Urban II: the reasons for the calling of the First Crusade; responding to…

The idea

Pope Urban II called the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095, driven by a complex blend of motives. The immediate catalyst was responding to Emperor Alexios I's appeal at Piacenza for mercenaries to combat the Seljuk Turks. However, Urban transformed this into a grander religious and political project. Religiously, he sought to liberate Jerusalem, offering the revolutionary concept of a plenary indulgence to knights, thereby channelling their martial violence into a holy cause. Politically, Urban aimed to assert Papal supremacy during the Investiture Controversy, unify the fractured Western nobility under Papal leadership, and potentially heal the 1054 Great Schism by aiding the Eastern Church.

What earns the marks

• Explain the significance of Alexios I's appeal at the Council of Piacenza as the immediate trigger for Urban II's call to arms.
• Analyse Urban II's religious motives, particularly the liberation of the Holy Sepulchre and the introduction of the plenary indulgence for armed pilgrimage.
• Evaluate the political context of the Investiture Controversy, showing how the Crusade helped Urban II assert papal authority over secular monarchs.
• Assess the motive of healing the 1054 Great Schism by demonstrating Western military support for the Eastern Orthodox Church.
• Discuss the social motive of redirecting the violent energies of Western knights away from internal conflicts towards an external enemy.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Stating that Alexios I asked Urban II to launch a crusade to capture Jerusalem.

  Put it right: Clarify that Alexios only requested a small force of Western mercenaries to help reclaim Anatolia; Urban II expanded this into a crusade for Jerusalem.

• Ignoring the political context of the Investiture Controversy.

  Put it right: Link Urban's call to his need to demonstrate papal power and outmanoeuvre the Holy Roman Emperor.

• Treating religious and political motives as mutually exclusive.

  Put it right: Explain how religious zeal and political ambition were deeply intertwined in papal thinking during the eleventh century.

Exam tips

• Weigh the relative importance of the Byzantine appeal against Urban's own papal ambitions when discussing the origins of the Crusade.
• Use the concept of the 'Peace of God' movement to explain why Urban wanted to redirect knightly violence out of Europe.
• Avoid simplistic explanations; acknowledge that Urban's motives were a synthesis of genuine piety, strategic opportunism, and ecclesiastical politics.