What was the reason for the start of the childrens crusade?

Answer 1

The reason behind the children's crusade was that many of them were left with no parents, and were travelling to the holy land during the crusades in hoping they would be successful to win the holy land for christians. they were not successful and became very poor, terrible things happened.The reason behind the children's crusade was that many of them were left with no parents, and were travelling to the holy land during the crusades in hoping they would be successful to win the holy land for christians. they were not successful and became very poor, terrible things happened.The reason behind the children's crusade was that many of them were left with no parents, and were travelling to the holy land during the crusades in hoping they would be successful to win the holy land for christians. they were not successful and became very poor, terrible things happened.The reason behind the children's crusade was that many of them were left with no parents, and were travelling to the holy land during the crusades in hoping they would be successful to win the holy land for christians. they were not successful and became very poor, terrible things happened.

Answer 2

They didn't go on any of the de facto Crusades; you are thinking of The Children's Crusade which took place in 1212. This has become embellished by folk legend over the Centuries; the popular version of the tale is that a peasant boy of either French or German origin came to believe that he had been visited by Jesus Christ, who had urged him to lead a campaign to the Holy Land and peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity. He is said to have gained a considerable following as a result of alleged miracles he is said to have performed, and led a mostly civilian march towards Jerusalem which included as many as 30,000 children in it's number.

Legend tells that he told his followers that the Mediterranean Sea would part on their arrival, allowing them to march on The Holy Land- upon reaching Spain, two merchants offered the 'Crusaders' free passage on their vessels, but this was a cruel lie. The men in fact took them to Tunisia, where they were sold into slavery; others died in a shipwreck on San Pietro Island off Sardinia during a gale. Many others died of exhaustion or starvation before they even reached Spain; the more sensible ones in the party decided before too long that the boy was delusional, turned back and just went home.

The above version is a popular exaggeration of two actual historical events that are known to have taken place in the year 1212, one involving a German youth known as Nicholas of Cologne. He was a precocious orator and attracted a large following of 7,000 people of all ages by his religious preaching- he said that he had been commanded by God to lead a campaign to The Holy Lands, where the Muslims would peacefully convert to Christianity when they saw them coming.

Nicholas led a band of civilian religious zealots- adults and children alike- in a gruelling journey across the Alps and through Switzerland, during which many perished from exhaustion or hypothermia. The survivors eventually reached Genoa, where the City authorities were impressed by the courage of the by now diminished group, and offered free citizenship to any who wished to settle in their city. Many took up the offer; others continued to follow Nicholas to Pisa, the movement continually breaking up along the way, until the eventually arrived at The Papal States.

The Pope, Innocent III, was kind to them but recognised that Nicholas was under a delusion; he told them to be good and to return home. Nicholas himself did not survive the return journey across the Alps; back in Cologne, his father was arrested and hanged under pressure from angry families who accused him of allowing their loved ones to follow his son.

There was also a parallel event in France in June of the same year led by another shepherd boy called Stephan of Cloyes. He claimed to possess a letter from Jesus Christ addressed to the French King, Philip II, and attracted a following over over 30,000 adults and children. Leading his 'disciples' to Saint-Denis, he is said to have indeed performed a number of miracles, although the King himself was unimpressed and sceptical about Stephan's claims. On the advice of the University of Paris he urged the people to return home, saying that they could not trust the word of a mere child, but Stephan was undaunted and continued to preach from a nearby abbey, advocating a march on The Holy Land. However, unlike their German counterparts, this group never left their home country- some followed Stephan from Vendome to Marseilles, surviving by begging for food, but the majority eventually became disheartened and returned to their families.

'The Children's Crusade' also became a cynical name used by anti-war campaigners for the First World War, due to the youth of most of the soldiers who died in it in comparison to the elderly Generals and politicians who sent them to the trenches.

Answer 3

The Crusades happened when they did because the Muslims had tacken the holy city of Jerusalem in the 7th century

Answer 4

The French and German children tried to reach the "Holy Land"

Answer 5

They wen to on crusade beacse they wanted to help out :) xx

Answer 6

Probably because the Children couldn't yet comprehend the existence of God, and the concept of Spirituality.