What is it that makes a speech so powerful? Is it fancy wording, a pleasurable accent, or the message and reason for the speech in the first place? Take a look at a couple of speeches considered great from not-so-distant history. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech to over 200,000 people in Washington D.C. that was a massive push for equal and civil rights. Winston Churchill gave a speech to the House of Commons, urging others to yearn for victory as he did. But what makes these speeches so great? At the time when each was given—a time stemming social and political unrest—each speech was given to and well received by audience that those speeches concerned. Similarly as Martin Luther King Jr. and Winston Churchill gave speeches that gained …show more content…
the overwhelming support of others, in 1094 Pope Urban II gave a speech to the Council of Clermont that would forever change Catholicism. At a time when there was great tension between Western Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church, Alexis, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire and head of the Church in the East, swallowed his pride and asked the Pope for help defending Byzantium against the invading Seljuq Turks. Recognizing the monumental opportunity presented to him, Pope Urban II capitalized and set in motion the first of a series of Crusades. Through this examination and closer look at the situation of the Catholic Church and Christianity during the time of Pope Urban II, one is better equipped to understand the impact of the speech made at Clermont, as transcribed by Fulcher of Chartres. ¬¬Only a few short decades before Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont there was a massive split in church and state known as the Great Schism of 1054.
This split between the Pope and Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in the East solidified the already-present tension between the Papacy and the Emperor. It is known that the Emperor resented the growing power the Roman Catholic Church. However, despite the dislike Emperor Alexius had for the Pope, he was not ignorant enough to ignore the fact his empire was on the brink of subjugation by the Seljuq Turks. With persistent invasions and their capitol only 100 miles from Constantinople, Alexius—swallowing his pride—wised up and wrote a letter to Urban II asking for a force to help eradicate the invaders. Upon receiving this letter, Urban II saw the magnificent opportunity he had. As tensions had grown and the split between the East and the West had become ever-present, this was the Pope’s first opportunity to create a standing army and bring the East, the Holy Land, and all of Christendom under his control. It is then where he gave a very compelling speech aimed at driving out the Turks and conquering the …show more content…
East. Soon after delivering his speech to the Council of Clermont, the first Crusade to retake the Holy Land was well underway.
But why was his message so well received? As the sole head of the Church in the West, everything the Pope said held enormous weight with Christians—he was the direct representative of Christ. This massively important position allowed him to paint a picture not only for those who would participate in the crusades but Christendom as a whole. With incentives such as all sins being wiped away if one participated, it is no wonder why so many people were quick to jump on board. Surly the Pope, as Bishop of the Catholic Church, was certainly a great speaker, he incited participation by calling on Christians to use the “strength of their righteousness … to destroy the vile race from the lands of our friends.” Also, if he did not already have the support of the majority on this matter, he states that “Christ commands it.” How then could any person who claimed to be Christian not answer the call of the Pope, or better yet Christ? To persuade those who would still be against killing others, the Pope stated that Christ was misquoted—stating that it was okay to kill others that stood against Christianity, as long as they were not Christian. By asserting that that it was noble to fight the Turks, and that Christians could earn their place in heaved by fighting the infidels, no wonder there was a mass of people ready to go to war. Because of the risk-free benefits
Christians received from committing to the Crusades and taking the East, and the state of Christendom as a whole, one can see why the Pope’s speech forever lies in history as one that had monumental effects.
The Pope has agreed to help defend the Byzantine Empire! After being appealed to by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, in 1095, Pope Urban II assembled the Council of Clermont. In order to help the Byzantine Empire and ensure his power over the church he has decided to call for a military expedition to get back the Holy Land.
Renowned and engaging speakers have the ability to connect their values and ideas to greater causes and principles, leaving an enduring impact on the audience. You may be questioning what makes a great speaker? And what qualities and features contribute to the formation of a powerful speech? It is understood that a great speaker has the ability to communicate to larger truths and carve those truths on the audience’s hearts and minds as they surpass the context, place and time of the deliverance of the speech, and focus on conveying their ideas and values.
Although president Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation in 1862 that gave an end for slavery, white people persisted in oppressing and segregating black people. Life was segregated between blacks and whites: Black people had separate schools, restaurants, theaters, and even transportations. As the oppression increased, some black people started to refuse such harassment. Thus, many movements and marches were launched to bring equality for blacks (Patterson).
Both of the speeches, Martin Luther King's and Cesar Chavez', are powerful peices and communicate one vision: equality. King and Chavez have two very different styles of writing but the message from both is simmilar. for example both king and chavez discuss how their people are discriminated against because of their skin color, and how their people have neither the right to vote in the the south, nor the will to vote in the north , and in Chavez' situation, to have their vote counted. however similar their message's may be, their writing styles are different. Chavez talks about statistics, about why and how his people are treated. king held that the atrocitys commited against his people were self evident and as such did not need to be proved to anyone. kings message was meant to encompass the entire Uninted States while Chavez' was directed primarily at California.
on ways to be civil but disobedient, they have opposite ways of convicing you. Dr.
In document 1 by Pope Urban II, he stated that the Christians in the west should defend their fellow brethren in the east. He went on to state that Romania had been conquered and had to be taken back from the Turks and Arabs. The subjects had to fight for the land that they stand on to continue being good Christians. If you died fighting for this, you would get instant remission of sins, meaning you would be forgiven for all of their sins. He was the Pope; therefore, he stood on a different level than his subjects, and did not know how they felt about this matter. He had absolute power over everyone as the leader of their religion. In document 2 by Ekkehard in his book Hierosolymita, he praises the speech that Pope Urban gave in 1095 and told of how it le...
It is amazing how much political and military supremacy the papacy position gained when the Crusades began. The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition initiated by Pope Urban the II to regain the Holy Lands in Jerusalem from the Muslim conquest. The Pope gave a speech requesting military action against Muslim takeover to the French people of Clermont. The speech eventually propagated to other nations for further recruitment. Urban’s political and military involvement helped regain the Holy Lands and save the Christian Crusaders souls. His famous speech changed the course of history in part because its dissemination was overly successful, and assembled over 40,000 Crusaders to do the will of God. Why was Pope Urban II so victorious in recruiting people for the First Crusade, and why was his influence so important?
Speeches are a method of persuading people to do something. For Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, their speeches were to bring equality for the people of color. However, their approaches are different. Consequently, the effects may be different. An example of their contrasting differences is a speech from each, King’s “I Have a Dream” and X’s “The Black Revolution”. Their speeches used pathos, a central metaphor, and a warning, but was presented differently.
Who knew the two most powerful African Americans that influence countless of people in history and wrote their one of many most inspirational work while locked up in jail? Martin Luther King Jr. was incarcerated because the city officials issued a court injunction to prohibit the civil rights marches in Birmingham. Whereas, Malcolm x was arrested for burglary while trying to pick up a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. The fight for civil right was taken in the 1960's, where racism was a problem. Whites discriminated blacks because they thought they weren't equal to them. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X come in, they are well known African Americans leaders who fought for what they believed, in many different ways. Martin Luther King Jr. are both strong representations of two different approaches to a common goal.
The Crusades were the first tactical mission by Western Christianity in order to recapture the Muslim conquered Holy Lands. Several people have been accredited with the launch of the crusades including Peter the Hermit however it is now understood that this responsibility rested primarily with Pope Urban II . The main goal of the Crusades was the results of an appeal from Alexius II, who had pleaded for Western Volunteers help with the prevention of any further invasions. The Pope’s actions are viewed as him answering the pleas of help of another in need, fulfilling his Christian right. However, from reading the documents it is apparent that Pope Urban had ulterior motives for encouraging engagement in the war against the Turks. The documents and supporting arguments now highlight that the Pope not only sought to recruit soldiers to help but also to challenge those who had harmed the Christians community and annihilate the Muslims. He put forth the idea that failure to recapture this lands would anger God and that by participating, God would redeem them of their previous sins.in a time of deep devoutness, it is clear this would have been a huge enticement for men to engage in the battle. Whether his motives were clear or not to his people, Pope Urban’s speeches claiming that “Deus vult!” (God wills it) encouraged many Christians to participate and take the cross.
A main cause of the Crusades was the treatment of Christian pilgrims. They were robbed, beaten, and then sold. The main group of Turks, the Seljuk Turks, were threatening and growing in power. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexus I, began to become worried and sent out an urgent plea to Pope Urban II, in Rome. He requested for Christian knights to help him fight the Turks. Pope Urban II did agree to his appeal although Byzantine Emperors and Roman Popes were longtime rivals. He also did agree with Alexus I, in fearing that the Turks were expanding. Pope Urban encouraged French and German Bishops and Nobles to also take part in this. “ An accused race has violently invaded the lands of those Christians and had depopulated them by pillage and fire.” This is when Pope Urban II called for a crusade to free the Holy Land. Urban did agree to this having some of his own motives in mind. He was hoping his power would grow in ...
The Byzantine empire was under attack from the Seljuk Turks and Alexius Comnenus, the emperor of the Byzantine empire, required help from Western Europe. Knights were sent for support, but during the Fourth Crusade, defending the Byzantine empire was not made an important priority, and the Crusaders therefore pillaged Constantinople for their own benefit. Pope Innocent the Third was outraged to hear that the Crusaders destroyed Constantinople, saying in the reprimand of papal legate, “It was your duty to attend to the business of your legation and to give careful consideration, not to the capture of the Empire of Constantinople, but rather to the defense of what is left of the Holy Land…”. Through the quote, it is proved that defending the Holy Land was a higher priority than attacking the Byzantine empire. Furthermore, Pope Innocent the Third did not mention that defending the Byzantine empire was the Crusaders’ ‘business of their legation’ and therefore means that the cause is very trivial, or it has been neglected. Although defending the Byzantine empire was a cause of the Crusades, it did not last long and did not contribute much to the creation of the other
In order for the crusades to begin, the Christians needed to gather an army to travel and fight the forces of Muslims. With all the power being held by monarchies at this time, the church needed to be cleaver in order to gain troops to put their lives on the line. To gain the support of these warriors and dedication of men, Pope Urban II (1088-1099) challenged those morals of men by telling them to grab their weapons and join the holy war to recover the land of Jerusalem. It was not the challenge that convinced men to take part in this war. The promise of “immediate remission of sins” attracted the men to stand up for their religion and beliefs while at the same time, promising them a trip to heaven when life comes to an end. With this statement, men instantly prepared for battle which in a very short period of time gave the church power which has been held by the monarchies. Men of rich and poor prepared for battle, some wearing ...
Thesis: Actions, beliefs, and patience are characteristics that are comparable in both the lives of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
For a period stretching up to two centuries, various powers come together to intensify the struggle to take over the Holy Land. These included the aspiration of Popes to gain Rome’s "Spiritually consecrated canonical role" and the business ambition of Italian traders. Christian and Muslim leaders came to the realization that the plan of Holy War could be harnessed to vindicate programs of solidarity and military action, even to expedite the enforcement of autocratic governments. This way, the crusaders war sought to shape and direct violence. Essentially, this ended up serving the ruling class. Those involved in the fight for running of the Holy Land truly believed that their activities were entangled with the divine purposes. Popes Innocent III together with Urban II advocated for crusades to stamp their power, though also hoping to assist the Christians navigate their way to salvation. (Asbridge, 2010)