Bøker av Michael a Ponzio

Eleventh century France is a patchwork of independent domains. In the north, William the Duke of Normandy rivals the King of France. In the south, the Count of Toulouse continues the Pons' family tradition in governing the region. Amid the powers is the Duchy of Aquitaine, where Lord Pons rules his barony in County Saintonge. The era is the height of Norman expansion. These former pagan Vikings, now Christian and French-speaking and having carved out kingdoms in southern Italy and Sicily, turn their conquering spirit toward England. Duke William is planning to invade and seize his claim to the crown. He obtains the Pope's blessing and calls for knights from across Europe to join his crusade. Past his prime, Lord Pons bestows the leadership of his barony to the eldest of his five sons. His four younger sons must find their own fortune elsewhere and they join Duke William's invasion to fight in the Battle of Hastings. The brothers' surname, FitzPons, is a patronym. They are the Sons of Pons.1066 Sons of Pons: In the Wake of the Conqueror is one of three novels in the Warriors and Monks series, but the story is complete in itself and can be read alone. However, characters of the novels are connected across generations.

In 1279, thirteen years before Marco Polo returns from China, Ponzio Bastone, a Genoese crossbowman, wrote his will, giving a basketful of macaroni to his heirs. A copy of the will was filed in the city archives of Genoa. Lantern Across the Sea is the story of Bastone who sets out on a trading expedition across the Mediterranean during the thirteenth century. He departs Genoa, arranged to be married to a woman of the most powerful family in the city, but on the voyage becomes enthralled with Esmeray, the daughter of a Greek fisherman. As he travels across the expansive Genoese trading empire, Bastone conceals his prime aim midst the commercial venture. Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, is massing his fleets, proclaiming he will lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from the Muslims, hiding his real goal of attacking Christian Constantinople. At each port of call, Bastone secretly meets with powerful state leaders from Constantinople to Sicily to Spain, as a part of the conspiracy to thwart the king's attack. Bastone and Esmeray, amid a chaotic and dangerous world of pirates, assassins, slave traders, and hostile family prejudice, must together prevent a history-changing catastrophe.

President Trump claims he supports the middle class. How will his policies affect the American Republic? Could history repeat itself? Julius Caesar claimed he supported and was loved by the common people, but his unbridled ego led to the end of the Roman Republic. Follow the ordeals of Aquila, a Roman Tribune elected by the common people, and his struggle against the dictatorship of Caesar. Although Pontius Pilate is known for his role in the Bible, less known are the historical characters who shared the surname Pontius and are portrayed in a series of historical fiction novels called Lover of the Sea. The first novel in the collection, Pontius Aquila: Eagle of the Republic, takes place during Julius Caesar''s bid for power, generations before the birth of Pontius Pilate. As a young man, Lucius Pontius Aquila falls in love with Cicero''s daughter. After a brilliant military career, he is elected as Tribune of the Plebeians. Aquila, a fervent supporter of the Roman republic, joins in the plot to assassinate Caesar.

Pons, born to a noble family in the south of France in 1075, is given to the Church at the age of four. He becomes a Benedictine monk and thrives in the monastery as a devotee of the Order''s rules, working, praying, and studying. Reaching adulthood, he falls in love with Primavera, a woman in the nearby village, but the Church''s renewed enforcement of celibacy endangers their relationship. It is a lawless time when people of the land are threatened with violence as they cultivate their fields or travel on pilgrimage. The monks are compelled to become warriors, defending themselves with farm tools and walking staves. Pons is elected as Abbot of Cluny Monastery. He is torn amidst his sense of duty as the powerful leader of Cluny, rivaling the Pope, his love for Primavera, and the calling to join the crusade to save Jerusalem. Pons of Melgueil was the abbot of the powerful and influential Benedictine monastery at Cluny, France, from 1109 to 1124. At the time, Cluny administered hundreds of satellite monasteries in Europe and had influence over a greater number of clergy than the Pope himself. As abbot, Pons made commendable progress in the construction of the Cluny basilica, which became the world''s largest church. He inherited financial difficulties, but he campaigned and successfully procured valuable donations of property for the Benedictine Order and obtained sacred relics to increase the number of pilgrims visiting Cluny. Historical sources also reveal he was an excellent negotiator and his participation in major councils was beneficial to the Church1. In contrast, other sources called him secular-minded, contentious, and short tempered2.Controversy began when Pons tried to return the lifestyle of the Cluniac monks to the austere ways advocated by Saint Benedict, the founder of their monastic order3. The monks of Cluny had become lax and contested a return to a strong work ethic. In retaliation they alleged that Pons was wasting the monastery''s resources. This was, in fact, the opposite of his initiatives. The local bishops and nobles were jealous of Cluny''s privileges and wealth4 and joined the conflict.Did Pons maintain the leadership of Christendom in western Europe achieved by previous abbots of Cluny, or did he drag the monastery further into decline? Read Warriors and Monks: Pons, Abbot of Cluny and make your own judgment.