Pope Urban’s speech ignites the idea of uniting Christians to fight, he was smart and knew how to motivate. He knew how to gather a sizeable force and produced the idea should they fight for him in the name of God their sins would absolve. A lot of whom had signed up for the crusade weren’t quite whom the Pope had in mind, but they were so spiritually driven to fight for this cause, he couldn’t quite argue. Among those who took up arms was a Priest known as Peter the Hermit, he spoke out about the atrocities he had heard and seen in the holy land even though he may not have actually gone there.
He stated that he was chosen by the Lord to lead the spiritually pure on a pilgrimage to the holy land. Thousands of peasants who rallied to join him even though they had no money, some were soldiers but unfortunately many who came were driven in by his promising words. Many who set on this journey were ill-prepared and didn’t bring provisions to sustain them on this long track. The intentions of the crusaders- were no longer holy but were driven by hatred and greed. Destruction spread like wild fire across the land as villages, churches, homesteads anything in their way suffered.
There was no longer any distinction in what was enemy and there was no mercy for anyone regardless. The civilian crusaders lead by Peter and several others including Barons and town leaders, they grew impatient and set out on their own crusade. Regrettably, they had grown unruly and mass chaos followed any were they had arrived. Raids and looting broke out, the crusaders cared less and less about whom they were sacking and just continued to push along until their numbers had dwindled or they had met a stronger force and was pushed back.
Who was the pop urban?
More than anyone else he among many could be charged with the initiator of the first Christian crusade. In the defense of Christendom, he was diplomatic and understood what could unite them. In Clermont France Pope Urban II called to arms a crusade to seize the Holy Land, in particular, he wanted to claim Jerusalem and remove it from Muslim hold. Which was long established there for before. His speech rang with terrible atrocities committed against his people and asked that there be an honor? The Pope had Promised that all those who served in this Crusade in the spirit of Selflessness and spiritual devotion that their souls would be saved from any harm when it was done or when they died. The call to arms by Pope Urban II was meant to unite Christians under a common enemy.
As well as helping the Byzantines by focusing their attention on Jerusalem. Those who fought in the crusades were deceived into believing that all evils and sins they committed in the name of claiming the holy city or chasing Christian relics. The romanticism of the crusade, and the initial belief that the soldiers believed what they were just and driven by the righteous hand of God. Though it was known they would be earning only a few pieces of silver the men believed that as they cleansed the holy city polluted by infidels, they would earn their place in heaven.
Also, for some participating in the crusades was believed to clean and absolve those who committed grievous sins beforehand would earn penance and thus securing spiritual safety. Concerning the expedition to Jerusalem Urban’s words set the fire that would, rally priests to summon support throughout France and western Europe calling to arms those who would embark on a journey fueled by the thought of doing the work of God.
Even more so many had joined to increase land holding and riches that would undoubtedly be gained throughout the march across the covenant. The peasants who made the bulk of the crusader numbers lacked discipline and experience making them wild and sometimes uncontrollable. Not to mention they were also the bulk of the death toll compared to those who did have training and were professional armies.
