The Children’s Crusade

by oeillade in History, October 4, 2009

The Children’s Crusade is one of the strangest events in the 13th Century. The Fourth Crusade, from 1202 to 1204, had been a total disaster and the Christians had made no gains. Many of the crusaders hadn’t even got as far as the Holy Land never mind fighting for Jerusalem and some had just used the crusade as an opportunity to steal valuable goods from abroad.

Thousands of children gathered together and set off for Jerusalem believing that the reason for the failures of the previous crusades was because of the sins of the adults involved and that their innocence would help them to regain the Holy Land.

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In May 1212, a twelve-year old shepherd boy called Stephen took a letter to King Philip of France who was holding court at Saint-Denis. Stephen, who was from the small town of Cloyes in the Orléannais, claimed that the letter had been given to him by Jesus. Stephen claimed that Jesus had appeared to him whilst he had been looking after his sheep and told him to go and preach the Crusade. King Philip was not impressed by the story and sent him home. But Stephen had been so inspired by his mysterious visitor that he saw himself as the leader who would succeed where former crusades had failed.

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The Effect of The Crusades on The Jews »

For the last fifteen years, Stephen had been hearing about the preachers who were going round the countryside urging a Crusade against the Moslems of the East or of Spain or against the heretics of Languedoc. Stephen was caught up in all the excitement and believed that he could be a preacher too and follow in the footsteps of Peter the Hermit, who had tried to get to Jerusalem in 1096. Undeterred by the King’s lack of interest, Stephen began to preach at the entrance to the abbey of Saint-Denis. He announced that he would lead a band of children to rescue Christendom. He said that the seas would dry up before them and that the Red Sea would part for them the way it had for Moses and they would arrive safely in the Holy Land. Stephen was a gifted speaker. He impressed the adults and children flocked to his call.