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Η σταυροφορία των παιδιών: Το ξύλινο αστέρι

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Εκείνο τον καιρό, παιδιά χωρίς κυβερνήτες και χωρίς οδηγούς, απ' όλες τις πόλεις και τα χωριά όλων των περιοχών, έτρεχαν προς υπερπόντιους τόπους με ακόρεστα βήματα. Ήταν λευκές φωνές που τα καλούσαν μέσα στη νύχτα. Καλούσαν όλα τα μικρά παιδιά. Ήταν σαν τις φωνές των πουλιών που είχαν πεθάνει στη διάρκεια του χειμώνα. Και όταν ο κόσμος ρωτούσε πού έτρεχαν, απαντούσαν: "Προς την Ιερουσαλήμ, να αναζητήσουμε τους Αγίους Τόπους..."
Μέχρι να φτάσουν εκεί, το τι θα γινόταν ήταν άγνωστο.

107 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1896

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About the author

Marcel Schwob

184books186followers
Marcel Schwob (1867-1905) was one of the key symbolist writers, standing in French literature alongside such names as Stephane Mallarme, Octave Mirbeau, Andre Gide, Leon Bloy, Jules Renard, Remy de Gourmont, and Alfred Jarry. His best-known works are Double Heart (1891), The King In The Gold Mask (1892), and Imaginary Lives (1896).

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5 stars
195 (29%)
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264 (39%)
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143 (21%)
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50 (7%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
Profile Image for Vit Babenco.
1,683 reviews5,151 followers
December 30, 2022
The Children’s Crusade was an enigmatic and sinister occurrence that has taken place in the dark ages�
All these children seem to me to have no names, yet it is quite certain that they have the favour of Our Lord Jesus. They filled all the highway like a swarm of white bees. I know not whence they came. They were all small pilgrims. They carried staffs of hazelwood and birch. They had crosses on their shoulders and these crosses were of many colours. I saw some green ones which must have been made of leaves sewn together. These children are wild and ignorant. They are headed for I know not where. They believe in Jerusalem.

The tale is recounted by accidental witnesses and innocent participants. And the children march forward as if they are led by the Pied Piper� And even the Pope makes a comment�
Lord, let me speak to you in the formulas of religion. This children’s crusade is no work of piety. It will never win the sepulchre for the Christians. It but adds to the number of vagabonds who are astray on the fringe of the true faith. Our priests cannot defend it. We are forced to believe that the Evil One has possession of these poor creatures. They flock towards the precipice as the swine ran towards the steep place. Lord, Thou knowest how gladly the Evil One takes possession of children. Once he assumed the guise of a ratcatcher and seduced with his flute-notes all the little children of Hamelin. Some say these unfortunates were drowned in the river Weser. Others say he shut them up in the side of a mountain. It is to be feared that Satan is leading all our children into the toils of those who have not our faith.

Marcel Schwob tells his story in the language of tenebrous poetry and with the powerful words of doom�
We three � Nicolas, who cannot talk, and Alain and Denis � we are on our way to Jerusalem. We have been walking a long time. White voices called out to us in the night. They were calling all little children. They were like the voices of birds who died in the winter time.

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.� Matthew 19:14
And children suffered�
Profile Image for Cosimo.
443 reviews
January 25, 2020
Di acqua e di sale

Storia e leggenda, 1212. Due spedizioni di bambini da Francia e Germania verso la città santa, Gerusalemme, passando per Genova, Marsiglia e Ancona: per quei piccoli viaggiatori ("Lasciate i piccoli venire a me�, Luca 18, 16) gli annalisti scrissero le parole del cambiamento: iter, peregrinatio, motio, commotio, migratio, immagini di collettività, movimenti di venti, nuvole, animali. Non avvenne alcun miracolo; soltanto schiavitù e pestilenza. Si scrive in questo scritto erudito di Schwob che San Giovanni si nutrì di cavallette nel deserto, che il lebbroso prova vergogna per le cose che le sue mani toccano, che tutte le cose sono bianche, che donne ignude non proferiscono parola, che molti folli annunciano la rovina, che chi prega non sa niente, niente. Per i bambini tutte le strade sono amiche, alla fine del mare azzurro è la città, la fede di essere salvati, loro, esercito di conchiglie, di stelle di mare, di voci e corpi che cercano asilo. E il testo si rivela passaggio. Tutti avevano compassione di noi. E infatti, non sanno dove andiamo e non hanno udito le voci�. Borges chiosa che la passione di riscattare Gerusalemme dominò le nazioni d'Occidente, non senza sbalordire, la loro stessa ragione. Esse non fallirono, semplicemente cessarono.

“Le parti del mondo sono tutte colpevoli in eguale maniera, quando non seguono la via della bontà; perché tutte procedono da Lui. Ai suoi occhi non vi sono né pietre, né piante, né animali, né uomini, ma cose create. Vedo tutte queste creste schiumanti che balzano sopra le tue onde, e che si confondono nella tua acqua; per un istante solo scaturiscono sotto il sole, e tuttavia possono essere dannate o elette. L'estrema vecchiaia ammaestra l'orgoglio e illumina la religione. Ho uguale compassione per questa conchiglia di madreperla e per me. Ecco perché ti accuso, mare divoratore, che hai inghiottito i miei bambini�.
Profile Image for trovateOrtensia .
235 reviews264 followers
July 7, 2018
"Oh Mediterraneo! Io ti perdono e ti assolvo.
(...) E tu mi restituirai i corpi dei miei bambini, mare innocente e consacrato; li porterai verso le rive dell'isola, e i prebendari li deporranno nelle cripte del tempio; vi accenderanno sopra dei lumi eterni in cui bruceranno oli sacri, e mostreranno ai viaggiatori pii tutte quelle ossicine bianche distese al buio."
Profile Image for Eric.
590 reviews1,063 followers
July 9, 2022
I like that Schwob applies dread with a very light touch, and that his speakers - almost all are out of their minds, or rather profoundly withdrawn into them - tell their tales with such beautiful clarity. It’s all very spooky. What’s also really effective is that the hermits, lepers and mendicants whose paths cross that of the seven thousand children marching in a betranced pilgrimage to annihilation, are themselves absolutely delirious with loneliness, suffering, or sanctity, and no less eloquent. The book is an atmosphere of quiet frenzy, of deliberate dreaming, in which only the powerless Pope seems worried, and the only people willing to intervene are the shipowners and slave traders who “end the madness� by making it serve their own.

They told us we would meet ogres and werewolves in the woods. Those were lies. No one has scared us; no one has hurt us. The lonely and the sick come out to watch us, and old women light lamps for us. They ring church bells for us. Peasants rise from their furrows to observe us. The beasts, too, watch us and never flee. And ever since we have been walking, the sun has grown hotter, and we no longer gather the same flowers. But all stems can be tressed in like form, and our crosses are always fresh. And we feel a great hope. And soon we shall see the blue sea. And at the end of the blue sea stands Jerusalem. And the Lord will let all the little children come to his tomb. And the white voices will be joyful in the night.
Profile Image for Eternauta.
249 reviews17 followers
October 4, 2022
Αντλώντας από έναν μεσαιωνικό θρύλο και με γλώσσα λιτή που πατάει στους νοητικούς κώδικες του Μεσαίωνα ο Schwob κάνει ένα συγκλονιστικό σχόλιο πάνω στην εύθραυστη αθωότητα των παιδιών, πάνω στην σκοτεινή σκληρότητα του κόσμου που τα περιβάλλει. Η υποβόσκουσα ένταση της σύντομης ιστορίας αντηχεί στον αναγνώστη πολύ μετά το τέλος της ανάγνωσης και σε καλεί να ξαναδιαβάσεις το κείμενο. Η "σταυροφορία των παιδιών" λειτουργεί ως ένα ιερό μαρτυρολόγιο κάθε καινούργια ανάγνωση του οποίου ανακαλεί την αρχική μυστική εμπειρία.
Το δεύτερο αφήγημα της συλλογής, "το ξύλινο αστέρι", επιλέχθηκε σοφά από τις εκδόσεις Ερατώ ως συνοδευτικο κείμενο αφού κατά βάθος πραγματευέται την ίδια θεματική. Εδω η αφήγηση πατάει πάνω στην δομή του παραμυθιού. Η έντονα φορτωμένη γλώσσα όμως δυσχαίρανε την δική μου τουλάχιστον ανάγνωση ενώ η δραματική λύση άφησε μια αίσθηση βιασύνης.
Η έκδοση με το σκληρό εξώφυλλο και την κουβερτούρα είναι χάρμα αισθήσεων.
Profile Image for Cody.
826 reviews242 followers
July 5, 2022
An absolutely gorgeous monograph of an historical occurrence so singularly spectral that Schwob’s elliptical summonings is the only possible way inside. Getting back out is your responsibility; that or your white Jerusalem waiting with its white God across that parting sea. Onward, soldiers.
Profile Image for J.
183 reviews32 followers
April 20, 2021
I speak at random, for I am full of joy. I laugh at the Spring and at what I saw. My mind is not very strong.
I am like a locust, for I hop hither and thither and I buzz, and at times I spread my colored wings, and my frail head is transparent and empty.

*
Profile Image for Alberto Martín de Hijas.
1,012 reviews51 followers
May 6, 2023
Schwob nos narra el episodio medieval de una forma onírica tal que casi parece un relato de fantasmas. Todo tiene un aire irreal pero a la vez anticipa la tragedia. Muy bueno (Y una traducción excelente)
Profile Image for Sorgens Dag.
117 reviews16 followers
June 3, 2021
Hay pocas imágenes que hagan sentir incómodas hasta a las mentes más abiertas y preparadas. Una de ellas afirmo sin dudas es la visión de infancias y adolescentes que no obedecen, que se han agrupado y son indiferentes a las advertencias o señalamientos de sus mayores, infancias que tienen metas propias y han decidido hacer lo que mejor les parezca, sin disculpas ni permisos, sí estoy diciendo que los adultos le tememos a un escenario así en el que somos más bien innecesarios. Tememos el poder de las infancias organizadas para ellas mismas.

Marcel Schwob nos presenta el enigmático relato a varias voces de un hecho fuera de lo común en el que un grupo de infancias marcha con rumbo a la Tierra Santa para poder reunirse con su Señor, con su deidad. Ese es el objetivo. Las infancias caminan y se enfrentan a la violencia de los adultos, el hambre y a las propias fuerzas de la naturaleza en un acto de pura fe, no avanzan irreflexivamente pues saben que es lo que desean y saben que aunque no lo consigan en su esfuerzo, el Dios los sabrá recompensar llevándolos a su lado en la eterna gracia. Es terrorífico al tiempo que es conmovedor, las razones se nos escapan desde lo adulto, el autor no nos da más detalles del pensamiento de las infancias por que es verdad que una elaborada explicación no nos haría mayor sentido tampoco, somos ajenos a su mundo, mientras avanza el relato se hace cada vez más y más patente este hecho, no es que no podamos, es que no queremos entenderles, ni en esta historia, ni en la vida cotidiana.

Enigmático de principio a fin por que en la familiaridad se encuentra lo extraño, Schwob nos cuenta el cuento de lo que no podemos entender aunque pareciera evidente. La cruzada de los niños se encuentra de historias como La Gravedad de las circunstancias (Marianne Fritz), Pedro Paramo (Juan Rulfo) y La metamorfosis (Kafka), en la que pareciera que se nos está revelando una gran verdad pero constantemente estamos perdiéndola frente a lo extraño de nuestra propia realidad reflejada en el relato. Imprescindible.
Profile Image for Nate D.
1,633 reviews1,197 followers
July 1, 2011
Marcel Schwob was a turn-of-the-century Belgian symbolist and horror writer. Apparently a friend (or at least correspondent of Stevenson and inspiration to Borges' , but... I just wasn't that into this ever-so-brief set of monologues concerning the medieval Children's Crusade, wherein 7000 european kids believed themselves inspired by god to conquer Jerusalem, with little or no idea of where, or even what, Jerusalem was. It's a potentially fascinating historical incident, yes, but Schwob's treatment is pretty slight, and his apparently unique command of language and description is pretty reduced here by the monologue format and need to stick to spiritually addled archaic voices. I guess it would be interesting in a collection of Schwob's fiction, but less so as an entire stand-alone not-even-novella.

Part of my annoyance isn't Schwob's fault: I foolishly bought this in a totally generic print-on-demand amazon copy, which actually omitted a key page due to bad scanning and lack of proof-reading. Don't bother with it. Instead just read it (with all pages intact, even!). Note to self: check for scans of old books like this one first -- if amazon has lame print-on-demand copies, the source is probably public domain now anyway.
Profile Image for Fin.
277 reviews35 followers
August 31, 2024
I am much older than Innocent; I am the oldest of all the vicars whom the Lord has set here down below, and I only begin to understand. God does not manifest himself. Did he aid his son in the Garden of Olives? Did he not forsake him in his greatest agony? Oh, what childish madness to call on him for help! All evil and all trial dwell only in us. He has perfect trust in the work moulded by his own hands. And you have betrayed his trust.

Can well see how this influenced Faulkner, Borges and Bolaño.. A novella about innocence and guilt, sin and purity. These categories inevitably blur and coalesce and fall apart, and the children's crusade is the great unknowable blank in the centre that wreaks this symbolic havoc. A sinful march of innocent children unto death (or is it?, given The Calandar's conflicting testimony) - how can this possibly happen?
Profile Image for Rex Hurst.
Author13 books38 followers
November 7, 2020
If you are unaware of the facts or legends behind the historic Children’s Crusade from around the 13 century, then you will probably not enjoy nor understand what is happening in this collection of short stories. An assumption is made by the author, that reader is educated on the subject, or has a basic working knowledge. Failing that, the very short stories - almost flash fiction- will be half gibberish or half obscure in context. That isn’t to say that stories by Marcel Schwob aren’t beautifully written and translated for they are. I simply found that refreshing my knowledge on this event added to my enjoyment of the book.

The traditional story is probably cobbled together from factual and legendary events. It begins with either a French or German boy having visions telling him to go to Jerusalem and peacefully convert Muslims in the Holy Land to Christianity. This started a popular movement of children heading to the Holy Land. Many children were tricked by merchants and sailed over to what they thought were the holy lands but, in reality, were slave markets. There seems to have been two such movements. One in Germany where around 7,000 people followed a fifteen year old shepherd. The second was in France where another shepherd, around 12 this time, collected a following of some 30,000 people to follow him. Both movements, as we know, ended in disaster.

This beautifully prose is written from the points of view of eight different characters commenting on various points in the Crusade’s journey. They are beautiful, majestically written, with prose that falls off the page and seeps into your soul. I’m kicking myself for not reading more of Schwob’s work earlier. Highly recommended to one of all, both for historical context and artistic endeavor.
Profile Image for Raúl Sánchez.
Author14 books34 followers
October 23, 2021
Apareció esta nueva edición del Fondo que es simplemente preciosa. Con ilustraciones de Eko y una traducción revisada, se tiraron chorromil ejemplares y cuestan como 20 pesos. Tuve ganas de comprar montones y regalar a todxs mis amigxs. En verdad no tiene precio, y 20 pesos es nada para tanta belleza.
Profile Image for Allana.
177 reviews4 followers
February 10, 2025
This novela is a profound retelling of a fascinating and horrible historical event. It was told in sparse fragments which actually worked really well but because it was so short left me wanting a little more.
Profile Image for Γιώργος Λιαδής.
Author1 book9 followers
January 4, 2016
Το βιβλίο των εκδόσεων Ερατώ έχει δύο διηγήματα· την Σταυροφορία Των Παιδιών και το Ξύλινο Αστέρι. Η σταυροφορία είναι αρκετά ενδιαφέρουσα, κυρίως γιατί εξιστορείται από διαφορετικές προσωπικότητες, το αστέρι είναι βαρετό αλλά έχει ενδιαφέρον τέλος :) Δεν είναι παιδικά διηγήματα (δε νομίζω να το καταλάβαιναν παιδιά) και λίγο με κούρασαν όλα αυτά τα θρησκευτικά, αλλά είναι καλή η μετάφραση (ως προς το πως ρέει η γλώσσα εννοώ) και θεωρώ πως θα έπρεπε να είναι πιο γνωστό στο ευρύ κοινό.
Profile Image for Stephen Rowland.
1,329 reviews59 followers
July 8, 2020
"Novella" my ass, this is roughly a 10-15 page short story in a pretty little 50-page package, and it's completely unnecessary. It should be tacked on to some other volume of Schwob's writings. As for the merit of the contents of this wee $10 package, they strike me as an admirable beginning to something Schwob should have developed further. This can easily be read in 20 minutes, but you'd be better off doing almost anything else with that time unless you are a devoted fan of this writer.
Profile Image for George.
46 reviews4 followers
July 4, 2018
A sister-book to Monelle in that it shares themes of godly children and a deliberate use of symbolic imagery as motif to end on a sweetly sad note.
Recommended, but The Book of Monelle still stands alone as his best.
Profile Image for pandarubbish.
9 reviews9 followers
November 6, 2022
I speak at random, for I am full of joy ....

I am like a locust, for I hop hither and thither and I buzz, and at times I spread my colored wings, and my frail head is transparent and empty.


Lord, teach me, for I do not know...
Profile Image for Mª João Monteiro.
893 reviews73 followers
January 2, 2023
Este estranho conto a várias vozes (8, de 2 papas a um leproso, incluindo algumas das crianças) relata passos da designada Cruzada das Crianças que terá tido lugar em 1212 e que consistiu num aglomerado de crianças da França que se dirigiu ao sul, a Nice, para aí apanhar um barco para a Terra Santa onde queriam reverenciar Jesus. Os vários narradores estão em locais e momentos diferentes e apresentam várias perspetivas desta história macabra. É um relato curto e elíptico, proporcionou-me uns momentos de pesquisa. A edição que li tem um comentário de J. L. Borges que analisa e enaltece a história.
Profile Image for Yousef.
63 reviews2 followers
August 5, 2023
How can a work so short manage to be so devastating? A testament to the world’s insatiable cruelty.
Profile Image for Adrian.
70 reviews
June 28, 2024
I am guilty, like you, of faults of which I know nothing
Profile Image for Jud.
73 reviews3 followers
February 17, 2021
La Cruzada de los niños nos obliga a imaginar todo lo ocurrido, ocasionando que el lector se convierta en cada uno de los personajes y mirar los sucesos a través de sus ojos, así como también puedes sentir la inocencia y la fe de los niños, y la culpabilidad de los adultos por no haber hecho nada para detener su peregrinar a Jerusalén.
Profile Image for Damián Vives.
191 reviews7 followers
September 21, 2014
A partir de monólogos, más o menos fragmentarios, narrados por distintos protagonistas o espectadores periféricos, Marcel Schwob pinta, en tan sólo ocho pinceladas, el fresco definitivo sobre el curioso evento y alcanza, por su cadencia poética, uno de los momentos más logrados de toda su producción. Ediciones Reino de Cordelia recupera esta joya de la narrativa francesa en una cuidada traducción realizada por Luis Alberto de Cuenca. El volumen se ve embellecido por las ilustraciones del talentoso Jean Gabriel Daragnès.
Profile Image for Rex.
266 reviews46 followers
February 16, 2022
The translation I read was rough, but the beauty of the writing shone through nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews

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