Franciscan herald (1913 - 1940) . with seven sonsand three daughters. Christian Spain was at that timeengaged in almost continuous warswith the Mohammedans, who morethan once threatened the very exist-ence of the Christian states. Filledwith a desire for the spread of theteachings and practices of the truereligion, Ferdinand, in 1224, joinedthe general crusade against the in-fidels, and during the next twenty-five years, carried on many success-ful campaigns against them, especi-ally after he, in 1230, inherited thecrown of Leon from his father, thusuniting this kingdom with conquer
Franciscan herald (1913 - 1940) . with seven sonsand three daughters. Christian Spain was at that timeengaged in almost continuous warswith the Mohammedans, who morethan once threatened the very exist-ence of the Christian states. Filledwith a desire for the spread of theteachings and practices of the truereligion, Ferdinand, in 1224, joinedthe general crusade against the in-fidels, and during the next twenty-five years, carried on many success-ful campaigns against them, especi-ally after he, in 1230, inherited thecrown of Leon from his father, thusuniting this kingdom with conquered the kingdoms of Cor-dova, Jaen, and Seville, and forcedthe kings of Valencia, Baeza, Mur-cia, and Granada to acknowledge himas their liege lord. In these wars,Ferdinand distinguished himself byhis bravery, prudence, and generos-ity towards the conquered, butparticularly by his pious and holylife. He fasted rigorously, wore ahair shirt, and passed whole nightsin prayer, especially on the eve ofa battle. He had imbibed from his. Ferdinand mother a most tender devotion tothe Blessed Virgin, and during allhis campaigns he wore her imageon his breast, or fastened it to thepommel of his saddle. To encouragehis soldiers to put themselves un-der the protection of the Mother ofGod, Ferdinand had a banner withher image placed in a conspicuouspart of the camp, and had it carriedbefore them in battle. Need wewonder that the holy king was theterror of the enemy, and that theybelieved him to be under the specialprotection of Heaven? When hehad taken the city of Seville,protected by the most powerfulwalls and towers and defended by100,000 men, the defeated king ofthe city declared, Only a saintcould have taken a place so stronglyfortified with so small a force; withthe assistance of Heaven only was 164 FRANCISCAN HERALD it possible to take from us our be-loved Seville. Before undertaking the warsagainst the Mohammedans, Ferdi-nand declared, Thou, 0 Lord, whosearchest the secrets of hearts,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidfranciscanhe, bookyear1914
