The Children’s Crusade (1212)

What Was the Children’s Crusade?

The Children’s Crusade is one of the most unusual events of the entire Crusades period. It shows both the religious enthusiasm and misguided zeal that often defined the crusading movement. It took place between the Fourth and Fifth Crusades and involved thousands of children who believed they were called to help reclaim the Holy Land.

Stephen of Cloyes

The main leader of the Children’s Crusade was a young French boy named Stephen of Cloyes, who was about 12 years old. He claimed that Jesus Christ had commanded him to lead a group of children to rescue the Holy Sepulchrein Jerusalem. Filled with excitement, children from all over France gathered to join him. Nothing could stop them; as one historian wrote, “Even bolts and bars could not hold them.”

Some people believed that the children were guided by the Holy Spirit and saw their enthusiasm as a miracle, quoting Bible verses like, “A child shall lead them.” However, others thought the entire movement was a trick of the Devil. Most of the children who joined were boys under 12 years old, but there were also girls among them.

The French Children’s Crusade

In 1212, about 30,000 French children set out on their journey. They marched through towns and villages, carrying bannerscandles, and crosses, singing songs like, “Lord God, exalt Christianity. Lord God, restore to us the true cross.”

The children made their way to the city of Marseilles, hoping to sail to the Holy Land. However, they were betrayed. Many of the children were captured and sold as slaves in Alexandria and other Muslim markets. Some were forced to turn back due to hunger and hardship.

The German Children’s Crusade

At the same time, a similar movement took place in Germany. Another boy, named Nicholas, gathered about 50,000 followers, including men, women, and children. They marched over the Alps into Italy, hoping to find ships to take them to Palestine.

From Brundusium, a port in Italy, around 2,000 to 3,000 of the children set sail. Unfortunately, none of them were ever heard from again. Many other children died from starvationexhaustion, or were sold into slavery. Only a few survivors managed to return home.

The Decline of the Crusades

The Children’s Crusade marked the beginning of the end for the Crusades. It showed how fanaticism and superstition had taken over the once-strong movement. Although the children had good intentions and a desire to serve God, their innocence was exploited, and many paid with their lives. Even Pope Innocent III remarked, “These children put us to shame; while we sleep, they rush to recover the Holy Land.”

The Children’s Crusade symbolized both the high hopes and tragic failures of the later Crusades. It reflected the declining interest in the movement and how the religious passion that fueled the first Crusades was fading.