The Knights which belonged to the great orders during the Middle Ages were regarded by the Church in a manner analogous to those monks whose three vows they professed and whose immunities they shared. They answered to the pope and to him only; they each had their chapels, their clerics, and their very own cemeteries, all of which were exempt from the jurisdiction of the secular clergy. Their landed property was free from tithes or any other taxes. They were not subject to the interdicts which the bishops in those days so freely employed as a means of controlling the people. However, they did not all follow the same monastic rule. The Templars as well as all the Orders derived from them followed the Cistercian Reform. On the other hand, the Hospitallers followed the Rule of St. Augustine. Nevertheless, in consequence of the relaxation which manifested itself among them after the period of the crusades, the Holy See introduced mitigations in favour of the non-clerical brethren.

For these it was difficult to maintain the rule of celibacy in all its rigour; they were permitted, in certain orders, to marry once, and that only with a maiden. Even where second marriages were tolerated, they had to vow conjugal fidelity, so that if they violated this obligation of the natural law they sinned doubly against the law and against their vow. Besides the three vows, the rule bound the brethren to the exercises of the monastic life and all it entailed, including the recitation of the Hours, for which, in the case of illiterates, a fixed number of Paters was substituted. It also prescribed their dress and their food, and their feast, abstinence, and fast days. Lastly, the rule imposed detailed obligations in regard to the election of dignitaries and the admission of members to the two ranks of combatants — knights and men-at-arms — and the two of non-combatants — chaplains, to whom all sacerdotal functions were reserved, and casaliers, or tenants, who were charged with the management of temporal affairs.

Military organizations

The military organization of the orders was uniform, explained by that law of war which compels the belligerent to maintain his military apparatus on a level with those of his adversary, on pain of defeat. The strength of an army was in its cavalry, and to this type the armament, mounting, and tactics of the military orders conformed. The knights-brethren were the heavy cavalry; the men-at-arms-brethren, the light cavalry. The former were entitled to three horses a piece; the latter had to be content with one.

Among the former, only knights of tried prowess were admitted, or, in default of this qualification, sons of knights, because in such families the warlike spirit and military training were considered to be hereditary. The result was that the knights, properly so-called, were never very numerous; they formed a corps d’?lite which carried the great mass of the crusaders. Gathered in convents which were also barracks, combining with the passive obedience of the soldier, the spontaneous submission of the religious, living shoulder to shoulder in brotherly union, commander and subordinate, these orders surpassed, in that cohesiveness which is the ideal of every military organization, the most famous bodies of picked soldiery known to history, from the Macedonian phalanx to the Ottoman Janissaries.

RB

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Saint Agatha of Sicily, whose death is traditionally said to have taken place in the year 251, Saint Agatha is regarded as a Christian Saint whose memorial is commemorated on the 5th of February of each year . Agatha was born in Catania, and she was allegedly a sacrificial victim on 251 as history tells us. . She is one of seven ladies, not including the Blessed Virgin Mary, who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Catholic Church.

Agatha is buried at the Badia di Sant’Agata, in Catania. Her written legend, created to support her existing cultus, is comprised of “straightforward accounts of interrogation, torture, resistance, and triumph which constitute some of the earliest hagiographic literature” . According to legend, having dedicated her virginity to God, Agatha, rich and noble rejected the amorous advances of the low-born Roman prefect, Quintinianus, and was therefore persecuted by him for her Christian faith. She was handed over to Aphrodisia, the keeper of a brothel, and her nine daughters, but in response to their threats and entreaties to sacrifice to the idols and submit to Quintianus, she responded:

“My courage and my thought be so firmly founded upon the firm stone of Jesu Christ, that for no pain it may not be changed; your words be but wind, your promises be but rain, and your menaces be as rivers that pass, and how well that all these things hurtle at the foundement of my courage, yet for that it shall not move”.

Among the tortures which she had to endure was the cutting off of her breasts which was and still is a barbaric act of cruelty. In the meantime, an apparition of Saint Peter cured her. Saint Agatha died in prison, according to the Legenda Aurea in “the year of our Lord two hundred and fifty-three in the time of Decius, the emperor of Rome.”

Saint Agatha is often depicted iconographically carrying her excised breasts on a platter, as portrayed by Bernardino Luini’s Saint Agatha in the Galleria Borghese, Rome, in which Agatha sweetly contemplates the breasts on a standing salver held in her hand, an impressive and bone chilling ilustration by any standard. The shape of her amputated breasts, especially as depicted in artistic renderings, gave rise to her attribution as the patron saint of bell-founders and as the patron saint of bakers, whose loaves were blessed at her feast day. More recently, she has been venerated as patron saint of breast cancer patients, a simbol recognized worldwide.

Basques have a tradition of gathering on Saint Agatha’s eve (Santa Ageda bezpera in Basque) and going round the village. Homeowners can choose to hear a song about her life, accompanied by the beats of their walking sticks on the floor or a prayer for those deceased in the house. After that, the home-owner donates food to the chorus. This song has varying lyrics according to the local tradition and the Basque language. An exceptional case was that of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, when a version appeared that in the Spanish language praised the Soviet ship Komsomol, which had sunk while carrying Soviet weapons to the Second Spanish Republic.

An annual festival to commemorate the life of Saint Agatha takes place in Catania, Sicily, from February 3 to 5. The festival culminates in a great all-night procession through the city for which hundreds of thousands of the city’s residents turn out.

RB

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Following the much sought after conquest of the island of Minorca, by Alfonso III in the year 1288, a small number of very prominent military men were bestowed with the dignified rank of knight by the King, as a sort of reward for their agreeing to settle in the fortress of Saint Agatha, together with keeping horse and armour, and defending the island whenever called upon to do so.

The King entrusted these men with this assignment as a result of the military prowess which they all displayed during the battles and skirmishes which culminated on the conquest of the Island by the King as his consorts. There is some debate among scholars in this field as to whether this was indeed an Order of Chivalry, or whether it should be better categorized as a military-type confraternity, given its purely military origins and purpose, but nonetheless, the Order was founded by the Royal decree of King Alfonso II, on the 23rd of January, 1289. According to the tradition so aptly documented by the 7th Duke of Carcaci (whose full name was Francesco Patern? Castello e Sammartino) in his book “L’Ordine del Collare”, this collection of knights became known throughout the kingdom, and in other kingdoms as well, as “the knights from St. Agatha”.

The Protectress and Patron Saint of the Order was, and remains so today, Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, whose feast day on the 5th of February is celebrated together with that of the Order itself. Saint Agatha’s heroic exploits in defence of Christian principles, more than qualify her as an appropriate choice for the Protectress of a Knightly Order. The mantle of the Order, which nowadays is worn only inside of a church, consists of a plain White tunic, with a sanguine-red collar and, on the left breast, a representation of the Aragonese Cross (which is worn in full colours by Knights, but in a completely golden version by the Dames of the order). The tunic is closed using a golden chain, affixed at each end to the golden head of a lion. The usual ranks or categories of membership (which include Justice, Grace, and Profession) are distinguished from each other by the addition of a golden stripe on the collar of the tunic.

The so-called Bars of Aragon, Royal arms of Aragon, Four Bars, Red Bars, Pales of the House of Barcelona or Coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red pallets on a background of gold, depicts the familiar coat of the Counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon. It differs from the flag in that the latter makes use of fesses. It is one of the oldest known European coats of arms, and it dates back to at least the year 1150, and the Royal seal of Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. It is also the main element of the coats of arms of the present-day Spanish Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands.

RB

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James I, also known as “James the Conqueror” lived between February 2nd 1208 and July 27th 1276. He was the King of Aragon, the Count of Barcelona, and the Lord of Montpellier between the years 1213 and 1276, the year of his death. His long reign coincided with the expansion of the kingdom of Aragon southward as well as into and across the Mediterranean Sea, as far as Naples. His kingdom also expanded to include Valencia to the south and the Balearic Islands, Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples to the east. Through a treaty with the French king Louis IX, he also added Barcelona into the domain of his crown. He played a similar role in the reconquest as his contemporary, King Ferdinand III of Castile.

His successor king Alfonso III founded The Military Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha in 1289 with the aim of defending the island of Minorca. Across the centuries his descendents have been charged with keeping it alive. The Militare Ordine del Collare, as it is called in Italian, today is what is called a “Dynastic Order”, which is to say that its office of Grand Master remains attached to the sovereign prince who initially founded the Order, and said office is inherited by the successors of the Grand Master. In addition to any charitable or spiritual aims, members of such Orders are bound by an oath of loyalty to the Grand Master of the Order. Although in the present day, the organization has lost its military character, its members now dedicate themselves chiefly to the carrying out of charitable events or through its Hospital System, which has served across the years to provide the underserved with much needed medical care which they would otherwise be unable to afford.

For many years, the Military Order of the Collar remained almost a Family Order, its membership largely restricted only to relatives and close associates. In recent times, the legitimacy of the Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha has been recognised by the United Court of Bari (in English),as well as by the English Court of Appeals in Pistoia and by the International Court of Arbitration located in Ragusa. The MOC was reconstituted in 1961, when a number of new Statutes were issued and revised on several occasions. Since his accession to the office of Grand Master, HRH Don Francesco, has greatly emphasized works of charity, which he regards as the primary purpose of the Royal House. Over the years, members of the Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha have raised considerable sums of Money for the purpose of charity, and have also performed countless charitable acts aimed at relief of suffering on a world wide scale, activities which are in keeping with the highest aims of the Order.

Members of the Military Order of the Collar (M.O.C.) officially meet at least twice a year; one of those meetings is held in Sicily, while the other meeting is held in a different city, with a different city being chosen every year. In 2007, that other city happened to be Palma.

RB

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Anyone who has every traveled a long distance with children in a vehicle knows the benefits of an auto DVD player. These handy devices can make a possible nightmare on the road into an enjoyable ride that can last for hours without a major meltdown from the backseat passengers. There are some great options in auto DVD players.

You might think that such a valuable piece of technology would cost a bundle but you can find an auto DVD player at a really reasonable price. I was thrilled to discover this very fact when I was shopping for a way to keep the kids entertained on long trips. I have twin toddlers and they can wreak havoc on a long trip.

I learned about the difficulty of traveling with two toddlers on a long trip after a horrendous summer vacation. We had a long distance to cover but I really thought that the large family van would be spacious enough to house the four of us and I really believed that entertainment would be provided by the scenery.

Unfortunately, toddlers are not so thrilled about great landscapes. The twins were absolutely miserable during the entire drive and it was difficult to console them even when we made pit stops. Basically, without an auto DVD player to keep the little ones occupied, we had nothing but tears and screams drilling us from the back seats.

By the time we reached the vacation destination all four of us were exhausted. Unfortunately, the first day was engulfed in the nasty travel experience. Even though we only spent six hours in the car, it felt like we had spent an entire week in there. The rest of the day was spent trying to unwind from the awful travel experience.

The ride home was not any better. I couldn?t imagine a worse driving experience. After this trip I decided that we were never going to take another trip like that again. I knew that an auto DVD player would make all the difference for our family on long trips.

Finding the right unit for our vehicle was no problem at all. From now on I make sure to have a full stock of my kids? favorite shows on hand when we have to travel any long distance. The auto DVD player was an excellent investment. We love ours so much that we are looking to buy a new vehicle that comes equipped with one.

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The term chivalry is the general term used to describe the system of knights which flourished during the of the middle ages, but the term means much more than simply referring to those gentlemen who fought on horseback and adhered to a set of values dictating that they should honour and serve ladies and maidens. Orders of Chivalry first developed during that period in conjunction with the military undertakings commonly occurring in Western Europe against any one of the several non-Christian states of the time. Similar to the ubiquitous monastic orders of that era, the original orders of chivalry also sought to have their members sanctified by the church by means of fighting against such non-Christians, or “infidels”, and by offering protection to religious pilgrims. Members of these orders all had to take a set of vows and adhere to an established system which regulated their activities.

The Militare Ordine del Collare di Sant’Agata dei Patern?, which is also known as the Military Order of the Collar (M.O.C.), is recognized by the Italian Courts and many experts as being a legitimate Order of chivalry of the Cross, and as such, is not subject to the traditional international law, belonging to the Head of Name and Arms of the Royal House of Aragon of the dynasty of Patern? Castello e Guttadauro Ayerbe Aragona of the Dukes of Carcaci and of the Princes of Emmanuel under its Grand Master H.R.H. Don Francesco, Duke of Perpignan. The Order was founded in 1289 by King Alfonso III as a chivalric association and restored as a dynastic order of knighthood in 1855. It is a non-national Order as defined by the Law of the 3rd March 1951 of the Republic of Italy. The Protectress and Patron of the Order is Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, whose Feast is celebrated as that of the Order on 5th February. Saint Agatha’s heroic defence of Christian principle makes her a very appropriate Protectress for an Order of Knights. The principal aim of the Order as restored is to propagate in the modern world the tradition of chivalry as a way of life. It practices good works principally through its Hospitaller Service.

Chivalry is the generic term for the knightly system of the Middle Ages and for virtues and qualities it inspired in its followers. The word evolved from terms such as chevalier (French), caballero (Spanish), and cavaliere (Italian), all meaning a warrior who fought on horseback. The term came to mean so much more during medieval times.

Chivalric orders first appeared with military activities against non-Christian states. During the Middle Ages, Western Europe aggressively sought to expand its area of control. The first orders of chivalry were very similar to the monastic orders of the era. Both sought the sanctification of their members through combat against “infidels” and protection of religious pilgrims, and both had commitments that involved the taking of vows and submitting to a regulation of activities.

RB

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The Militare Ordine di Collare di Sant’Agata dei Paternò was founded by King Alfonso III of Aragon on the 23rd January 1289 as a knightly association with the purpose of defending Minorca. The member knights were obliged to live in the Fortress of Saint Agatha, and so became known as “the knights from Saint Agatha”. They were each allocated a plot of land sufficient to maintain them in arms with a horse (”cavalleria”). The cavallerias were still active in the year 1600 and some even survived into the 19th century. When the 7th Duke of Carcaci travelled to the Balearics in the mid 18th century the remaining descendants told him of this ancient chivalric institution known as “the knights from Saint Agatha”.

The Royal House to which Alfonso III belonged was founded by King James I of Aragon, “James the Conqueror”. They reigned over Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Sicily until 1410 when King Martin I died without children and the dynasty lost power due to a coup d’?tat known as the “compromise” of Caspe in 1413. The headship of the Royal House continued through the House of Ayerbe and the Princes of Cassano until 1834, when the last Prince of Cassano died in Italy without children. The then reigning Bourbon King of The Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II, called upon the various and complex branches of the dynasty to summon a family conclave to decide who was now to be the head of the family. The decision of the conclave was that HRH don Mario was to succeed to the headship of the family and as Grand Master of the chivalric patrimony. In 1855 the Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha was re-established as a dynastic Order (family Order) on the foundation of the knights of Saint Agatha founded by King Alfonso III.

The legitimacy of the Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha was recognised early as 18th May 1851 by the Bourbon King of the Two Sicilies, whose officials were required to record its conferrals in the Registry Office of the Kingdom. On 30th March 1853 the Governor of the Province of Catania, in the name of the King, allowed only three exceptions to the Royal prohibition on the wearing of orders other than Royal Sicilian Orders, these being Papal Orders, the Order of Malta and the Military Order of the Collar. In 1859 the Royal Commission on Titles of Nobility examined the claims of the House of Paternò to confer titles and bestow Orders and it advised the King that such acts, titles and Orders were legitimate. In 1860 the reigning Head of State, H.M. King Francesco II, approved this decision by Royal Decree and ordered its execution throughout the Kingdom. The King also recognised Don Mario as hereditary Grand Master of the Order and made various provisions to ensure the succession to the Grand Magistracy. From 1860 to 1960 the Order remained almost a Family Order, largely restricted in its membership to relatives and close associates. The Order was reconstituted in 1961 with an international organisation, and new Statutes have been issued and revised on a number of occasions.

The position of the Royal House in Italy was recognised in the Rivista Araldica 1913 and 1922 and in the Libro d’Oro 1922 as being a foreign sovereign family residing in Italy. Three Italian Courts have tried and decided that the Royal House and the Military Order of the Collar are legitimate. The United Court in Bari had already on 13th December 1952 declared that this Royal House was legitimate including “the exercise of the Grand Magistry of the Orders of Chivalry conferred by their family”. The Court of Appeal in Pistoia on 5th June 1964 specifically tried the question if this Order violates the Italian law nr 178 from 1951, and found that it does not. Again, the Ordinary Tribunal of Ragusa found on 28th January 2003 that the Head of this Royal House has “the quality of a subject of international law and of Grand Master of non-National Orders within the terms of the Law of the 3rd March 1951, no 178″.

One of Europe’s leading experts on public law, Professor Jacob Sundberg, has declared that the Head of the Royal House has rank equivalent to a Head of State. Among the members of the Order today are found Heads of State, Ambassadors, Bishops, Politicians etc.

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