| Show INFANT CRUSA CRUSADERS DERSIN times TIMMS A manch manon it TO 0 THE uhn noly HOLY S SEPULCHRE q ONE hendred THOUSAND CHIL gnp ATTEMPT TO REACH BEACH THE the general story tf bf the crusade ers ors orsis is well known history hutor y has faithfully preserved the memory ory of the millions who went on the pen Ped perilous lous ious march to jerusalem and attested with their live the sincerity ity of bf their faith one feature however ha hm wever of that wonderful fan fanatical 1 ati delusion the historian overlooked I 1 it isa simple simpie story y into which is edven no thrilling bied died deeds af of war alike like ilke knights or mailed caval cavaliers cavallers cava eava liers lers and aud it makes little reeo record rd of battles fou fought baand and victories won but in earnest devotion implicit faith grand enthusiasm generous self sacrifice and painful martyrdom marty dOm it has iio lio no parallel in all ail history ve we refer to me the children crusaders which co comprised three armies of french and germ germin an youth who perished in an ellart to rescue the holy sepulchre from the hands of the infidel FIVE AGO tile the literature ra t ure uro of Euro europe pevas was full of accounts of af this most wonderful cru eru cru ade but it gradually and unaccountably dropped out of the story stony of the knightly adaven jurers who bore the cross to glory on the plains of syria and it was reserved foran for an american to rescue the story from oblivion and through the publishing house IQ of 1 hurd houghton his researches 11 have live been given to the world all ho honor R ar to the jacv rev george gray of new jersey for this act of justice to the memory of the little martyrs whose pious ploua devotion the busy world had iorg lorg forgotten otten in the year 1187 the celebrated SAlad saiad ln after a long and bloody I 1 war routed the christian forces fordes from palestine and aud recaptured jerusalem which had passed under the dominion of the cross eighty eight years before righard richard J I 1 of E england 0 o frederick of Gei germany many and henry VI each sent forward vast arm armies ies les to the holy city but their suc sue cesti was not great lodge ments were made upon the seacoast but no progress was waa made inland in 1198 a fifth army started for the samo saino object but effected nothing it was while the hearts of nil all devout believers were adre filled with grief and mortification over these repeated fallu faliu failures resi rest that tile the singular fanaticism which led to the childs crusade broke out and spread like aa an epidemic and in the end was not less fatal its first manifestation was at the tomb of i one of the saints to which pious pilgrims were wont to resort for pr prayer gyer THE YOUW ArosT arostor Lr A boy named stephen from a squalid village near orleans repaired I 1 ire lre d to the spot and addressed tho the pilgrims I 1 there assembled a asserting ss erting dat pat th that thad he had been visited by jesus chri chila A himself and had received recci lecci ved from him a letter to the king of france with authority to go and recover the holy sepulchre this childs appearance was peculia rand lie he seemed more like a being from the other world than one belon belonging glier to this earth his voice was almost angelic his enthusiasm and faith unbounded and his eloquence marvelous and touching tt it was the age ago 0 of superstition and the zealots zealous of the day went mad with the fanaticism the new news s spread with unwonted rapidity from town to town from city to td city and from province to province until all france was aglow with the excite ment other lads caught the fanatical infection and called calle dupon upon their playmates to join in a last effort to rescue the tomb of christ from the possession of the infidel turk young stephen taught and his followers or lieutenants preached the same doctrine that god would miraculously lead them on the way and give them an overwhelming wh elming victory without battle or bloodshed if parent parents friends or guardians sought to pre pro prevent venti the little ones under their care from yielding to the prevailing madness their remonstrance 4 were drowned by the acclamations of the more superstitious and effectually silenced by the familiar quotation which whicK then took a terrible meaning sum bum buffer suffer fien fier little children to come unto me ale and forbid them not THE GENERAL drad MADNESS sess NESS it seemed as though the whole population had gono stark mad the university of paris took the initiative in lix an attempt to check the woeful fanaticism but science and reason were powerless the king was prevailed upon to issue ai lorder lorden forbidding the preaching of the childish apostles who were organizing crusades but evleen it is eyleen evident that lie he too had t been een soine somewhat infected with the superstition for he took no r measures nea to enforce ed forcer obedience his its lis mandate which he knew was daly dally violated in june 1212 the young crusader ery erg stephen called his followers together from all the provin provinces ees ces and districts of france and thirty thousand gathered at vendome the enthusiasm had not been confined con fined to the lower dia classes and the tha th 1 sons osona of the nobles as well as the children of the poor joined the banner of the aiosa cr osa girls lef left their homes by thousands to accompany the erb erh crusade sade and history also records that men meu and women of the worst oha cha character rieter likewise united themselves to the expedition fur for the tile vilest of purposes ON THE MARCIL marcin led by the child prophet who rode in a chariot drawn by white steeds thu tho unfortunate children set out for marseilles it was abour ney of cruel privation no commis commissary had been provided and the poor deluded youths were com corn polled to sleep in I 1 the open air on the highways and in the fields and to subsist by plunder or beggary at first they were received with acclamation wherever they appeared but it was soon found that amine famine and aud pestilence followed in their wake and the poor misguided pilgrims came to bo be regarded with awe and dread the season was excessively hot and unhealthy disease broke out in the camps and without doctors without medicines and without care the hapless children perished by thousands and t thoros theros h ro ads ds leading to marseilles were thickly strewn with the dying and the dead but their youthful spirita spirits were nou nob depressed and with chant hymn exhortation and prayer they kept on THEIR TOILS tolls TOILSOME OBIt MARCH to the sea in their infatuation they had believed that the sea aou would iid ild be parted for their passage as had been done for the people of god so many centuries before but u upon on their arrival at Br marseilles arseilles tiey they they were undeceived they saw before them the blue mediterranean a ragged sheet of billow and breaker effectually barring their further pro progress oress this was a sad disappointment in vain they waited and in vain were the saints invoked after weeks of suspense the faith of the faint weary homesick sick siek wanderers began to waver and they were on the point of turning back to their homes but at this juncture two merchants of marseilles came forward forwar dand jand tendered ten vessels to transport the expedition to palestine asking in return only oaly the prayers of the young adventurers but by this time thousands had bad perished of disease alid and privation and thousands more had obad become dis dib heartened I 1 so only flye FIVE THOUSAND OF THE LITTLE r ONES were left to attempt the tho final voyage the embarkation took place amid imposing religious ceremonies and with the prayers and blessings of or ali all france the little fleet spread its canvas and sailed away and for el eighteen 1 years there came no tidings concerning its fate simultaneously with the movement mentin in az france ance a similar exo te ment merit arse in germany A boy named nicholas bean began preaching at cologne much after the tho manner of stephen in franco france prom promising a miraculous victory for the children of god rich and poor poo high and low caught tile the enthusiasm and aad not less than deluded children rendezvoused at cologne to set out for the holy sepulcher they wore like tile the french crusaders accompanied by lly th thousands of young girls and likewise by infamous men and women seeking to prey upon their enthusiasm and innocence tedious and wearisome was the journey of miles from cologne to genoa the port from which they tiley wore to embark thoy they slept in the open field and fed on alms aims as the older sharks who ai companied accompanied compa nied them had bo farly darly str stripped ippei them of the little they had sayed saved to bear them on their thein toilsome journey the barons of germany burgundy and switzerland hovered around them durins the march kidnapping ieh leh hueh such ich 0 of the little ones as chanced to stray t from the ranks and retained them a as thralls in their castles WILD r beasts constantly shan SHAD OWED THEM and the sick and the weary who lay jay down to rest their w eary weary frame were instantly devoured 4 num numerous r husbands bands of butla outlaws ws infested the country through which they hey passed and all were plundered and hundreds were carried captive to the robbers haunts where they thes were heard of no more they had no do appliances for tr crossing the numerous streams which obstructed their line of march and hund hundreds hundredth perished in making malting the efla ort so when they came in sight of the alps Alp sony only one bab half their number remained having perished from the causes above described suli still they marched on full of faith had hope and beguiled tho the weary hours with will song and prayer As they approached the alps large bands of saracen refugees collected upon their flanks hanks and made mado daily dally attacks upon the half famished pilgrims but it was not until they reached cents and commenced the ascent that THE I enthusiasts began to lose hope and heart the tile jagged rocks cut their unshod neet feet di the 6 air of the chasms chasme never softened by the suns rays chilled them to the bone the tho dreary wastes around them promised no hope of food nor could rest be expected until the awful passage was made amid these after group of the tile children abandoned the crusade and turned their fabes faces ilu lib homeward A goodly number however kept on but it was wa a fear fill j bourney they rested wherever night overtook them I 1 lying down in rain and storm storn i on the heather or on the reck reek few could obtain fuel to protect the them M selves from the extreme cold and hundreds polished where they lay jay down to sleep in piedmont pleamon t where they expected succor they were met with coldness and even cruelty privation had ral rai raised cd a pestilence in their thinned lanks ranks and they were generally refused admittance luto into the cities and towns of italy and many of their numbers were kidnapped for slaves on the of august however they were permitted to enter genoa when it N vas yas found that only SEVEN THOUSAND leet lul of lof tho original who marched from cologne on entering th thoy they y stipulated for but ono one bigi nights 1 t 8 lodging fully expecting that t the be nied mediterranean would divide and enable them to pass on they entered the city led by young nicholas with banners and red crosses and singing sacred songs an abdall d all ali genoa turned out to welcome them from erom the authorities hb however wever they met with no kindly reception and the senate ordered them to leave the city forthwith or nind find employment some obtained work and remained d and ultimately became th the thy 3 heads beads of princely families large laro numb climbers ers turned their faces toward home which hieb hleb however few ever reached W the remnant resumed their weary march following the seashore toward home bome home to obtain the tho popes podes aid and benediction but from him they obtained little sympathy he ridiculed their insane project but refused to absolve them from their vows and proclaimed that even those who had left the expedition should be held to the performance of their vows when they became men he ile then apro promptly dl fly commanded them to abaid m the mad road scheme this was the final jinai blow and the expedition dissolved though few avei eversal ever baw saw aho the green fields ol 01 germany again awain ANOTHER expedition ain aln in the haste baste which marked tile tiie departure of the first band from cologne colone thousands who were anxious to accompany it were leftie left behind the numbers of such that flocked into the city continued to increase until fully were there gathered these also started for the holy land though they pursued a different route from the thu army which had immediately pro ceded them but they suffered buffered the same privations aud and hardship hardships ai aa their predecessors arld arid disease kid nap robbers and wild bauts made sad havoc in their ranks through switzerland over the mountain mountains by the pass of st goth gothi ard they made the entry in lombardy but they met with no llo kindly welcome there and passed pass ed i on by gwenna Rw Poa enna venua ancona aud and apu ila lia rundi hundreds eds perished with I 1 famine on the route and when the melancholy procession reached brindisi the lind had dwindled to less lesa than at brindisi the little pili pilgrims grims were tre treated abed with extreme cruelty and scores of br the boys and girls were forcibly captured and made to serve as slaves to their captors tim bi hop of or Bri mills labored with the unhappy youths and succeeded in freeing many of them frum from their delusion and in inducing them to turn biek bick A few how however eiver eiven would not yield to reason apri privation or entreaty and emba embarked r don on a small sessel essel vessel for palestine they were ivere never heard of more whether they perished by shipwreck disease or nia hia sacre or were kidnapped and enslaved enslaved can never be known THE JOURNEY nome HOME happy happye were those young cre ere creatures x who died while faith and hope were yet rz pt strong trong tiong rong xong who tho thoe evac ahr survived suffered mu mure e 0 o on the re turn than on thein their outward journey for ron their privations were just as great and they were adre not buoyed up hy by the same sama enthusiasm of the girls few were equal to the amt task k and hundreds and thousands stop ped in the different towns along the route and eventually formed a large element of the tile depraved population the boys straggled straggled home marching by day alid sleeping in the open fields felds by night weary emaciated dejected dying chev had bad gone out in troops with banners music and song they thu returned ly aid auld in silence for men to scoff at or to pity aa as they n might lit feel inclined day after day da tho iho groups canao cacao straggling into cologne or the other cities from which they had gone for forth th their at ads bow bowed edwith with shame their eyes rel red rei with weeping and their cloth ing in in rags they were asked where they had been and they re fe plied they did not know they only days of varied and intense were ignorant of their route knew not what lands they had traversed or what cities they had visited they only knew know they had bad journeyed until they could go no further and had then sought the fi fl resides of their pleasant german homes Avear A year sear passed before the last of the tho melancholy survivors of the youthful band r returned I 1 As wo have already stated tho the french children to the number of or more sailed from geno genoa and arid for eighteen elgh teren n years nothing was heard concerning tb them omand |
