Children's Crusade
Encyclopedia
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
to Christianity; bands of children marching to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; and children being sold into slavery.
A study published in 1977 cast doubt on the existence of these events and many historians now believe that they were not (or not primarily) children but multiple bands of "wandering poor" in Germany and France, some of whom tried to reach the Holy Land and others who never intended to do so. Early versions of events, of which there are many variations told over the centuries, are largely apocryphal.
Traditional
The long-standing piece of the Children's Crusade, of which there are few variations, is some version of events with similar themes. A boy began preaching in either FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
or Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
claiming that he had been visited by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and told to lead a Crusade to peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity. Through a series of supposed portents and miracles he gained a considerable following, including possibly as many as 30,000 children. He led his followers south towards the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, in the belief that the sea would part on their arrival, allowing him and his followers to march to Jerusalem, but this did not happen. Two merchants gave "free" passage on boats to as many of the children as were willing. They were then either taken to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and sold into slavery, or died in a shipwreck on San Pietro Island
San Pietro Island
San Pietro Island is an island approximately 7 km off the South western Coast of Sardinia, Italy, facing the Sulcis peninsula. With 51 km² it is the sixth largest island of Italy by area. The approximately 6,000 inhabitants are mostly concentrated in the fishing town of Carloforte, the...
off Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
during a gale. Some may have failed to reach the sea, dying or giving up from starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
and exhaustion.
Modern
According to more recent research there seem to have actually been two movements of people (of all ages) in 1212 in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The similarities of the two allowed later chroniclers to combine and embellish the tales.
In the first movement, Nicholas, a shepherd from the Rhineland in Germany and possessed of an extraordinary power of speech, tried to lead a group across the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and into Italy in the early spring of 1212. Nicholas promised that the sea would dry up before them and allow his followers to cross into the Holy Land. Rather than believing he could somehow fight the Saracens, however, he claimed that the Moslem kingdoms would be defeated when their citizens converted to Christianity. His disciples went off to preach the call for the "Crusade" across the German lands, and they amassed in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
after a few weeks. Splitting into two groups, the crowds took different roads through Switzerland. Two out of every three people on this ghastly journey died, while many others returned to their homes. About 7,000 arrived in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
in late August. They immediately marched to the harbor, expecting the sea to divide before them; when it did not many became bitterly disappointed. A few accused Nicholas of betraying them, while others settled down to wait for God to change his mind, since they believed that it was unthinkable he would not eventually do so. The Genoese authorities were impressed by the little band, and they offered citizenship to those who wished to settle in their city. Most of the would-be Crusaders took up this opportunity. Nicholas refused to admit defeat and traveled to Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, his movement continuing to break up along the way. He and a few loyal followers continued to the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, where Pope Innocent III treated them kindly enough. The remaining ones departed for Germany after the Pontiff told them to be good and return home. Nicholas did not survive the second attempt across the Alps; back home his father was arrested and hanged under pressure from angry families whose relatives had perished while following the child.
Some of the most dedicated members from this Crusade were later reported to have wandered to Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
and Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
, although none reached the Holy Land.
The second movement was led by a twelve year old French shepherd boy named Stephan of Cloyes
Cloyes-sur-le-Loir
Cloyes-sur-le-Loir is a commune on the River Loir, a few kilometres south of the town of Châteaudun in the department of Eure-et-Loir in northern France.-Population:-External links:*...
, who claimed in June that he bore a letter for the king of France from Jesus. Large gangs of youth around his age were drawn to him, most of whom claimed to possess special gifts of God and thought themselves miracle workers. Attracting a crowd of over 30,000 people, some adults and children alike, he went to Saint-Denis, where he was seen to cause miracles. On the orders of Philip II
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
, taken from the advice of the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, the people were implored to return home. Philip himself did not appear impressed, especially since his unexpected visitors were led by a mere child, and refused to take them seriously. Stephan, however, was not dissuaded, and began preaching at a nearby abbey. From Saint-Denis, Stephan traveled around France, spreading his messages as he went, promising to lead charges of Christ to Jerusalem. Although the Church was skeptical, many adults were impressed by his teaching. Still, few of those who initially joined him possessed his activeness; it is estimated that there were less than half the initial 30,000 remaining, a figure that was shrinking rapidly, rather than growing as perhaps anticipated.
At the end of June 1212, Stephan led his largely juvenile Crusaders from Vendôme
Vendôme
Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...
to Marseilles. They survived by begging for food, while the vast majority seems to have been disheartened by the hardship of this journey and returned to their families.
Modern explanation
Recent research suggests the participants were not children, at least not the very young. The confusion started because later chroniclers, who were not witness to the events of 1212 and who were writing 30 years or more later, began to translate the original accounts and misunderstood the Latin word pueri, meaning "boys", to mean literally "children". The original accounts did use the term pueri but it had a derogatory slang meaning, as in calling an adult man a "boy" can be condescending. In the early 13th century, bands of wandering poor started cropping up throughout Europe; these were people displaced by economic changes at the time which forced many peasants in northern France and Germany to sell their land—they were often referred to as pueri in a condescending manner. This mistaken literal interpretation of pueri as "children" gave rise to the idea of a "Children's Crusade" by later authors who found the story too good not to be true, particularly with so much public support and interest in crusading. Within a generation or two after 1212, the idea of children going on crusade became ingrained in history, retold countless times over the centuries with many different versions, and only in the 20th century has the myth been re-examined by looking at the earliest sources (see Historical studies below).Sources
According to Peter Raedts, professor in Medieval History at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, there are only about 50 sources from the period that talk about the crusade, ranging from a few sentences to half a page. Raedts categorizes the sources into three types depending on when they were written:- Contemporary sources written by 1220;
- Sources written between 1220 and 1250 (the authors could have been alive at the time of the crusade but wrote their memories down later);
- Sources written after 1250 by authors who received their information second or third hand.
Raedts does not consider the sources after 1250 to be authoritative, and of those before 1250, he considers only about 20 to be authoritative. It is only in the later non-authoritative narratives that a "children's crusade" is implied by such authors as Vincent of Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais
The Dominican friar Vincent of Beauvais wrote the Speculum Maius, the main encyclopedia that was used in the Middle Ages.-Early life:...
, Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
, Thomas of Cantimpré
Thomas of Cantimpré
Thomas of Cantimpré was a Roman Catholic medieval writer, preacher, and theologian.-Biography:...
, Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...
and many others.
Historical studies
Prior to Raedts' 1977 study, there had only been a few historical publications researching the Children's Crusade. The earliest were by Frenchman G. de Janssens (1891) and German R. RöhrichtReinhold Röhricht
Gustav Reinhold Röhricht was a German historian of the crusades.-Biography:He was born in Bunzlau in Silesia , the third son of a miller. He studied at the Gymnasium in Sagan from 1852 to 1862, and then attended the Berlin Theological School, where he obtained his licentiate in 1866...
(1876). They analyzed the sources but did not analyze the story. American medievalist Dana Carleton Munro
Dana Carleton Munro
Dana Carleton Munro, L.H.D. was an American historian, brother of Wilfred Harold Munro, born at Bristol, R.I. He was educated at Brown and in Europe at Strassburg and Freiburg. He taught at Penn , at Wisconsin until 1915, then at Princeton. Brown gave him the degree of L.H.D. in 1912...
(1913–14), according to Raedts, provided the best analysis of the sources to date and was the first to significantly provide a convincingly sober account of the Crusade sans legends. Later, J. E. Hansbery (1938–9) published a correction of Munro's work, but it has since been discredited as based on an unreliable source. German psychiatrist Justus Hecker
Justus Hecker
Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker was a German physician and medical writer, whose works appear in medical encyclopaedias and journals of the time...
(1865) did give an original interpretation of the crusade, but it was a polemic about "diseased religious emotionalism" that has since been discredited.
P. Alphandery (1916) first published his ideas about the crusade in 1916 in an article, which was later published in book form in 1959. He considered the crusade to be an expression of the medieval cult of the Innocents, as a sort of sacrificial rite in which the Innocents gave themselves up for the good of Christendom
Christendom
Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
; however he based his ideas on some of the most untrustworthy sources.
Adolf Waas (1956) saw the Children's Crusade as a manifestation of chivalric piety and as a protest against the glorification of the holy war. H. E. Mayer (1960) further developed Alphandery's ideas of the Innocents, saying children were the chosen people of God because they were the poorest, recognizing the cult of poverty he said that "the Children's Crusade marked both the triumph and the failure of the idea of poverty." Giovanni Miccoli (1961) was the first to note that the contemporary sources did not portray the participants as children. It was this recognition that undermined all other interpretations, except perhaps that of Norman Cohn
Norman Cohn
Norman Rufus Colin Cohn FBA was a British academic, historian and writer who spent fourteen years as a professorial fellow and as Astor-Wolfson Professor at the University of Sussex.-Life:...
(1971) who saw it as a chiliastic movement in which the poor tried to escape the misery of their everyday lives. Peter Raedts' 1977 analysis is considered the best source to date to show the many issues surrounding the Children's Crusade.
Popular accounts
Beyond the scientific studies there are many popular versions and theories about the Children's Crusades. Norman Zacour in the survey A History of the Crusades (1962) generally follows Munro's conclusions, and adds that there was a psychological instability of the age, concluding the Children's Crusade "remains one of a series of social explosions, through which medieval men and women—and children too—found release".Steven Runciman
Steven Runciman
The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
gives an account of the Children's Crusade in his A History of the Crusades. Raedts notes that "Although he cites Munro's article in his notes, his narrative is so wild that even the unsophisticated reader might wonder if he had really understood it." Donald Spoto
Donald Spoto
Donald Spoto is an American celebrity biographer, Catholic theologian, and former monk. He is best known for his best-selling biographies of film and theatre celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, Tennessee Williams, Ingrid Bergman, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly,...
, in a book about Saint Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
, said monks were motivated to call them children, and not wandering poor, because being poor was considered pious and the Church was embarrassed by its wealth in contrast to the poor. This, according to Spoto, began a literary tradition from which the popular legend of children originated. This idea follows closely with H. E. Mayer.
In the arts
Works of art specifically and primarily about the Medieval event. Because of the large number of works that reference "Children's Crusade" for various artistic purposes, it is beyond the scope to list them all here, this list is focused on works that are set in in Middle Ages and focus primarily on a re-telling of the events. For other uses see Children's Crusade (disambiguation)Children's Crusade (disambiguation)
The Children's Crusade was a crusade to free the Holy Land in the year 1212.Children's Crusade may also refer to:-History:*Children's Crusade , a march led by James Bevel in 1963, during the American Civil Rights Movement...
.
- La croisade des enfants ("The Children's Crusade", 1896) by Marcel SchwobMarcel SchwobMarcel Schwob was a Jewish French writer.-Biography:He was born in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine on 23 August 1867...
. - La Croisade des Enfants (1902), a seldom-performed oratorioOratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
by Gabriel PiernéGabriel PiernéHenri Constant Gabriel Pierné was a French composer, conductor, and organist.-Biography:Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz in 1863. His family moved to Paris to escape the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, piano, organ, counterpoint and fugue...
, featuring a children's chorus, is based on the events of the Children's Crusade. - Children's Crusade - a contemporary opera by R. Murray SchaferR. Murray SchaferRaymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World...
, premiered by Soundstreams Canada Concerts in partnership with LuminatoLuminatoLuminato - Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, is a publicly-attended, multi-disciplinary arts festival held annually for 10 days each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
in Toronto in 2009. - Cruciada copiilor ( en. Children's Crusade ) (1930), a play by Lucian BlagaLucian Blaga-Biography:Lucian Blaga was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. He was a philosopher and writer higly acclaimed for his originality, a university professor and a diplomat. He was born on May 9, 1895 in Lancrăm, near Alba Iulia, Romania, his father being an...
based upon the Crusade. - The Children's Crusade (1958), children's historical novel by Henry TreeceHenry TreeceHenry Treece was a British poet and writer, who worked also as a teacher, and editor. He is perhaps best remembered now as a historical novelist, particularly as a children's historical novelist, although he also wrote some adult historical novels.-Life and work:Treece was born in Wednesbury,...
, includes a dramatic account of Stephen of Cloyes attempting to part the sea at Marseille. - The Gates of ParadiseThe Gates of ParadiseThe Gates of Paradise is a novel by Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski published in 1960. The novel consists of 40,000 words written in two sentences, with nearly no punctuation, making it an exercise in constrained writing. The second sentence contains only four words "And they marched all night"...
(1960), a novel by Jerzy AndrzejewskiJerzy AndrzejewskiJerzy Andrzejewski was a prolific Polish author. His novels, Ashes and Diamonds , and Holy Week , have been made into film adaptations by the Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda...
centres around the crusade, with the narrative employing a stream of consciousness technique. - The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi (1963), cantata by Gian-Carlo Menotti, describes a dying bishop's guilt-ridden recollection of the Children's Crusade, during which he questions the purpose and limitations of his own power.
- Children's Crusade, Opus 82, A Ballad for Children's Voices and Orchestra (1968), cantata with music by Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, and words by Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
and Hans KellerHans KellerHans Keller was an influential Austrian-born British musician and writer who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being an insightful commentator on such disparate fields as psychoanalysis and football...
. - "Song of the Marching Children" (1971) by Dutch Progressive rockProgressive rockProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Earth and FireEarth and FireEarth and Fire were a progressive rock group formed in the Netherlands by brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts. Most popular in the 1970s, Earth and Fire came to produce many chart topping hits in the Dutch pop scene. Though they experienced success in the Netherlands, their music never quite made it...
from the album of the same name. The song references the Children's Crusade but does not explicitly mention it by name. - Crusade in JeansCrusade in JeansCrusade in Jeans is a children's novel written by Thea Beckman. It contains a fictional account of the children's crusade of 1212, as witnessed by Rudolf Hefting, a boy from the 20th century. The original Dutch title is Kruistocht in spijkerbroek...
(Dutch Kruistocht in spijkerbroek), is a 1973 novel by Dutch author Thea BeckmanThea BeckmanThea Beckman was a Dutch author of children's books.-Biography:At young age , Beckman knew she wanted to be a writer...
and a 2006 film adaptationCrusade in Jeans (film)Crusade in Jeans is a 2006 Dutch film, an adaptation of the first half of the book Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman. The film was directed by Ben Sombogaart. It is unknown whether a sequel, based on the second half of the book, will be produced....
about the Children's Crusade through the eyes of a time traveller. - The Children's Crusade (1973), a play by Paul Thompson first produced at the Cockpit Theatre (Marylebone)Cockpit Theatre (Marylebone)The Cockpit Theatre is a Fringe Theatre in Marylebone, London. The Cockpit Theatre was designed by Edward Mendelsohn built in 1969-70 by the Inner London Education Authority as a community theatre and is notable as London's first purpose built Theatre In The Round, since the Great Fire of London...
, London by the National Youth TheatreNational Youth TheatreThe National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
. - A Long March To Jerusalem (1978), a play by Don TaylorDon Taylor (director)Donald Victor Taylor was an English writer, director and producer, active across theatre, radio and television for over forty years...
about the story of the Children's Crusade. - An Army of Children (1978), a novel by Evan Rhodes that tells the story of two boys, a Christian and a Jew, partaking in the Children's Crusade.
- Children's crusade (1985) a song by Sting.
- LionheartLionheart (1987 film)Lionheart is a 1987 adventure film directed by Academy Award-winner Franklin J. Schaffner...
(1987), a historical/fantasy film, loosely based on the stories of the Children's Crusade. - "Sea and Sunset" (1989), short story by Mishima Yukio.
- Yndalongg (1996), a 10" released by the AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n musical duo The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A CloudThe Moon lay hidden beneath a CloudThe Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud was an Austrian musical duo composed of Albin Julius and Alzbeth...
features a track based upon the story of the Children's Crusade. The same song is also featured on their 1999 release Rest on your Arms reversed. - The Fire of Roses (2003), a novel by Gregory Rinaldi
- Crusade of Tears (2004), a novel from the series Journey of Souls by C.D. Baker.
- "Crusade: A March through Time" (2006), sci-fi fantasy movie directed by Ben Sombogaart in which a young soccer player (Joe Flynn) is transported back in time and joins the Children's Crusade.
- The Crusade of Innocents (2006), novel by David George, suggests that the Children's Crusade may have been affected by the concurrent crusade against the Cathars in Southern France, and how the two could have met.
- The Scarlet Cross (2006), a novel for youth by Karleen BradfordKarleen BradfordKarleen Bradford is a Canadian children's author.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bradford moved to Argentina as a child. She returned to Canada to attend university, and after graduation, she spent 34 years in different parts of the world as a Foreign Service Officer.Published Books*A Year for Growing -...
- 1212: Year of the Journey (2006), a novel by Kathleen McDonnellKathleen McDonnellKathleen Elizabeth McDonnell is a noted Canadian author. She has been writing plays, fiction and non-fiction for both adults and young audiences since the late seventies, and has also been a freelance broadcaster for CBC Radio. Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947, she came to Canada in 1969...
. Young adult historical novel. - SylviaSylvia (novel)Sylvia is a 2006 novel by Australian author, Bryce Courtenay. It follows a teenage girl, Sylvia Honeyeater, during the Children's Crusade. It explores themes of religion, womanhood, abuse and childhood.- Plot summary :...
(2006) a novel by Bryce Courtney. Follows a teenage girl during the crusades. - The Children's Crusade (2009) chorus for children about the crusades composed by R. Murray SchaferR. Murray SchaferRaymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World...