The Gates of Paradise
by Jerzy Andrzejewskiliterary work· published 1960
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The Gates of Paradise (Polish: Bramy raju) is a novel by Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski published in 1960. The novel consists of 40,000 words written in two sentences, with nearly no punctuation, making it an exercise in constrained writing. The second sentence contains only four words: "I szli całą noc" ("And they marched all night"). The book tells the story of the Children's Crusade of 1212 trying to reach the Holy Land. The idealistic naivety of major participants is contrasted with the cynicism of others, who are morally corrupted while in charge. The author makes allusions to a somewhat similar situation existing in communist Poland of his own time.
Adaptations (1)
The Gates of Paradise was adapted into a 1968 film.
Gates to Paradise1968 · film · 89 min · dir. Andrzej Wajda · IMDb ↗IMDb6.1In 1212, a Children's Crusade is launched after a young shepherd, Jacques de Cloyes, claims to have had a vision in which it is said that the innocence of children would be able to liberate Jerusalem. A monk, returning from Holy Land, joins the crusade and hears the children's confessions, gradually realizing that most of them are taking part not for religious, but for more worldly reasons, like rejected love and hopes for freedom, the true nature of their enthusiasm is homosexual. In fact, if the children follow Jacques, it is more for romantic than religious reasons. They take literally the famous phrase: “Love one another”.
