“Deus Veult!"- God wills it! cried Pope Urban II’s audience in 1095 at The Council of Clermont. This Papal sanction supposedly initiated the beginning of the First Crusade; a holy war designed to recapture Jerusalem in August 1096. Byzantine Emperor of Constantinople; Alexios I Komnenos appealed to Urban to request aid to resist the Seljuk Turks who occupied Antolia and the majority of Asian Minor. Pope Urban’s unusually secular desire for a legacy may have been a partial motivation for his agreement to help this political issue and for the preaching of the First Crusade. The opposition of the 'Anti-Pope' Clemont III confirmed the instability of Urban's authority and the wars were justified through the defence that they were the will of God, they promised the forgiveness of sins, and eliminated the obstruction of non believers. However, the need to expand his position dictated the motivations of Pope Urban's decree, whilst political loyalty and the desire of wealth stimulated motivation amongst the Nobles and peasantry.
The secular motivations provided ammunition for all. Peter Frankopan argued that …show more content…
However, Peter’s intentions were questioned by Guibert of Nogent; a Benedictine historian in the early 12th century. In his testament he stated that Peter was seen 'going through the cities and towns under a pretence of preaching’ , which suggests that he masked underlying motives through religious reasoning. Guibert was in fact an 'eyewitness to the preaching of the Crusade' which increases the contextual reliability of his claim. However, before 1096 in Jerusalem Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Church of the Sepulchre, and instructed Peter to preach a Crusade. This contests Guiberts suspicion that Peters motives were not religious intrinsically religious as his motivation was chiefly inspired by his apparition of
The secular motivations provided ammunition for all. Peter Frankopan argued that …show more content…
However, Peter’s intentions were questioned by Guibert of Nogent; a Benedictine historian in the early 12th century. In his testament he stated that Peter was seen 'going through the cities and towns under a pretence of preaching’ , which suggests that he masked underlying motives through religious reasoning. Guibert was in fact an 'eyewitness to the preaching of the Crusade' which increases the contextual reliability of his claim. However, before 1096 in Jerusalem Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Church of the Sepulchre, and instructed Peter to preach a Crusade. This contests Guiberts suspicion that Peters motives were not religious intrinsically religious as his motivation was chiefly inspired by his apparition of