Hubbry Logo
Pope Urban IIPope Urban IIMain
Open search
Pope Urban II
Community hub
Pope Urban II
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Pope Urban II (Latin: Urbanus II; c. 1035 – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery,[2][A] was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermont, which ignited the series of Catholic military expeditions known as the Crusades.[3][4]

Key Information

Pope Urban was a native of France and a descendant of a noble family from the French commune of Châtillon-sur-Marne.[5][6] Before his papacy, Urban was the grand prior of Cluny and bishop of Ostia.[7] As pope, he dealt with Antipope Clement III, the infighting of various Christian nations, and the Turkish invasions into Anatolia. In 1095, he started preaching for the start of the First Crusade (1096–1099).[8][9] He promised forgiveness and pardon for all of the past sins of those who would fight to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims and free the Eastern churches.[10] This pardon would also apply to those fighting the Muslims in Spain. While the First Crusade resulted in the occupation of Jerusalem and expulsion of the Fatimids, Pope Urban II died before he could receive the news.

Urban II also set up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the church.[11] He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 14 July 1881.[12]

Bishop of Ostia

[edit]

Urban, baptized Eudes (Odo), was born to a family of Châtillon-sur-Marne.[13][14] In 1050, he began his studies at the nearby cathedral school of Reims.[15] He was prior of the abbey of Cluny,[13] and Pope Gregory VII later named him cardinal-bishop of Ostia c. 1080. He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms, especially as legate in the Holy Roman Empire in 1084. He was among the three whom Gregory VII nominated as papabile (possible successors). Desiderius, the abbot of Monte Cassino, was chosen to follow Gregory VII in 1085 but, after his short reign as Victor III, Odo was elected by acclamation at a small meeting of cardinals and other prelates held in Terracina in March 1088.

Papacy

[edit]

Struggle for authority

[edit]
Main articles: Investiture Controversy, Gregorian Reforms, Anselm of Canterbury, and Bertrade de Montfort
A 19th century stained-glass depiction of Urban receiving St Anselm, exiled from England by William the Red amid the Investiture Controversy.

From the outset, Urban had to reckon with the presence of Guibert, the former bishop of Ravenna who held Rome as the antipope Clement III. Pope Gregory VII had repeatedly clashed with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over papal authority. Despite the Walk to Canossa, Gregory had backed the rebel Rudolf of Rheinfelden, the duke of Swabia, and again excommunicated the emperor. Henry finally took Rome in 1084 and installed Clement III in Gregory's place.

Urban took up Gregory's policies and, while pursuing them with determination, showed greater flexibility and diplomatic finesse. Usually kept away from Rome,[16] Urban toured northern Italy and France. A series of well-attended synods held in Rome, Amalfi, Benevento, and Troia supported him in renewed declarations against simony, lay investitures, clerical marriages (partly via the cullagium tax), and the emperor and his antipope. He facilitated the marriage of Matilda, countess of Tuscany, with Welf II, duke of Bavaria. He supported the rebellion of Prince Conrad of Italy against his father and bestowed the office of groom on Conrad at Cremona in 1095.[17] While there, he helped arrange the marriage between Conrad and Maximilla, the daughter of Count Roger I of Sicily, which occurred later that year in Pisa; her large dowry helped finance Conrad's continued campaigns.[17] Empress Adelaide was encouraged in her charges of sexual coercion against her husband, Henry IV. He supported the theological and ecclesiastical work of Anselm of Canterbury, negotiating a solution to the cleric's impasse with King William II of England and finally receiving England's support against the imperial antipope in Rome.

However, Urban maintained vigorous support for his predecessors' reforms and did not shy from supporting Anselm when the new archbishop of Canterbury fled England. Likewise, despite the importance of French support for his cause, he upheld his legate Hugh of Die's excommunication of King Philip I of France over his doubly bigamous marriage with Bertrade de Montfort, wife of the Count of Anjou. (The ban was repeatedly lifted and reimposed as the king promised to forswear her and then repeatedly returned to her. A public penance in 1104 ended the controversy,[18] although Bertrade remained active in attempting to see her sons succeed Philip instead of Louis VI of France.[19]) Urban further authorised itinerant preachers such as Robert of Arbrissel to spread the knowledge of Christian faith and promote the ideas of the reform movement, contributing to the mass phenomenon of spirituality at the end of the 11th century.[20]

First Crusade

[edit]
Main article: First Crusade
Urban at Clermont (14th century miniature)
Pope Urban II preaching the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont

Urban II's movement took its first public shape at the Council of Piacenza, where, in March 1095,[21] Urban II received an ambassador from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos asking for help against the Turkish tribes who had taken over most of formerly Byzantine Anatolia.[22] The Council of Clermont met, attended by numerous Italian, Burgundian, and French bishops. All of the sessions except the final one took place either in the Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral or in the suburban church of Notre-Dame-du-Port.

Though the council was primarily focused on reforms within the church hierarchy, Urban II gave a speech on 27 November 1095 at the conclusion of the council to a broader audience.[23] The speech was made outside in the open air to accommodate the vast crowd that had come to hear him.[24]

Urban II's sermon proved highly effective, as he summoned the attending nobility and the people to wrest the Holy Land, and the eastern churches generally, from the domination of the Seljuks.[25] This was the speech that triggered the Crusades.

No exact transcription exists of the speech that Urban delivered at the Council of Clermont. The five extant versions of the speech were written down sometime later and differ widely.[26] All versions of the speech except that by Fulcher of Chartres were probably influenced by the chronicle account of the First Crusade called the Gesta Francorum (written c. 1101), which includes a version of it.[27] Fulcher of Chartres was present at the council, though he did not start writing his history of the crusade, including a version of the speech until c. 1101.[28] Robert the Monk may have been present,[29] but his version dates from about 1106.

As a better means of evaluating Urban's true motives in calling for a crusade to the Holy Lands, there are four extant letters written by Pope Urban himself: one to the Flemish (dated December 1095);[30] one to the Bolognese (dated September 1096); one to Vallombrosa (dated October 1096); and one to the counts of Catalonia (dated either 1089 or 1096–1099).[31] However, whereas the three former letters were concerned with rallying popular support for the Crusades and establishing the objectives, his letters to the Catalonian lords instead beseech them to continue the fight against the Moors, assuring them that doing so would offer the same divine rewards as a conflict against the Seljuks.[32] Urban II's letters, rather than the paraphrased versions of his speech at Clermont, reveal his thinking about crusading.[31] Nevertheless, the versions of the speech have had a significant influence on popular conceptions and misconceptions about the Crusades, so it is worth comparing the five composed speeches to Urban's actual words.[31] Fulcher of Chartres has Urban saying that the Lord and Christ beseech and command the Christians to fight and reclaim their land.[33]

The chronicler Robert the Monk put this into the mouth of Urban II:

This land which you inhabit, shut in on all sides by the seas and surrounded by the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; nor does it abound in wealth, and it furnishes scarcely food enough for its cultivators. Hence, it is that you murder one another, that you wage war, and that frequently you perish by mutual wounds. Let, therefore, hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves [...] God has conferred upon you above all nations great glory in arms. Accordingly, undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Robert continued:

When Pope Urban had said these ... things in his urbane discourse, he so influenced to one purpose the desires of all who were present that they cried out, "It is the will of God! It is the will of God!". When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, [he] said: "Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.' Unless the Lord God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered the same cry. For although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore, I say to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let this then be your war cry in combats because this word is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: It is the will of God! It is the will of God!"[34]

Within Fulcher of Chartres's account of Pope Urban's speech, there was a promise of remission of sins for whoever took part in the crusade.

All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested.[33]

It is disputed whether the famous slogan "God wills it" or "It is the will of God" (deus vult in Latin, Dieu le veut in French) in fact was established as a rallying cry during the council. While Robert the Monk says so,[35] it is also possible that the slogan was created as a catchy propaganda motto afterward.

Urban II's own letter to the Flemish confirms that he granted "remission of all their sins" to those undertaking the enterprise to liberate the Eastern churches.[10] One notable contrast with the speeches recorded by Robert the Monk, Guibert of Nogent, and Baldric of Dol is the lesser emphasis on Jerusalem itself, which Urban only once mentions as his own focus of concern. In the letter to the Flemish, he writes, "They [the Turks] have seized the Holy City of Christ, embellished by his passion and resurrection, and blasphemy to say—have sold her and her churches into abominable slavery." In the letters to Bologna and Vallombrosa, he refers to the Crusaders' desire to set out for Jerusalem rather than his desire for Jerusalem to be freed from Seljuk rule. It was believed that originally that Urban wanted to send a relatively small force to aid the Byzantines, however after meeting with two prominent members of the Crusades Adhemar of Puy and Raymond of Saint-Guilles, Urban decided to rally a much larger force to retake Jerusalem.[36] Urban II refers to liberating the Church as a whole, or the broadly "Eastern churches" specifically, rather than reconquering Jerusalem itself. The phrases used are "churches of God in the eastern region" and "the eastern churches" (to the Flemish), "liberation of the Church" (to Bologna), "liberating Christianity [Lat. Christianitatis]" (to Vallombrosa), and "the Asian church" (to the Catalan counts). Coincidentally or not, Fulcher of Chartres's version of Urban's speech does not explicitly reference Jerusalem. Instead, it more generally refers to aiding the crusaders' Christian "brothers of the eastern shore" and to their loss of Asia Minor to the Turks.[37]

It is still disputed what Pope Urban's motives were, as evidenced by the different recorded speeches, all of which differ. Some historians believe that Urban wished for the reunification of the Eastern and Western churches, a rift caused by the Great Schism of 1054. Others believe that Urban saw this as an opportunity to gain legitimacy as the pope as, at the time, he was contending with the antipope Clement III. A third theory is that Urban felt threatened by the Seljuk conquests in Europe and saw the crusades as a way to unite the Christian world into a unified defense against them.[38]

The most important effect of the First Crusade for Urban himself was the removal of Antipope Clement III from Rome in 1097 by one of the French armies.[39] His restoration there was supported by Matilda of Tuscany.[40]

Urban II died on 29 July 1099, fourteen days after the fall of Jerusalem, but before news of the event had reached Italy; his successor was Pope Paschal II.

Spain

[edit]

Urban was involved in Iberia from the very beginning of his time as pontiff. Of his involvements in Iberia there were two main engagements, namely the:

  • Elevation of the See of Toledo to the status of Primate over all Hispania in 1088[41]
  • Granting of an indulgence to Catalan nobles to "endeavor with all your [the Catalan nobles'] help to restore the state of the city of Tarragona."[42]

Urban here gave support to the crusades in Spain against the Moors there. According to Chevedden, Urban was concerned that the focus on the east and Jerusalem would neglect the fight in Spain. He saw the fight in the east and in Spain as part of the same crusade so he would offer the same remission of sin for those that fought in Spain and discouraged those that wished to travel east from Spain.[43] A similar line is taken by Erdmann, who views the conflict in Iberia as being premeditated by the Mahdia campaign of 1087 conducted by Pope Victor III[44] due to the granting of an indulgence.[45] This campaign, Erdmann argues, was considered a success because of the elevation of the see of Pisa in 1092 in which Urban acknowledges the recent "triumph" of the Pisans over Saracen forces.[46]

Sicily

[edit]

Urban received vital support in his conflict with the Byzantine Empire, Romans and the Holy Roman Empire from the Norman of Campania and Sicily. In return he granted Roger I the freedom to appoint bishops (the right of lay investiture), to collect Church revenues before forwarding to the papacy, and the right to sit in judgment on ecclesiastical questions.[47] Roger I virtually became a legate of the Pope within Sicily.[48] In 1098 these were extraordinary prerogatives that Popes were withholding from temporal sovereigns elsewhere in Europe and that later led to bitter confrontations with Roger's Hohenstaufen heirs.

Veneration

[edit]

Pope Urban was beatified in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII with his feast day on 29 July.[49][50] However, at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew, at Salerno, Italy, in the monumental mosaic of the transept, above the high altar, Urban II is venerated as a Saint.[51]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Pope Urban II

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Pope Urban II (c. 1042 – 29 1099), born into a knightly family at Châtillon-sur-Marne in Champagne, was pope from 12 March 1088 to his death in , advancing the program against , clerical marriage, and lay investiture while navigating the with Henry IV. A former prior at and cardinal-bishop of Ostia, he prioritized papal independence from imperial control, excommunicating Henry multiple times and allying with figures like to bolster ecclesiastical authority amid civil strife in . Urban's papacy is defined by his issuance of the crusade at the on 27 November 1095, where he preached to assembled and , calling for armed to relieve Byzantine Alexios I from Seljuk incursions and to liberate and the Holy Sepulchre from Muslim dominion, promising spiritual rewards equivalent to full remission of sins. This sermon, preserved in contemporary eyewitness accounts by and others, galvanized thousands of knights and peasants, launching the (1096–1099) that captured in 1097 despite accompanying atrocities and logistical failures. His strategic use of penitential warfare ideology not only redirected European feudal violence outward but also enhanced papal prestige, establishing a model for subsequent crusading efforts despite debates over his precise motivations, which blended defensive aid to Eastern Christians with reconquest of sacred sites.

Early Life and Formation

Birth and Family

Odo, later Pope Urban II, was born circa 1042 in Châtillon-sur-Marne, a locale in the Champagne region of , to parents of knightly status within the local nobility. His family originated from the lesser aristocracy of Champagne, a province known for its feudal lords and ecclesiastical ties, though precise genealogical records from the era are limited and often derived from later medieval chronicles rather than contemporary documents. At baptism, he received the name Odo (alternatively rendered as Otho, Otto, or Eudes) de Lagery, reflecting ties to the nearby village of Lagery, which some sources associate with his paternal lineage. Details of his immediate family are sparse; while certain accounts identify his father as Eucher, a lord of Lagery, and his mother as Isabella, these names appear primarily in secondary reconstructions and lack corroboration from primary 11th-century sources. No verified records confirm siblings, though regional noble families like the de Châtillons often produced multiple ecclesiastical figures, suggesting possible kin networks in the Church. This noble but not princely background positioned Odo for early education in , aligning with the era's custom of channeling younger sons of knights toward clerical careers to secure family influence without fragmenting landed estates.

Monastic Entry and Cluniac Influence

Odo, later Pope Urban II, was born circa 1042 into a knightly family at Châtillon-sur-Marne in the Champagne region of France. After studying under Bruno of Cologne (later founder of the Carthusian Order) at Reims, he advanced in the local church, becoming a canon and eventually archdeacon there, roles that exposed him to administrative duties amid growing calls for clerical reform. Influenced by Bruno's ascetic teachings, Odo resigned these positions around 1070 to embrace monastic life, entering the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny as a monk. Cluny, founded in 910 under a charter granting direct papal oversight and exemption from episcopal interference, had by the 11th century become the epicenter of monastic revival, with over 1,500 dependent houses across promoting rigorous adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. Under Abbot Hugh (r. 1049–1109), whom served, the abbey emphasized liturgical splendor, communal prayer, and opposition to , clerical marriage, and lay investiture—abuses targeted by the broader initiated under . quickly rose to the position of prior at , holding it approximately from 1070 to 1074, where he gained practical experience in ecclesiastical governance and networked with reform-minded figures. This Cluniac immersion profoundly shaped Odo's worldview, instilling a commitment to and monastic independence that he later advanced as a cardinal under Gregory VII and as . Cluny's model of centralized authority and moral rigor, free from local feudal pressures, provided a template for church-wide renewal, influencing Odo's advocacy for similar principles in his pre-papal career and pontificate. His tenure at Cluny thus bridged personal with the institutional reforms that defined 11th-century Catholicism.

Pre-Papal Career

Role in Church Administration

As grand prior of the from approximately 1070, oversaw the administration of its extensive dependencies across , managing fiscal resources, enforcing Cluniac disciplinary standards, and extending the monastery's influence as a center for ecclesiastical reform independent of episcopal or lay interference. The role demanded coordination of monastic communities adhering to the Rule of St. Benedict, with Cluny's exemption from local bishops granting quasi-episcopal authority in spiritual and temporal governance. Recalled to Rome amid Pope Gregory VII's reform campaigns, Odo was elevated to cardinal-bishop of Ostia around 1080, a senior curial position that positioned him as dean of the College of Cardinals upon succession, entailing supervision of papal elections, liturgical ordinations, and advisory duties on canonical matters. In this office, he collaborated closely with Gregory to implement decrees against and , participating in Roman synods that excommunicated offending prelates and asserted over investitures. From 1082 to 1085, served as on missions and , conducting provincial councils to depose simoniacs—such as the removal of unworthy bishops in Tours and —and reconciling schismatic clergy to the reformist program, thereby extending centralized papal administration into fractious regional churches. In 1084, dispatched amid Henry IV's imperial aggression, he rallied ecclesiastical support, fortified alliances with reform-minded princes, and safeguarded papal legations against Clement III's faction. These efforts underscored his pivotal administrative function in bridging curial policy with practical enforcement across .

Bishopric of Ostia

Odo of Lagery was elevated to the position of Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia by in 1078, marking a pivotal advancement in his career following his monastic background at . In this role, which he held until his papal election, he functioned as one of Gregory's principal advisors, actively promoting the Gregorian Reforms to eradicate , enforce , and curtail lay interference in bishop appointments. From 1082 to 1085, served as in and , leveraging his authority from Ostia to advance these reforms amid the escalating with Emperor Henry IV. In during 1084–1085, he filled vacant episcopal sees with appointees loyal to Gregory VII and deposed bishops aligned with imperial interests, thereby bolstering papal control over northern German dioceses. He convened a at , where he anathematized antipope Guibert of (Clement III) and his adherents, reinforcing the legitimacy of the Gregorian papacy against schismatic challenges. Odo's episcopal ordination occurred on 20 July 1085, formalizing his oversight of the Diocese of Ostia, a suburbicarian see strategically positioned as Rome's primary port and historically influential in cardinal governance. His tenure underscored the growing centralization of papal administration, with Ostia's bishopric serving as a base for diplomatic and reformative initiatives that prepared the ground for his later pontificate. This period ended on 12 March 1088, when he was elected pope at , succeeding Victor III.

Election to the Papacy

Context of Succession from Victor III

, born and formerly of , died on September 16, 1087, at the monastery of after a brief and troubled pontificate marked by ongoing conflicts with the and Norman allies. His death occurred amid a exacerbated by the , where reformist cardinals sought to uphold papal independence from imperial interference, while —supported by Emperor Henry IV—maintained control over through factional violence and alliances with local nobility. Victor III's reluctance to fully exercise papal authority, including limited time in , had left the fragmented, with many cardinals dispersed to to evade Clement's forces. The sede vacante period following Victor III's death lasted nearly six months, during which reform-minded cardinals avoided Rome to prevent coercion or assassination attempts common in the era's papal disputes. Assembling in Terracina—a secure location under Norman protection—they convened a synod to elect a successor committed to continuing the Gregorian Reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII, whom Victor had succeeded in 1086. This election adhered to the principles of the 1059 Dictatus Papae and the 1075 decree In Nomine Domini, emphasizing cardinal-only voting to insulate the process from lay influence, though the small number of electors—primarily cardinal-bishops—reflected the curia's depleted state due to exiles and deaths. On March 12, 1088, the cardinals unanimously acclaimed of Châtillon, the cardinal-bishop of Ostia and a key Gregorian reformer, as pope; he took the name Urban II. 's selection stemmed from his prior roles in Gregory VII's administration, including legatine missions against and lay , positioning him as a continuity figure despite initial reservations about Victor III's election. The choice underscored causal tensions in 11th-century : reformers prioritized doctrinal purity and papal autonomy over territorial control, leading to an election outside that delayed Urban's coronation until later that year and prolonged the with Clement III, whose partisans barred entry to the city until 1089. This succession context highlighted the papacy's vulnerability to secular powers, yet also its resilience through decentralized cardinal governance.

Initial Challenges and Antipope Rivalry

Urban II faced immediate obstacles upon his election as pope on 12 March 1088 in Terracina, a location chosen because Rome remained under the control of Antipope Clement III (Guibert of Ravenna), who had been installed by Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1080 as part of the ongoing Investiture Controversy. Clement's hold on the city, bolstered by imperial military support, prevented Urban from establishing a secure papal presence there, forcing him to prioritize consolidating legitimacy through diplomacy and ecclesiastical gatherings rather than direct confrontation. This rivalry stemmed from the broader schism initiated under Urban's predecessor Gregory VII, where Henry IV's defiance of papal authority over bishop appointments had led to mutual excommunications and entrenched factionalism in Italy. To counter Clement's influence, Urban adopted an itinerant strategy, traveling extensively in southern Italy and holding synods to reaffirm Gregorian reforms and denounce the antipope and emperor. In autumn 1089, he convened a synod at Melfi attended by seventy bishops, issuing decrees against simony and clerical incontinence while excommunicating Henry IV and invalidating ordinations performed under Clement's regime. Subsequent councils, such as those at Benevento and Piacenza in the early 1090s, reinforced these measures and addressed schismatic ordinations, gradually eroding Clement's credibility among European clergy despite ongoing imperial backing. Henry IV's renewed Italian campaigns from 1090 to 1092 temporarily strengthened Clement by restoring him to Rome, compelling Urban to retreat further south and rely on alliances with Norman leaders in Apulia and Calabria for protection. Urban's persistence yielded gradual gains; by 1094, he marshaled sufficient Norman forces to expel Clement from Rome temporarily, allowing a brief papal occupation of the city, though the antipope retained strongholds and imperial favor until Crusader armies ousted him definitively in 1099. This phase of rivalry underscored the papacy's vulnerability to secular interference but also highlighted Urban's adept use of synodal authority and regional pacts to legitimize his claim, setting the stage for broader papal resurgence.

Pontificate and Reforms

Continuation of Gregorian Reforms

Pope Urban II (r. 1088–1099), a former of deeply influenced by the reformist ideals of that abbey, vigorously advanced the Gregorian Reforms upon his election, emphasizing papal authority over secular interference in ecclesiastical affairs. These reforms, originating under , targeted —the sale of church offices—, and lay , where secular rulers appointed bishops, often leading to corruption and divided loyalties. Urban's efforts built on Gregory's foundations by convening synods to enforce disciplinary canons, excommunicating violators, and consolidating papal control amid ongoing conflicts with the . In 1089, Urban held the Synod of Melfi in , where seventy bishops gathered to issue decrees explicitly prohibiting and , reinforcing the mandate for priestly to prevent hereditary church offices and ensure spiritual purity. This council exemplified Urban's strategy of leveraging regional synods to propagate reform edicts, adapting Gregory's Roman-centric approach to broader Italian territories while avoiding direct confrontation with Emperor Henry IV, who supported the until his death in 1094. By 1095, Urban reconvened reformers at the Council of Piacenza, reiterating bans on lay and , which prepared the ground for the more famous later that year. At Clermont in November 1095, Urban promulgated canons that imposed penalties for , violations of , and acceptance of lay , declaring such acts null and void to undermine secular claims over bishoprics. These measures not only echoed Gregory VII's of 1075 asserting but also integrated reform with the crusade appeal, framing military aid to as a aligned with clerical purity. Urban's consistent synodal activity—holding over a dozen councils—demonstrated a pragmatic continuation of reforms, prioritizing enforcement through excommunications and alliances with reform-minded monarchs like , despite his own marital irregularities. This approach gradually eroded lay practices, setting precedents for the 1122 , though full resolution eluded Urban's lifetime.

Investiture Controversy and Conflicts with Secular Powers

Urban II inherited the from his predecessor Gregory VII, a dispute centering on the prohibition of lay rulers investing bishops and abbots with the symbols of spiritual authority—the ring and staff—while asserting that secular investiture with temporal powers could continue under ecclesiastical oversight. Committed to the Gregorian reforms, Urban reaffirmed bans on lay investiture, , and at early synods, including the Council of Melfi held from September 10 to 15, 1089, attended by approximately seventy bishops and twelve abbots in . These decrees underscored the papacy's insistence on ecclesiastical independence from imperial control, though Urban pursued a more conciliatory approach than Gregory toward potential reconciliation with the . The core conflict unfolded with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who backed Antipope Clement III and maintained control over Rome, forcing Urban into exile in southern Italy and France for much of his early pontificate. Urban excommunicated both Henry IV and Clement III, intensifying the schism and bolstering support among reformist factions and anti-imperial nobles in Germany. Despite overtures for peace, including synodal discussions, no lasting accord was reached, as Henry IV's forces recaptured Rome in 1089 and 1090, compelling Urban to reaffirm papal authority through itinerant councils across Italy and Gaul. Urban regained Rome in 1094 only after Henry's attention shifted to quelling rebellions led by his son Conrad and other princes, though imperial influence persisted in northern Italy. Beyond the empire, Urban enforced church discipline against other secular rulers, notably excommunicating King in 1094 for his adulterous repudiation of Queen Bertha and marriage to Bertrade de Montfort, a union condemned as bigamous under . This act, upheld at the despite the strategic need for French military support amid the antipope crisis, demonstrated Urban's prioritization of moral and reformist principles over political expediency; Philip's temporary in 1096 at Nîmes failed to endure, leading to renewed . Such confrontations highlighted the papacy's broadening assertion of spiritual supremacy, contributing to the controversy's prolongation until the in 1122 under later popes.

The Call to the First Crusade

Byzantine Appeal and Eastern Threats

The Seljuk Turks' decisive victory over the Byzantine army at the on August 26, 1071, under Sultan , resulted in the capture of Emperor and the rapid conquest of much of , stripping the empire of its primary recruiting grounds for soldiers and agricultural base. By the 1090s, Seljuk forces had established the in central , with cities like and Iconium falling to them, enabling frequent raids that endangered and disrupted overland pilgrimage routes to . These incursions not only weakened Byzantine defenses but also threatened Eastern Christian populations, as Seljuk emirs imposed tribute, enslaved captives, and desecrated churches, exacerbating the empire's military exhaustion from concurrent Norman invasions in the . Alexios I Komnenos, who ascended as emperor in April 1081 amid civil strife, initially stabilized the empire through alliances and mercenary armies, including victories like the Battle of Levounion in 1091 against the Pechenegs, but he recognized the inadequacy of Byzantine resources against the Seljuk tide without external aid. Desperate for Western knights to supplement his forces—whom he viewed as reliable heavy cavalry—Alexios dispatched envoys to European rulers, including earlier overtures to England and the Holy Roman Empire, but these yielded limited results due to internal Western conflicts. By 1095, with Seljuk pressure mounting anew after internal Turkish divisions eased, Alexios intensified diplomacy toward the Papacy, leveraging Pope Urban II's ambitions for ecclesiastical reconciliation post-1054 schism and his own conciliatory gestures, such as recognizing Urban's legitimacy over antipopes. The pivotal appeal occurred at the from March 1–7, 1095, where Alexios's envoys, led by Archbishop Anselm of , formally requested military assistance from Urban II and assembled Western bishops, emphasizing the Turks' "barbarous" invasions that had overrun 20,000 churches and endangered the imperial capital. The envoys portrayed the threat as both territorial—Seljuks controlling passes into —and religious, with pilgrims harassed and holy sites profaned, framing aid as a fraternal Christian duty rather than mere imperial hiring. Urban, presiding over the council to assert papal authority in , received the plea sympathetically amid 4,000 and , though contemporary accounts like those of Bernold of note the appeal's urgency stemmed from recent Seljuk offensives rather than an existential siege of . This embassy, distinct from later historiographical claims of a personal letter from Alexios, directly influenced Urban's subsequent crusade proclamation by highlighting opportunities for Western knights to reclaim lost lands while serving Byzantine recovery efforts.

Council of Clermont and Crusade Proclamation

The , convened by Pope Urban II, met from November 18 to 28, 1095, in the city of Clermont in the region of France, drawing approximately 300 clerics from across the realm. The assembly primarily addressed ecclesiastical reforms aligned with the Gregorian program, including condemnations of , , and lay , alongside decrees enforcing the Truce of God to curb feudal violence in . These measures aimed to strengthen papal authority and purify church practices amid ongoing conflicts with secular rulers, but the council's most enduring outcome emerged from Urban's public address on November 27. On that date, with the cathedral unable to accommodate the swelling crowd of clerics, nobles, and commoners, Urban delivered his sermon in an open field adjacent to the church, shifting focus from internal reforms to an external holy war. No verbatim record survives, as medieval sermon transcription was rare; instead, five principal accounts from chroniclers— (an eyewitness), Guibert of Nogent, Robert the Monk, Baldric of Bourgueil, and —reconstruct the oration, composed between 1100 and 1108, with Fulcher's version deemed most reliable due to his presence and proximity to events. Urban invoked the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I's plea for aid against Seljuk Turkish incursions that threatened and pilgrim routes to , portraying the East's as suffering , sacrilege against holy sites, and enslavement under Muslim rule. He framed the response as a penitential armed pilgrimage, exhorting knights and princes to take up the , promising plenary —full remission of temporal for confessed sins—to participants who liberated the eastern church and the Holy Sepulchre. The proclamation formalized the crusade as Canon 2 of the council, mandating assistance to "the church of God in the East" against non-Christian aggressors, with participants assured protection of their property and families during absence, akin to monastic vows. Urban emphasized moral urgency, decrying Western knights' internal feuds and redirecting their martial prowess eastward, where "the Turks...have invaded the lands of those and have depopulated them by the , and ," per Fulcher's account, while appealing to eschatological themes of reclaiming Christ's inheritance. The crowd's response was fervent, chanting "Deus hoc vult!" (" wills it!"), signaling immediate buy-in; this enthusiasm propelled recruitment, though later chroniclers like Robert the Monk amplified dramatic elements, such as vivid atrocity descriptions, potentially to sustain crusading zeal post-facto. Urban reinforced the call in subsequent speeches across and , but Clermont marked the pivotal public launch, igniting a movement that mobilized tens of thousands despite logistical and ideological variances in the accounts.

Theological and Practical Justifications

Pope Urban II framed the Crusade as a defensive holy war against Muslim incursions that threatened Christian holy sites and pilgrims, drawing on emerging concepts of bellum justum adapted to protect the faith, where participants could earn plenary indulgence—full remission of temporal punishment for sins—through armed pilgrimage rather than mere penance. This theological rationale positioned the expedition as a collective act of devotion, equating military service to the defense of Jerusalem and the Church with spiritual merit akin to martyrdom, as echoed in contemporary accounts where Urban invoked biblical precedents of divine favor for warriors of the faith. Chroniclers like Fulcher of Chartres, who attended the Council of Clermont on November 27, 1095, recorded Urban emphasizing the desecration of sacred places by "infidels" and the duty of knights to reclaim them, thereby purifying their own violent tendencies through redemptive violence abroad. Practically, the call responded to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos's 1095 appeal at the Council of Piacenza for Western military aid against Seljuk Turk advances that had captured much of following the in 1071, endangering Byzantine survival and access to the . Urban expanded this limited request into a broader offensive to recapture , aiming to redirect Europe's fractious nobility—whose internecine warfare disrupted the Pax Dei (Truce of God) initiatives—from internal feuds to a unified external campaign, thereby fostering ecclesiastical authority over secular lords. This strategy also bolstered papal prestige amid ongoing Investiture Controversies, positioning Urban as the arbiter of Christendom's response to Eastern threats, with estimates of 60,000 to 100,000 participants mobilizing in the subsequent year. Historians note that while theological appeals dominated Urban's rhetoric to inspire mass participation, practical motives included consolidating Church reform by integrating militant orders into papal service, though accounts of the speech vary due to later compositions by eyewitnesses like Robert the Monk, who amplified themes of unity and to align with post-Crusade narratives. Such reconstructions, analyzed by scholars like Dana C. Munro, underscore Urban's intent to forge spiritual renewal through geopolitical action, without evidence of purely expansionist aims in his initial proclamation.

Other Regional Policies

Support for Iberian Reconquista

Pope Urban II extended papal endorsement to Christian military campaigns against Muslim forces in the , framing them as meritorious defenses of the faith akin to eastern expeditions. On July 1, 1089, shortly after his election, he issued a bull to Catalan counts Berenguer Ramon II of and Ermengol IV of Urgell, granting full remission of sins to participants in the siege and reconquest of , a former Roman provincial capital then under control. This privilege, one of the earliest documented papal indulgences for Iberian warfare, incentivized recruitment by equating local combat with penitential pilgrimage, thereby bolstering regional alliances against Almoravid incursions. Urban's support extended beyond spiritual incentives to diplomatic encouragement of Iberian rulers. He corresponded with figures such as Alfonso VI of León and Castile, urging sustained pressure on Muslim taifas and discouraging diversion of resources eastward. In the wake of his 1095 proclamation, Urban addressed Catalans directly, affirming that warfare against Moors in conferred identical eternal rewards to the Jerusalem journey and explicitly advising against emigration to the to avoid weakening peninsular frontiers. These measures reflected pragmatic prioritization of proximate threats, preserving manpower for advances like the 1113–1115 Balearic campaign precursors while integrating efforts into papal crusading rhetoric.

Interventions in Sicily and Norman Affairs

In the wake of the of Sicily from Muslim emirs, culminating in I's capture of in 1091, Pope Urban II pursued interventions to reassert ecclesiastical authority over the island's devastated church structures and to forge alliances with Norman leaders against common foes like Emperor Henry IV and . Urban's strategy emphasized pragmatic recognition of Norman gains in exchange for loyalty and military protection, diverging from his broader opposition to lay in . In 1089, Urban traveled southward to Troina in Sicily during Roger I's siege of Butera, interrupting the campaign to meet the count and effect reconciliation with Bohemund of Taranto, Roger I's nephew and rival for influence in Norman Italy. The encounter secured a lasting peace between the Norman factions and their explicit allegiance to the papacy, bolstering Urban's position amid ongoing threats from imperial forces. This diplomatic maneuver underscored the Normans' role as papal vassals, with Roger I treating Urban with marked deference and providing armed escorts for papal movements in the region. By 1098, as Sicily's Christian restoration progressed under Norman rule, Urban elevated I to the status of apostolic legate exclusively for the island, granting him authority to nominate bishops, administer sacraments independently, and collect ecclesiastical revenues—prerogatives typically reserved against secular rulers elsewhere to preserve clerical autonomy. These concessions, which effectively made a semi-ecclesiastical overlord in , were justified by the near-total eradication of institutions under prior Muslim governance, necessitating rapid reorganization to evangelize and consolidate Catholic presence. Urban's actions thus prioritized causal restoration of order and strategic Norman fidelity over uniform application, enabling the papacy to leverage Sicilian resources without direct administrative burden.

Death and Immediate Aftermath

Final Years and Health Decline

In the aftermath of the , Urban II's final years were devoted to reinforcing ecclesiastical discipline and papal authority amid persistent threats from the and internal schisms. Returning to by late 1096, he convened a Roman synod at the in 1097, where canons reiterated prohibitions against simoniacal ordinations, lay , and , aiming to entrench Gregorian reforms against lingering imperial interference. In 1098, he presided over the , seeking to bridge disputes with Byzantine envoys while consolidating alliances in southern against , who retained support from Emperor Henry IV until the latter's in 1098. These gatherings demonstrated Urban's sustained administrative vigor, as he navigated factional violence in and solicited Norman aid to secure the city's defenses. Urban II's pontificate concluded abruptly on 29 July 1099, when he died in the residence of the Pierleoni family in —a Jewish convert banking clan that had provided sanctuary during earlier exiles. This occurred fourteen days after crusader forces captured on 15 July, though dispatches confirming the triumph did not arrive in until after his passing. At roughly 57 years old, based on his birth circa 1042, Urban succumbed to natural causes without documented symptoms of chronic ailment or prolonged debility; contemporary accounts, including those tied to associated figures like , offer no particulars on preceding illness, suggesting a relatively unforeseen end amid ongoing papal duties. His burial was delayed due to opposition from Clementine holdouts, who controlled parts of the city, underscoring the unresolved tensions that marked his tenure.

Burial and Succession by Paschal II

Urban II died on 29 July 1099 in , at the residence of the Pierleone family, which had previously provided him refuge amid political turmoil. His body could not be interred at the due to control by adherents of the Guibert of (Clement III), and thus he was buried in the . The papal election occurred swiftly thereafter, with the selecting Cardinal-Bishop Raniero of Albano, a Cluniac Benedictine from Bieda di Galeata in the Marches, on 13 August 1099. Raniero adopted the pontifical name Paschal II and received consecration on 19 August 1099, marking a continuation of reformist leadership amid ongoing schisms and imperial pressures. This rapid succession, occurring within two weeks of Urban's death, reflected the cardinals' urgency to stabilize the papacy against rival claimants and external threats from Henry IV. Paschal II's elevation preserved Urban's alliances, including support from Norman Italy and , while inheriting unresolved tensions in the .

Legacy and Assessments

Achievements in Church Centralization and Unity

Urban II continued and expanded the Gregorian reforms initiated by , directing efforts toward greater centralization of church governance by curbing lay investiture and enforcing clerical discipline across Europe. His pontificate saw the issuance of decrees at regional synods that prohibited , clerical , and secular interference in episcopal elections, thereby subordinating local bishops more firmly to Roman authority. Through councils such as in September 1089, in March 1095, and Clermont in November 1095, Urban promulgated canons that invalidated ordinations by schismatics and antipopes, including those of Clement III, thereby consolidating papal legitimacy and unity against internal divisions stemming from the . At , the addressed post-schism ordinations, declaring many invalid to prevent fragmented hierarchies, while Clermont's decrees explicitly freed the church from secular power, banning lay s and oaths of homage to princes for ecclesiastical offices. Urban reorganized papal finances, reducing dependence on feudal donations and enhancing the romana as a centralized administrative body, which facilitated direct oversight of distant dioceses and legates' enforcement of reforms. His of King in 1094 for unlawfully repudiating his queen asserted moral and jurisdictional primacy over monarchs, compelling royal submission and exemplifying the shift toward in Christendom's governance. These measures, amid ongoing conflicts with Emperor Henry IV, progressively diminished imperial control over Italian bishoprics, fostering a unified structure under by 1099.

Impact of the Crusades on Christendom

The , proclaimed by Pope Urban II at the in 1095, achieved its primary military objective with the capture of on July 15, 1099, which markedly enhanced the papacy's prestige across by demonstrating the Church's capacity to orchestrate large-scale mobilization against perceived external threats. This success temporarily unified disparate feudal lords, knights, and pilgrims under a shared religious imperative, fostering a sense of collective identity and reinforcing papal claims to spiritual and temporal leadership over secular rulers. The expedition's outcome, involving an estimated 60,000-100,000 participants with high attrition rates—only about 12,000 survivors reaching —underscored the Crusade's role in redirecting martial energies outward, reducing internal European conflicts like the endemic warfare among nobles during the preceding era. Economically, the Crusade stimulated commerce by establishing in the , which served as outposts facilitating direct between Europe and the Byzantine and Muslim worlds, particularly benefiting Italian maritime republics such as , , and through shipping contracts and privileges granted in exchange for naval support. This reintegration into Mediterranean networks introduced Eastern luxuries like spices, , and to European markets, contributing to urban growth and the decline of purely feudal economies, as evidenced by rising commercial activity in ports and the financing of future expeditions through tithes and indulgences that centralized Church revenue. However, the immediate costs were substantial, with nobles mortgaging lands and the Church redirecting funds, leading to short-term indebtedness but long-term incentives for monetary economies over barter systems. Politically, the prolonged absence of thousands of high-ranking nobles from 1096 to 1099 allowed monarchs in , , and the to consolidate administrative control, impose new taxes—such as the precursors—and weaken autonomy, accelerating the shift from fragmented toward more centralized states. The Crusade's framework of papal-granted indulgences and oaths of also entrenched the Church's intermediary role in feudal obligations, elevating the pope's influence over kings and emperors, as seen in Urban II's prior assertions of authority during the Gregorian Reforms. Socially, while the venture exacerbated hardships through demographic losses—potentially 1-2% of Europe's population—and reinforced anti-Jewish pogroms in the during the phase, it cultivated a chivalric ethos tied to piety, laying groundwork for enduring institutions like the Knights Hospitaller, formalized post-1099 to protect pilgrims. Overall, these dynamics marked a pivotal reorientation of toward expansionist enterprise, though sustained defense of the strained resources and exposed vulnerabilities in European unity by the mid-12th century.

Veneration, Beatification, and Historical Debates

Pope Urban II has been venerated as Blessed in certain Catholic traditions since shortly after his on July 29, 1099, with a local feast day observed on that date in recognition of his ecclesiastical reforms and role in launching the . This emerged from an early centered on his in Saint Peter's Basilica, where pilgrims sought , though it remained confined to specific locales and was never formally extended to the universal Church calendar. No miracles were officially attributed to him in the medieval period to support broader cultus, and his recognition as "Blessed" reflects historical papal repute rather than a standardized post-Tridentine process. Formal in the modern sense did not occur, as Urban II predates the regulated procedures established by in 1625 and refined under Benedict XIV in the , which require verified miracles and apostolic processes. Some 19th-century references note a ceremonial acknowledgment on July 14, 1881, under , affirming his blessed status amid renewed interest in medieval reformers, but this did not advance to owing to insufficient documented cultic evidence or miracles. His thus persists informally in hagiographic and select liturgical calendars, emphasizing his defense of papal against lay rather than personal sanctity. Historical debates surrounding Urban II center on his conceptualization of the Crusade as a penitential versus a militarized expansion, with primary sources like his letters and contemporary chronicles portraying it as a defensive response to Seljuk Turkish advances that threatened Byzantine and disrupted Western to after 1071. Scholars such as Carl Erdmann and Hans Mayer have contested the primacy of Jerusalem's liberation in Urban's ideology, arguing his initial focus was aiding Emperor against Anatolian conquests, with the Holy City's symbolic role evolving in crusade propaganda. This view counters narratives in some academic circles that frame the Crusade as unprovoked aggression, overlooking centuries of Islamic territorial gains from to and the 1095 Byzantine plea documented in Alexios's correspondence. Assessments of Urban's legacy also debate the Crusade's long-term efficacy: while it temporarily unified Latin under papal auspices and secured in 1099, subsequent failures like the 1144 loss of eroded gains, prompting critiques of overreliance on feudal levies without sustained . Proponents highlight causal successes in centralizing ecclesiastical authority and fostering indulgences as precursors to later , attributing divisions with Byzantines to crusader indiscipline rather than inherent papal flaws. Contemporary Islamic sources, such as those by al-Sulami, viewed the Crusade as a counteroffensive to oppression under Seljuk rule, aligning with Urban's emphasis on liberating oppressed co-religionists over mere . Modern reinterpretations, often influenced by post-colonial frameworks in , downplay these defensive imperatives, yet empirical reconstruction from charters and sermons underscores Urban's strategic realism in leveraging ethos for geopolitical relief.

Criticisms and Counterarguments

Critics of Pope Urban II have contended that his sermon at the on November 27, 1095, which launched the , promoted an unprecedented doctrine of offensive holy war, framing violence against non-Christians as a path to spiritual merit and thereby contributing to atrocities such as the 1099 siege of Jerusalem, where chroniclers reported the deaths of tens of thousands of Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. This perspective, echoed in some modern assessments, portrays Urban's appeal for armed pilgrimage—with promises of plenary indulgences—as manipulative rhetoric that exploited religious fervor to expand papal influence amid the , diverting Europe's fractious knights from internal conflicts while risking broader schisms with . Counterarguments emphasize the defensive imperatives driving Urban's policy, rooted in the Byzantine Empire's dire straits after the Seljuk Turks' victory at the on August 26, 1071, which cost —long a Christian heartland—and prompted Emperor to request Western at the Council of Piacenza in March 1095 to counter ongoing Turkish incursions threatening and routes to the . Urban's letters, such as those to the Flemish and Italian bishops, consistently prioritized relieving Eastern from "inhuman" and restoring secure access for pilgrims, rather than mandating conquest; the expedition's redirection toward emerged from crusader initiative, not papal directive, as evidenced by inconsistencies in contemporary accounts where the holy city appears as a goal in popular preaching but not uniformly in Urban's authenticated missives. Furthermore, proponents of Urban's legacy argue that the Crusade aligned with just war principles of the era—defensive recovery of territories lost to Islamic expansion since the , including the conquests of , , and Iberia—serving as a causal response to over four centuries of Muslim advances rather than unprovoked aggression, a often inverted in biased post-Enlightenment critiques that downplay Seljuk disruptions to Christian communities. Empirical outcomes partially vindicate this: the Crusade's armies, numbering around 60,000-100,000 participants, recaptured in June 1097 and established Latin principalities that buffered for nearly two centuries, averting immediate collapse despite later failures. Urban's reforms, including excommunications of Emperor Henry IV in 1088 and 1089 to curb lay investiture, faced accusations of overreach into secular realms, yet these actions empirically strengthened ecclesiastical autonomy against imperial encroachments, fostering long-term without evidence of fabricated crises.

References

  1. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15210a.htm
  2. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/urban-ii
  3. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08084c.htm
  4. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/last-carolingian-exegete-pope-urban-ii-the-weight-of-tradition-and-christian-reconquest/D37B8FE24E059E1D2E3CFCF6369CF718
  5. https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/readings/urban.html
  6. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2179&context=ccr
  7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316940810_Paul_E_Chevedden_Pope_Urban_II_and_the_Ideology_of_the_Crusades_in_The_Crusader_World_ed_Adrian_Boas_London_Routledge_2015_7-53
  8. https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/pope-urban-ii-blessed
  9. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Urban-II
  10. https://www.primematters.com/foundations/enrichment/abbey-cluny
  11. https://smarthistory.org/cluny-abbey/
  12. https://clearcreekmonks.org/cluny-monastic-citadel/
  13. https://popehistory.com/popes/pope-urban-ii/
  14. https://partisantruthbeauty.wordpress.com/benedictine-monasticism/urban-ii-and-the-first-crusade/
  15. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/uploaded/ch149s.pdf
  16. https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/blagery.html
  17. https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdesid.html
  18. https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/16/saint-of-the-day-16-september-blessed-pope-victor-iii-1027-1087/
  19. https://www.catholic365.com/article/16060/pope-victor-iii-a-man-of-unusual-holiness.html
  20. https://professor-moriarty.com/info/thisday/papacy-pope-urban-ii-begins-1088
  21. https://www.foliamagazine.it/en/pope-urban-ii/
  22. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004216167/Bej.9789004195158.i-804_034.pdf
  23. https://manchistorian.com/the-context-of-the-first-crusade-pope-urban-ii/
  24. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1017/S0038713414000177
  25. https://history.hanover.edu/hhr/17/HHR2017-taylor.html
  26. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/16/article/510351
  27. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-council-of-clermont-beginning-of-the-crusades
  28. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc5/hcc5.ii.xvii.vi.html
  29. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/pope-urban-ii-the-collectio-britannica-and-the-council-of-melfi-1089-9780198205692
  30. https://deremilitari.org/2013/06/the-byzantine-background-to-the-first-crusade/
  31. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-27/pope-urban-ii-orders-first-crusade
  32. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rewriting-the-first-crusade/call-from-the-east-the-letters-of-alexios-i/8685979B75751CC26339AA2729867E94
  33. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/pope-urban-launches-crusade
  34. https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/clermont.html
  35. https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/source/urban2-5vers.asp
  36. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA420657.pdf
  37. https://my.tlu.edu/ICS/icsfs/CrusadesSources5pg.pdf?target=13e0e68f-4aa5-416b-869d-44d8226b269b
  38. https://www.history.org.uk/files/download/25173/1636623440/The
  39. https://www.medievalists.net/2023/01/reasons-going-first-crusade/
  40. https://www.thefrenchhistorypodcast.com/77-supplemental-1-calling-the-crusade-myth-memory-and-legend-in-the-accounts-of-pope-urban-iis-speech-at-clermont/
  41. https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/rn301336j
  42. https://www.academia.edu/25663114/Canon_2_of_the_Council_of_Clermont_1095_and_the_Crusade_Indulgence
  43. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1016/j.jmedhist.2008.09.003
  44. https://theologygaming.com/sincere-motives-urban-ii-validity-fulchers-account-clermont/
  45. https://www.academia.edu/33838556/Pisa_Catalonia_and_Muslim_Pirates_Intercultural_Exchanges_in_the_Balearic_Crusade_of_1113_1115
  46. https://academic.oup.com/book/26300/chapter/194562651
  47. https://carthusiansusa.org/life-of-saint-bruno-part-vi/
  48. https://cardinals.fiu.edu/conclave-xi.htm
  49. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paschal-II
  50. https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/pope-paschal-ii
  51. https://www.catholic.heritage-history.com/index.php?&s=study-info&f=saints_heroes&h=middle&type=investiture
  52. https://www.thecollector.com/first-crusade-pope-urban-ii-holy-land/
  53. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=younghistorians
  54. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1273/the-crusades-consequences--effects/
  55. http://msvandclass.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/9/0/24908977/eco_impact_of_crusades_1_.pdf
  56. https://blaydes.people.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj24621/files/media/file/blaydes_crusades.pdf
  57. https://dcc.newberry.org/?p=14390
  58. https://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320hist&civ/chapters/15crusad.htm
  59. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2019/05/23/what-happened-after-the-crusades/
  60. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=829
  61. https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/29/saint-of-the-day-29-july-blessed-pope-urban-ii-c-1035-1099-bishop/
  62. https://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j031sdUrbanII7-29.htm
  63. https://www.medievalchronicles.com/the-crusades/top-10-surprising-facts-about-pope-urban-ii/
  64. https://www.mag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/downloads/strack_letters.pdf
  65. https://www.academia.edu/17660289/_The_View_of_the_Crusades_from_Rome_and_Damascus_The_Geo_Strategic_and_Historical_Perspectives_of_Pope_Urban_II_and_%25CA%25BFAl%25C4%25AB_ibn_%25E1%25B9%25AC%25C4%2581hir_al_Sulam%25C4%25AB_Oriens_39_no_2_2011_257_329
  66. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1842819
  67. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25013850
  68. https://isi.org/you-thought-the-crusades-were-eviluntil-you-read-this/
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.