Pope Urban II's Speech at Clermont

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that there is no direct accounts of Pope Urban II's speech at Clermont, which called for a crusade, but there are four main accounts written by churchmen. The paper further explains that at least three of these churchmen may have been present at Clermont. The first account was written by Fulcher of Chartres in 1101, the second account by Robert Monk in 1107, the third by Baldric of Dol in 1108-1110, and the last by Guibert of Nogent in 1109. The paper reviews each account and the author's personal views regarding the Crusades and Urban's proclamation. The author underscores that the variations and fragmentation of these different accountings of Urban's speech has made it difficult to identify exactly what the Pope said and his true motives for calling the Crusade.The paper contends that possibly Urban's motivation was to recapture Jerusalem, discontinue the wars between Christians in Western Europe and strengthen the relations between Eastern and Western Christian empires.

From the Paper:

"In the third account, Baldric of Dol puts a heavy emphasis on the state of Jerusalem and the suffering endured by the Christians there. He describes how Christians were forced to become beggars or even enslaved in the Holy Land. Even going into hiding did not help the Christians as Muslims sought them out constantly. He also describes how once great Christians churches have now become stables for animals and how "base and bastard Turks hold sway over our brothers." He claims that Jerusalem has been "reduced to the pollution of paganism." "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allen, S.J & Emilie Amt. Ed. The Crusades: A Reader. (Peterborough: Broadview, (2003),
• Cowdrey, H.E.J "Pope Urban II's preaching of the First Crusade", in The Crusades: the Essential Readings, Oxford: Blackwell, 2002).
• Geary, Patrick J. Readings in Medieval History. 3rd Ed. The First Crusade: Fulcher of Chartres Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 2003.
• Munro, Dana Carlton. The Speech of Pope Urban II. At Clermont, 1095. The American Historical Review, Vol. 11, No. 2 (January 1906). pp. 231-242
• Phillips, Jonathan. The Crusades, 1095-1197. Harlow, Eng. ;; Toronto: Longman, 2002.

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