The Children’s Crusade in 4 Minutes

An overview of one of the saddest and most bizarre crusades from Medieval times

An engraving depicting the events of the Children's’ Crusade (Public domain)

In the year 1212CE, against all authority in Europe, Stephen of Cloyes wandered the French countryside preaching to the common people. He claimed to have received a vision from Jesus Christ in which he was handed a letter beseeching him to gather together a crusade to retake the holy city of Jerusalem. He took his claims to the king and the church and was summarily rejected by both.

But Stephen of Cloyes did not falter in the rejection of the traditional authorities on crusades and instead continued to take his message directly to the people. Thousands of downtrodden children, youth, and impoverished adults flocked to Stephen’s banner as they organized to march for the Holy Land.

A twist of fate

At the same time that Stephen was gathering followers in France, another figure, Nicholas of Cologne, was gathering a similar rabble in Germany. The Medieval sources do not agree whether these two events were connected, organized, or merely a complete coincidence. What we do know is that two distinct groups of young people and children rose up and merged together with the same goal: take Jerusalem.

“[M]any thousands of boys, ranging in age from six…