The Call for a Crusade

Pope Urban II at ClermontCouncil of Clermont, 27 November 1095

Robert the Monk• Chronicler of the First Crusade

• Did not participate in the expedition

• Rewrote the Gesta Francorum at the request of his abbot, who was appalled at the 'rustic' style of the Gesta.

• NB: The Gesta was an anonymous chronicle written around 1101 by somebody associated with a Crusade leader, Bohemond of Antioch

Pope Urban II

• Pope: 1088 – 1099

• Faced competition from a rival pope, Clement III – installed and backed by Henry IV

• Was unable to enter Rome for much of his reign

Clermont/ The Holy

Roman Empire

Alexios KomnenosByzantine Emperor (1081 – 1118)

Byzantine Empire (600 AD)

Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate (650 A.D.)

Byzantine Empire (immediately prior to the First Crusade)