That was an inspiring read, thank you. I've long been a student of Malta and the odd synchronicity coming my way from such a tiny island. This be yet another, and on a powerful day. The island has a marvelous history, and other readers may google Valletta to get a feeling of the place, though you have to dodge oligarch yachts these days.
Many thanks; I knew nothing of this. Figures like Valette quicken the blood partly because their decisions are such a terrible challenge to one's own masculinity: Would YOU have done the same in his place?
My masculinity and my faith. Would I do as he instructed his men, to offer up the life I’d promised to God? I guess one never knows until he’s put to the test.
Beautifully written; this actually made me misty-eyed! Funny coincidence(?) of timing, too - just last night I was enmeshed in Robert Anton Wilson's 'Coincidance', specifically a fictional short story therein about a convention of married Catholic priests, where they blame any strange happenings on the Knights of Malta, which they consider to be the religious equivalent of the CIA. It was at that moment I realized: I know nothing of these "Knights of Malta".
Sep 13, 2023·edited Sep 13, 2023Liked by Librarian of Celaeno
Another inspiring and brilliantly written piece.
Christianity has always been the primary element of these stories, but there always exists a cultural dimension, as well: the barbarism of the Turks contrasted against the heroism of the European warriors is the greatest corroboration for the thesis that "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet". There is something fundamentally distinct about our understanding of the universe which a universalist interpretation of history never quite succeeds in capturing. (I am always reminded of the fact that it was considered a special dispensation, out of mercy, when Sultan Mehmed II ordered his soldiers to cease the rape and pillage of Constantinople after 2 days, rather than 3. Not to mention his trampling upon the altar of the Hagia Sophia.)
Whether you call it Christendom, Europe or Western civilisation, this glorious common possession of our peoples, from Charles Martel and La Valette to Prince Eugene and Count Starhemberg, has never had want of defenders. Let us hope that it shall be so in the future.
What a legend. I love history like this. It reminds you that it’s possible to fight back. I can’t say I could be a 1/100th of the man La Valette was, but his story is inspiring.
I’m reading Millennium by Tom Holland about Europe at the turn of the first millennium, and it’s fascinating how much faith played a role in life back in those days, in a different way than it did now. What a time to be alive. I’m not saying I’d like to ditch the present and live a thousand years ago, but it’s sometimes a tempting thought given how meaningless modern life is and how much more full of meaning it at least seemed to be in centuries past.
I think I'm starting to get what you mean by Resurrection and the glory of Kings. Beautiful piece and fascinating history.
Fascinating and uplifting on this day, of all days. Truly grateful for your most apropos history lesson.
I. Love. It!
It's wonderful...We, western people, need more of these stories, it should be published in comics and in kid's book...
That was an inspiring read, thank you. I've long been a student of Malta and the odd synchronicity coming my way from such a tiny island. This be yet another, and on a powerful day. The island has a marvelous history, and other readers may google Valletta to get a feeling of the place, though you have to dodge oligarch yachts these days.
Fascinating! A story I did not know.
Thank you.
Many thanks; I knew nothing of this. Figures like Valette quicken the blood partly because their decisions are such a terrible challenge to one's own masculinity: Would YOU have done the same in his place?
My masculinity and my faith. Would I do as he instructed his men, to offer up the life I’d promised to God? I guess one never knows until he’s put to the test.
Amazing! I imagine there are so many of these heroic figures forgotten to time. Thanks for sharing this.
A fine inspiring bit of history sir. When the Third Jihad flares up, will we be their equals?
It remains to be seen.
Beautifully written; this actually made me misty-eyed! Funny coincidence(?) of timing, too - just last night I was enmeshed in Robert Anton Wilson's 'Coincidance', specifically a fictional short story therein about a convention of married Catholic priests, where they blame any strange happenings on the Knights of Malta, which they consider to be the religious equivalent of the CIA. It was at that moment I realized: I know nothing of these "Knights of Malta".
They are still around, though now they restrict their activities to charity.
Magnificent.
Amazing history.
I encourage anyone who loves travel to visit Malta and the great places where Islam's western expansion was finally checked.
Another inspiring and brilliantly written piece.
Christianity has always been the primary element of these stories, but there always exists a cultural dimension, as well: the barbarism of the Turks contrasted against the heroism of the European warriors is the greatest corroboration for the thesis that "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet". There is something fundamentally distinct about our understanding of the universe which a universalist interpretation of history never quite succeeds in capturing. (I am always reminded of the fact that it was considered a special dispensation, out of mercy, when Sultan Mehmed II ordered his soldiers to cease the rape and pillage of Constantinople after 2 days, rather than 3. Not to mention his trampling upon the altar of the Hagia Sophia.)
Whether you call it Christendom, Europe or Western civilisation, this glorious common possession of our peoples, from Charles Martel and La Valette to Prince Eugene and Count Starhemberg, has never had want of defenders. Let us hope that it shall be so in the future.
Thank you very much for the kind words.
What a legend. I love history like this. It reminds you that it’s possible to fight back. I can’t say I could be a 1/100th of the man La Valette was, but his story is inspiring.
I’m reading Millennium by Tom Holland about Europe at the turn of the first millennium, and it’s fascinating how much faith played a role in life back in those days, in a different way than it did now. What a time to be alive. I’m not saying I’d like to ditch the present and live a thousand years ago, but it’s sometimes a tempting thought given how meaningless modern life is and how much more full of meaning it at least seemed to be in centuries past.
What a bracing, bouncy, beautiful history we have when we stop whining and apologising ⚔️⚔️