Council of Clermont and Pope Urban II

Definition

by Mark Cartwright
published on 22 October 2018

The Council of Clermont in central France was held in November 1095 CE and witnessed
Pope Urban II's (r. 1088-1099 CE) historic call for the First Crusade (1095-1102 CE) to
capture Jerusalem for Christendom from its Muslim occupiers. The Pope’s speech to the
church hierarchy and crowd of laymen at Clermont famously promised all participants a
remission of their sins, a strategy which proved hugely popular amongst Europe's nobility
and knights and which was copied in all crusades thereafter. The Council of Clermont thus
set off a chain of events that would lead to warfare between East and West for the next
two centuries and more, a conflict which brought repercussions for all the states involved
right down to the present day.

Prologue: Jerusalem & the Seljuks

When the Muslim Seljuks, a Turkish steppe tribe, spectacularly defeated an army of
the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert in ancient Armenia in August 1071 CE, a
series of events followed which would lead to centuries of East-West warfare couched in
religious terms: the Crusades. The Seljuks created the Sultanate of Rum and
conquered Byzantine Edessa and Antioch in 1078 CE. Next, they captured Jerusalem from
their rival Muslims, the Fatimids of Egypt, in 1087 CE (the city had been in Muslim hands
since the 7th century CE). Alexios I Komnenos, the Byzantine emperor (r. 1081-1118 CE)
realised that Seljuk expansion into the Holy Land was a perfect opportunity to gain the
help of western armies in his battle to control Asia Minor and so he sent a direct appeal to
Pope Urban II in March 1095 CE. Both the Pope and western knights would respond in a
far greater capacity than Alexios could ever have imagined.

THE COUNCIL OF CLERMONT WAS AN IMPRESSIVE GATHERING OF 13 ARCHBISHOPS, 82

BISHOPS, 90 ABBOTS, & ONE POPE.

Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II had been in office since 1088 CE and had already gained a reputation as a
reformer and active promoter of the idea of expanding Christendom by whatever means
necessary. Hailing from a noble family from Burgundy, France, Urban II would establish
himself as one of the most influential popes in history. Earlier popes had not shied away
from military action, in 1053 CE Pope Leo IX (r. 1049-1054 CE) had sent armies to battle
the Normans in the south of Italy. Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085 CE) had theorised on
the virtues of a Holy War, and Urban himself had already sent troops to help the
Byzantines in 1091 CE against the Pecheneg steppe nomads who were invading the
northern Danube area of the empire.

Urban II was again disposed to give military assistance to the Byzantines for various
reasons. A crusade to bring the Holy Land back under Christian control was an end in itself
- what better way to protect such important sites as the tomb of Jesus Christ, the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Christians living there or visiting on pilgrimage also required
protection. In addition, there were very useful additional benefits. A crusade would
increase the prestige of the Papacy, as it led a combined western army, and consolidate its
position in Italy itself, having experienced serious threats from the Holy Roman Emperors
in the previous century which had even forced the popes to relocate away from Rome.
Urban II also hoped to make himself head of a united Western (Catholic) and Eastern
(Orthodox) Christian church, above the Patriarch of Constantinople. The two churches had
been split since 1054 CE over disagreements about doctrine and liturgical practices. As a
suitable platform to announce his plans, Urban II called a council of church elders in
November 1095 CE; the location: Clermont in central France.
The Clermont Indulgence

The Council of Clermont of 18-28 November was an impressive gathering of 13

archbishops, 82 bishops, and 90 abbots, chaired by the Pope himself and held in the
cathedral of the city. Clearly, something big was about to happen. After nine days of
ecclesiastical discussion and debate, 32 canons were issued such as the reaffirmation of
the prohibition of clerical marriage, and the authority of the see of Lyons was formally set
above that of Sens and Reims. There was, too, the excommunication of both the Bishop of
Cambrai and King Philip I of France (r. 1059-1108 CE), the former for selling church
privileges and the latter for adultery. All quite run-of-the-mill issues for the medieval
Church, but it was canon number 33, the last one to be issued, that would shake the
world.

POPE URBAN II MANAGED TO HIT A COLLECTIVE NERVE IN EUROPE WITH A POWERFUL

IDEA THAT WEAVED TOGETHER THE GREAT THEMES OF THE AGE.

On 27 November the cream of the French clergy and a crowd of laymen gathered in a field
just outside Clermont for the finale of the council. It was here that Urban II made his now
famous speech in an obviously pre-prepared set piece. The message, known as the
Indulgence, was addressed in particular to Christian nobles and knights across Europe.
Urban II promised that all those who defended Christendom and captured Jerusalem
would be embarking on a pilgrimage, all their sins would be washed away, and their souls
would reap untold rewards in the next life. In case anyone was concerned, a group of
church scholars later went to work and came up with the idea that a campaign of violence
could be justified by references to particular passages of the Bible and the works of Saint
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE). Further justification for war was the emphasis that this
was a fight for liberation, not an attack, and that the objectives were just and righteous
ones. Urban II had managed to hit a collective nerve in Europe with a powerful idea that
weaved together the great themes of the age: religious fervour, deep concern for the
afterlife, love of pilgrimage, and thirst for martial adventure amongst the nobility. The
same winning combination would be used again and again by Urban’s successors to gain
wide support for the many subsequent crusades in the next two centuries.

Unfortunately, no contemporary document outlining the precise content of Urban II’s

Clermont speech exists except the following short summary extract, a decree from the
Council:

Whoever for devotion alone, not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate
the Church of God can substitute this journey for all penance’ (quoted in Phillips, 18)

There are, though, many medieval secondary sources which refer to the speech and its
contents, even if these must be treated with caution as they date to after the conclusion
of the Crusade. Several such sources were written by eyewitnesses at Clermont, and by
careful comparison and consideration of the writers’ original aims in documenting the
events, along with surviving letters written by Urban II, certain common features do stand
out. The Pope made it very clear that:

 Jerusalem was the primary objective, with the defence of the Byzantine Empire a
second aim.
  the suffering of Christians and desecration of holy sites there (albeit exaggerated
for effect) made the timing imperative.

 those who fought would be rewarded in this life with material rewards and, in the
next life, with spiritual ones.

 the Crusade would necessitate the end of the various damaging wars between
Europe’s nobles.

 only fit fighting men should answer this call, and their property would be
safeguarded in their absence.

Below is an extract from one such account, written c. 1110 CE by Robert of Rheims:

…A grave report has come from lands around Jerusalem and from the city of
Constantinople…that people from the kingdom of the Persians, a foreign race, a race
absolutely alien to God…has invaded the land of those Christians, has reduced the people
with sword, rapine and flame and has carried off some as captives to its own land, has cut
down others by pitiable murder and has either completely razed the churches of God to
the ground or enslaved them to the practice of its own rites…On whom, therefore, does
the task lie of avenging this, of redeeming the situation, if not on you?

Stop these hatreds among yourselves, silence the quarrels, still the wars and let all
dissensions be settled. Take the road to the Holy Sepulchre, rescue that land from a
dreadful race and rule over it yourselves, for that land that, as scripture says, floweth with
milk and honey was given by God as a possession to the children of Israel.

But we do not order or urge old men or the inform or those least suited to arms to
undertake this journey; nor should women go at all without their husbands or brothers or
official permission: such people are more of a hinderance than a help, more of a burden
than a benefit. (Phillips, 210-11)

In another extract, this one from the account written by Guibert of Nogent sometime
prior to 1108 CE, the point is made that the reward of a remission of sins was only
previously available to those who adopted a life in a monastery:

God has, in our time, instituted holy warfare in order that arms-bearers…might find a new
way of obtaining salvation; so that they might not be obliged to leave the world
completely, as used to be the case, by adopting the monastic way of life or any form of
professed calling, but might attain some measure of God’s grace while enjoying their usual
freedom and dress. (Philips, 212)
Finally, in this extract from Baldric of Bourgueil’s account (c. 1105 CE) there are words of
comfort for those touched by the Pope’s pleas and inspired to take up the dangerous
challenge of warfare in an unknown and far-off land:

Do not worry about the coming journey: remember that nothing is impossible for those
who fear God, nor for those who truly love him…Gird thy sword, each man of you, upon
thy thigh, Oh thou most mighty. Gird yourselves, I say, and act like mighty sons, because it
is better for you to die in battle than to tolerate the abuse of your race and your Holy
Places. (Phillips, 213)

The speech, whatever its precise wording, was met with immediate enthusiasm. Some of
the audience followed the reaction of the bishop of Le Puy, Adhémar of Monteil, shouting
out ‘God wills it!’. The bishop then, as was almost certainly pre-choreographed, came on
the stage and received his cross, the symbol of a Crusader’s vow, from Urban II. The
choice of the cross as the banner of the campaign was a powerful visual reminder not only
of the Crucifixion which had, after all, occurred at the Crusade’s objective of Jerusalem but
also of what would then have been the well-known command from Jesus recorded in the
book of Matthew of the New Testament (16:24):

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Much more important than the effect on the immediate audience at Clermont, the
Indulgence, once its message was spread, electrified medieval Europe and saw an
overwhelming response with thousands ‘taking up the cross’ and vowing to crusade for
Christendom. Indeed, the speech was almost too good, and unheeding the Pope’s advice,
a rabble of untrained men, led by Peter the Hermit, a self-styled evangelist, was the first
group to travel to the Holy Land via Constantinople, the so-called People’s Crusades. This
group, containing hardly any professional knights was, unsurprisingly, wiped out in Asia
Minor in October 1096 CE by a Seljuk army.

Aftermath

After the council, Urban II wrote many letters of appeal and embarked on a preaching tour
of France during 1095-6 CE to recruit crusaders, where his message was spiced up with
exaggerated tales of how, at that very moment, Christian monuments were being defiled
and Christian believers persecuted and tortured with impunity. Embassies and letters
were dispatched to all parts of Christendom. Major churches such as those at Limoges,
Angers, and Tours acted as recruitment centres where the Clermont speech was repeated.
Many rural churches and monasteries also gathered up funds and recruits. Across Europe
warriors, stirred by notions of religious fervour, personal salvation, pilgrimage, adventure,
and a desire for material wealth, gathered throughout 1096 CE, ready to embark for
Jerusalem. The departure date was set for 15 August of that year. Around 60,000
crusaders including some 6,000 knights would be involved in the first waves.

The Crusade was a remarkable success. In 1097 CE Nicaea was captured and a great
victory was won at Dorylaion. In June 1098 CE Antioch was captured after a lengthy siege
and a Muslim relief army defeated. Then, the big catch and objective of the campaign,
Jerusalem was captured on 15 July 1099 CE. Another Muslim relief army was defeated at
Ascalon in August of the same year; Caesarea and Acre were taken in 1101 CE. The Holy
Land was finally back in Christian hands, and the Council of Clermont had achieved its
purpose, even if Urban II died on 29 July 1099 CE without knowing its success. The trick
now was to keep those gains, a task which, despite vast resources and the support of
kings, would, in the end, prove to be too much for the royal houses of Europe.

RELATED CONTENT BOOKS CITE THIS WORK LICENSE

EDITORIAL REVIEWThis Article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence
to academic standards prior to publication.

Bibliography

 Asbridge, T. Walter the Chancellor’s The Antiochene Wars. (Routledge, 1999).

 Phillips, J. The Crusades, 1095-1204. (Routledge, 1893).

 Riley-Smith, J. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades. (OUP Oxford, 2018).

 Runciman, S. A History of the Crusades Vol. I. (Cambridge University Press, 1987).

 Tyerman, C. God's War. (Belknap Press, 2009).