Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont in 1095 was a call to crusade given outdoors to the nobles, commoners and church leaders of the Western European Christians (the Franks). The people were moved by this speech and it changed history, launching the first crusade to capture Jerusalem from the Muslim Turks. After hearing Pope Urban II’s speech, thousands of Western European Christians were moved to embark on the dangerous journey and fight in the crusade. I believe the main reasons they were moved and persuaded to fight was; 1) they felt it was their Christian duty, 2) Pope Urban promised them absolution for their sins and 3) they felt compelled to defend Christianity, their holy land and the Eastern Christians. First, the Western Christians wanted to show they were solely devoted to God. By choosing to be a soldier for Christ and bearing the sign of the cross on their backs during pilgrimages, would give them the opportunity to display this devotion and give them the opportunity to assist the church. Pope Urban II tells the people "But if you are hindered by love of children, parents, or of wife, remember what the Lord says in the Gospel, `He that loveth father or …show more content…
He further tells them how the Muslims have destroyed their churches and defiled their altars, tortured and killed the Eastern Christian men and raped the women. This outraged the Franks as the Muslims were destroying Christianity and they were in control of their Holy Land (Jerusalem) and the Church of Sepulcher (built upon the site of Christ’s burial and resurrection). Therefore, the Franks felt it an obligation to Christianity to fight in the