A warning from history
In early 1212, a young man named Nicholas from Cologne either initiated or quickly became the focus of a popular apocalyptic movement that swept through the Rhineland. Thousands of children joined him on his crusade. As Nicholas and his followers marched from town to town, they spread their enthusiasm. Wherever they went, they were hailed as heroes. The Children’s Crusade came to a humiliating end. They were now reviled and ridiculed by the same people who had previously acclaimed and assisted them.
During the course of the wars against the Albigensians, crusade preaching became a constant fact of life in northern France and parts of Germany. The drumbeat of enthusiastic sermons added to an atmosphere already supercharged with popular piety, anticlericalism, and profound anxiety about the state of Jerusalem. In a world in which religious enthusiasm was common and respected, these tensions often manifested themselves in bizarre and startling ways. One such set of events is commonly called the Children’s Crusade.
Because it was a popular movement, the Children’s Crusade is difficult to trace. Unlike most crusades, there was no participant who wrote a memoir of the event. What we can glean comes from the reports of outsiders, primarily monastic chroniclers who watched it all go by. It is difficult, therefore, to say precisely how it began, or for that matter, how it ended. What is clear is that in early 1212, a young man named Nicholas from Cologne either initiated or quickly became the focus of a popular movement that swept through the Rhineland. Nicholas had in mind to go to Jerusalem and rescue the Holy City from the Muslims. Under divine instruction, he began walking south to the sea, which he believed would open up before him, allowing him to walk to Palestine. Tens, then hundreds, then thousands joined him in his march. As Nicholas and his followers marched from town to town, they spread their enthusiasm. Children, adolescents, women, the elderly, the poor, parish clergy, and the occasional thief joined the movement in throngs. Wherever they went, they were hailed as heroes. They received gifts, food, money, and prayers from their abundant well-wishers. When clergy members expressed reservations or skepticism about the “crusade,” they were ridiculed and accused of jealousy. Had not the church-sponsored crusades failed repeatedly to reclaim the Holy Sepulcher? Were the prelates so blind that they could not see the hand of God in this extraordinary pilgrimage of the poor and the weak?
The post Apocalyptic Child Abuse: The Story of the Famous And Foolish Children’s Crusade appeared first on The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF).
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February 14, 2019 at 04:19AM
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