The first Crusade was the first of a series of military campaigns which were basically a response to the vast expansion of the Islamic world. In 1095 Pope Urban II delivered a speech to call on the first Crusade. But what were the main themes of his remarks from his speech?
The Main Themes
In my opinion speeches have many different themes; the speech of Pope Urban II is no different on that matter. In his speech I noticed three main themes from his remarks, these themes are: the disorder in France, the actions of the Islamic forces in the east, and finally the call to the knights to go on Crusade to take action on the situation in the East.
The disorder in France: like the name of this theme states, France during the late 11th century was in a state of disorder with noblemen fighting amongst themselves. Also the French bishops were not doing their duties of enforcing justice. So Pope Urban II urged them to take action on the matter at hand.
The actions of the Islamic forces in the East: the situation in the eastern regions including the important places of Constantinople and Jerusalem was not a good one, with basically being under control by the Muslims. Pope Urban described some of the horrific things that happened to the Christians in those areas. He also describes the importance of these areas especially Jerusalem and their significance to Christianity, which further strengthened his call on the first Crusade.
The call to action directed to the knights: this message or call was also directed to the Bishops, but mainly directed to the knights. Pope Urban II strongly stated towards the knights to stop fighting amongst themselves to instead go fight against the Muslims in the east. He added further motivation in his call by stating that the knights going on the Crusade will have their sins wiped away.
Conclusion
The three main themes of Pope Urban’s II’s remarks from his speech are: the disorder in France, the actions of the Islamic forces in the East, and finally the call to action which was directed to the knights.
The Dreamer 