There was a lot of blood shed. In the Peace of Paris in 1229, the
Capetian monarchy began shaping Languedoc into a French kingdom. The church of Rome got a firm hold on southern France. The Christians
failed to bring Albigenses under their control.
The Children's Crusade of 1212 began in Rhineland and Lower
Lorraine. In the spring large crowds of children gathered there. The
leader was a boy named Nicholas from Cologne. The goal of this
crusade was to capture the Holy Land. The French King persuaded a
large group of French children to return home. The group led by
Nicholas reached Genoa on August 25. They expected God to allow them
to walk across the sea but that didn't happen. What happened
after that is a mystery. The story most believe says that two
Marseilles merchants provided seven ships for the children. Two
wrecked off Sardinia and the children on the other five ships were
sold into slavery in North Africa and Egypt. In 1213 Innocent III opened a new crusade. He had no doubt
about the Fifth Crusade because the Book of Revelations said that
Islam would last less than 666 years. It started in 622 A.D. so they
thought it would end by 1288 A.D. Innocent III died on July 16, 1216
and Honorlus III became his successor. "He was dedicated to the
crusade but lacked the political strength and energy of Innocent
III."(7) In return for the capture of Zara during the Fourth Crusade
, the Venetians agreed to transport the Hungarian army. The crusaders
arrived at Acre in May 1218. Egypt was now the target. If they could
get it, all of southern Palestine could be easily attained. On May
29, 1218, the fleet anchored off shore and the army was placed on the
west bank of the Nile. The crusaders overtook a tower protecting
Damietta. Instead of attacking Damietta, the crusaders waited for
reinforcements. Saladin's nephew, Sultan al-Kamil, attacked the
crusader camp but was defeated. In September al-Kamil offered
Jerusalem, Palestine, Galilee, and the return of the true cross if the
Christians evacuated Egypt. Cardinal Pelagius, leader of the
Christian army, rejected the offer. He didn't want to come to terms
with the Muslims. On November 5, 1219, Damietta was captured. In
August 1221 the Crusaders attacked the Egyptians but were forced to
surrender Damitetta.
Emperor Frederick II took up the Sixth Crusade in 1215. Political problems in the west kept him from joining. He wanted to
boost his appearance by regaining the Holy Land.