The Children's Crusade
A failed popular crusade of the early 13th century, involving two movements led by Nicholas of Cologne and Stephen of Cloyes, marked by tragedy and myth.
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According to the Chronicae regiae Coloniensis continuatio prima, many thousands of "pueri" from six years of age to full manhood left their livelihoods to journey with banners raised.[1]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Popular religious movement
- Known for
- Failed attempt to peacefully convert Muslims and reach Jerusalem
- Nationality
- German and French
- Leaders
- Nicholas of Cologne and Stephen of Cloyes
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Most of these would-be crusaders accepted an offer of citizenship from the Genoese authorities.[2] Nicholas did not survive his second attempt to cross the Alps, and his father was later hanged.[2] A twelve-year-old French shepherd named Stephen of Cloyes led a second movement, claiming he bore a letter from Jesus for the King of France.[3] During early spring 1212, a shepherd named Nicholas from the Rhineland region of Germany guided a group over the Alps into Italy.[2]
By late August, roughly 7,000 of Nicholas's followers had reached Genoa, but the sea did not separate for them.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Chronicae regiae Coloniensis continuatio prima records that the movement began around Easter and Pentecost, with no one exhorting or preaching, driven by an unknown spirit.[1] Athas notes that the story of the Children's Crusade did not resurface into popular history until the 18th and 19th centuries.[1] In the 19th century, the Children's Crusade was used to portray Crusades as innocent and pure religious movements.[1] After two world wars, the 21st-century interpretation instead uses the story to reflect the outlandishness and absurdity modernly believed of the Crusades.[1]
Athas explains that modern depictions fixate on the word "children" to degrade the Crusades as a whole.[1]
References
- Athas, "The Children's Crusade: A Change of Interpretation Over Time", Medievalists.net, 2024. facts only, no text reused. medievalists.net
- Wikipedia, "Children's Crusade" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bridge, Antony. The Crusades. London: Granada Publishing, 1980. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Children's Crusade" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bridge, Antony. The Crusades. London: Granada Publishing, 1980.; "Children's Crusade European history Britannica", www.britannica.com; Hansbery, "The Children's Crusade", The Catholic Historical Review, 1938, p. 30–38 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Children's Crusade (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Children's Crusade (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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