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Army of Children
From the back cover: "In 1212 A.D. nearly 50,000 boys and girls rebelled against parents and Church to join a Crusade to the Hold Land...to win by love what their fathers had failed to take by force. But before they even reached Rome--and the Pope's betrayal--nearly all of them had fallen to hardship. Those who went on would pay for their innocent courage in Saracen brothels and slave markets."
Set during the Children's Crusade of 1212 A.D. (which may or may not have actually happened) the novel follows the English Christian Roger, Jonathan, a Jew, and the beautiful French Laurelle. Inspired by child prophet Nicholas, they join the Children's Crusade and are sent to scout ahead through Italy as a sort of advance guard for the main body of 20,000 children marching south from Cologne. They fall prey to various dangers including degenerate monks, greedy noblemen, and slave traders, eventually being bought by the vicious Frizio who becomes obsessed with Laurelle. Although the children do reach Jerusalem, their crusade does not end in the joyous victory they hoped for.
Set during the Children's Crusade of 1212 A.D. (which may or may not have actually happened) the novel follows the English Christian Roger, Jonathan, a Jew, and the beautiful French Laurelle. Inspired by child prophet Nicholas, they join the Children's Crusade and are sent to scout ahead through Italy as a sort of advance guard for the main body of 20,000 children marching south from Cologne. They fall prey to various dangers including degenerate monks, greedy noblemen, and slave traders, eventually being bought by the vicious Frizio who becomes obsessed with Laurelle. Although the children do reach Jerusalem, their crusade does not end in the joyous victory they hoped for.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 25, 2025
This is one of those books that has been sitting around in my house for years. However, I don't think I got it just after it was published, which was 1978. Anyway, I finally got around to reading it and I'm glad I did-- as I'm happy to give it 5 stars. This, despite the fact that I had read about "the Children's Crusade" when I was a kid and I knew this book was going to be about a horrendous disaster.
The year was 1212 and the Crusades were going on. Jerusalem had been recaptured by the Muslims and the Catholic Pope was calling for yet another crusade to retake Jerusalem. You could say that, as a response to the Pope, a 12-year-old boy named Stephen of Cloyes preached a crusade to the children in Paris. Perhaps as many as 30,000 children responded. Stephen said he would lead the children to the Holy Land, where he believed that divine intervention would convert the Muslims to Christianity. Almost at the same time, a German boy named Nicholas gathered thousands of children together in Cologne. Both boys planned to lead their followers to the sea, Stephen going south to Marseilles, Nicholas south to Genoa in Italy, having to make a terrifying passage through the Alps to get to Italy.
We follow three main characters (and there are others of interest) in the story. One is Roger, son of an English baron, who is in Cologne to go to the university there but gets caught up by the vision of world peace held out by Nicholas. There is the girl that he falls in love with--Laurelle, who is dedicated to the Crusade. And, my favorite character is Jonathan, a Jewish boy orphaned by a massacre of the Jews in London. He decides to accompany Roger to the Holy Land. After all, it is his homeland.
I knew the children would face incredible hardships--many dying due to simple starvation as well as disease and exhaustion. Some would die in trying to cross the Alps. Many children would desert and try to get back to their homes. And many would be captured to be sold as slaves to the Muslims in North Africa. It's a story on an epic scale, a story of faith, love and courage, but also disillusionment and betrayal--and, as has happened so many times in history, a story of man's inhumanity to man and, in this case, to children.
I had to hope that our heroes, Roger, Laurelle and Jonathan, would survive. Sorry, no spoilers here about what happened to them. I had no problem giving this book 5 stars. It's on an epic scale, as I said, and one becomes immersed in the medieval period which the author brings so vividly to life. But the story is basically a great tragedy, all the worse because it involves children, so it is very hard going at times.
A final note--although the author claims that the story of the Children's Crusade of 1212 is true, some historians challenge the idea that it was a crusade mainly of children. They state that it was a movement of poor people involving children, but still mainly adults. And that somehow stories became exaggerated concerning the number of children involved compared to the number of adults. Whatever the truth, it is still a spectacular story that gives some insight into the life and society of medieval people, particularly at the time of the Crusades.
The year was 1212 and the Crusades were going on. Jerusalem had been recaptured by the Muslims and the Catholic Pope was calling for yet another crusade to retake Jerusalem. You could say that, as a response to the Pope, a 12-year-old boy named Stephen of Cloyes preached a crusade to the children in Paris. Perhaps as many as 30,000 children responded. Stephen said he would lead the children to the Holy Land, where he believed that divine intervention would convert the Muslims to Christianity. Almost at the same time, a German boy named Nicholas gathered thousands of children together in Cologne. Both boys planned to lead their followers to the sea, Stephen going south to Marseilles, Nicholas south to Genoa in Italy, having to make a terrifying passage through the Alps to get to Italy.
We follow three main characters (and there are others of interest) in the story. One is Roger, son of an English baron, who is in Cologne to go to the university there but gets caught up by the vision of world peace held out by Nicholas. There is the girl that he falls in love with--Laurelle, who is dedicated to the Crusade. And, my favorite character is Jonathan, a Jewish boy orphaned by a massacre of the Jews in London. He decides to accompany Roger to the Holy Land. After all, it is his homeland.
I knew the children would face incredible hardships--many dying due to simple starvation as well as disease and exhaustion. Some would die in trying to cross the Alps. Many children would desert and try to get back to their homes. And many would be captured to be sold as slaves to the Muslims in North Africa. It's a story on an epic scale, a story of faith, love and courage, but also disillusionment and betrayal--and, as has happened so many times in history, a story of man's inhumanity to man and, in this case, to children.
I had to hope that our heroes, Roger, Laurelle and Jonathan, would survive. Sorry, no spoilers here about what happened to them. I had no problem giving this book 5 stars. It's on an epic scale, as I said, and one becomes immersed in the medieval period which the author brings so vividly to life. But the story is basically a great tragedy, all the worse because it involves children, so it is very hard going at times.
A final note--although the author claims that the story of the Children's Crusade of 1212 is true, some historians challenge the idea that it was a crusade mainly of children. They state that it was a movement of poor people involving children, but still mainly adults. And that somehow stories became exaggerated concerning the number of children involved compared to the number of adults. Whatever the truth, it is still a spectacular story that gives some insight into the life and society of medieval people, particularly at the time of the Crusades.
September 10, 2010
I have a vague sense that this paperback has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for at least 7-8 years and I've never had the overwhelming urge to pick it up and read it. Thankfully, it was the perfect fit for a reading challenge task and I've finally finished it.
The writing was adequate and straight-forward and the story was interesting. While it's not for everyone, I do enjoy historical fiction. This novel was particularly arresting because of the subject matter, the children's crusade to Jerusalem. However, it was also that much more disturbing because I have a lot of trouble reading dark material that focuses on the victimization of children.
It's shocking, not only to read about the depravity of those who chose to take advantage or victimize these children, but to come to terms with the idea that the parents of so many children were willing to relinquish their children to face those risks: some children as young as toddlers.
This novel is positively riddled with tragedy, but there is an undercurrent of hope - in Roger and Jonathan's unlikely fellowship, in the gradual acceptance of Jonathan by Harolde, in Harolde's willingness to consider a different way after witnessing the hopelessness of rigidly adhering to his beliefs, in the willingness of so many to sacrifice themselves for an idea bigger than themselves.
The writing was adequate and straight-forward and the story was interesting. While it's not for everyone, I do enjoy historical fiction. This novel was particularly arresting because of the subject matter, the children's crusade to Jerusalem. However, it was also that much more disturbing because I have a lot of trouble reading dark material that focuses on the victimization of children.
It's shocking, not only to read about the depravity of those who chose to take advantage or victimize these children, but to come to terms with the idea that the parents of so many children were willing to relinquish their children to face those risks: some children as young as toddlers.
This novel is positively riddled with tragedy, but there is an undercurrent of hope - in Roger and Jonathan's unlikely fellowship, in the gradual acceptance of Jonathan by Harolde, in Harolde's willingness to consider a different way after witnessing the hopelessness of rigidly adhering to his beliefs, in the willingness of so many to sacrifice themselves for an idea bigger than themselves.
January 19, 2020
Not a happy book -- bad things happen to children -- but then this was not at all a happy event. The book certainly demonstrates the incredible, courageous, and unselfish passion and drive of young people to change their world for the better (think also: French youth and immigrants at the barricades of the June Rebellion, young Americans burning their draft cards, Greta Thunberg and the kids who brought the climate change lawsuit, etc.), but it also shows how easily that passion can be co-opted and misused by the unscrupulous and those who want to preserve the current power structure.
November 9, 2012
The tale grabbed my attention and kept me hooked on reading. I decided to explore the subject being puzzled by the concept of children's crusade. The adult characters of Christian Saracen Frizzio, and his eunuch Baalbek, Harolde who was a monk and Flammonde who was his love, came to life on the pages of the book. It's a tragic story about confrontation between ideals and reality, and children who like Laurell, Jonathan, Richard and others were at the hart of what's best in human life.
May 16, 2014
This is probably one of my favorite books of all time. The subject matter is a little hard to swallow at times with the inclusion of the raping of at least one minor. However I found myself pulled into the story and unable to put the book down until I had turned the last page. Its portrayal of the Children's Crusade demonstrated the naivety and hopefulness of youth being exploited by the selfish concerns of those with more life experience. Making it a fitting theme for this book.
May 24, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it is a while since I read it! But it has stuck with me, the story was engaging and I became genuinely interested in the fate of the main characters. The book seemed to be historically accurate without making me feel like I was reading a history lesson.... a nice feeling!
March 2, 2022
Esta novela me impresionó mucho cuando la leí (era bastante jovencita). Narra de manera muy creíble la cruzada de niños de 1212. Me marcó la inocencia de los niños y los personajes principales, muy bien dibujados. También me impactó mucho el realismo que transmite toda la novela, con situaciones muy creíbles. A pesar de ser un libro muy gordo (en esa época era enorme comparado con lo que leía) la lectura era ágil y me tenía muy enganchada.
Cuando lo leí apunté esta cita: "Larga vida para el que ve la vida, y rechaza lo que no es central, y arroja las armas fuera del mundo"
Cuando lo leí apunté esta cita: "Larga vida para el que ve la vida, y rechaza lo que no es central, y arroja las armas fuera del mundo"
January 25, 2011
A very pleasant mix of historical novel and romance/exciting story. In other words, the fictional bits were engaging enough to not feel like messing with history (as is the most common effect historical novels have on me).
February 23, 2016
Good story, wide-ranging and tolerant
June 14, 2019
I read this book as a teenager and have always remembered it. Very moving.
October 21, 2023
What a horrid ending for so many children! Shameful.
September 2, 2016
Leí este libro cuando tenia unos 8 o 9 años; nuevamente lo lei en la adolescencia, y ya en la adultez, y hoy en día me gustaría leerlo nuevamente.
Fue un libro que me marco en muchos aspectos, desde el punto de vista de la amistad entre personas con creencias distintas (los dos protagonistas tienen diferentes religiones), el amor y los sacrificios por el, las bajezas del ser humano cuando se aprovecha e los mas débiles... y sobre todo la fe, inagotable, irrompible, que mueve montañas o en este caso, miles de niños con la intención de terminar la guerra con una oleada de paz.
El final es triste, para mi como niño, como adolescente y como adulto, aunque el transcurso de la historia va tomando diferentes valores según las experiencias de mi vida en cada momento.
Es un hermoso libro, escrito para una lectura cómoda para todas las edades, y realmente lo recomiendo para regalar a un hijo adolescente e idealista.
Yo, al menos, lo pienso hacer con los míos.
Fue un libro que me marco en muchos aspectos, desde el punto de vista de la amistad entre personas con creencias distintas (los dos protagonistas tienen diferentes religiones), el amor y los sacrificios por el, las bajezas del ser humano cuando se aprovecha e los mas débiles... y sobre todo la fe, inagotable, irrompible, que mueve montañas o en este caso, miles de niños con la intención de terminar la guerra con una oleada de paz.
El final es triste, para mi como niño, como adolescente y como adulto, aunque el transcurso de la historia va tomando diferentes valores según las experiencias de mi vida en cada momento.
Es un hermoso libro, escrito para una lectura cómoda para todas las edades, y realmente lo recomiendo para regalar a un hijo adolescente e idealista.
Yo, al menos, lo pienso hacer con los míos.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews