Elevated to the papal throne in 1088, Urban II is described as a man of considerable diplomatic flexibility who lifted the excommunication on the Byzantine emperor as his first act. When Alexios wrote asking for mercenaries against the Turks, Urban seized the opportunity — delivering at the Council of Clermont what Brownworth calls 'undoubtedly the single most effective speech ever heard in Europe,' calling for a crusade to Jerusalem rather than the few hundred mercenaries Alexios had requested.
Also known as: Pope Urban II
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Episode 14 (6 mentions)
Elevated to the papal throne in 1088, Urban II is described as a man of considerable diplomatic flexibility who lifted the excommunication on the Byzantine emperor as his first act. When Alexios wrote asking for mercenaries against the Turks, Urban seized the opportunity — delivering at the Council of Clermont what Brownworth calls 'undoubtedly the single most effective speech ever heard in Europe,' calling for a crusade to Jerusalem rather than the few hundred mercenaries Alexios had requested.
“His failure was mainly due to the intractable pontiff, but by 1088 a new Pope, Urban II,”
“The letter, one of the most fateful in Western history, reached Urban in the summer of 1095.”
“Where Alexius had wanted only a few hundred mercenaries, Urban called for whole armies.”
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