Pope Urban II and the Council of Claremont

THE POST-ROMAN WEST and THE CRUSADING MOVEMENT HIST 1301 | History Pope Urban II and the Council of Claremont When the Byzantine emperor Alexios I faced an all-out invasion in 1095, he dispatched envoys to beg the pope for assistance and a chance for peace between the two churches. Because of his advocacy for church reform, Pope Urban II ran afoul with German rulers such as Henry IV, who insisted on having the authority to name bishops, including the pope. Urban preached repentance from sins and adherence to the church throughout western Europe in order to avoid being in Italy while Henry was. He responded to the Byzantine emperor's plea for assistance, albeit maybe not in the way Alexios had anticipated. At a meeting in Clermont, France, in 1095, Urban II proposed his concept of holy war in answer to the Byzantine plea for assistance. Urban called for Christians from all walks of life to go on a "armed pilgrimage" in order to free the Christian Holy Land—the eastern Mediterranean regions connected to the lives of Jesus and the biblical prophets, including Jerusalem—from "Turkic" rule, even though the council was supposedly about reform. Urban did not advocate violence against Muslims; rather, his objective at this time was to free the Holy Land from non-Christian rulers in order to protect the Christians residing there. Later on, though, these restrictions were relaxed as the popes saw the value of organising recurrent crusades to further the church's reformist objectives and to take on competing European political leaders like the German rulers. The Byzantine emperor desired assistance for his empire, but Urban dispatched the crusaders to Jerusalem. Urban made a wise decision when he ordered people to "liberate Jerusalem" and aid Christians throughout the Middle East. Though few Europeans were aware of or concerned with Constantinople's issues, the church's reforming and educating initiatives had elevated Jesus' life in Jerusalem and the early Christian community there to a central place in people's minds. Relics of saints were highly valued by Catholics as a method to strengthen their devotion and draw them nearer to God; Jerusalem was, in essence, a massive relic, a doorway to heaven. Speakers such as Peter the Hermit enthralled large groups of people by presenting the concept of a magnificent journey to the holiest of cities. The call to crusade galvanised troops, knights, impoverished peasants, and fanatics among western Christians to action. By providing assistance to the Byzantine Empire, Urban also sought to bring the church back together. What is known about his remarks demonstrates how he connected his reform programme with this endeavour. Liberating Jerusalem from the evil would be akin to the calls for liberating the church from aristocratic rule. After all, Urban had to deal with a rival pope who was backed by the German emperor and had controlled Rome since before Urban was elected pope, which is why he called for the crusade while he was in France. Insisting that Spanish Christians should not make this pilgrimage because they were required at home in the ongoing fight against Islam in the Iberian Peninsula, Urban was probably also worried about defending the borders of Christianity. Lastly, Urban's capacity to uplift the European populace demonstrated his sway over the majority of Christians. Since the popes lacked troops, they frequently had to rely on the dubious nobility for protection when disputes over church doctrine escalated into military confrontations with European kings. To observe what happened when a pope rallied average Christians to a religious cause as a test of faith would be helpful if they were to keep their hold on the church in conflicts with kings and emperors. Many were prepared to have a cross sewn onto their clothing as a symbol of their unique trip and the origin of the name "crusade."