November 1997
All articles of interest to the Chivalric Community are welcome.
To submit articles and information via eMail to Gallantry,
click HERE.
To submit letters to the editor via eMail, click HERE.
Posted on November 18, 1997
© 1997 The Religious and Military Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the copyright holder. One archival copy may be downloaded and printed for private use.
Sepulchre Knight The Rt. Hon. Chevalier John B. Bennett, K.H.S., has been appointed as President of the U.S.A. Delegation of the Federation des Combattants Allies en Europe, an international body founded in the final days of the Second World War. Originally, the Federation was comprised of those soliders of the Allied Forces who were involved in the liberation of Europe. The early membership of this honorable and distinguished body was comprised of Americans, British and British Commonwealth citizens, free French, Belgian, and Polish armed forces.
General George Patton was the first president of the new Federation. The second president was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, General (and, later, U.S.A. President) Dwight D. Eisenhower. The current president of the Federation is General Thades Jago, the famous free-French general.
Today, the Federation honors and remembers the sacrifices of those who served so gallantly in the Second World War. Additionally, the Federation also recognizes the brave sacrifices in the cause of freedom and peace made by those brave young men and women soldiers who have served in subsequent combat and military service since the end of the Second World War. Membership in the Federation is, therefore, open to these modern soliders as well. The Federation bestows on deserving men and women decorations for service in the cause of freedom, as well as bravery on the battlefield.
The U.S.A. Delegation, under Chev. Bennett, is working to distribute medicine and medical equipment to needy peoples in such countries as Yugoslavia, Checheznia, Africa, South America, and Romania where medicine and medical equipment has become outdated or obsolete. Needed equipment includes pediatric bassinets, resuscitators, photocopiers, fax machines, cardiac defibrillators, intravenous pumps, intensive care monitors, surgical tables and cabinets, suture material, x-ray machines, and medical software.
Chev. Bennett is a practicing physician and holds both the M.A. (Oxon) and the M.D. He is Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, Lt. General (ret.), Deputy Commandant of the Volunteer Corps of Frontiersmen, and President of the International Far Eastern Veterans Association.
To see an illustration of the medal of the Federation, click HERE.
At special ceremonies held Sunday, November 9, 1997 at Boston College (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), The Rt. Hon. Chevalier Radu Florescu, K.C.H.S. and The Rt. Hon. Chevalier Raymond McNally, K.C.H.S. were promoted by the Count Grand Master to the rank of Knight Commander of the Holy Sepulchre in recognition of their outstanding service to Romania and to scholarhsip, respectively.
Chev. Radu Florescu is Full Professor of History at Boston College and Director of the East European Research Center at Boston College. The Chevalier is Honorary Consul of Romania and is director of the Honorary Consulate located at Harbor Tower One in Boston.
Chev. Raymond McNally is Full Professor of History at Boston College. He has been a Fellow at the Harvard University Russian Research Center and President of the New England Slavic Association. He recently completed his term as President of The Lord Ruthven Assembly, a literary and scholarly body.
Both Knights are well-published scholars in their respective professional fields of Romanian and Slavic History, but they are best known to the general public as the co-writers of the best-selling In Search of Dracula (1972; rpr. 1994) and Dracula: Prince of Many Faces (1990). Both books are about vampire myth and lore and about the historical Vlad Dracula, Prince of Romania whose name was used in the well-known vampire novel, Dracula by Irish writer Bram Stoker. Also, Chev. Florescu issued a revised and updated version of his In Search of Frankenstein: Exploring the Myths Behind Mary Shelly's Monster. These books may be ordered directly from this newsletter (see below).
On the evening of the presentation, a well-attended reception was held at the Consulate.
To see a photograph of Chev. McNally with the Sovereign Grand Master at his promotion, click HERE.
To see a photograph of Chev. Florescu with the Sovereign Grand Master at his promotion, click HERE.
To see a photograph of Chev. Florescu and the Sovereign Grand Master at the Consulate, click HERE.
In order to better help those interested in heraldry, chivalry, nobility, and monarchy, The Noble House of Maxalla, in association with Amazon.com Books, has established The Medieval Information Sources Book Shop at the web site. The site lists almost all available books in print on these topics, and the site also offers a book search for rare and hard-to-find books dealing with heraldry, chivalry, nobility, and monarchy. Almost all books are offered at substantial discount. Payment for books is made with a credit card over a secure line. Complete control of the purchase of books remains in the hands of the buyer. The site also offers gift wrapping and direct delivery of gift books. You are invited to visit the Medieval Information Sources Book Shop by clicking HERE.
Chev. Somtow's most recent novel, Darker Angels was recently reviewed in SFX, the reviewer concluding by saying : "A fascinating, awe-inspiring book, and certainly the best I've read this year."
You can order this book through the Medieval Information Sources Book Shop by clicking HERE
Back issues of Gallantry can be found by clicking on "Read."
To return to the Home Page of the Noble House of Maxalla, click HERE