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Section 3Standards-Based Instruction

422 Chapter 15

Standards at a Glance

Students have read about the spread of Christianity; here they will focus on the religious Crusades—wars launched in the name of Christianity primarily against Muslims.

Section Focus QuestionWhat were the causes and effects of the Crusades?Before you begin the lesson for the day, write the Section Focus Question on the board. (Lesson focus: The Crusades began after Turks persecuted pilgrims traveling to Jerusa-lem and threatened Constantinople. The pope saw this as an opportunity to create peace in Europe and to claim power. The effects of the Crusades in Europe were religious persecu-tions, a broader world view, an increase in trade with the East, and perhaps the inspiration for the period of exploration of the 1400s.)

Prepare to Read

Build Background KnowledgeAsk students what they already know about the Crusades, including the reasons for the fighting and intended destination of crusaders. Write the term holy war on the board, and ask students if they can define the phrase. Elicit from students that, in general, fighters in a holy war believe that they are following God’s wishes in their fight. Ask students if they can name any other historical or current holy wars.

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Defining Terms Give students a page pro-tector to put over the text. Have students reread the section “Crusades Against Mus-lims” and mark each sentence with a * if they understand the sentence, a ? if they are uncertain or don’t understand the sen-

tence, and a ! if they find the information interesting or new. Review any sentences they have with a question mark. Pair stu-dents to compare their “!” sentences. Then, have them write one sentence that defines the term Crusades in its historical context.

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Answer

Reading Skill The pilgrims believed that Jerusalem was a holy place. Faith is based, at least partly, on that which is not provable.

422 Chapter 15 Medieval Conflicts and Crusades

Section

3

Europeans launched the Crusades to free the Holy Land from Muslim control.

H-SS RE&PV 2 IdentifyOpinionsWhat opinion did

pilgrims have about Jerusalem? What makes this an opinion?

Religious Crusades

H-SS 7.6.6 Discuss the causes and course of the religious Crusades and their effects on the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations in Europe, with emphasis on the increasing contact by Europeans with cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean world.

H-SS Research, Evidence, and Point of View 2Students distinguish fact from opinion in historical narratives and stories.

Reading Preview

Reading Skill

Identify Opinions Althoughthe majority of information in history textbooks is factual, all textbooks contain opinions. They present opinions in descriptions of attitudes and viewpoints of people in history. It is important to identify these opinions and to carefully read the facts that surround them.

Vocabulary Builder

High-Use Wordsestablish (uh STAB lihsh), p. 423expel (ehk SPEHL), p. 426

Key Terms and Peoplepilgrim (PIHL gruhm), p. 422crusade (kroo SAYD), p. 422heresy (HEHR uh see), p. 426Inquisition (ihn kwuh ZIHSHuhn), p. 427

Background Knowledge As you have read, theIslamic Empire grew by taking land from the crumbling Byz-antine Empire. In this section, you will read how Christians inWestern Europe tried to recapture those lands.

Crusades Against MuslimsSome Christians in the Middle Ages became pilgrims. A

pilgrim is a religious person who travels to a holy place orshrine. The most devoted pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem andother sites in Palestine. For them, Palestine was the Holy Land:the place where Jesus lived and died.

For about 400 years, Muslim caliphs let Christian pilgrimsvisit holy places in peace. Then, in the early 11th century, theFatimid Arabs started destroying churches and killing pil-grims. In 1071, Turks took over Jerusalem from the Fatimids.During Seljuk Turk rule of the Middle East, there was frequentharassment of Christian pilgrims, and the Seljuks themselvesmarched on Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor askedPope Urban II for help.

Call for a Crusade The pope was eager to join the fight.A crusade, or Christian religious war, would place the popeat the head of a great army.

History Background

Chapter 15 Section 3 423

Set a Purpose■ Form students into pairs or groups of

four. Distribute the Reading Readiness Guide. Ask students to fill in the first two columns of the chart.

Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Reading Readiness Guide, p. 45

■ Use the Idea Wave technique (TE p. T38) to call on students to share one piece of information they already know and one piece of information they want to know. The students will return to these work-sheets later.

Teach

Crusades Against Muslims

H-SS 7.6.6

Instruction■ Vocabulary Builder

High-Use Words Before teaching this lesson, preteach the high-use words establish and expel, using the strategy on TE p. 411.Key Terms Following the instructions on p. 7, have students continue to pre-view key terms.

■ Read Crusades Against Muslims with students, using the Paragraph Shrinking strategy (TE p. T37).

■ Ask: What were the pope’s motivations for calling for a crusade? (Pope Urban II wished to free the Holy Land from the Turks.)

■ Ask: How did the pope use the tradi-tion of feudal obligations to encourage people to join the Crusades? (The pope argued that Jesus was Lord of all Christians and that the obligation of a vassal was to defend a lord. Therefore, he argued, the defense of the Holy Land was called for by God.)

Answer

Contrary to convention, she traveled with the crusaders to the bat-tlefields. Though she did not take part in battle, her actions shocked many.

The crusaders had strong incentives to heed the pope’s call to arms. He offered a papal indulgence to those who joined. Becoming a crusader not only would be a form of penance, it would also erase the time a crusader would have to spend in purgatory for his or her previously forgiv-en sins. Although the wealthier classes were slow to embrace the Crusade, having

property and other obligations to bind them to western Europe, the lower classes joined with enthusiasm. Itinerant preach-ers, who were poor themselves, attracted thousands to the cause. Living in poverty, with little hope of improvement, the lower classes had nothing to lose by marching to the East.

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Section 3 Religious Crusades 423

In 1095, Pope Urban II began to call for a crusade to free theHoly Land. He called on the “soldiers of Christ” to defendConstantinople and liberate Jerusalem from the Turks. Peopleanswered the pope’s call with enthusiasm. Their slogan was“Deus vult!” which means “God wills it!”

Perhaps as many as 150,000 people hurried to join the crusade.The first group to leave for the Holy Land was a ragged mob ofpeasants that included women and elderly men. Few reachedJerusalem. Next came armies of well-organized knights. By 1099,the First Crusade had captured Jerusalem and established fourcrusader states in the Holy Land. The knights also turned back theTurks’ advance on Constantinople.

Vocabulary Builderestablish (uh STAB lihsh) v. to set up or start something

For: More about Eleanor of Aquitaine

Visit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: mxe-6153

Fast FactsWho: Eleanor of AquitaineWhat: French duchess; queen of France (1137–1152); queen of England (1154–1189)When: 1122–1204Where: France and EnglandWhy important: Eleanor was the most famous woman of her time, married first to Louis VII of France and then to Henry II of England.

Fast FindHow: Go online to discover more about Eleanor’s adventures in the Second Crusade.

What did Eleanor of Aquitaine do in the Second Crusade?

Eleanor of Aquitaine

The Crusader’s Creed Pope Urban linked the idea ofholy war with the idea of pilgrimage. He explained the idea infeudal terms: Since Jesus was every Chris-tian’s Lord, his vassals were obliged todefend his lands and shrines, which theTurks had violated. So a crusade was ajust, or righteous, war.

The word crusade comes from theLatin word crux, or “cross.” Crusaderssewed a cross on their clothing. They tooka vow to make a pilgrimage to Christ’stomb. Like other pilgrims, crusaders werepromised forgiveness for sins.

People who “took the cross” mademany sacrifices. Knights sold estates andborrowed money to pay for the long anddangerous trip—from which they mightnot return. On his way to the Holy Land,one crusader, the French noble Jean deJoinville, wrote:

“I never once let my eyes turn back towards Joinville, for fear my heart might be filled with longing at the thought of my lovely castle and the two children I had left behind.”—Jean de Joinville, Life of Saint Louis

Along the way, crusaders faced robbers,hunger, and disease even before theyencountered the enemy.

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424 Chapter 15

Instruction (continued)■ Ask: Why did the Second Crusade fail?

(The local population in Palestine did not support the Crusade.)

■ Ask: In which ways might the lack of local support have affected the crusad-ers? (Local people would not have supplied the crusaders with intelligence about the enemy. The Palestinians might not have been willing to sell provisions to the army or to work for the Europeans.)

AnswerDetect Bias The knights appear to be much more powerful than the Muslims.

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Special Needs

Create a Crusades Timeline Have stu-dents work in pairs and use information from the text to create an annotated time-line of the four Crusades. The timeline should include labels that describe the key

features of each Crusade. For example, labels might include who took part and what the outcome was. Have student pairs share their timelines with the class.

Crusading knights battle Muslims in the Holy Land.

rere

K E YFirst Crusade,1096–1099

Second Crusade,1147–1149

Third Crusade,1189–1192

Fourth Crusade,1202–1204

City

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OHOLY

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KINGDOMK

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Later Crusades Europeans mounted three more cru-sades, but none matched the victories of the First Crusade.During the Second Crusade, crusaders tried to retake the state ofEdessa, which had fallen to the Turks in 1144. King Louis VII ofFrance and the German emperor organized this crusade. It evenincluded King Louis’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. But despite itspowerful backing, it failed.

Part of the reason for this failure was a lack of support fromthe local population of Palestine. The crusaders often treatedthe Muslim majority of Palestine with disrespect and even cru-elty. Most Muslims welcomed the crusaders’ defeat.

In 1188, the rulers of England, France, and Germany orga-nized the Third Crusade, the “Crusade of the Kings.” Their Mus-lim opponent was a leader known to Europeans as Saladin.

The CrusadesEuropeans launched a series of crusades to try to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims. The map below shows the routes crusaders took to the Holy Land. The painting is a European view of one of the battles. Critical Thinking: Detect Bias What evidence of bias do you see in the painting?

History Background

Chapter 15 Section 3 425

Instruction (continued)■ Ask: What were the lasting effects of

the failed Fourth Crusade in 1204? (The Byzantines did not forgive the Latin Chris-tians for storming Constantinople.)

■ Ask: What were some of the positive effects of the Crusades on Europeans? (The Crusades broadened the geographic perspective of Europeans, encouraged trade, and may have prompted European explora-tion.)

■ Ask: What were the negative effects of the Crusades in the Middle East? (The Crusaders brought violence and terror to Middle Eastern lands, including to Chris-tian areas.)

■ Display the color transparency, Embark-ing on a Crusade, showing an artistic interpretation of the period of the Cru-sades. Ask students what they can infer about the cost of the Crusades from the artistic depiction.

Color Transparencies, Embarking on a Crusade

Independent PracticeHave students begin to fill in the Interac-tive Reading and Notetaking Study Guide.

Interactive Reading and Notetak-ing Study Guide, Chapter 15, Section 3 (Adapted version also available.)

Monitor Progress

As students fill in the Notetaking Study Guide, circulate to make sure students understand the reasons the Crusades began and some of the effects they brought about. Provide assistance as needed.

Answer

From Europe, Christians of all descriptions took part in different Cru-sades. They fought against Muslims in the Holy Land and, in the Fourth Crusade, against the Byzantines.

The Fourth Crusade was a mix of conflict-ing political agendas and frenzied finance. The crusaders planned to travel to Egypt on Venetian ships, but when the crusaders gathered in Venice they did not have enough money. In exchange for funds, the crusaders agreed to help the leader of Venice regain the rebellious city of Zara in Hungary. The crusaders also agreed to

fight alongside the son of the ousted ruler of Constantinople, Prince Alexius, in exchange for more money. However, when the crusaders overcame Constantinople and restored the kingship to Alexius, he was unable to pay. The angry, impover-ished crusaders could not complete their journey and left the city in ruins.

Section 3 Religious Crusades 425

Saladin’s noble character inspired respect even in his enemies.One of Saladin’s officials told how a terrified Frankish prisonerwas brought before Saladin:

“The interpreter asked him [the prisoner]: ‘What are you afraid of?’ God inspired him to reply: ‘At first I was afraid of seeing that face, but after see-ing it and standing in his presence, I am sure that I shall see only good in it.’ The Sultan was moved, pardoned him, and let him go free.”—Baha’ ad-Din Ibn Shaddad

The Fourth Crusade disgraced the idea of crusades. Its sol-diers never reached the Holy Land. Instead, in 1204, theystormed the rich Byzantine city of Constantinople. Theysmashed icons, stole relics, and attacked women. The popewas furious. He wrote that crusaders who “should have usedtheir swords against the infidel [unbeliever], have bathedthose swords in the blood of Christians.” The Byzantines neverforgave the Latin Christians.

In 1212, a popular crusading movement swept throughFrance and Germany. The so-called Children’s Crusadeattracted poor people of all ages. Most never got farther thanItaly. Many were sold as slaves. Finally, in 1291, Muslims fromEgypt retook the last crusader state.

Effects of the Crusades Crusaders failed to regainthe Holy Land, but the Crusades did have lasting effects. Theyopened Europeans’ eyes to the rest of the world. Peasants whohad never been farther from home than the next village sud-denly saw new lands, peoples, and ways of life. Even nobleshad never traveled to lands so far away.

The Crusades also encouraged trade with the East. Crusad-ers returned home with silks, spices, and other exotic goods.Demand for these products at home caused European tradersto expand their business to Asia.

In addition, the Crusades may have prompted Europeansto explore other parts of the world. Some historians believethat the spirit of the Crusades helped inspire the great voyagesof discovery that began in the late 1400s. You will read moreabout these voyages in Chapter 19.

Who fought in the Crusades?

Dressed for BattleMuslim and Christian soldiers both wore coats of mail as armor in battle. This kind of armor was lighter and more flexible than suits made of thick metal plates. Critical Thinking: Draw ConclusionsWhy might soldiers have favored lighter armor?

SSMM15.book Page 425 Saturday, February 26, 2005 3:39 PM

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426 Chapter 15

Religious Persecutions

H-SS 7.6.6

Instruction■ Have students read Religious Persecu-

tions. Remind students to seek clarifica-tion of any words or phrases they do not understand.

■ Ask: How did the Crusades affect non-Christians? (Crusaders were called on to defend the Christian Church and God. All non-Christians were viewed as enemies.)

■ Ask: Which group in Europe became a special target for religious persecution after the Crusades? (the Jews)

■ Ask: Why do you think the Church was so intolerant of even minor differences in beliefs? (Possible answer: If the Church allowed even minor variances from its teach-ings, it risked losing the basis of its own power.)

Independent PracticeHave students complete the Interactive Reading and Notetaking Study Guide. (Adapted version also available.)

Monitor Progress

Check Notetaking Study Guide entries for student understanding of the causes and effects of the Crusades. Tell students to fill in the last column of the Reading Readi-ness Guide. Ask them to evaluate if what they learned was what they had expected to learn.

Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Reading Readiness Guide, p. 45

AnswerAnalyze Cause and Effect The crusaders were sent to defend the Christian faith. They saw those they believed to be heretics and Jews as a threat to their faith.

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Advanced Readers L3

Gifted and Talented

Report on the Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade was one of the most dramatic examples of religious persecu-tion in the High Middle Ages. It was a 40-year war organized by the pope to root out Christian heretics in southern France. Like crusaders to the Holy Land, the warriors

were given the privileges of crusaders, “remission of sins,” and the promise of ownership over the lands they conquered. Have students research the conflict and summarize the causes and effects of the Crusade in short reports.

426 Chapter 15 Medieval Conflicts and Crusades

Vocabulary Builderexpel (ehk SPEHL) v. to force someone to leave a place

Burned at the StakePeople who strayed from Catholic teachings were sometimes tortured or killed. This illustration shows a group being burned at the stake. Critical Thinking: Analyze Cause and Effect How might the Crusades have led to such persecution?

The Crusades prompted the persecution of non-Christians.

The Inquisition Muslims and Jews were not the onlyfocus of religious persecution. Other targets included groupsof Christians who followed various heresies. A heresy is abelief that is rejected by official Church doctrine. MedievalChristianity had no room for even minor differences in belief.Heretics were seen as “lost sheep,” doomed for eternity. Evenworse, they were considered dangerous, because others mightfollow their beliefs.

Persecution of Jews The Jews were the main target ofattacks in Europe. Some Europeans already viewed Jews asenemies of the Christian faith. Now, they used the Crusades asan excuse for violence. Mobs of peasants turned on Jews whowould not instantly convert to Christianity. During the FirstCrusade, bands of knights terrorized the Jewish communitiesalong their route to the East. The slaughter was the worst incities along the Rhine, such as Mainz and Cologne. Thousandsof Jews killed themselves and their families in order to escapethe crusaders’ knives. When the knights of the First Crusadetook Jerusalem in 1099, they engaged in indiscriminate slaugh-ter of Jews and Muslims alike.

A few churchmen tried to protect the Jews. But the publicmood led to more persecution in crusader countries. Jews wereexpelled from England in 1290 and from France in 1306.

Religious PersecutionsIn addition to its positive effects on Europe, the Crusades

also brought terror, destruction, and bloodshed. In fact, reli-gious fervor against Muslims turned into brutal attacks againstall non-Christians.

Chapter 15 Section 3 427

Assess and Reteach

Assess ProgressHave students complete Check Your Progress. Administer the Section Quiz.

Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Section Quiz, p. 54

To further assess student understanding, use the Progress Monitoring Transparency.

Progress Monitoring Transparencies, Chap-ter 15, Section 3

ReteachIf students need more instruction, have them read this section in the Interactive Reading and Notetaking Study Guide. (Adapted version also available.)

ExtendAsk students to explore the differing points of view on the events of the Cru-sades. Have students write two articles reporting on the first Crusade: one from the point of view of a Christian knight and another from the point of view of a Muslim living in Jerusalem. Students may need to do additional research to learn more about the circumstances of the Muslims in Jerus-alem during the period of the section.

Web Code: mxe-1505

Section 3 Check Your Progress

1. (a) Christian religious wars(b) Possible answers: They believed it was the will of God. They wanted to defend Christianity and have forgive-ness for their sins.

2. (a) Crusaders attacked all non-Christians.(b) The Church feared that people might follow the beliefs of the heretics.

3. The prisoner says that he will be well treated by Saladin in the quotation, “I am sure that I shall see only good in it.”

4. No. They traveled to a holy place.

5. Yes. Christian kings wanted to control the Holy Land.

6. No. Bishops discouraged heresies.

7. Possible answers: The pope would head a great army; he linked the Crusades with Christian pilgrimages. The Cru-sades would make real the pope’s claim to authority over Christendom.

Writing Rubrics Share rubrics with students before they write their lists.

Score 1 Lists are incomplete or incorrect.Score 2 Lists are inaccurate or stated unclearly.Score 3 Lists are reasonable and relatively clear.Score 4 Lists are logical and clear, and they are supported by the content of Section 3.

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Answer

Muslims, Jews, and Christian “heretics”

Section 3 Religious Crusades 427

Section 3 Check Your Progress

At first, heretics were excommunicated. Because theChurch was the center of medieval life, this was a serious pun-ishment. But some heretics clung to their beliefs. The popecalled on nobles to organize local crusades against them.

In the 1200s, Pope Gregory IX created the Inquisition. TheInquisition was a Church court designed to investigate andjudge heretics. Its goal was to change the heretics’ beliefs. Ifthey did not cooperate, they were punished.

Heretics were punished in various ways. A small errorcould be excused by fasting or enduring a whipping. Moreserious ones led to fines or imprisonment. If a heretic wouldnot confess, he or she was turned over to the civil authoritiesto be executed. As you will read, the Inquisition in Spainbecame an even more cruel and powerful institution.

Which groups were targets of persecution?

Looking Back and Ahead In this section, you readabout the causes and effects of the Crusades. In the next sec-tion, you will read about similar campaigns in Muslim-ruledSpain.

For: Self-test with instant helpVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: mxa-6153H-SS: 7.6.6; RE&PV 2

Comprehension and Critical Thinking1. (a) Recall What were the

Crusades?(b) Draw ConclusionsWhy might a medieval man or woman want to join a crusade?

2. (a) Explain How did the Crusades result in the perse-cution of Jews?(b) Clarify Problems Whydid the Church persecute and try to eliminate heretics?

Reading Skill3. Identify Opinions Reread

the quotation by Baha’ ad-Din Ibn Shaddad on page 425. What opinion does the prisoner express about Saladin? Explain how you reached this conclusion.

Vocabulary BuilderRead each sentence below. If the sentence is true, write yesand explain why. If the sen-tence is not true, write no and explain why.4. During the Middle Ages,

pilgrims traveled to work on farms.

5. The goal of the Crusadeswas to free the Holy Land from Muslim control.

6. Medieval bishops encour-aged the practice of heresies.

Writing7. Consider the following

statement: The pope’s only interest in the Crusades was the protection of Christian holy places. Find evidence in this section that contradicts this statement. Make a list of the main points.

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428 Chapter 15

An Army of ChildrenBuild Background KnowledgeReading historical fiction helps a reader understand some of the circumstances of a historical event. Ask students why leaders might have asked children to go to war? (Possible answer: Children’s motivations for joining a war are less likely to be questioned.)

Reading Skill

Analyze Cause and Effect History is often told as a chronological chain of events. This organizational method often reveals cause-and-effect relationships. As students read, they should look for cause-and-effect key words, such as when, before, whereupon, whereas, because, and now.

Vocabulary BuilderTeach Key TermsPronounce each word in the Vocabulary Builder list and have students repeat the word. Ask a student to read the defini-tions. Have students give a sentence for each term.

Instruction■ Using the Give One, Get One strategy

(TE p. T39), read the first three para-graphs. Ask: What is remarkable about the boy? (He had a boyish appearance, but he had great intensity. He moved the bishop of Chartres to petition the king on his behalf.)

■ Have students complete the reading. Then, ask: What personal miracle did the boy claim he received from the gentle man who spoke to him? (The man cured him of his stuttering speech.)

■ Finally, ask a volunteer to read aloud the sentence near the end of the selection that begins “For only the innocent, with no thought of gain. . . .” Ask students to draw conclusions about what this sug-gests about the crusaders who had gone before the children to the Holy Land. (Students should show understanding that many crusaders did not go for religious reasons, but for money, personal gain, or for redemption of sins.)

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Advanced Readers L3

Gifted and Talented

Give an Oral Book Report Have interest-ed students read and give an oral book report on a piece of juvenile fiction set in the time of the Crusades. Students may choose from the following list, or choose

their own book on the topic. G. A. Henty’s Winning His Spurs, C. D. Baker’s A Journey of Souls, Stephen Lawhead’s The Iron Lance, and Michael Cadnum’s The Book of the Lion.

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An Army of Childrenby Evan H. Rhodes (born 1929)

Prepare to Read

E-LA Reading 7.2.3 Analyzetext that uses the cause-and-effect organizational pattern.

Reading SkillAnalyze Cause and Effect Infiction as in history, events often have a cause-and-effect relationship. The events in An Army of Children focus on the Children’s Crusade of 1212. As you read, think about what causes lead the peasant boy Stephen of Cloyes to begin this crusade and the effects he has on other children.

Vocabulary BuilderAs you read this literature selection, look for the follow-ing underlined words.calamity (kuh LAM uh tee) n.very sad or terrible eventgenuflected (JEHN yuh flehk tihd) v. knelt in worshipredeemed (rih DEEMD) v. deliv-ered from sin

When the band reached the south courtyard they saw acrowd of perhaps six hundred people listening . . . to a boypreaching from a creaking platform. The lad stopped for amoment to let the new arrivals crowd closer. No more thantwelve years old, he looked like an ordinary peasant boy. . . .Yet such an intensity radiated from him that appearancescounted for naught.

Harolde reached down and tapped a monk on the shoul-der. “Good sir, what can you tell me of this child?” . . .

“It is the shepherd boy, Stephen of Cloyes,” Brother Rigordsaid to Harolde. “Walked all the way from Chartres, he has, tobring us a message from the Savior. Why even the bishop ofChartres was so moved by this lad that he had petitioned theking in his behalf.”

BACKGROUND

Fleeing political unrest in England, Baron Thorne takes his fourteen-year-old son Roger, Roger’s tutor Harolde, and another boy named Jonathan across the English Channel to France. The group is traveling near Paris, when they encounter an unusual sight.

History Background

Chapter 15 429

Monitor Progress

Ask: What emotions does Roger feel toward the boy? (Possible answer: He feels irritation that the boy seems to have such power, but he is also intrigued with and drawn to that power.)

In the year 1230, a priest arrived in France claiming to be one of the 30,000 youngsters who had accompanied Stephen on his chil-dren’s crusade. He told how the children reached Marseilles and were offered free passage to Palestine. Shortly into the trip, two boats sank, killing all on board. The greedy and dishonest merchants delivered

the surviving children to Algeria to be sold as slaves. The young priest was taken to Egypt and sold for a higher price. He and a few others who were literate were sold into comfortable captivity to the governor of Egypt’s son. A later account of the wick-ed merchants tells that they were hanged for unrelated crimes.

Writing Rubrics Share rubrics with stu-dents before they write their compositions.Score 1 Compositions are incomplete or incorrect.Score 2 Compositions are inaccurate or stated unclearly.Score 3 Compositions are reasonable and relatively clear.Score 4 Compositions are logical and clear, and they are supported by the con-tent of the literature selection.

Answers

Reading Skill The crowd responds enthusiastically.

Analyze LITERATURE

Possible answers to questions: Stephen watched monks commemorating the crusaders. The genu-flecting sheep made him look for a sign. The gentle pilgrim helped make his plans possible by removing his stutter and tell-ing him he was chosen to lead the new crusade.

He is a peasant boy of 12 who believed the words of a man in his flock. He is a powerful public speaker.

Literature 429

. . . Stephen and his parents had journeyed from the villageof Cloyes to Chartres. There . . . Stephen had watched the pro-cession of monks carrying the black-shrouded crucifixes, com-memorating those Crusaders who had died to free the HolyLand. Upon returning to his village, he discovered thathis sheep had trampled all the new plantings, a calamity inthis time of drought. He raised his staff to strike them butbefore he could land one blow, the sheep fell to their knees andgenuflected, begging his forgiveness. Everyone in Cloyesdeclared it a miracle.

“I sensed that great things were stirring in the land andwaited for a sign,” Stephen told the crowd. “Within days . . .”

The crowd surged closer, hungry for any miracle. Rogerenvied this boy his power to hold the crowd in his thrall. Hepunched Jonathan’s thigh and demanded, “Who saw thesheep genuflect? Are we to take this simpleton’s word?” Yet,annoyed as he was, Roger could not bring himself to move on.

“A gentle man appeared in the midst of my flock,” Stephencontinued. “This pilgrim told me he had just arrived fromJerusalem. He spoke of the trials of the devout who could notworship at our most sacred shrines. He said the Lord could notrest in peace as long as peace lived not in His land. When thistraveler asked for a bit of bread, I gave him all I had. Where-upon this wondrous man said that after searching the lengthand breadth of France, he had found the one person to lead hisnew crusade, a crusade of peace, a crusade made up of chil-dren! For only the innocent, with no thought of gain, couldfree the Holy Land. And he told me that I had been chosen;that whereas once I could not speak, now I would stutter nomore; . . .; and whereas the Holy Land had been lost because ofour sins, now it would be redeemed through our love!”

A white-robed Cistercian monk sang out, “Hallelujah!” andthe crowd responded in ringing chorus.

—from An Army of Children, Evan H. Rhodes

Why did people follow Stephen of Cloyes?

Write a short composition about Stephen of Cloyes by answering these questions: Which event seems to have given him the idea of a crusade? What miraculous event made him look for a sign to begin his activities? What effect did the gentle pilgrim from Jerusalem have on his plans?

E-LA 7.2.3 Analyze Cause and EffectWhat is the effect of

Stephen’s speech on the crowd?

If you like reading about this period, you might try Crusade in Jeansby Thea Beckman, (Front Street, 2003) the story of a modern teen-ager who travels back to the time of the Crusades.Children’s Crusade

ssmmch15c06LIT_s.fm Page 429 Monday, December 13, 2004 8:07 PMSSMM15.book Page 429 Saturday, February 26, 2005 3:39 PM