother priests were being persecuted throughout the country, he did not believe himself worthy of martyrdom.
One day, Father Álvarez was captured by Federal forces when he was traveling to a ranch to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He was immediately sent to the prison of San Julián, Jalisco, where the priest was subjected to cruel torture.
Four days later, Father Álvarez stood before the firing squad. He was martyred for the “crime” of being a priest, not before forgiving his executioners. The soldiers then left the martyr’s body in a garbage dump as an insult, but the faithful rescued it and buried it in the parish temple.
Nowadays, Father Julio Álvarez Mendoza is recognized by the Church as a Saint, and many Mexicans go in pilgrimage to the sites where he was imprisoned, martyred, and to his parish of Mechoacanejo where his relics can be venerated.
After the Mexican Revolution, most federal soldiers were poor peasants with no education nor discipline who followed regional strong leaders and warlords. They were uniformed and armed—sometimes with modern weapons bought from the United States—but lacked a military honour code, and most truly hated the Faith; all this led to many atrocities and crimes worthy of barbarians.
Despite this, it is recorded that sometimes after a battle the Cristeros found that some federal soldiers wore sacramentals, such as scapulars or medals of saints; these were Catholics persecuting Catholics! These misled soldiers were an exception, as the great majority of the army did not protest the bloodshed and persecution of the Church and her faithful.
In the picture below, Mexican soldiers posing before a captured temple.
Then we have the Agraristas.
The government’s favorite cannon fodder. These armed militias were very similar in equipment to the Cristeros, as most of them were peasants that fought for the “Agrarian reforms” promised by the revolutionaries. Actually, these reforms meant taking the land owned by Cristero families, innocent Catholics,critics of the Revolution, and even some foreigners, to unjustly give them to the Agraristas.
As they did not have modern weapons nor the strategy of the federal army, the Agraristas suffered heavy losses during the war.
In the picture below, Plutarco Elías Calles himself posing with some Agraristas.
Lastly, urban communist groups, like workers’ unions and the Red Shirts.
The labor unions and syndicates organized by government agents served as shock troops in big cities where industry recovered and flourished from the disaster of the Revolution. The Red Shirts was a communist youth group founded by the demonic Tomás Garrido Canabal to serve him and enforce his ideas.
Of the three “armies”, these urban communists were the worst, as its members were motivated by an ideology: a communism that was not only atheistic but also anti-catholic, and that led them to commit many sacrileges, profanations, general persecution, and even crowned with martyrdom men and women we now venerate as Saints.
In the picture below, a demonstration of the anti-catholic CROM (Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers).
¡Viva Cristo Rey y Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe! ¡Muera la Revolución!
Two kind of priests could be found in the ranks of the Cristero armies: first, very few in number, those who took off their cassock, grabbed a rifle, and transformed into fierce soldiers, even generals; the second ones were humble parish priests turned into chaplains without military rank or authority, and most of the times, they did not even had weapons during combat.
Fr. Ramón Pérez Viramontes (AKA Raymundo Peña), in the picture seating alongside Cristero General Luis Ibarra, was one of these brave chaplains.
Tirelessly, and wherever he accompanied the soldiers of Christ the King, Fr. Pérez baptised children, married couples, and saved souls with the Sacraments. He also prayed the Holy Rosary during the long marches, night and day, under the scorching sun or the cold rain.
This holy priest fulfilled his God-given vocation in many battles. One of them was the Battle of Talpita Canyon, in which 80 Cristeros defeated 250 federal soldiers; the Catholic warriors were outnumbered and outgunned (as they were most of the time), but compensated this material inferiority by setting an ambush in said canyon to then fight a demoralized opponent.
Fr. Pérez had a pistol with him during the battle, but did not shoot once, not even when he was almost captured by the enemy.
