By Demercino Junior
The Crusades were expeditions organized by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages, with the aim of retaking Jerusalem and spreading Christianity. One passage that world historiography has not covered very closely was the Children's Crusade. Perhaps for lack of sources or for not giving much importance, the Crusade of the children is seen by some scholars in a romanticized way.
In 1212, a group of children organized a Crusade with the intention of reaching the Holy Land, Jerusalem. They left regions of Germany and France and most never returned to their homes. Children who were not kidnapped and enslaved died along the way from hunger or cold.
To explain the successive defeats of the Crusaders, a passage was made public in which only children, pure and innocent, would win the victory and retake Jerusalem. Some historians speculate on the possible fact of a mistranslation:the word pueri, which was associated with the child (in Latin), also translates as young. It may have been an expedition that brought together thousands of young people and the story tried to interpret it in its own way, associating it with children. The doubt that hangs is that it would be impossible for a group of children to travel in the most diverse climatic conditions, for thousands of kilometers and, if possible, it would be suicide.
The official version, according to chroniclers of the time (among them Roger Bacon and Vincent de Beauvais), tells that Estevão, 12 years old, went to Saint Denis, France, to deliver a letter to King Felipe Augusto. Stephen had received a visit from Jesus Christ and had been entrusted by him with organizing an expedition to Jerusalem and expelling the Muslims from the Holy Land. This expedition should be formed only by children, as they are pure in heart. King Philip, frightened, sought help in order to know what to do. He was instructed to send Estevão back home.
The truth about the facts is not known for sure. Other versions say that Estevão became so popular that he was elevated to the rank of saint or that he became a leader because he was known as a miracle worker. Only, in a failed attempt, he ordered the Mediterranean Sea to open. Unsuccessfully, his story ended. Two merchants offered to take Stephen (and two thousand other young men who accompanied him) to Jerusalem by ship. In July 1212, they boarded seven ships and were never heard from again.