SSAT Elementary Level Reading Question of the Day
Test your knowledge with a hand-picked multiple-choice question.
Adapted from Ten Great Events in History by James Johannot (1887)
The children of Germany and France caught the madness of the hour, and resolved upon a crusade of their own. Inspired by the preaching of a fanatical priest named Nicholas, twenty thousand young boys assembled at Cologne. They came from all ranks of life; the heir of the proud noble marched side by side with the son of the humblest peasant. Sisters, priests, and servants joined the throng, swelling the numbers and adding to the confusion. They stayed in Cologne for several weeks, set back by chaos and disease. Eventually the ill-fated group set off for the Holy Land, but their difficulties were just beginning.
What can you infer was “the madness of the hour?”