The Children's Crusade: Medieval History, Modern Mythistory [Paperback]

The Children's Crusade was possibly the most extraordinary event in the history of the crusades. The first modern study in English of this popular crusade sheds new light on its history and offers new perspectives on its supposedly dismal outcome. Its richly re-imagined history and mythistory is explored from the thirteenth century to present day.Introduction (The 60's) PART I: HISTORY The Pope and the Pueri Birthpangs of the Children's Crusade On the Road The Sense of an Ending PART II: MYTHISTORY Mythistorical Motifs (Holy Innocents; Jesus at 12, etc.) Eminent Mythistorians Magic, Prophecy, Apocalypticism PART III: MEMORY Later Medieval and Early Modern Writers The Enlightenment and Romantic Medievalism 19th Century Popular Fiction and Children's Literature 20th Century History and Fiction The Persistence of Social Memory

'A master historian and crackerjack writer, Dickson chases up the evolution of the 'mythistory' to its earliest records and separates the authentic religious revival from the calamitous conclusion slapped on by chroniclers ignorant or dissatisfied witht the actual result.' - Patrick Madigan, Heythrop Journal

'[This] book is very readable and is sometimes extremely funny. I would not be surprised if it became a classic. It will certainly appeal to a very wide audience...I will be amazed if anything better on the crusades appears in 2008.' - Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Tablet

'..a useful testament to the power of religion.' - Henry Midgley, Bits of News

'Dickson unpacks the story in fascinating detail - and yet, he argues, the facts are only just the start.' - Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman, Critique

'This is a heartily welcome book...His [Dickson] scholarly insights and close attention to detail are admirable and he delivers his argument with terrific panache.' Norman Housley, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

'This is an outstanding example of scholarsl#"