Conflicted: A History Podcast
Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
The Children’s Crusade 1212 – Part 1: Stephen of Cloyes
In the late spring of 1212, a spontaneous mass movement of 30,000 children arose in medieval France. Led by a 12-year-old shepherd boy named Stephen from the small village of Cloyes, the “Children’s Crusade” swore to march on the Holy Land and peacefully reclaim the city of Jerusalem from Muslim control. In this first episode of a two-part series, we examine the origins of the Children’s Crusade, the historiographical controversy surrounding it, and the enigmatic figure at its center, Stephen of Cloyes.
SOURCES:
Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land. Ecco, 2010.
Clayton, Joseph. Pope Innocent III and His Times. Bruce Publishing Company, 1913.
Cunningham, Hugh. The Invention of Childhood. BBC Books, 2006.
Gabriele, Matthew, and David M. Perry. The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe. Harper, 2021.
Gies, Frances, and Joseph Gies. Life in a Medieval City. Harper Perennial, 2010.
Gray, George Zabriskie. The Children's Crusade. Houghton Mifflin, 1870.
Hourly History. The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End. Hourly History, 2016.
Jones, Dan. Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands. Viking, 2019.
Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades through Arab Eyes. Translated by Jon Rothschild, Schocken Books, 1984.
Nicolle, David. The Fourth Crusade 1202–04: The Betrayal of Byzantium. Illustrated by Christa Hook, Osprey Publishing, 2001.
Norwich, John Julius. Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy. Random House, 2011.
Sayers, Jane. Innocent III: Leader of Europe, 1198–1216. Longman, 1994.
The Crusades. Captivating History, 2019.
Chronicles of the First Crusade. Edited by Christopher Tyerman, Penguin Classics.
Medieval Christianity. Captivating History, 2020.
Trow, M. J. The Children's Crusade. Pen & Sword History, 2008.
Hunnicutt, Wendell, editor. “Speech of Urban II at the Council of Clermont, November 26, 1095.” Reading List: Western Civilization, University of Texas at Arlington, https://websites.uta.edu/hunnicut/reading-list/readings-western-civilization/speech-of-urban-ii-at-the-council-of-clermont-november-26-1095/. Accessed 6 July 2026.
Farkel, William. “The Ebstorf Map: Unlocking Medieval Cartography and Its Hidden Meanings.” The Cartographic Institute, https://thecartographicinstitute.com/the-ebstorf-map-unlocking-medieval-cartography-and-its-hidden-meanings/. Accessed 6 July 2026.
“15 Medieval Jokes That Still Hold Up Today.” Medievalists.net, 23 May 2023, https://www.medievalists.net/2023/05/15-medieval-jokes/. Accessed 6 July 2026
Medievalists.net. (2024, April 17). How to be a shepherd in the Middle Ages. Medievalists.net
Lanigan, Dennis T. “The Departure – An Episode of the Child's Crusade, 12th Century, by Joanna Boyce Wells.” The Victorian Web, 22 July 2024, https://victorianweb.org/painting/wellsjb/paintings/5.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.
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