Speech At Clermont For The First Crusade

INTRO - In 1095 C.E. Pope Urban II made a speech at Clermont in the South of France, to mount the first crusade to rescue the Holy Land of Jerusalem from the (Seljuk Turks) Muslims and to give it back to the Christians. Religious obligation and personal gain would be the most important motivations for the crusades.

When the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire asked Pope Urban II to help regain the Holy Land for the Christians, the Pope agreed to help and gave out the call at Clermont for the Crusade (there are no transcripts) but a Priest named Fulcher of Chartres was present and documented the speech. The crusades involved people from every country in Europe. The Pope wanted them to give up their daily lives and to take the cross and to fight for the return of the Holy Land, the place where Christ was crucified and rose from the dead. The Pope never expected thousands of

people to answer his call to make the journey into foreign lands and fight an enemy they never knew. They came from all walks of life, from Lords to peasants. So many people willingly left their homes to travel so far, not knowing if they would ever come back home. Religious obligation to the Church and the potential for personal gain were motivating reasons.
RELIGIOUS - The main motive of the crusades was religious and Pope Urban II promised absolution of sins for those that fought the enemy of the church. He stressed that he wanted every person, whether they were fighters or not, to unite in the fight and that it was their moral obligation as Christians to, “feel the pain the Seljuk Turks were putting on their fellow Christians and to liberate them from Muslim control”.
Pope Urban is quoted as transcribed, “if you permit them to continue thus for a while with impunity, the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ’s heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians.”
Pope Urban’s inspiring words was the motivation why so many people responded to his call. The war was for all Christians to fight and they were promised Salvation as the “eternal reward”, and this made the Crusade all the more appealing to fight.
Another motivating religious factor, was the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Religion was extremely important but a lot of people were poor and could not afford to travel to Jerusalem. The Crusades gave them the chance to make the pilgrimage because the Church said, “taking the cross and going to the Holy Land is a demonstration of Christian love and devotion to God”. Knights were taught to be good Christians and to undertake the Acts of love and charity – which were “Love of God” and “Love of Neighbour” – defending the Holy Land and Christians was seen as “Loving one’s Neighbour”.

While Pope Urban II promised absolution of sins for the crusaders who took up the cross, it became difficult as the wars kept going on to keep people fighting.

So the Church had to promise more benefits such as, peasants being freed from their roles in the feudal system, the Church would pay taxes owed by the people and any debt would be wiped out and property and family would be protected.
FINANCIAL GAIN – War also brought financial gain for Knights, Nobles, Lords and fighters. The benefits of the Crusades could bring them financial gain or even higher status in society. Lots of money wash spent on equipment to be ready for battle, so when they fought battles and plundered and pillaged different lands, they gained personal wealth by taking the riches in the Holy Land. The motivations of the Nobles were different to that of the other people. The did not act with what the Pope had said in his speech, instead they used the crusades as an opportunity to gain land and valuables by killing innocent people along the way to the Holy Land and taking the land and riches from the people they

murdered.

CONCLUSION -