The Speech Of Pope Urban Ii According To Robert Of Rheims Essay, Research Paper

Urban?s concept of crusading is defined, according to Robert of Rheims, as

getting revenge on those who have killed and sinned. We learn that the themes used to

incite ?war-fever? were those that were against the Christian faith and violence, as seen in

The First Crusade-Chapter I ?Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont, November 27th

1095 #2?. The attitude toward Non- Christians was negative, as we learn later. The Pope

mentions plenty of incentives to incite this ?war-fever?.

There were plenty of themes used to incite ?war-fever? among the

Christians. The Persians came to Jerusalem and killed millions of Christians, as the Pope

states. The Persians captured the Christians and tortured them severely. Tortures includes

circumcision, which was viewed as unholy and against God. The Pope preached of the

murder and rapes of women and children and also of the burning of the holy churches. The

language he used was ?god-given?. According to the Pope, he viewed the Crusades as

fighting for God. God said that we should crusade. As Pope Urban said, ?It is the will of

God! It is the will of God!?. The people of Rheims said that the Pope was so influential on

the people of Clermont that they started chanting ?It is the will of God!? also. He stated

that God implanted this strength in their chests and now he has drawn it forth because the

word was given to them.

This proves that the Christian attitudes towards non-Christians is

unfavorable. They believed that everyone should be of Catholic faith. Pope Urban also

stated that if you fought in the Crusades and believed in God and Christ, you will recieve

everlasting life. Non-Christians would not recieve such glory.

There were many incentives according to the Pope. He stated that they

should let the deeds of their ancestors to move them and incite their minds to fight for

them. He stated that they should fight just like king Charles the Great and many of their

other kings who have destroyed the kingdoms of Pagans, and made the territory of the

church greater. He said to let the burial of the Lord to incite them and all the ?holy places

which have been treated with ignominy? [disgrace] and corrupted by filth. The biggest

incentive was to think about the ?valor of their progenitors? [ancestors].

This version of Pope Urban the Second?s address by Robert of Rheims, who may I add,

was a monk at Rheims, tells us about the popular belief that people get punished by God

for making sin, such that of the violent crimes that the Persians commited towards the

Christians. The popular belief about salvation is that the people went on a long journey to

the holy land, Jerusalem, and fought for God. Once they fought, lived or died after battle,

they have reached salvation and would be cleansed of the sins,if any, they commited. The

Pope, according to Robert of Rheims, said that the church is the most powerful thing in

society and if you fight for God, you recieve everlasting life, like we learned before.

Therefore, to sum his speech up, to reach salvation you must fight in the crusades. The

exceptions were the old, feeble, unfit, women without husbands or guardians, priests, and

clerks. The rest must battle.