Thousands reportedly set out as children to retake the Holy Land armed only with faith

According to accounts written soon after 1212, a young shepherd in France claimed a vision told him to lead children to Jerusalem, and thousands of young people and poor commoners allegedly marched toward the Mediterranean. The movement never reached the Holy Land; some accounts say marchers turned back, others, likely exaggerated, that many were sold into slavery. Historians doubt many literal children were involved, treating it as a study in how legend and religious fervor blur together.

— Contemporary chronicles, notably Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Children's Crusade — 1212