THE CRUSADES: Urban II and the First Crusade (Episode 3)

On 27th November 1095, at a great council he had summoned at Clermont in France, Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade. His motives for doing so have been much debated ever since. In this episode, Associate Professor Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) explores the role played by Urban’s own religious conviction. Was it the main reason Urban called his crusade?

This episode is the third in a mini-series of three. The complete mini-series includes:

Ep.1: What role did Alexios I Komnenos’s appeal play in Urban’s decision?

Ep.2: What role did political ambition play in Urban’s decision?

Ep.3: What role did religious conviction play in Urban’s decision?

Recommended works by Associate Professor Nicholas Morton:

Encountering Islam on the First Crusade

The Field of Blood: The Battle for Aleppo and the Remaking of the Medieval Near East

The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East

Further reading:

Strack, G., The Sermon of Urban II in Clermont and the Tradition of Papal Oratory

Further listening:

The History Hub podcast: Why did Pope Urban II launch the First Crusade?

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Music by Aroshanti.

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