alternatehistory.com
1320-1: France
1320-1: THE SHEPHERDS' CRUSADE, THE COWHERDS' CRUSADE, AND THE LEPERS' PLOT
"...It was in the early spring, by most accounts, when a teenaged shepherd, one Stephen of Rouen, by most accounts[1], claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary who told him that God had called upon men to take up the cross and drive the Moors from Iberia. (Though some say Stephen was a defrocked priest, and some say he called upon men to deliver Jerusalem.) The message spread amongst the lower orders and the meanest of men, who gathered together and, spreading havoc wherever they did go, marched upon Paris, where they called upon the Count of Poitiers to meet with them. When he did not, they did rampage throughout the city, setting lose prisoners held the Grand Chatelet, killing Jews and Italians, and in all ways acting without restraint or law. Marching to the south, they made their way to Languedoc, persecuting Jews and any other who met with their ire along the way, and earning the ire and approbation of the Pope, who denounced them, and said they were no true crusaders. While much of the movement simply degenerated into bandits, waylaying travelers and performing other acts of violence, a small portion arrived in Aragon, where in the guise of offering their services to its king[2] they continued to pass their time with assaults upon the Jews, until the king was forced to attack them, forcing them to disperse. So ended the Shepherds' Crusade.
"And yet the folly was not finished, for the Count of Poitiers declared that restitution was to be offered to the Jews for their suffering. In response to this, a cowherd, William the Lame, did proclaim that the Regent was an impious lord, a veritable Herod, in the service of the Devil. Once again the mean and vulgar gathered together and called their riots a crusade, stating they would free France from the wicked man who had made himself master, against all right and law, and then march to save the Holy City. They spent their time attacking the Jews, bishops, and agents of royal authority, so that the Count was forced to march to restore order throughout the kingdom. Falling upon the main body of them in Cahors, he crushed them utterly, and captured William the Lame, who was tried as a traitor and hanged...[3]
"But the madness had not yet passed, for during this time, a great pestilence of flux came to pass where the Shepherds and Cowherds were practicing their folly, likely from the gathering of so many together and the wreckage they had left in their wake. But rather then recognize this, the people sought a sacrificial lamb, and lighted upon the lowest and meanest, the lepers, who they said were poisoning wells to spread the contagion. Capturing them, many of these poor people were tortured and made to confess to these imaginary crimes, which some did, stating they did them at the instigation of the Jews. Yet another wave of persecution swept through the south of France, and when the Count of Poitiers went to restore order, he himself became ill from the contagion, expiring near the end of the year...[4]"
--From The Passions of Mobs, by John Roy (1845)
--------------------------------------------------------------
[1] This name is more then we know IOTL, though as the later sections of this should make clear, this author isn't necessarily the most accurate of sources.
[2] James II of Aragon, who responded in this fashion IOTL as well.
[3] The above paragraph is a combination of later fantasies and accretions to the events of the year--while there were riots and further Jewish persecutions, ITTL as IOTL, there really was no "Cowherds' Crusade" movement to accompany them.
[4] Philip died early in 1322 IOTL.
"...It was in the early spring, by most accounts, when a teenaged shepherd, one Stephen of Rouen, by most accounts[1], claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary who told him that God had called upon men to take up the cross and drive the Moors from Iberia. (Though some say Stephen was a defrocked priest, and some say he called upon men to deliver Jerusalem.) The message spread amongst the lower orders and the meanest of men, who gathered together and, spreading havoc wherever they did go, marched upon Paris, where they called upon the Count of Poitiers to meet with them. When he did not, they did rampage throughout the city, setting lose prisoners held the Grand Chatelet, killing Jews and Italians, and in all ways acting without restraint or law. Marching to the south, they made their way to Languedoc, persecuting Jews and any other who met with their ire along the way, and earning the ire and approbation of the Pope, who denounced them, and said they were no true crusaders. While much of the movement simply degenerated into bandits, waylaying travelers and performing other acts of violence, a small portion arrived in Aragon, where in the guise of offering their services to its king[2] they continued to pass their time with assaults upon the Jews, until the king was forced to attack them, forcing them to disperse. So ended the Shepherds' Crusade.
"And yet the folly was not finished, for the Count of Poitiers declared that restitution was to be offered to the Jews for their suffering. In response to this, a cowherd, William the Lame, did proclaim that the Regent was an impious lord, a veritable Herod, in the service of the Devil. Once again the mean and vulgar gathered together and called their riots a crusade, stating they would free France from the wicked man who had made himself master, against all right and law, and then march to save the Holy City. They spent their time attacking the Jews, bishops, and agents of royal authority, so that the Count was forced to march to restore order throughout the kingdom. Falling upon the main body of them in Cahors, he crushed them utterly, and captured William the Lame, who was tried as a traitor and hanged...[3]
"But the madness had not yet passed, for during this time, a great pestilence of flux came to pass where the Shepherds and Cowherds were practicing their folly, likely from the gathering of so many together and the wreckage they had left in their wake. But rather then recognize this, the people sought a sacrificial lamb, and lighted upon the lowest and meanest, the lepers, who they said were poisoning wells to spread the contagion. Capturing them, many of these poor people were tortured and made to confess to these imaginary crimes, which some did, stating they did them at the instigation of the Jews. Yet another wave of persecution swept through the south of France, and when the Count of Poitiers went to restore order, he himself became ill from the contagion, expiring near the end of the year...[4]"
--From The Passions of Mobs, by John Roy (1845)
--------------------------------------------------------------
[1] This name is more then we know IOTL, though as the later sections of this should make clear, this author isn't necessarily the most accurate of sources.
[2] James II of Aragon, who responded in this fashion IOTL as well.
[3] The above paragraph is a combination of later fantasies and accretions to the events of the year--while there were riots and further Jewish persecutions, ITTL as IOTL, there really was no "Cowherds' Crusade" movement to accompany them.
[4] Philip died early in 1322 IOTL.
- Space Oddity
- Word Count: 640