Other editions of book A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes: Original Text

Bring history back to life through Jim Hodges' historically accurate, exciting, and edifying audio recordings. The story begins during the War of the Roses in England, but our hero, Gervaise Tresham, soon joins the Knights of St. John in Rhodes. Dedicated to God's service and pious in his personal life, Gervaise uncovers a plot, saves the coast of Italy from the Muslim corsairs, and is knighted by the Grand Prior. After being captured by and escaping from the enemy, the young English knight draws his sword in the defense of Rhodes. He finds himself in a tough position, desiring marriage but having taken a vow of chastity! In the end it is the Roman pontiff himself that gives him the release he needs to wed. The Henty Historical Novel Collection, written by George Henty in the 1800s, covers many time periods in history throughout the world. In this collection you will learn history, geography, and vocabulary while also discovering hero characters for your children to emulate.

Young Gervaise Tresham leaves England and the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses to become a Knight of St. John. Starting as a page of the Grand Master, Gervaise quickly attains knighthood and defends Europe and Christendom against the anarchy of piracy in the Mediterranean at that time and the expansion of the Turkish empire. Sir Tresham is there to defend the fortress at Rhodes during the first siege of that city by Soleiman. Other notable books by G.A. Henty include Beric the Briton, The Dragon & the Raven, In Freedom's Cause, Won by the Sword, With Lee in Virginia, With Clive in India, Wulf the Saxon, and At Agincourt.

Young Gervaise Tresham leaves England and the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses to become a Knight of St. John. Starting as a page of the Grand Master, Gervaise quickly attains knighthood and defends Europe and Christendom against the anarchy of piracy in the Mediterranean at that time and the expansion of the Turkish empire. Sir Tresham is there to defend the fortress at Rhodes during the first siege of that city by Soleiman.

[Children's Historical Fiction (Ages 8-12)][Read by Jim Hodges] Bring history back to life through Jim Hodges' historically accurate, exciting, and edifying audio recordings The story begins during the War of the Roses in England, but our hero, Gervaise Tresham soon joins the Knights of St. John in Rhodes. Dedicated to God's service and pious in his personal life, Gervaise uncovers a plot, saves the coast of Italy from the Muslim corsairs, and is knighted by the Grand Prior. After being captured by and escaping from the enemy, the young English knight draws his sword in the defense of Rhodes. He finds himself in a tough position desiring marriage, but having taken a vow of chastity! In the end, it is the Roman pontiff himself that gives him the release he needs to wed. [The Henty Historical Novel Collection, written by George Henty in the 1800s, covers many time periods in history throughout the world. In this collection, you will learn history, geography, and vocabulary while also discovering hero characters for your children to emulate.]

The order of the Knights of St. John, which for some centuries played a very important part in the great struggle between Christianity and Mahomedanism, was, at its origin, a semi-religious body, its members being, like other monks, bound by vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty, and pledged to minister to the wants of the pilgrims who flocked to the Holy Places, to receive them at their great Hospital—or guest house—at Jerusalem, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and to defend them on their passage to and from the sea, against attack by Moslems. In a comparatively short time the constitution of the order was changed, and the Knights Hospitallers became, like the Templars, a great military Order pledged to defend the Holy Sepulchre, and to war everywhere against the Moslems. The Hospitallers bore a leading share in the struggle which terminated in the triumph of the Moslems, and the capture by them of Jerusalem. The Knights of St. John then established themselves at Acre, but after a valiant defence of that fortress, removed to Crete, and shortly afterwards to Rhodes. There they fortified the town, and withstood two terrible sieges by the Turks. At the end of the second they obtained honourable terms from Sultan Solyman, and retiring to Malta established themselves there in an even stronger fortress than that of Rhodes, and repulsed all the efforts of the Turks to dispossess them. The Order was the great bulwark of Christendom against the invasion of the Turks, and the tale of their long struggle is one of absorbing interest, and of the many eventful episodes none is more full of incident and excitement than the first siege of Rhodes, which I have chosen for the subject of my story.

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With 35 pages of additional articles, references, and bibliographies of recommended reading. The Knights of St. John were among the most powerful of the religious-military orders of the Middle Ages. They were originally formed to support the many thousands of Christians who were making pilgrimages to the Holy City of Jerusalem, and to protect them from Muslim attacks. Because of this mission, they were also known as the Knights Hospitaller. By today's standards, however, they were quite unusual in that they were warriors, but they were also monks-having taken vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. Our story begins with Gervaise Tresham joining the Knights of St. John on the island of Rhodes. He soon distinguishes himself by foiling a plot, which saves a large part of Italy from the ravages of the Muslim corsairs. For this, he is knighted by the Grand Prior of the Order; but all is not well, as he develops two additional problems. First, the Hospitaller garrison at Rhodes is under attack by 160 Ottoman ships, and 70,000 fanatical Muslim troops. Second, he has fallen in love and wants to get married, which can be a bit of a problem if you are a monk and have taken vows of chastity. Henty's History Series - Learning History Through Fiction The Henty series is a unique way of learning about history. It consists of over 80 novels, each written by George A. Henty, and each featuring a significant historical person, period or event. * Perfect for busy people who have never lost their desire to learn. * An ideal way for homeschool students to learn history. * Organized by time period. * With additional nonfiction articles and a bibliography of recommended reading. "If you want to fall in love with history, there is simply no better way to do it than this."

Young Gervaise Tresham leaves England and the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses to become a Knight of St. John. Starting as a page of the Grand Master, Gervaise quickly attains knighthood and defends Europe and Christendom against the anarchy of piracy in the Mediterranean at that time and the expansion of the Turkish empire. Sir Tresham is there to defend the fortress at Rhodes during the first siege of that city by Soleiman. George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902) was a prolific English novelist and war correspondent. He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include The Dragon & The Raven (1886), For The Temple (1888), Under Drake's Flag (1883) and In Freedom's Cause (1885). G. A. Henty was born in Trumpington, near Cambridge. He was a sickly child who had to spend long periods in bed. During his frequent illnesses he became an avid reader and developed a wide range of interests which he carried into adulthood. He attended Westminster School, London, and later Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a keen sportsman. He left the university early without completing his degree to volunteer for the Army Hospital Commissariat when the Crimean War began. He was sent to the Crimea and while there he witnessed the appalling conditions under which the British soldier had to fight. His letters home were filled with vivid descriptions of what he saw. His father was impressed by his letters and sent them to The Morning Advertiser newspaper which printed them. This initial writing success was a factor in Henty's later decision to accept the offer to become a special correspondent, the early name for journalists now better known as war correspondents.Henty once related in an interview how his storytelling skills grew out of tales told after dinner to his children. He wrote his first children's book, Out on the Pampas in 1868, naming the book's main characters after his children. The book was published by Griffith and Farran in November 1870 with a title page date of 1871. While most of the 122 books he wrote were for children, he also wrote adult novels, non-fiction such as The March to Magdala and Those Other Animals, short stories for the likes of The Boy's Own Paper and edited the Union Jack, a weekly boy's magazine.Henty usually researched his novels by ordering several books on the subject he was writing on from libraries, and consulting them before beginning writing. Some of his books were written about events (such as the Crimean War) that he witnessed himself; hence, these books are written with greater detail as Henty drew upon his first-hand experiences of people, places, and events.On 16 November 1902, Henty died aboard his yacht in Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, leaving unfinished his last novel, By Conduct and Courage, which was completed by his son Captain C.G. Henty.Henty is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. (wikipedia.org)

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