#Although there was certainly opposition to James III the army that he faced was led by his own son

[the-busy-ghost]

Also in other news we now have confirmation over which Alexander Stewart that guy is meant to be and it IS the Duke of Albany’s half-brother. I mean it’s probably not worth pointing out that he was Albany’s OLDER brother so it’s a bit weird he looks much younger. And also it’s not really accurate that they portrayed him as having a lot of power during James IV’s reign, when I would describe his position as ‘poorer cousin being supported financially by the Crown’ at best- and he was never on the secret council in 1511.

Equally despite the propaganda that began circulating in the late 1510s and 1520s- in my opinion there is no real evidence that James V’s position as king was ever seriously threatened. The real thing is that, no matter what Albany or Angus or Arran or whoever may have wanted, it seems very unlikely that they would have actually been able to get away with a Princes in the Tower situation and I think they knew that.

[cruger2984]

La Corda d'Oro and its Saints Part 2: July to December

Here’s the second part of some of the characters from La Corda d'Oro, and here they are!

July 5th - Mari Tsuzuki

St. Anthony Maria Zaccaria: Italian confessor who was an early leader of the Counter Reformation, promoter of the devotion to the Passion of Christ, the Eucharist and the renewal of the religious life among the lay people, and is the founder of the Clerics Regular of St. Paul aka the Barnabites. Canonized as a saint by Pope Leo XIII in 1897, his major shrine can be found at San Paolo convent in Milan.

July 8th - Shiro Hozumi

St. Grimbald (Grimwald): Abbot and confessor from the Benedictine order. Although of dubious historical accuracy, the life of Grimbald was recorded in several volumes, of which the main source is referred to as the Vita Prima of St. Grimbaldi. King Alfred met Grimbald before his reign, and after his coronation invited Grimbald to England around 892. After he died in 901, he was venerated as a saint and confessor, and some altars were dedicated to him. He also figures in a number of legendary tales of Oxford.

July 25th - Ryoutaro Tsuchiura

St. James the Greater: One of the twelve apostles of Christ and is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and his brother John, were with their father Zebedee, by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him. He is the first apostle to be martyred at the hands of King Herod Agrippa according to the Acts of the Apostles. The traditional pilgrimage to the grave of the saint, known as the ’Way of St. James’, has been the most popular pilgrimage for Western European Catholics from the Early Middle Ages onwards. An even later tradition states that he miraculously appeared to fight for the Christian army during the legendary battle of Clavijo, and was henceforth called Santiago Matamoros (James the Moor-slayer).

August 21st - Housei Toki

Pope St. Pius X: 257th bishop of Rome who reigned for 11 years, and is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting liturgical reforms and orthodox theology. He directed the production of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive and systemic work of its kind. He was devoted to the Marian title of Our Lady of Confidence; while his papal encyclical Ad diem illum took on a sense of renewal that was reflected in the motto of his pontificate and he was also advanced the Liturgical Movement as the only Pope to favor the use of the vernacular language in teaching catechesis, he encouraged the frequent reception of holy communion, and he lowered the age for First Communion, which became a lasting innovation of his papacy. After his death, a strong cult of devotion followed his reputation of piety and holiness.

August 26th - Keiichi Shimizu

St. Alexander of Bergamo: He is the patron of Bergamo, North Italy, as well as Capriate San Gervasio and Cervignano d'Adda. He may simply have been a Roman soldier or resident of Bergamo who was tortured and killed for not renouncing his Christian faith. Details of his life are uncertain, but subsequent Christian stories consider him a centurion of the Theban Legion commanded by St. Maurice.

September 3rd - Yukihiro Yagisawa

Pope St. Gregory the Great: 64th bishop of Rome who reigned for 13 years and is the last imperial Roman Pope. He is the first formally to employ the titles Servus servorum Dei (‘Servant of the servants of God’) and Pontifex Maximus ('greatest priest’). He is also establish the Gregorian chant and is known as 'the Father of Christian Worship’.

October 1st - Chiaki Tougane

St. Thérèse of Lisieux: French virgin, mystic, and nun from the Discalced Carmelites and is known for the monicker, ’The Little Flower’. She has been a highly influential model of sanctity for Catholics and for others because of the simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life. Together with Francis of Assisi, she is one of the most popular saints in the history of the church and she is called her 'the greatest saint of modern times’ by Pope Pius X. She is well-known throughout the world, with the Basilica of Lisieux being the second most popular place of pilgrimage in France after Lourdes. According to the Apostolic Letter, Divini Amoris Scientia (The Science of Divine Love), Pope St. John Paul II declared her the Doctor of the Church on October 19th, 1997.

October 17th - Shinobu Ousaki

St. Ignatius of Antioch: Early Christian writer, bishop of Antioch, martyr and one of the Church Fathers alongside St. Clement and St. Polycarp. He may have known the apostle John directly, and his thought is certainly influenced by the tradition associated with this apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of the theology of the earliest Christians. He is the second after Clement to mention the Pauline epistles.

November 3rd - Shoko Fuyuumi

St. Martin de Porres: Known for his monicker, ’Saint of the Broom’, he is a Dominican lay brother from Peru and is noted for his work on behalf of the poor, establishing an orphanage and a children’s hospital. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and an ability to communicate with animals, hence his attributes that is saw in his holy card. He is the patron of hairstylists, mixed-race people, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony.

November 12th - Aoi Kaji

St. Josaphat Kuntsevych: Archeparch of Polotsk who martyred by an angry mob in Vitebsk Voivodeship in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Belarus). Beatified by Pope Urban VIII and canonized as a saint by Pope Pius IX. He is known as the patron saint of Ukraine.

November 14th - Leiji Myoga

St. Lorcán Ua Tuathail (Laurence O'Toole): Irish archbishop at the time of Ireland’s Norman invasion, and is played a prominent role in the Irish Church Reform Movement of the 12th century and mediated between the parties during and after the invasion. In 1225, Pope Honorius III canonized him as a saint.

December 3rd - Arata Mizushima

St. Francis Xavier: Along with Ignatius of Loyola, he is the co-founder of the Society of Jesus (aka Jesuits). Known as the ’Apostle to the Far East’, he is one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris, in 1534, and led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in India. He also was the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, and other areas. In those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. Canonized as a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, he is the patron saint of foreign missions. Pope Pius XI published the decree ’Apostolicorum in Missionibus’, naming Francis Xavier, along with Thérèse of Lisieux as co-patrons of all foreign missions.

December 12th - Kazuki Hihara

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe): A Marian title that is associated with a venerated image (in the form of a tilma by St. Juan Diego) enshrined within the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. On October 1895, Pope Leo XIII granted the image a Canonical Coronation. Since then the Virgin of Guadalupe has been proclaimed ’Queen of Mexico’, ’Patroness of the Americas’, ‘Empress of Latin America’, and ’Protectress of Unborn Children’. On July 16th 1935, she was also proclaimed ’Heavenly Patroness of the Philippines’ by Pope Pius XI both witnessed and signed by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, a designation he later rescinded in 1942 upon becoming Pius XII.

December 29th - Daichi Sakaki

St. Thomas Becket: English Archbishop and martyr who was well educated and quickly became an agent to Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him on several missions to Rome. Becket’s talents were noticed by Henry II, who made him his chancellor and the two became close friends. When Theobald died in 1161, Henry made Becket archbishop. Becket transformed himself from a pleasure-loving courtier into a serious, simply-dressed cleric. In 1170, four knights, believing the king wanted Becket out of the way, confronted and murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.