Download Free El Cid Gods Own Champion Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online El Cid Gods Own Champion and write the review.

This book is an inspiring biography about an extraordinary Catholic knight chosen by God to save his nation from Islamic aggression. Known by the honorary title of El Cid, Rodrigo Diaz is an epic hero who is relevant to our time. Exiled by his king, insulted and maligned by those who should have supported him, he selflessly fought against seemingly insurmountable odds to save Christian Spain. Commanding the respect even of his enemies, upon his death a Muslim historian acclaimed him a "miracle among the great miracles of the Almighty." The Cid is an example of what can be achieved through devotion to duty, prayer, and trust in God.
This is the story of Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, chief marshal of the royal army, who was exiled from his native Castile by the weak King Alfonso in 1089. Banished from his two little daughters and his lovely wife, he rode out of Castile at midnight, between the teeth of a wild and snarling mountain range, and journeyed into the South, where Moorish invaders had ruled for centuries.
The year is A.D. 1565 and the tiny island fortress of Malta, defended by an anachronistic crusading order called the Knights of St. John Hospitallers, is all that stands between the war machine of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and the very heart of Christendom. Pitifully outmatched and against impossible odds, the indomitable Grand Master Jean Parisot de La Valette nevertheless inspires his knights to "strike a blow for Christ" and sacrifice their lives to halt the invading Turks at the gates of Europe. Nicholas Prata relates the actual events of the Great Siege in riveting and graphic prose which brings the extreme heroism of the knights and the horror of combat sharply into focus.
The Greatest Spanish monarch, St. Fernando III, King of Castile and Leon, was born in the year 1199 - exactly 100 years after the death of his illustrious ancestor, El Cid. In him would be combined the soul of a knight dedicated entirely to God, the irresistible power of the Cid, and, due to his royal heritage, the authority to marshal the might of an entire kingdom against the enemies of Christ. Personally leading his armies into battle, he took back more territory from Islam than any other king in history. First cousin to St. Louis IX of France, Fernando died a holy death in 1252. His incorrupt body can still be seen in the Cathedral of Seville and his feast day, May 30th, is traditionally a holy day of obligation in Spain.
There are two doorways into the life of the gallant Mexican priest Padre Pro. One doorway begins at the end, during an intense period of anti-Catholicism in Mexico, in the high public drama of a daring young priest’s use of disguises and audacious risks to secretly carry communion to the faithful, with his subsequent capture and courageous death. The other doorway starts in the heart of Miguel’s closely knit, devout family. Born in 1891, by fifteen, Miguel is at once a beloved son and a mischievous rascal. Rather than attending school far away from the affectionate society of his sisters and brothers, he assists his father, an agent assigned to a remote mining camp in Zacatecas. His family begins to worry when at twenty the generous, yet often moody, young man still has no idea about the direction his future should take. Then he knows. Miguel’s journey to the priesthood is plagued by difficulties and setbacks that temper and transform the mischievous youth into Padre Pro, a man ready to lay down his life for Christ his King. Blessed Miguel Pro dies before a firing squad in Mexico City in 1927, this last unforgettable triumph-in-death photographed for posterity by his very enemies. Padre Miguel Pro was beatified in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Historical Insight article by Daria Sockey Revised edition Ages 9-14; about 189 pages
Rodrigo Díaz, the legendary warrior-knight of eleventh-century Castile known as El Cid, is still honored in Spain as a national hero for liberating the fatherland from the occupying Moors. Yet, as this book reveals, there are many contradictions between eleventh-century reality and the mythology that developed later. By placing El Cid in a fresh, historical context, Fletcher shows us an adventurous soldier of fortune who was of a type, one of a number of "cids," or "bosses," who flourished in eleventh-century Spain. But the El Cid of legend--the national hero -- was unique in stature even in his lifetime. Before his death El Cid was already celebrated in a poem; posthumously he was immortalized in the great epic Poema de Mío Cid. When he died in Valencia in 1099, he was ruler of an independent principality he had carved for himself in Eastern Spain. Rather than the zealous Christian leader many believe him to have been, Rodrigo emerges in Fletcher's study as a mercenary equally at home in the feudal kingdoms of northern Spain and the exotic Moorish lands of the south, selling his martial skills to Christian and Muslim alike. Indeed, his very title derives from the Arabic word sayyid, meaning 'lord' or 'master.' And as there was little if any sense of Spanish nationhood in the eleventh century, he can hardly be credited for uniting a medieval Spanish nation. This ground-breaking inquiry into the life and times of El Cid disentangles fact from myth to create a striking portrait of an extraordinary man, clearly showing how and why legend transformed him into something he was not during his lifetime.--From publisher description.
A riveting account of the lives and epic battles of eight Western defenders against violent Islamic jihad that sheds much-needed light on the enduring conflict with radical Islam. In Defenders of the West, the author of Sword and Scimitar follows up with vivid and dramatic profiles of eight extraordinary warriors—some saints, some sinners—who defended the Christian West against Islamic invasions. Discover the real Count Dracula, Spain’s El Cid, England’s Richard Lionheart, and many other historical figures, whose true and original claim to fame revolved around their defiant stance against jihadist aggression. An instructive and inspiring read; whereas Sword and Scimitar revolved around decisive battles, Defenders of the West revolves around decisive men.
A captivating look into the society of the Knights Templar Brought to you by the author of Freemasons For Dummies, The Templar Code is more than an intriguing cipher or a mysterious symbol – it is the Code by which the Knights Templar lived and died, the Code that bound them together in secrecy, and the Code that inspired them to nearly superhuman feats of courage and endurance. The Templar Code for Dummies reveals the meaning behind the cryptic codes and secret rituals of the medieval brotherhood of warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. This intriguing guide will cover such topics as who the Knights Templar were, how they rose so high and fell so far, and most importantly why there is so much interest in them today. The Templar Code For Dummies will explore myths and theories of Christian history that appear in the Da Vinci Code such as the quest for the Holy Grail, the Catholic Church's relationship with women that are hotly debated now with special emphasis on the Templar connection. It also explores the surprising part the Templars have played in some of the most important historic events of these past seven centuries, including the French Revolution, the birth of groups such as the Freemasons, and even the American Civil War.