The popular crusades were several movements "animated by crusading enthusiasm" but unsanctioned by

the Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. They contrast with the "official crusades" authorised by the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. While the latter consisted of professional armies led by

apostolic legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Cathol ...

s, the popular crusades were generally disorganized and consisted of peasants, artisans and only the occasional knight.Gary Dickson, "Popular Crusades and Children's Crusade", in André Vauchez (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages'' (James Clarke & Co., 2002 nline 2005. 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 Leopold von Ranke (; 21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis o ...

in the nineteenth century. Giles Constable
"The Historiography of the Crusades"
in Angeliki E. Laiou and Roy Parviz Mottahedeh (eds.), ''The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World'' (Dumbarton Oaks, 2001). Peter the Hermit

These events demonstrate the power of crusading ideas and the engagement of non-noble believers with the great events of Latin Christendom. All crusades that were not preached officially were illicit and unaccompanied by papal representation. But it was not until the 1320 that the papacy criticised a popular crusade. The objectives were traditional, such as regaining Jerusalem or liberating the captive King Louis IX of France. Victories in the Smyrniote crusade of 1344 aroused mass enthusiasm in Tuscany and Lombardy. Those who took part in popular crusades perceived themselves as authentic crusaders, evident in the use of pilgrimage and crusade emblems, including the cross.Gary Dickson, "Popular Crusades", in Alan V. Murray (ed.), ''The Crusades: An Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), vol. 3, pp. 975–979. ISBN 978-1-57607-862-4.

List of popular crusades

The movements typically regarded as popular crusades are listed below in chronological order: * People's Crusade (1096) * Children's Crusade (1212) *

Shepherds' Crusade (1251) The Shepherds' Crusade of 1251 was a popular crusade in northern France aimed at rescuing King Louis IX during the Seventh Crusade. In 1249, Saint Louis IX of France went away on crusade, leaving his mother, Blanche of Castile, as regent durin ...

Crusade of the Poor The Crusade of the Poor was an unauthorised military expedition—one of the so-called " popular crusades"—undertaken in the spring and summer of 1309 by members of the lower classes from England, Flanders, Brabant, northern France and the ...

(1309) * Shepherds' Crusade (1320) * Hungarian Peasants' Crusade (1514)

References

{{Reflist Crusades