Children's crusade

Article 4 -Biography- The Children's Crusade is said to have taken place in 1212, after the Fourth Crusade, which occurred from 1202-1204. The forth crusade was a failure with crusaders not even reaching the holy land. This is when the children's crusade had started. The children's crusade was led by Stephen of Cloyes, a 12-year-old shepherd boy. Stephen had led around ten through thirty thousand children involved with the crusade. "Stephen had also claimed to have a letter that was written by Jesus to give to the king along with a piece of bread he had gave Stephen and have also claimed to have a vision of Jesus dressed up as a poverty-stricken pilgrim". This letter, he told King Philip of France in May of 1212, were orders from the Son of God for a new crusade to be organized. This is how Stephen was able to lead the thousands of children in this crusade.

After the King sent the boy away, Stephen turned to his young friends, preaching around France in order to gain their support for him to lead them to the holy land and receive sanction. The children agreed to travel to the holy land and began to prepare with ships and supplies like bundles, candles and staffs like the one carried by Moses so the would be ready when the had got to the holy land. Adults joined the procession, including woman caring infants.

When the children were asked were they were going they replied "to god". Many adults and clergy had protested the children's crusade, and Phillip ll from the university of Paris had commanded them to return back to there homes but they refused to and the began there trip. The children started by gathering in Cologne, then traveled up the Rhine River, over the alps and into Lombardy, and genoa, Italy. The children sang as they marched and carried wooden crosses. When the children had reached genoa they believed god would part the seas for them but that failed to happen. The children were barefoot, starving and suffering from the heat.

This is when this crusade turns bad. According to a priest who has claimed to sail there too, "two of the boats sank and all on board of the boat were killed, the other ships were owned by merchant slave-traders who had tricked the children and had sold them. Also girls were raped and some were killed. Many of the children were sold to Muslim slave markets and those who made it to Rome were freed of there vows by the pope, who declared " these children put us to shame. They rush to recover the holy land while we sleep." Many of the children who had returned home were lost, sick, and had lost their religious fervor and absolute faith in God. The church had claimed that the tragic fate of the children crusaders was the work of the devil. This is how the tragic event of the children's crusade had happened and had quickly ended.

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