A Journey of Innocents

Lucidly written and well researched, A Journey of Innocents is a marvelously spellbinding novel about a thirteenth century event which was so tragic and so calamitous that for many, it is difficult to believe it actually occurred. It is the story of an army of children whose faith in God was so strong and unyielding that they were willing to sacrifice all, even their very life, in order to accomplish what they had been taught with such fervor was God's will - the Christian domination of the land of Christ. Over 70,000 German and French children participated in the extraordinary medieval event known as "The Children's Crusade." This novel evolves around the French portion of the Crusade which by itself involved nearly 30,000 children. The average age of the children was 12, most were boys, many were as young as 5 or 6. The leader of the French Crusade was himself, only 12. The story portrays the children with their innocence, their vitality and zest for life, their deep faith in God and their dreams of chivalry. More than half the children lost their life during their holy quest. Many of the survivors were captured and enslaved by the Saracens and were made to serve their masters in the brothels of North Africa and Palestine. Thousands of the children died quickly after their enslavement as they were forced to toil in the fields or mines of their captors. As the story unfolds, it revolves around several fictional characters and follows them with the Crusade on their incredible odyssey, giving a day by day chronology as best as can be determined, with 13 detailed maps. This is the true story of 30,000 little soldiers of God who in their innocence, truly believed their goal would be granted by divine right and who endured decimating thirst, hunger, exhaustion and disillusionment in the belief that their sacrifices were necessary in order to effect God's will.