34ème Rose — L'excellence du saint rosaire dans les merveilles que dieu a opérées en sa faveur
Victories of the Rosary
The miraculous military victories of Simon de Montfort against the Albigensians demonstrate the power of the Rosary.
105. Who could recount the victories that Simon, Count of Montfort, won over the Albigensians under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary? They are so famous that the world has never seen anything like them. Once, he defeated ten thousand heretics with five hundred men; another time, he emerged victorious over three thousand with only thirty; then, with eight hundred cavalry and a thousand infantry, he destroyed the army of the king of Aragon—a hundred thousand strong—without losing more than a single cavalryman and eight of his own soldiers.
The Deliverance of Alain de l'Anvallay
Alain de l'Anvallay experiences miraculous protection from the Blessed Virgin through his daily recitation of the Rosary.
106. From what dangers the Blessed Virgin delivered Alain de l'Anvallay, a Breton knight who was fighting for the faith against the Albigensians! One day, when he was surrounded by enemies on every side, the Blessed Virgin hurled a hundred and fifty stones at them and delivered him from their hands. Another day, when his ship was wrecked and about to sink, this good Mother caused a hundred and fifty little hills to appear, and he traveled over them safely to land in Brittany.1 In memory of the miracles the Blessed Virgin worked for him because he prayed the Rosary every day, he established a convent at Dinan to house the religious of the new Order of Saint Dominic. He eventually became a religious himself and died a holy death at Orléans.
The Invincible Shield of Othère
The soldier Othère is protected in battle by divine light and holy imagery, leading his enemies to conversion.
107. Othère, likewise a Breton soldier from Vaucouleurs, often put entire companies of heretics and robbers to flight, wearing his rosary on his arm and at the hilt of his sword. His enemies, after they had been defeated, confessed to him that they had seen his sword all ablaze with light, and once a shield on his arm on which Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the saints were depicted—things that made him invincible and gave him the strength to charge hard.2 Once, with ten companies, he defeated twenty thousand heretics without losing a single one of his own men. This so moved the general of the heretical army that he sought out Othère, renounced his heresy, and declared that he had seen him covered in weapons of fire during the battle (Rosier mystique, 7th decade, ch.3 8).
Read the original Latin
105. «Qui pourrait raconter les victoires que Simon, comte de Montfort, a remportées sur les Albigeois sous la protection de Notre-Dame du Rosaire? Elles sont si fameuses que le monde n'en a jamais vu de pareilles. Il défit une fois dix mille hérétiques avec cinq cents hommes; une autre fois, avec trente, il demeura vainqueur de trois mille; ensuite avec huit cents cavaliers et mille hommes d'infanterie, il tailla en pièces l'armée du roi d'Aragon, composée de cent mille hommes, sans perdre qu'un seul cavalier et huit soldats des siens.
106. De quels dangers la Sainte Vierge a-t-elle délivré Alain de l'Anvallay, chevalier breton, qui combattait pour la foi contre les Albigeois! Un jour, étant environné de ses ennemis de tous côtés, la Sainte Vierge lança contre eux cent cinquante pierres et le délivra de leurs mains. Un autre jour, son vaisseau ayant fait naufrage et étant près d'abîmer, cette bonne Mère lui fit paraître cent cinquante petites collines par sur lesquelles il aborda en Bretagne. Et en mémoire des miracles que la Sainte Vierge avait faits en sa faveur à cause d'un Rosaire qu'il récitait tous les jours, il prépara un couvent à Dinan pour loger les religieux du nouvel ordre de saint Dominique et, s'étant fait religieux, il mourut saintement à Orléans.
107. Othère, de même soldat breton de Vaucouleurs, a souvent mis en fuite des compagnies entières d'hérétiques et de voleurs, portant son rosaire au bras et à la garde de son épée. Ses ennemis, après avoir été vaincus, lui ont avoué qu'ils avaient vu son épée toute éclatante et une fois un bouclier à son bras, dans lequel Jésus-Christ, la Sainte Vierge et les saints étaient dépeints, le rendaient invincible et lui donnaient la force de bien charger. Une fois, avec dix compagnies, il défit vingt mille hérétiques sans perdre un seul des siens, ce qui toucha tellement le général de l'armée hérétique, qu'il vint trouver Othère, abjura son hérésie et déclara qu'il l'avait vu couvert d'armes de feu dans le combat» (Rosier mystique, 7ème dizaine, ch. 8).
Notes
- 1 ↩French 'par sur lesquelles' is slightly awkward/archaic; rendered as 'over them' for the hills by which he reached Brittany.
- 2 ↩"épée toute éclatante" rendered as a miraculous blaze of light on the sword, matching the visionary shield that follows; not mere polish or ordinary gleam.
- 3 ↩"armes de feu" taken as miraculous flaming weapons in this visionary combat report, not modern firearms. The trailing citation is incomplete in the source and continues in the next sentence unit.
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