Calling the First Crusade, Pope Urban the II's Speech (Sources, 199)

What is the purpose for calling on this first crusade, and who is commanding the people of Europe to go fight it, according to this source?

How does the pope try to convince people to go and blatantly break the fifth commandment (Thou shalt not kill) for this cause and not worry about their salvation?

 

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3. Calling the First Crusade Fulcher of Chartres, Pope Urban II's Speech at Clermont (1095) The papacy emerged from the Gregorian reforms with enhanced power and prestige as the head of Western Christendom. Pope Urban II (r. 1088-1099) embraced his position of lead- ership and directed it toward a new cause: the liberation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. At the time, these lands were under the control of the Seljuk Turks, who had gained control as part of their broader expansionist campaign in Asia Minor. In need of military reinforce- ments to counter the threat that the Seljuks posed to Byzantium, the Byzantine emperor called on the pope for help. Urban II's response is captured in the document that follows. It is a version of a speech he delivered to a large crowd in Clermont, France, in 1095 urging them to put down their weapons against one another and use them instead against the "infidel" in the Holy Land. Cleric Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059-c. 1127) was present at the speech and was one of the tens of thousands who took up the pope's call to fight for God. He served as chaplain for one of the crusade leaders and recorded his experiences, including what he heard that day in Clermont, in a three-volume Chronicle. His firsthand knowledge of events combined with the richness of his account make his Chronicle among the most reliable of all sources on the First Crusade. 3. Calling the First Crusade Fulcher of Chartres, Pope Urban II's Speech at Clermont (1095) The papacy emerged from the Gregorian reforms with enhanced power and prestige as the head of Western Christendom. Pope Urban II (r. 1088-1099) embraced his position of lead- ership and directed it toward a new cause: the liberation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. At the time, these lands were under the control of the Seljuk Turks, who had gained control as part of their broader expansionist campaign in Asia Minor. In need of military reinforce- ments to counter the threat that the Seljuks posed to Byzantium, the Byzantine emperor called on the pope for help. Urban II's response is captured in the document that follows. It is a version of a speech he delivered to a large crowd in Clermont, France, in 1095 urging them to put down their weapons against one another and use them instead against the "infidel" in the Holy Land. Cleric Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059-c. 1127) was present at the speech and was one of the tens of thousands who took up the pope's call to fight for God. He served as chaplain for one of the crusade leaders and recorded his experiences, including what he heard that day in Clermont, in a three-volume Chronicle. His firsthand knowledge of events combined with the richness of his account make his Chronicle among the most reliable of all sources on the First Crusade.

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Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade with the primary purpose of liberating Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the control of the Seljuk Turks At ... View the full answer