LEPANTO

brucelewis.com ^ | 2008.10.07 | Bruce Lewis

[B-Chan]

WHITE founts falling in the Courts of the sun,
And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run;
There is laughter like the fountains in that face of all men feared,
It stirs the forest darkness, the darkness of his beard;
It curls the blood-red crescent, the crescent of his lips;	5
For the inmost sea of all the earth is shaken with his ships.
They have dared the white republics up the capes of Italy,
They have dashed the Adriatic round the Lion of the Sea,
And the Pope has cast his arms abroad for agony and loss,
And called the kings of Christendom for swords about the Cross.	10
The cold queen of England is looking in the glass;
The shadow of the Valois is yawning at the Mass;
From evening isles fantastical rings faint the Spanish gun,
And the Lord upon the Golden Horn is laughing in the sun.
Dim drums throbbing, in the hills half heard,	15
Where only on a nameless throne a crownless prince has stirred,
Where, risen from a doubtful seat and half attainted stall,
The last knight of Europe takes weapons from the wall,
The last and lingering troubadour to whom the bird has sung,
That once went singing southward when all the world was young.	20
In that enormous silence, tiny and unafraid,
Comes up along a winding road the noise of the Crusade.
Strong gongs groaning as the guns boom far,
Don John of Austria is going to the war,
Stiff flags straining in the night-blasts cold	25
In the gloom black-purple, in the glint old-gold,
Torchlight crimson on the copper kettle-drums,
Then the tuckets, then the trumpets, then the cannon, and he comes.
Don John laughing in the brave beard curled,
Spurning of his stirrups like the thrones of all the world,	30
Holding his head up for a flag of all the free.
Love-light of Spain—hurrah!
Death-light of Africa!
Don John of Austria
Is riding to the sea.	35
Mahound is in his paradise above the evening star,
(Don John of Austria is going to the war.)
He moves a mighty turban on the timeless houri's knees,
His turban that is woven of the sunsets and the seas.
He shakes the peacock gardens as he rises from his ease,	40
And he strides among the tree-tops and is taller than the trees;
And his voice through all the garden is a thunder sent to bring
Black Azrael and Ariel and Ammon on the wing.
Giants and the Genii,
Multiplex of wing and eye,	45
Whose strong obedience broke the sky
When Solomon was king.
They rush in red and purple from the red clouds of the morn,
From the temples where the yellow gods shut up their eyes in scorn;
They rise in green robes roaring from the green hells of the sea	50
Where fallen skies and evil hues and eyeless creatures be,
On them the sea-valves cluster and the grey sea-forests curl,
Splashed with a splendid sickness, the sickness of the pearl;
They swell in sapphire smoke out of the blue cracks of the ground,—
They gather and they wonder and give worship to Mahound.	55
And he saith, "Break up the mountains where the hermit-folk can hide,
And sift the red and silver sands lest bone of saint abide,
And chase the Giaours flying night and day, not giving rest,
For that which was our trouble comes again out of the west.
We have set the seal of Solomon on all things under sun,	60
Of knowledge and of sorrow and endurance of things done.
But a noise is in the mountains, in the mountains, and I know
The voice that shook our palaces—four hundred years ago:
It is he that saith not 'Kismet'; it is he that knows not Fate;
It is Richard, it is Raymond, it is Godfrey at the gate!	65
It is he whose loss is laughter when he counts the wager worth,
Put down your feet upon him, that our peace be on the earth."
For he heard drums groaning and he heard guns jar,
(Don John of Austria is going to the war.)
Sudden and still—hurrah!	70
Bolt from Iberia!
Don John of Austria
Is gone by Alcalar.
St. Michaels on his Mountain in the sea-roads of the north
(Don John of Austria is girt and going forth.)	75
Where the grey seas glitter and the sharp tides shift
And the sea-folk labour and the red sails lift.
He shakes his lance of iron and he claps his wings of stone;
The noise is gone through Normandy; the noise is gone alone;
The North is full of tangled things and texts and aching eyes,	80
And dead is all the innocence of anger and surprise,
And Christian killeth Christian in a narrow dusty room,
And Christian dreadeth Christ that hath a newer face of doom,
And Christian hateth Mary that God kissed in Galilee,—
But Don John of Austria is riding to the sea.	85
Don John calling through the blast and the eclipse
Crying with the trumpet, with the trumpet of his lips,
Trumpet that sayeth ha!
Domino gloria!
Don John of Austria	90
Is shouting to the ships.
King Philip's in his closet with the Fleece about his neck
(Don John of Austria is armed upon the deck.)
The walls are hung with velvet that is black and soft as sin,
And little dwarfs creep out of it and little dwarfs creep in.	95
He holds a crystal phial that has colours like the moon,
He touches, and it tingles, and he trembles very soon,
And his face is as a fungus of a leprous white and grey
Like plants in the high houses that are shuttered from the day,
And death is in the phial and the end of noble work,	100
But Don John of Austria has fired upon the Turk.
Don John's hunting, and his hounds have bayed—
Booms away past Italy the rumour of his raid.
Gun upon gun, ha! ha!
Gun upon gun, hurrah!	105
Don John of Austria
Has loosed the cannonade.
The Pope was in his chapel before day or battle broke,
(Don John of Austria is hidden in the smoke.)
The hidden room in man's house where God sits all the year,	110
The secret window whence the world looks small and very dear.
He sees as in a mirror on the monstrous twilight sea
The crescent of his cruel ships whose name is mystery;
They fling great shadows foe-wards, making Cross and Castle dark,
They veil the plumèd lions on the galleys of St. Mark;	115
And above the ships are palaces of brown, black-bearded chiefs,
And below the ships are prisons, where with multitudinous griefs,
Christian captives sick and sunless, all a labouring race repines
Like a race in sunken cities, like a nation in the mines.
They are lost like slaves that sweat, and in the skies of morning hung	120
The stair-ways of the tallest gods when tyranny was young.
They are countless, voiceless, hopeless as those fallen or fleeing on
Before the high Kings' horses in the granite of Babylon.
And many a one grows witless in his quiet room in hell
Where a yellow face looks inward through the lattice of his cell,	125
And he finds his God forgotten, and he seeks no more a sign—
(But Don John of Austria has burst the battle-line!)
Don John pounding from the slaughter-painted poop,
Purpling all the ocean like a bloody pirate's sloop,
Scarlet running over on the silvers and the golds,	130
Breaking of the hatches up and bursting of the holds,
Thronging of the thousands up that labour under sea
White for bliss and blind for sun and stunned for liberty.
Vivat Hispania!
Domino Gloria!	135
Don John of Austria
Has set his people free!
Cervantes on his galley sets the sword back in the sheath
(Don John of Austria rides homeward with a wreath.)
And he sees across a weary land a straggling road in Spain,	140
Up which a lean and foolish knight for ever rides in vain,
And he smiles, but not as Sultans smile, and settles back the blade....
(But Don John of Austria rides home from the Crusade.)

[B-Chan]

Feel free!

[Pyro7480]

Thank you!

[Pyro7480]

I’m basically going to “mirror” your post, since I had been already thinking about posting the poem on my blog. Have you ever seen the Ignatius Press book about “Lepanto”?

[Salvation]

LEPANTO

A Call To Prayer: This Lepanto Moment [Repost]

Lepanto, 1571: The Battle That Saved Europe

Celebrating the Battle of Lepanto

Clash of civilizations: Battle of Lepanto revisited

Lepanto, Bertone e Battesimo, Oh My!

Lepanto Sunday

Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval (A Mini-Lepanto in the Philippines)

Swiss Guards at the Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571

Battle of Lepanto

LEPANTO, 7 OCTOBER 1571: The Defense of Europe

Battle of Lepanto

Remember Lepanto!

The Battle of Lepanto

On This Day In History, The Battle of Lepanto

The Battle of Lepanto

Chesterton's Lepanto

The Miracle At Lepanto...

Lepanto

The Naval Battle of Lepanto

The Battle of Lepanto

Call to Prayer 12:00 EST 17 November: This Lepanto Moment [Read only]

A Call To Prayer: This Lepanto Moment[Read only]

[Salvation]

 

Pray the Rosary. 

Pray without ceasing.

[Seniram US]

This is an except on a work in progress on The Battle of Lepanto. Thought it might be okay to post in memorial of the battle.

1571 - Malta - Greece- The Battle of Lepanto - The Knights of Malta (formerly Knights of St. John Hospitalers) and the Ottoman Turks have continued at odds since the Knights had fortified Rhodes during the latter part of the Thirteenth Century. Now the two antagonists again face each other, but this time, the Knights have at their side a mighty Christian Armada led by Don John of Austria. The Fleet transporting the “Holy League” is composed of nearly three hundred Vessels and carries more than 75,000 men, and of these nearly 50,000 are aboard to row, leaving a fighting force of about twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand men. The Fleet is composed of Vessels supplied by various Christian states including, Genoa, Spain Venice. And the Pope, Pius V, supplies a Flotilla, as Christianity intends to strike a heavy blow against the Turks. Pope Pius V, had informed Don John that if he were to leave behind all troops known to be leading “evil” lives, that victory would be assured. Don John arrives at Messina in Sicily where the Fleet awaits him. During September, Don John leads his impressive Armada from the harbor of Messina in Sicily to engage the Ottoman Turks. While pausing at Corfu, in the Ionian Sea near Albania and Greece’s mainland, they receive grave news. The Turks had been there and inflicted great fear into the people. Soon after, the Fleet departs in search of the Turks suspected to be at Lepanto in the Lepanto Strait. The Armada speeds to Cephalonia (Keffalinia) in Greece and again receives anguishing news. Don John is informed that the Turks have stormed Cyprus and spared not a single defender. The Turks overwhelm the defenders bludgeon the troops and slaughter the survivors. The devastating information infuriates the Christian assault force and brings about cries of vengeance.
The troops aboard the Vessels press for a speedy departure to bring them within striking distance of the Turkish Fleet. In addition to the news of the massacre at Cyprus, the troops are informed that the Turk’s have been reinforced by the Bey of Algiers, Uluch Ali, of Calabria who converted to Islam. With this addition, Ali Pasha’s Armada numbers are nearly identical to those of the Christians. And the Turks are enormously more familiar with the sea where the clash is about to take place. The Christians embark from Cephalonia en route to strike and on the evening of October 6th, the Turkish Fleet sails from Lepanto to intercept the encroaching Armada in the Gulf of Patras.
The Turks observe John Don’s Fleet divide and form its lines into three distinct sectors with a fourth formation to the rear as reserve. At about this point, the Turks collapse their half-moon formation and follow suit, splintering into an attacking trio. Both opposing Commanders hold the middle of their respective lines as the vanguard, with their flanks covered by the others. The Christian left is maintained by the Genoese, and the Galleys supplied by Pope St. Pius V. It is commanded by Andrea Doria and the Christian right is commanded by the Venetian Barbarrigo, who is hampered because his Venetians are lacking sufficient Sailors to properly maintain the Vessels. To supplement his deficiency, Spaniards are aboard, but this situation is volatile as there is mutual contempt among the mixed crews. The rear is held by Santa Cruz and a contingent of about twenty-five to thirty Spanish and Venetian Warships.
As the opposing Sea Chariots converge, the Turks, their Warships manned by Christian rowers (slaves) boldly push from the center, unaware that Don John had instructed his force to hold their fire until the moment that the Turks are close enough to ensure that their blood will splatter upon the Christians. Meanwhile the impetuous Turks thrust forward directly into the sights of the Christian Gunners, At the prescribed moment, the bellowing Cannon spew their deadly fire upon the advancing Crescent Standards of the Turks. More than five of the Turkish Vessels plummet to the depths, but the attack is maintained. The Crescent continues to press against the Cross, maneuvering to begin to board the Shisp in the center and collapse the line. In the meantime, the Turks, under the Calabrian, Uluch Ali, strikes against the Genoese under Andrea Doria Turks, following the tactics of Sirocco who strikes the contingent of Venetians under Barbarrigo, each awaiting the opportunity to board the Christian Vessels to liquidate the Soldiers and capture the rowers as slaves. The fighting on the flanks initially favors the Turks; however, the Christians hold fast and their Crossbow Marksmen take a high toll on the Turks who are at close-quarters. Nevertheless, the Turks more skilled in these particular waters inflict severe punishment. Both Barbarrigo and Andrea Doria become encircled. Soon after, an arrow from a Turkish Marksman strikes and kills Barbarrigo. Shortly thereafter the Turks board and capture his Vessel, but the Christians regain it only to lose it again.
The ongoing slug-fest also continues in the center of the line as Ali Pasha continues to pour fire upon Don John’s center. The Turks move in closer and prepare to board, but they are soon introduced to the Spanish Infantry who bludgeon the Turks and repeatedly drive them from the Vessels. Undaunted, the Turks continue to hammer the Don John’s center, confident of eventual victory. But still, the Spanish Infantry and the Archers forestall any boarding by the bold Turks. In addition, the Turkish contingent under Sirocco, unable to encircle the Genoese, had noticed a gap in the Christian lines. He zooms through and bangs the rear of the center line, lambastes several of the Vessels, and boards and captures the Capitana (Flagship of the Knights of Malta), taking it as a fine prize.
Suddenly, the tables turn and the Christians take the offensive as Don Jon orders his troops to seize the Flagship of Ali Pasha. Suddenly the Spanish swing from the sails and bolt from the deck to crash upon the Turkish Flagship. The Turks, forced to defend, deliver punishing blows to the Christians and drive them back, but similarly to the Turks, the Christians are also known for their valor and perseverance. They doggedly initiate another boarding attack and again are prevented from conquest. The decks are full of dead and wounded, and amidst the shrill sounds of the weaponry, the desperate cries of the wounded echo in and around the combatants. Relentlessly, the Turks and the Christians bludgeon each other but neither can proclaim victory until the Christians mount a third attack. The relentless lightning-quick assaults had not only drawn blood, but royal blood! Ali Pasha had become wounded, a minor item, except that the Christians capture him and eliminate the need for first aid. They immediately decapitate him. In the meantime, a Sailor ascends to the mainmast and relieves it of the Turkish battle flag. To underscore their seizure and convince the Turks that they had indeed been the initial captors of a Turkish battle-flag, the Christians raise the head of Ali Pasha which is implanted on a staff and swirled about for all to see. The Turks who had been attempting to crack the center of Don John’s line become obviously disillusioned and initiate a retreat.
All the while, the sea-duel had also been continuing on the flanks, but here too the momentum had swung to the Christians. Barbarrigo’s Flagship, seized after he had been felled, is retaken by the Christians. They pummel Siroco’s Flagship. Soon after, Sirocco is plucked from the water, but spared only temporarily. He is immediately decapitated. The final line of the Turks, commanded by Uluch Ali, had attempted escape, but the Warships under Santa Cruz had observed the action when Ali succeeded in gaining the Capitana and gave chase. Rather than risk imminent personal disaster, Ali abandons the Capitana and speeds from the area, leaving his contingent to continue the fight. By this time, Don John, having brought the center under control, hurries to support Andrea Doria’s beleaguered Vessels. The remaining Turkish Warships are engaged and driven back bringing complete victory to the Christian Fleet and immense relief and happiness in Europe, particularly to the families of the Christian slaves that had been held by the Turks.
The four-hour bloodbath in the sea is expensive for both sides; however, for the Christian Warriors, it accomplished more than a military victory. These men had finally dispelled the lingering mystique of the invincibility of the Turks and injected a new confidence in the Christian nations. The Cross had mastered the Crescent and inexplicitly, both had shown their propensity to show no mercy or quarter to the other.
The Christians lose more than 5,000 dead and more than 15,000 wounded. They also rescue more than 10,000 men who had been held as slaves (rowers). The Christians lose less than twenty Ships. Turkish losses are approximately 20,000-25,000, and their Fleet is decimated, either by destruction or capture. More than 150 of their Vessels are seized and slightly less than twenty are sunk. In conjunction, in another example of the mutual ill-feelings between the Christians and the Turks, the Christians who capture the Turks at this Naval Battle transform their captives into slaves for the Christian Ships. Malta becomes a primary location for the slave-markets and remains such until the Eighteenth Century. The Knights of Malta maintain many slaves for their own Vessels. In conjunction, it is reported that on the day of the battle at Lepanto, Pope Pius V, while conferring with some Cardinals, glanced out his window and soon after, declares: “A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian Army.” Later, news arrived that the Christians had won, just as the Pope had so stated. In conjunction, it is reported that by praying the Rosary, the Christians had attained victory.

[Pyro7480]

Whoa, that needed some breaks in there. Here it is again:

1571 - Malta - Greece- The Battle of Lepanto - The Knights of Malta (formerly Knights of St. John Hospitalers) and the Ottoman Turks have continued at odds since the Knights had fortified Rhodes during the latter part of the Thirteenth Century. Now the two antagonists again face each other, but this time, the Knights have at their side a mighty Christian Armada led by Don John of Austria. The Fleet transporting the “Holy League” is composed of nearly three hundred Vessels and carries more than 75,000 men, and of these nearly 50,000 are aboard to row, leaving a fighting force of about twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand men. The Fleet is composed of Vessels supplied by various Christian states including, Genoa, Spain Venice. And the Pope, Pius V, supplies a Flotilla, as Christianity intends to strike a heavy blow against the Turks.

Pope Pius V, had informed Don John that if he were to leave behind all troops known to be leading “evil” lives, that victory would be assured. Don John arrives at Messina in Sicily where the Fleet awaits him. During September, Don John leads his impressive Armada from the harbor of Messina in Sicily to engage the Ottoman Turks. While pausing at Corfu, in the Ionian Sea near Albania and Greece’s mainland, they receive grave news. The Turks had been there and inflicted great fear into the people. Soon after, the Fleet departs in search of the Turks suspected to be at Lepanto in the Lepanto Strait. The Armada speeds to Cephalonia (Keffalinia) in Greece and again receives anguishing news. Don John is informed that the Turks have stormed Cyprus and spared not a single defender. The Turks overwhelm the defenders bludgeon the troops and slaughter the survivors. The devastating information infuriates the Christian assault force and brings about cries of vengeance.

The troops aboard the Vessels press for a speedy departure to bring them within striking distance of the Turkish Fleet. In addition to the news of the massacre at Cyprus, the troops are informed that the Turk’s have been reinforced by the Bey of Algiers, Uluch Ali, of Calabria who converted to Islam. With this addition, Ali Pasha’s Armada numbers are nearly identical to those of the Christians. And the Turks are enormously more familiar with the sea where the clash is about to take place. The Christians embark from Cephalonia en route to strike and on the evening of October 6th, the Turkish Fleet sails from Lepanto to intercept the encroaching Armada in the Gulf of Patras.

The Turks observe John Don’s Fleet divide and form its lines into three distinct sectors with a fourth formation to the rear as reserve. At about this point, the Turks collapse their half-moon formation and follow suit, splintering into an attacking trio. Both opposing Commanders hold the middle of their respective lines as the vanguard, with their flanks covered by the others. The Christian left is maintained by the Genoese, and the Galleys supplied by Pope St. Pius V. It is commanded by Andrea Doria and the Christian right is commanded by the Venetian Barbarrigo, who is hampered because his Venetians are lacking sufficient Sailors to properly maintain the Vessels. To supplement his deficiency, Spaniards are aboard, but this situation is volatile as there is mutual contempt among the mixed crews. The rear is held by Santa Cruz and a contingent of about twenty-five to thirty Spanish and Venetian Warships.

As the opposing Sea Chariots converge, the Turks, their Warships manned by Christian rowers (slaves) boldly push from the center, unaware that Don John had instructed his force to hold their fire until the moment that the Turks are close enough to ensure that their blood will splatter upon the Christians. Meanwhile the impetuous Turks thrust forward directly into the sights of the Christian Gunners, At the prescribed moment, the bellowing Cannon spew their deadly fire upon the advancing Crescent Standards of the Turks. More than five of the Turkish Vessels plummet to the depths, but the attack is maintained. The Crescent continues to press against the Cross, maneuvering to begin to board the Shisp in the center and collapse the line. In the meantime, the Turks, under the Calabrian, Uluch Ali, strikes against the Genoese under Andrea Doria Turks, following the tactics of Sirocco who strikes the contingent of Venetians under Barbarrigo, each awaiting the opportunity to board the Christian Vessels to liquidate the Soldiers and capture the rowers as slaves.

The fighting on the flanks initially favors the Turks; however, the Christians hold fast and their Crossbow Marksmen take a high toll on the Turks who are at close-quarters. Nevertheless, the Turks more skilled in these particular waters inflict severe punishment. Both Barbarrigo and Andrea Doria become encircled. Soon after, an arrow from a Turkish Marksman strikes and kills Barbarrigo. Shortly thereafter the Turks board and capture his Vessel, but the Christians regain it only to lose it again.

The ongoing slug-fest also continues in the center of the line as Ali Pasha continues to pour fire upon Don John’s center. The Turks move in closer and prepare to board, but they are soon introduced to the Spanish Infantry who bludgeon the Turks and repeatedly drive them from the Vessels. Undaunted, the Turks continue to hammer the Don John’s center, confident of eventual victory. But still, the Spanish Infantry and the Archers forestall any boarding by the bold Turks. In addition, the Turkish contingent under Sirocco, unable to encircle the Genoese, had noticed a gap in the Christian lines. He zooms through and bangs the rear of the center line, lambastes several of the Vessels, and boards and captures the Capitana (Flagship of the Knights of Malta), taking it as a fine prize.

Suddenly, the tables turn and the Christians take the offensive as Don Jon orders his troops to seize the Flagship of Ali Pasha. Suddenly the Spanish swing from the sails and bolt from the deck to crash upon the Turkish Flagship. The Turks, forced to defend, deliver punishing blows to the Christians and drive them back, but similarly to the Turks, the Christians are also known for their valor and perseverance. They doggedly initiate another boarding attack and again are prevented from conquest. The decks are full of dead and wounded, and amidst the shrill sounds of the weaponry, the desperate cries of the wounded echo in and around the combatants. Relentlessly, the Turks and the Christians bludgeon each other but neither can proclaim victory until the Christians mount a third attack. The relentless lightning-quick assaults had not only drawn blood, but royal blood! Ali Pasha had become wounded, a minor item, except that the Christians capture him and eliminate the need for first aid. They immediately decapitate him. In the meantime, a Sailor ascends to the mainmast and relieves it of the Turkish battle flag. To underscore their seizure and convince the Turks that they had indeed been the initial captors of a Turkish battle-flag, the Christians raise the head of Ali Pasha which is implanted on a staff and swirled about for all to see. The Turks who had been attempting to crack the center of Don John’s line become obviously disillusioned and initiate a retreat.

All the while, the sea-duel had also been continuing on the flanks, but here too the momentum had swung to the Christians. Barbarrigo’s Flagship, seized after he had been felled, is retaken by the Christians. They pummel Siroco’s Flagship. Soon after, Sirocco is plucked from the water, but spared only temporarily. He is immediately decapitated. The final line of the Turks, commanded by Uluch Ali, had attempted escape, but the Warships under Santa Cruz had observed the action when Ali succeeded in gaining the Capitana and gave chase. Rather than risk imminent personal disaster, Ali abandons the Capitana and speeds from the area, leaving his contingent to continue the fight. By this time, Don John, having brought the center under control, hurries to support Andrea Doria’s beleaguered Vessels. The remaining Turkish Warships are engaged and driven back bringing complete victory to the Christian Fleet and immense relief and happiness in Europe, particularly to the families of the Christian slaves that had been held by the Turks.

The four-hour bloodbath in the sea is expensive for both sides; however, for the Christian Warriors, it accomplished more than a military victory. These men had finally dispelled the lingering mystique of the invincibility of the Turks and injected a new confidence in the Christian nations. The Cross had mastered the Crescent and inexplicitly, both had shown their propensity to show no mercy or quarter to the other.

The Christians lose more than 5,000 dead and more than 15,000 wounded. They also rescue more than 10,000 men who had been held as slaves (rowers). The Christians lose less than twenty Ships. Turkish losses are approximately 20,000-25,000, and their Fleet is decimated, either by destruction or capture. More than 150 of their Vessels are seized and slightly less than twenty are sunk. In conjunction, in another example of the mutual ill-feelings between the Christians and the Turks, the Christians who capture the Turks at this Naval Battle transform their captives into slaves for the Christian Ships. Malta becomes a primary location for the slave-markets and remains such until the Eighteenth Century. The Knights of Malta maintain many slaves for their own Vessels. In conjunction, it is reported that on the day of the battle at Lepanto, Pope Pius V, while conferring with some Cardinals, glanced out his window and soon after, declares: “A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian Army.” Later, news arrived that the Christians had won, just as the Pope had so stated. In conjunction, it is reported that by praying the Rosary, the Christians had attained victory.

[Seniram US]

Thanks

After it was posted, I could see the problem, but it was too late.

Paragraphs are a piece’s best friend.

[NeoCaveman]

Happy Birthday

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Thanks. We can never get too much Chesterton.

[baa39]

How sweet! Thank you, NeoCaveman!

[baa39]

How nice of you, thanks neb52 !!!

[Radagast the Fool]

Hoping McCain pulls a Lopanto tonight!!!

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Back then the Christians were fighting the Turks.

In this case it is McCain fighting a turkey.