Laura Amy Schlitz, Author of of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! writes about the “Children’s Crusade”: “In 1212, a French shepherd boy had a vision that the Holy Land could be recovered by innocent children. Thirty to forty thousand children from France and Germany set off to Palestine, believing that God would favor their cause because of their faith, love, and poverty. They believed that when they reached the Mediterranean, it would part, like the Red Sea. They were mistaken. Most of them starved, froze to death, or were sold into slavery.” [Page 37] Some scholars aren’t sure that this “crusade” occurred in the form Schlitz describes.
I think that the "Children's Crusade" is somewhat of a mystery. By doing a little research I came across differing viewpoints on the subject. It seems like maybe some of the information was distorted over the years. Remember the game, "telephone?" You start with some statement, pass it on down from one person to the next, and then you get your final answer. It usually ends up with something entirely different from the first "phone call." I think that is what happened here. But then again, this is just my opinion.
The Encyclopedia Britannica states that the "Children's Crusade" lasted for only four months and that none of the participants ever reached the Holy Land. It was also known to have sparked the fifth crusade of 1218.
There is very little information known about Stephen of Cloyes and yet he stands out as the leader of this group that suppossedly ventured out to reclaim Jerusalem back from the muslims. Some would say that this "crusade" wasn't even a crusade because it wasn't blessed by the pope. It surprises me to see that a 12 year old could have this much influence on people, but then again they were just children. I still wonder about how they would be able to get away with all of this? Where were the parents? Did they even care about what they did? The medieval period is a mystery to me. I think that religious fervor mixed with superstition and pure ignorance lead a lot of these people to do some crazy stuff.
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