Introduction

The popular crusades were several movements “animated by crusading enthusiasm” but unsanctioned by the Church.

Background

They contrast with the “official crusades” authorised by the Papacy. While the latter consisted of professional armies led by apostolic legates, the popular crusades were generally disorganised and consisted of peasants, artisans and only the occasional knight.

The term “popular crusade” is a modern scholarly convention. The distinction between the “hierarchical” (or official) and the popular impulse in crusading was first made by Leopold von Ranke in the nineteenth century.

The Popular Crusades

The movements typically regarded as popular crusades are:

• People’s Crusade (1096).
• Children’s Crusade (1212).
• Shepherds’ Crusade (1251).
• Crusade of the Poor (1309).
• Shepherds’ Crusade (1320).