Children's+Crusade

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The Children’s Crusade

“It was almost 800 years ago when thousands of eager children marched to the Holy Land” (“The Children’s Crusade” 18). Everything started when a young boy around 12 years of age claimed that he had had a vision. The boy, Stephen of Cloyes, said the vision was from Christ who said Stephen should bring Christianity back to the Holy Land (“History of the Middle Ages” 9). Stephen also brought a letter to King Philip of France. He claimed the letter was from Christ and it relayed a similar message as his vision: that Stephen should preach a Children’s Crusade that would free the Holy Land from the Muslims (Kreis 140). Some people think that the letter was given to Stephen by the Albigenses Cult. The Albigenses cult was a cult against the Pope and all Christians (“The Cult of the Children’s Crusade”). They believed that God was evil because He created the Earth which had so much evil on it. The Albigenses thought the only way to be happy was to get away from God and go to the Kingdom of Heaven. But going to the Kingdom of Heaven meant to dying. Consequently, Albigenses were very open to death and often tried to get themselves killed or tried to get someone else to kill them. Suicide was a forbidden act most likely because the religion would cease to exist because all of its members wanted to die (Magre, Maurice 99). Stephen tried convincing King Philip of France that God would protect the children on their journey. Stephen was convinced that when the Crusade reached the sea, God would part the waters as he had done for Moses (“History of the Middle Ages” 9). King Philip did not want anything to do with the plan but Stephen’s intense mania could not be settled. Indeed, Stephen was in a stage of intense mania, a condition that causes a person to behave in an extremely hyper, almost crazy manner. This period of mania is always followed by a period of deep depression. This cycling, which can repeat within hours, days, or months, is why the condition is known today as manic-depression. (“Manic-Depressive Illness”). Instead of listening to King Philip of France, Stephen proceeded to tell everyone about his vision and his letter from Christ (The Cult of the Children’s Crusade). That is how people from all over Europe and beyond found out about this Crusade.
 * How did the Children's Crusade begin?**
 * Stephen.**



The Crusade began in the city of Marseilles. As children heard about it they came from all over Europe and gathered in anticipation. (“Crusades”). There were many children who died on their way to Marseilles because they had such a long way to go without food, shelter, or guidance. Many of the children in the Crusade were just peasants whose parents encouraged them to be involved (Mcfall 26). There was also a small amount of children from noble families who sneaked out of their homes (Kreis 140). It was rumored that over 30,000 children were part of the Crusade, but the number was not officially taken (The Sunday Times p1). Meanwhile, there was another child in Germany who was inspired by Stephen. He started his own crusade to the Holy Land. His crusade did not make it very far because the group was stopped by the Pope when people realized what they had done. Still not very many survived. It is believed that many of the children froze in the Alps or plummeted down the steep sides of the mountains (“Crusades” p1). Like any crusade, Stephen’s Children Crusade was difficult and many children died, but they eventually made it to the sea. Finally, they arrived in the town of Vendome at night and the children were able to rest either by lodging in houses or by sleeping in the streets (“Crusades”). The children woke up early the next morning eager to see the miracle Stephen had promised. After they made their way out to the sea, the children waited and waited for the sea to part as Stephen said it would, but it never did (“The Cult of the Children’s Crusade”). After they gave up on the sea parting, many children started back home and others started protesting against Stephen. About that time seven ships came to shore and offered the children a ride across the sea. They boarded and were never seen again. “As it turned out the Children’s Crusades which where believed to be pure ended up being the most tragic of all” (Mcfall, Arthur). Although there are many explanations for what happened to the thousands of children in the Crusade the results are still inconclusive. Many say they were sold into slavery, died of hunger, or perhaps drowned in the sea which Stephen believed would show them a miracle. It is all summed up as an unnecessary attempt to regain the Holy Land that resulted in humiliation throughout Europe and thousands of young innocent lives lost (“The Children’s Crusades” 18).
 * The Start of the Crusade.**
 * A second Children's Crusade?**
 * The Promise.**
 * The end of the Children's Crusade**

Works Cited 10. http://www.myfreecolouringpages.com/coloring_pages/sailing-boat.htm 11. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Gustave_dore_crusades_the_childrens_crusade.jpg 12. http://student.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=54962&articleTypeId=0 13. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/739/100663.JPG&imgrefurl=http://w ww.dkimages.com 14. []
 * 1) “The Children’s Crusades.” __Sunday Times, The__. July 3, 2005, feature 18
 * 2) Kreis, Steven. “The Children’s Crusades (1212).” Internet: < [|http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/children.html> February 1, 2008
 * 3) Mcfall, J. Arthur. __Ill__ __Fated Crusade of the Poor People__. Military History. February 1998
 * 4) “Crusades”. __Columbia__ __Encyclopedia.__ Columbia Encyclopedia, 1994
 * 5) Unknown. “Crusades.” __Sunday Times, The__. 2007. p1
 * 6) “Crusade.” __American Heritage.__ Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998
 * 7) “History of the Middle Ages.” Pamphlet, Teachers Discovery. 2005.
 * 8) “The Cult of the Children’s Crusade.” Internet:http://pychicinvestigator.com/demo/crusad.htm Feb. 18, 2008
 * 9) Magre, Maurice. “Return of the Magi.” Internet:This page has been revised {$pagerevisions} times. // //The last revision was {$revisiondate} by {$revisioneditor}. //