Pope Urban II and the first crusade?

Question

Assume the position of Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont (1095) and deliver a sermon announcing whether or not to intiate a crusade to recover the holy places. Give your reasons for such a decision, based upon what you know now from history.

(or at least give me some help xP

Answer 1

Muslim armies had conquered much of northern Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Spain, which had been some of the most heavily Christian areas in the world.

Thousands, and possibly millions, of Christians died during this drive to eventually bring the entire world under Islam.

The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II to check the advance of the Muslims and regain control of the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

I am sure that some atrocities were committed by both sides during this war but by most people's judgment this was a just war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Actually, we have accounts of the speech that Urban II gave at Clermont from different contemporaneous sources. You might want to begin by reading them. They are available at: http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/source/urban2-5vers.html

Historians continue to argue about the motives behind Urban's sermon. Certainly, there was a religious motive: Christians had never liked the conquest of Jerusalem - Christendom's most holy city - by the Muslims in the 7th century but had never really had the means to do anything about it. Moreover, Muslims had allowed the continued passage of pilgrims to the holy sites until the 11th century. A brief period of persecution of Christian pilgrims only inflamed Christian feelings.

However, a religious motive is clearly not enough. After all, Jerusalem had not fallen recently. The growing power of the Muslims relative to the Byzantine Empire did, however, cause great concern to the West. The Byzantines had lost an important battle (Manzikert, 1071), giving the Muslims control of much of Anatolia, and the Byzantine Emperor appealed to the West for aid.

Moreover, the situation in Europe had finally become favorable to crusade. The reconquest of Iberia was well underway and the "barbarian" invasions of the 10th century (the Vikings, Magyars) had been quelled by a new class of horse-riding knights. With no external threats, however, the knights squabbled among themselves and so formed a potentially disruptive element in society. Packing them off to fight Muslims must have seemed like a good idea.

In addition, the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches had drifted apart over the centuries over questions of doctrine. They finally split in the 1054. If the Roman Catholic church managed to lead a group to retake Jerusalem, it would gain an important advantage in its ongoing power struggle with its Byzantine rival.

Answer 3

The reason given by historians today for the cause of the Pope calling for the Crusades was to remove the excess number of warriors from Europe were they were generally bankrupting the economy and causing trouble. If you look at the history of the Normans you get a good example of what he may have been thinking about. They were basically Vikings who by 1066, less then 30 years earlier, had conquered the British Island, brought France to its knees so that it held the key province of Normandy, which sits at the throat of Paris, established the Kingdom of the Rus in the east, Naples in the South and Greece, just to name a few.
The Crusades were a good way to get ride of your rivals.

Answer 4

Pope city had gained a letter - call for help from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus. The Seljuk Turks (Muslims) had taken over Anatolia (present day Turkey) in the 1070s after the conflict of Manzikert and via the 1090s have been threatening Constantinople. In reaction, city referred to as for the 1st marketing campaign on November 27, 1095. He had countless agendas: a million. He wished to enhance the impression of the Roman church to the jap Mediterranean. 2. He wished unmolested holiday for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. 3. He had a difficulty at domicile in Europe with knights continuously struggling with among one yet another - yet in addition attacking priests, nuns, and church sources. Promising those ruffians forgiveness of their sins (rape, homicide, stealing) in the event that they went on the marketing campaign, the pope could be nicely rid of those adult men struggling with some distance away against Muslim Turks or Arabs. It became a win win difficulty for the Church.