Rhetorical Analysis Of Call Of The First Crusade

In the ninth century, the Holy Land, now known at the Middle East or historical Palestine, went through a major shift in culture. For many centuries, the majority of the Palestinian population had been people of the Jewish and Christian faiths, however, now the majority of this population were of the Islamic faith and the area was being ruled under Muslim leadership. In 1095, Pope Urban II spoke at a council meeting in Clermont, France where he called the Franks to take this land back. He told the Franks that it was the will of God for them to stop in-fighting and go to war. This was the call of the First Crusade, a series of battles between Catholics and Muslims over the Holy Land.

Throughout this speech, Urban was well aware of his audience

and because of this he was able to appeal to their pathos to persuade them into action. For example, more than once he referred to them as being set “above all other nations” by God and he told them that they were the most righteous of all Catholics. Hearing these statements most likely brought confidence among the Franks. When the speaker is able to make their audience feel confident, they are more likely to listen intently, believe what the speaker is saying, and be ready to take action on whatever they are called to do. Another way that Urban appealed to his audience's pathos was by speaking of their ancestors who were conquerors of Pagan kingdoms who spread Christianity throughout those lands. When reminded of the great feats of their ancestors, the Franks assumably felt more more apt to begin this journey on behalf of continuing the legacy of their ancestors. The statement that would have been the most influential did not have to do with providing confidence or reassurance of the Franks’ abilities. The most influential statement was when Urban said, “Accordingly, undertake this journey eagerly for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the reward of imperishable glory in the kingdom of heaven.” By saying this, Urban practically told the Franks that if they wanted salvation, that they had no choice but to fight to get the Holy Land back. This statement was the end-all for any people who were still unsure about going to war.
Urban’s speech gives historians reasoning behind the conflict between Muslims and Christians by pointing out one of their first major conflicts. This conflict is that both the Muslims and the Catholics wanted control of the Holy Land because they believed that it was given to them by God. Urban’s speech also reveals just how much animosity Catholics held against Muslims during this time period. This problem is reputedly due to xenophobia between the two groups which still exists in today’s society. Historians who read this speech will become well informed of the poor history between Christians and Muslims and they will realize that the conflicts between these two groups that occur today are nothing new.