What Happened when Children tried to go on a Crusade?

The Children’s Crusade. Some depict it as a holy war with children at the centre, others as a movement by a few individuals that could not be truly classified as a crusade, as it was not officially authorised by the church.

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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script: Natasha Martell
Narrator:

Chris Kane

The Children's Crusade Author(s): Dana C. Munro Source: The American Historical Review , Apr., 1914, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Apr., 1914), pp. 516- 524 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association

The Children's Crusade Joseph E. Hansbery
The Catholic Historical Review
Vol. 24, No. 1 (Apr., 1938), pp. 30-38 (9 pages)
Published By: Catholic University of America Press

God's War: A New History of the Crusades Paperback – 4 Oct. 2007
by Christopher Tyerman

[justinandjoylyn]

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” and they took it literally. 💀

[erik]

In the Netherlands there is a book called "Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek", translated it means "Crusade in Jeans". It is based on the story of Nicolas. Where a boy from then the 80s, ends up in the crusade after an accident with a timemachine. This book is very long and details all the "adventures" the kids went through. To me it was and is a treasured childhood memory reading this book.

[lulzikek]

Imagine you're a peasant from the most deprived part of the city and you hear about a random blonde kid who wants to play moses by leading you on a journey to the sea.
medieval times were wild

[jruth]

I had to do a presentation on this in 8th grade, and it was so dreary to discover the fates of these kids

[DieNibelungenliad]

I think that the European warm period, prior to the Black Death, had given Europe a population boom. However, this resulted in a big number of landless unskilled young men at a time when fertile land and skill in a trade was needed to make a living, so they were easily swayed to any fanatical cause by charismatic leaders

[lemmdus]

I think it was either a large group of young adults praying for Christian victory in the Holy Land and or a cautionary tale to not blindly follow someone.

[coltonroark]

Once learned this in high school.
Soon after I saw a sign outside a church and it said "children's crusade puppet show". Thought to myself how odd that is.

[captain_commenter]

The younglings really decided to turn the tables

[edocsil]

me, the first time traveler, giving some random kid a cross and saying he has to retake the holy land

[captain_commenter]

What kids sword fighting with sticks hope to achieve:

[AureliusLaurentius]

12 Year old then: In the name of the Lord, I shall retake the Holy Land from the heathens

12 Year old now: *Cries when you take away their phone*

[Temtatork]

Children: "Goes to the holy land"
Pirates: Is free real state

[CeilingMuncher]

man, when summer vacation started for me, I wanted learn nothing and just enjoy my vacation, but here I am binge-watching all of these videos lol

[tuongtang]

Funfact: The fairy tale Pied Piper probably take inspiration from this situation

[Thomas-rlxd]

Please do a video on the battle of Delville wood. As a South African it would be truly amazing to see our troops remembered on this channel.

Thank you..

[TimeWizard]

What this really shows is that these kids were desperate for hope and that children are a lot more powerful and intelligent than the general populace gives them credit for.

[TheEvilpossum]

From what we know independently, charismatic "child" prophets wandering the countryside weren't even that unusual for Medieval Europe. The darker side is that many of them would really have been teens and young adults like Joan of Arc engaged in revolt against the church, the nobility or both. The tales told about the Children's Crusade were ultimately a means to minimize and discourage such activity.

[JJ-siqh]

0:30 Such an inaccurate assessment of the "Crusades". It was to reclaim their Holy Lands back from Muslim rule. I'm not even Christian, and I can feel your "apologist" sentiment.

[janHgat]

The question is how did they acquire food and water? You can only march a few days without sustenance and I can only imagine most kids call it quits after marching a few days and go back home.

[nandinhocunha]

"you can go but take your brother"