Chapter 334 - 241: Council of Clermont (2)

Duke William of Aquitaine, having recently returned from Iberia; Count Fulk of Anjou; Count Stephen of Blois; the Count of Champagne; Count William of Toulouse; and Raymond, brother to the Count of Toulouse and the Earl of Rouergue and Count of Saint Gill, all joined the assembly with their own luxurious retinues, making for an exceptionally magnificent procession.

The most powerful princes and the most prestigious Bishops all gathered at Clermont.

A monk from Normandy wrote thus on a piece of parchment: "In the spring of March 1077, when news arrived that the heartland of the Greek Empire had been occupied by the Turkic People and that Christians were suffering a fierce and devastating invasion, Pope Gregory VII, moved by devout compassion and love for God, crossed the Alps into Gaul and decided to convene a great council at Clermont."

The imperial princes of the Rhineland, including Duke Egbert of Thuringia, Duke Magnus of Saxony, and the young, newly appointed Duke Godfrey of Lower Lorraine, also attended the great council held in the Clermont region of the Frank Kingdom.

Before the council, Pope Gregory VII held a consecration ceremony in Clermont for a fragment of the True Cross, a gift from the Greek Emperor. It was precisely this unprecedented Holy Relic that attracted numerous princes and pilgrims from the England Kingdom, the Frank Kingdom, the Leon Kingdom, and the Holy Roman Empire. Even Christians from Scandinavia came to witness the event.

In the first nine days of the council, Gregory, Gerard’s Otto, and the three hundred Priests in attendance discussed many issues and made important decisions.

The buying and selling of a Holy Office—the most serious scourge within the Church at the time—was forbidden and declared evil, for it involved trading a Holy Office or exchanging Money for spiritual favors and influence. The marriage of Priests was also declared evil.

And most notable of all was Pope Gregory’s announcement of an alliance between the Western Church (represented by his own Rome Parish) and the Eastern Church (represented by the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios Komnenos).

On the final day of the council, the crowd wishing to see and hear the Pope had grown too large for the Cathedral and its surrounding grounds to contain. The assembly was moved to a field named Champet, outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral on the east side of the city.

This was the only open space large enough to hold all the attendees, and it was there, once everyone had regrouped, that Pope Gregory revealed the true purpose for which he had convened the council.

The successor to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Pope Gregory, unveiled it all magnificently. With an impassioned speech—unexpected and unprecedented—he set all who were present alight, unleashing a fervent outburst and inciting a religious revolution.

The Pope spoke with great eloquence, making it clear from the beginning that he was not merely addressing the crowd gathered there, but all of Western Christendom. Though skeptical at first, the people were soon swept up in the Pope’s passion as he spoke of the immense difficulties faced by their Christian brothers in the East, who were struggling under the cruel oppression of the Seljuk Turks.

The Pope’s vivid descriptions of the atrocities left all the princes and Christians so shaken they could barely stand.

"...We are gathered here today with reverence and firm conviction, for we face a sacred and noble mission.

This land we live in carries the faith and hope of our ancestors, but far in the East, our Christian brothers and sisters are suffering desecration and oppression.

Those infidel Seljuk Turks, those godless blasphemers, have seized and destroyed the tomb of our Lord, Jerusalem, the city made holy by the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They have defiled our Holy Land, desecrated our Churches, and even enslaved our faithful.

They have encroached on more and more Christian lands, winning seven battles out of seven. They have massacred or captured vast numbers of people, destroyed Churches, and ravaged the Kingdom of God.

.....

Noblewomen and their daughters are stripped naked and raped one after another, like beasts.

Some of these brutes have even shamelessly forced virgins to sing obscene songs while being violated in front of their own mothers...

.....

Christendom’s long retreat must come to an end!

I call upon you to serve the Lord, to swear an oath according to God’s will, to provide the most loyal aid to the Emperor in the East, and to fight the infidels with all your might.

Now, you devout Heroes must embark on the road to the Holy Sepulchre, reclaim that land from the hands of a wicked race, and take it under your own control...

God has granted you, above all other peoples, the greater glory of arms.

Therefore, embark on this journey for the remission of your sins, and be assured of the eternal glory of the Celestial Realm!

I promise you this: if any of you undertake this journey, not out of desire for worldly things, but for the salvation of your own souls and the liberation of the Church, all your sins shall be remitted. It will be a full and perfect confession!"

He paused again, his eyes sweeping over the crowd, and then said:

"Let me remind you of the teachings of our beloved savior, Jesus Christ: ’Whoever forsakes houses, or brothers, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.’

Heed the word of God, my children! And you, Knights and warriors, hear the cries of your brothers suffering in the lands of the East, perishing under the iron heel of the godless.

Think no more of your petty quarrels at home among friends, and turn your eyes to true glory... The Holy City of Jerusalem is crying out for salvation! As Warriors of God, set forth on the road to the Holy Sepulchre and reclaim God’s land from the hands of these abominable people!"

"God wills it! God wills it!"

"God wills it! God wills it!"

Afterward, no one could say how the cry began, or who started it, but the phrase, and the sentiment behind it, spread like fire through dry grass. It was almost as if the crowd had rehearsed it beforehand, waiting for this very moment to proclaim it.

In the front rows, nearest to the Pope’s rostrum, some Priests had prepared a large number of white cloth Crosses, clearly intended for the expected volunteers.

However, it was also obvious that no one, not even the Pope himself, had anticipated such an overwhelming reaction to his speech and its emotional appeal.

Every single person, it seemed—Knights and commoners, young and old, women and children—wanted to volunteer for the war, to go and attack and destroy the unbelieving Turkic People.

...

As for the Holy Roman Empire, after the Holy See’s ruling against Emperor Henry, the emperor spent half a year making peace with the Saxons. He was forced to restore all of the Saxons’ ancient traditions, though Henry did claim some victories. The gravediggers were dealt with harshly, hanged in the Forest until their bodies had completely decomposed.

Afterward, Henry spent a full year arguing at Worms with the imperial opposition, led by Duke Rudolph of Schwaben.

Under the mediation and intimidating exhortations of the Roman Curia, Rudolph finally compromised. He chose to join the Eastern Expedition but refused to fulfill his oath of fealty to Emperor Henry.

He would rather command himself. He guaranteed that he would set out for the Byzantine Empire immediately after the Emperor officially departed, and he called upon all imperial princes who revered freedom and justice to join his, Rudolph’s, Eastern Expedition.

Duke Rudolph of Bavaria, once Emperor Henry’s close friend, answered the Duke of Schwaben’s call. He announced he would depart with Rudolph, clearly determined to follow this path to the bitter end.

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