Part 23

In fact anyone who reads the sources of eleventh century Western European history will not be able to overlook the persistence of people in that era in seeking to guarantee for themselves forgiveness for their sins. This stemmed from millennial feelings that controlled people's consciences and minds, and the expectation that Judgement Day was at hand. Itinerant preachers spread throughout Western Europe, urging people to renounce the world, repent, and imitate the life of poverty led by the disciples. In the midst of all this religious fervour that dominated western societies, feelings of hatred and fanaticism towards the followers of other religions, and even against the followers of churches other than the Catholic Church, were prevalent. There is strong evidence of this in the epic poem called the Chanson d'Antioche, which truthfully reflects the spirit of vengeance that was widespread in Catholic society against the "doomed idolaters" — as they called them. This poem not only regards the Muslims as a nation that is hostile to Christ, but this description is applied to all of those who do not believe in the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Thus it represents popular European thought in the eleventh century. This popular thinking was itself one of the features of the general ideology that produced the Crusader movement. The success of Urban II is reflected in the fact that his speech in which he called for a crusade was like a focal point in which all the ideas which represented the ideological framework of the social dynamics of the west were combined, despite the differences in languages, customs and traditions. Thus the response of the masses to the Pope at Clermont was not merely a reaction to his eloquence; it was an expression of the listeners' joy at an enterprise which touched on their hopes. The holy war served as an astonishing cover under which everyone could proceed to secure the achievement of their worldly dreams and hope of salvation in the hereafter. We could quote dozens of phrases which appear in the historical sources and contemporary literature which describe the Crusaders as "knights of Christ", "men of Christ", "those who form the army of Christ", "the holy people", "the people of the Lord". These are all expressions which indicate that the idea of a Crusader war was well entrenched in people's minds, and that they were fully convinced that by taking part in this campaign, they were not doing so in response to any person, not even the Pope himself, but they were obeying the Lord.10 The Pope's consultation following his speech Urban II met with the Christian clergy and consulted them about mobilizing official and popular resources in order to attack the Muslims. He met with his bishops, and as a result of this consultation meeting, they issued the following decrees: ❖ Anyone who had committed a punishable crime could be spared the punishment if he took part in this holy war. ❖ All wealth, whether land or possessions, that the warrior left behind when he went to the holy land would come under the protection of the church during his absence, and would be returned in full when the warrior came home. ❖ Every participant in the campaign must wear the sign of the cross. ❖ Anyone who took up the cross must fulfil the promise to travel to Jerusalem. If he changed his mind, he would be excommunicated. ❖ Every city that was saved from the "infidel Muslims" was to be returned to the Church. ❖ Every individual must be prepared to leave his homeland on the Feast of the Virgin. ❖ The armies should meet in Constantinople. The Pope sent his bishops with these decrees, to convey them to the kings of the Christian world and the princes in the west.103 The Crusader propaganda campaign The speech of Urban II ushered in a new phase of great importance, namely the phase of Crusader propaganda. This was propaganda based on the movement of individuals to numerous locations, addressed to different sectors of society, and which played an effective role in the success of this enterprise. It may be noted that propaganda for the first Crusade, in particular, were made with the utmost brilliance and precision from the time this speech was given. To this end an army of preachers was mobilized whose aim was to expand the call to people of different mentalities so as to address all sectors of European society, each according to its mentality. After the Council of Clermont, Urban II travelled to the cities of Tours, Bordeaux and Nimes, and he spent nine months promoting this new enterprise.104 He also sent numerous letters to promote the Crusader cause, including those that he sent to all the Christian believers in Flanders, Bologna, Besalii, Sardinia, Roussillon, and Empurias.