Shepherds' Crusade (1320)

The Shepherds' Crusade of 1320 was a popular crusade in Normandy in June 1320.^[1] Also well known as "the Pastoureaux of 1320".^[2] It originally began when a large group of common-folk banded together to preach a crusade after a teenage shepherd said he was visited by the Holy Spirit.^[3] Initially aiming to help the Reconquista of Iberia, it failed to gain support from the church or nobility and instead murdered hundreds of Jews in France and Aragon.

In the beginning, the movement was aimed against Islam and for ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Spain for the sake of purification of the society. Later however, when the would-be crusaders moved out of Normandy towards the south of France, their target became the Jews. The movement's actions were not only an expression of antisemitism, but also a protest against the economic policies of the royals and the monarchy.^[4][5]