Figure descriptions
Children and adults of various ages march together as part of The Children’s Crusade. At the center of the illustration, a
figure rides a saddled horse. The figure wears a cape, a cap, and partial armour;
they have a large cross on their breast plate. The
figure holds a large flag, which is also decorated with a cross. The flag flows in
the wind. The figure’s horse wears a blanket
decorated with fleurs-de-lys and lion heraldry. At the left side of the illustration,
religious figures hold children’s hands and
lead them in the march. At the right side of the illustration, in front of the figure
on horseback, a musician and a jester lead the
crowd. They are dressed in dark clothing. Many figures on both sides of the illustration
have their mouths open and appear to be
either singing or speaking. In the background, multiple figures in the crowd hold
up flags and crosses. Full-page illustration
contained within a medium-weight, single-ruled border.
Illustrated poem page. The boundaries among illustrated scenes are blurred. At the
top of the page, the illustrated poem title
appears in hand-drawn lettering. The poem title is split in two parts. At the center,
between the two parts, there is a large cross
with a double-ruled border. A branch of thorns weaves around and behind the cross.
Seashells and small dots decorate the background.
A second illustrated scene appears below the illustrated title. This scene depicts
a knight holding his fist in the air as he rides
forward on horseback. His breast plate and his shield are decorated with large crosses.
His horse is outfitted with cloths that are
decorated with fleurs-de-lys and heraldic crests. An army of men follows the knight.
Many of them hold spears and swords in the air.
A caption appears in small hand-drawn lettering in the top-left corner. This illustrated
scene is contained within a thick, dark,
and rectangular border. A third illustrated scene is superimposed over the bottom
edge of the aforementioned border. This scene
features a decorated crest that is superimposed over ribbons and laurels. The crest
features a girl with long braided hair depicted
in profile view. Her portrait is set against a background of stars and a crescent
moon. The name “ALIX” appears in small
hand-written lettering at the bottom of the crest. The poem text is let into several
sections of rectangular blank space, which are
superimposed over the illustrated scenes at the top, bottom, and left parts of the
page.
Illustrated poem page. The boundaries among illustrated scenes are blurred. In the
first illustrated scene at the top of the
page, multiple figures stand and walk among a small settlement. A stone castle wall
extends across the left side of the scene and into
the distance. There are several small turrets in the wall and two armed men guard
the entrance. At the right side of the scene,
there are three small houses with thatched roofs. A crowd gathers in the background
between the houses and the castle wall. Many of
them raise flag poles and banners in the air. There are buildings in the distance
and the sun shines low on the horizon. This
illustrated scene is contained within a medium-weight border on the left, top, and
right edges. There are seashells contained within
square borders at the bottom-left and bottom-right corners. The second illustrated
scene appears below the first and to the left. In
this scene, a matronly woman embraces a small girl and gestures toward the background.
The girl has long braided hair; the poem text
identifies her as Alix. She holds the woman tightly around her hips. They stand in
front of a stone building with a thatched roof.
Vines grow on the building’s façade. The building is fenced in by a low brick wall
with a wooden door. The top of a second building
and a tree are visible beyond the wall. A flock of birds flies near the chimney. The
woman appears to be pointing towards a cluster
of flag poles and banners which rise beyond the wall. To the left of this scene, there
is a thin illustration of the same height,
which depicts a plant with thin leaves and flowers. These two scenes are first contained
within separate medium-weight borders and
then contained within one square medium-weight border. The third illustrated scene
appears below the second and to the right. This
scene depicts a cityscape in landscape orientation at night. The city stands in the
background. It is densely packed and has
multiple domed roofs. The foreground is occupied by the land leading up to the city.
It is uneven and contains multiple bushes. This
scene is contained within a thick border. A caption to this scene appears below the
bottom edge of the border in hand-drawn
lettering: it reads “JERUSALEM”, followed by a series of six middle dots. There are
clusters of evenly spaced seashells to the left
and right of the caption. The poem text is let into several sections of rectangular
blank space, which are superimposed over the
illustrated scenes at the top, center-right, and bottom-left parts of the page. These
blank spaces have small decorative borders,
most of which resemble the curled edges of scrolls.
Illustrated poem page. The boundaries among illustrated scenes are blurred. In the
first illustrated scene, in the
center-right of the page, a girl marches at the front of a long procession. She is
identified as Alix in the poem text. She holds
her hands together at her chest and looks to the sky as if in prayer. A jester walks
to her left and turns to look at her. A young
man walks to her right. He wears a cap decorated with a seashell and long cloak decorated
with fleurs-de-lys. The cloak is draped over
his front and back body. He appears to hold a sceptre with baubles. A crow of figures
follows Alix in a long line that winds around
the background, all the way back to a distant settlement. This scene is contained
within a dark, medium-weight border. The second
illustrated scene appears below the first and to the left. It depicts a ruined building
with multiple columns both standing and
fallen. The ruin stands in the foreground; a silhouetted city stands in the shadows
of the background. There are clouds and rays of
light in the sky. This illustrated scene is contained within a thick, lightly shaded
border. A caption to this scene appears below
the bottom edge of the border in hand-drawn lettering: it reads “Fragment of column
and of arch / Builded by nations long since
dead.” A pattern of evenly spaced seashells surrounds the third illustrated scene,
extending the full width of the letter press. At
the left, there is a cross with a double-ruled border behind the seashells. The poem
text is let into two sections of rectangular
blank space at the top and the center-left parts of the page. The blank space at the
top of the page has a small decorative border
that resembles the curled edges of scrolls. A thin, rectangular border partially contains
the remaining poem text and the
illustrated scenes; the first illustrated scene breaks this border on the right edge.
A small, dark cross appears outside of the
right edge of the border in the bottom-right corner. It appears to emit rays of light.
Illustrated poem page. The boundaries among illustrated scenes are blurred. In the
first illustrated scene, at the center of
the page, a woman stands at the edge of a body of water and holds both arms in the
air. She holds a sceptre in her right hand. The
woman wears a large crown and a cape that drapes onto the ground behind her. Her gown
is ornately decorated and features a large
cross on her chest. A crowd follows in the distance, most of whom raise flag poles,
banners, and large crosses in the air. There is
a city on a hill across a body of water in the distance. This illustrated scene is
contained within a medium-ruled border. It is
superimposed over the second illustrated scene, which appears in landscape orientation.
Only the left and right sides of the second
scene are visible—not the center. It depicts a seaside cityscape at night. There are
sailboats on the water. Birds fly over the city
and toward the foreground of the illustration. The poem text is let into two sections
of rectangular blank space at the top and the
bottom-center parts of the page. Both blank spaces have small decorative borders which
resemble the curled edges of scrolls. The
poem text at the top of the page is decorated with a ribbon tied in a bow at the center
of the bottom edge. The ribbon ends descend
and break the top edge of the first illustrated scene. The poem text at the bottom-center
of the page is superimposed over the
bottom edge of the first illustrated scene, covering the shoreline. Two small laurel
branches extend horizontally from its
bottom-left and bottom-right corners. A thin, rectangular border partially contains
the remaining space of the page, including the
two main illustrated scenes. A pattern of evenly spaced sea shells appears above and
below the illustrated scenes within this
section of the page, extending the full width of the letterpress.
Illustrated poem page. The boundaries among illustrated scenes are blurred. A woman,
identified as Alix in the poem text,
kneels in the grass and clutches a sign post adorned with a crucifix. She wears long,
flowing, but plain clothes as well as a veil.
A bag and a stick lie in the grass behind her. Two figures in a foreign style of dress
stand and observe her from a path in the
background. The legs of a horse are visible beside the figures, but the horse’s body
is obscured by a section of poem text. There is
a settlement, trees, birds, and additional figures in the background. This illustrated
scene is contained within a medium-weight
border. A second illustrated scene is superimposed over the bottom-right corner of
the first illustrated scene. In this scene, Alix
appears in the same clothing at night. She sits on a low surface, rests her elbow
on her thigh, and buries her face in her open
hand. She appears to be crying. A jug sits next to her on the ground and there are
stars in the sky. This illustrated scene is
contained within a medium-weight border. There is a single-ruled border around the
periodical page. A pattern of evenly spaced
seashells appears in the background. The seashells are overlaid with enlarged laurel
branches, which are only visible around the
edges of the illustrated scenes and the poem text. A small, dark cross appears outside
of the right edge of the border in the
top-right corner. It appears to emit rays of light. The poem text is let into two
sections of rectangular blank space at the
top-left and the bottom parts of the page. Both blank spaces have small decorative
borders which resemble the curled edges of
scrolls. They are superimposed over the top-left corner and the bottom edge of the
first illustrated scene.
Illustrated poem page. The boundaries among illustrated scenes are blurred. The first
illustrated scene, at the center of the
page, is divided into two parts. At the left, an old woman wearing a large bonnet
and an apron stands in profile view. She looks to
the left at something which is outside of the scope of the illustrated scene. The
woman lifts one hand up in a gesture and holds
onto a wooden railing with her other hand. There are buildings, trees, birds, and
a brick wall in the background. At the right, the
same old woman embraces a young woman, who kneels before her. The women hold arms
and look each other in the eyes. The background
scenery is the same, but the two women are positioned slightly to the right of where
the old women stood before. The poem text
indicates that the two women are Alix and her mother. Two men approach them on horseback
in the distance. The poem text is let into
two sections of rectangular blank space at the top and in the bottom-center parts
of the page. Both blank spaces have small
decorative borders which resemble the curled edges of scrolls. The poem text in the
bottom-center part of the page is superimposed
over the bottom edge of the first illustrated scene. Large leafy branches extend horizontally
and upwards from the left and right of
the text. There is a single-ruled border around the periodical page. A pattern of
evenly spaced seashells appears in the
background.
