
Video
The Council of Clermont, held from November 17–27, 1095, was a pivotal moment that launched the First Crusade. Convened by Pope Urban II in the Duchy of Aquitaine, the council primarily addressed church reforms, including the extension of excommunication against Philip I of France and the renewal of the Truce of God to curb feuding among Frankish nobles. However, it is most remembered for Urban’s rousing call to arms on the final day.
The impetus for Urban’s speech stemmed from a request by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who sought Western military assistance against the Seljuk Turks threatening his empire. Urban framed his appeal as both a spiritual mission and a practical response to the crisis facing Eastern Christians. He described the Turks’ conquests in Anatolia and the suffering of Christian communities, urging the faithful to aid their "brothers in the East" and liberate Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
Urban’s speech, as recorded by contemporaries such as Fulcher of Chartres and later chroniclers like Robert the Monk, emphasized the spiritual rewards of the endeavor, including remission of sins and eternal salvation for those who fought. He portrayed the crusade as a chance for redemption, calling on knights and commoners to redirect their violence from internal feuds to a holy cause. The phrase Deus vult ("God wills it") became a rallying cry, reflecting the audience's fervent response.
The council’s call quickly spread through Europe, inspiring thousands to take the cross. Urban’s framing of the crusade as both a just war and a pilgrimage provided the ideological foundation for the First Crusade, which aimed to reclaim Jerusalem and safeguard Christian holy sites. The Council of Clermont thus marked the formal beginning of a movement that would reshape medieval Christendom and the Mediterranean world.