Early Life
One of the most significant figures in the First Crusade movement is Pope Urban II. Pope Urban was born in France in 1035 into an aristocratic family in Champagne. His birth name was Odo of Châtillon. As Odo was from noble stock, he was able to understand the hopes and desires of the class from which he came. This made it easier to appeal to his audience at Clermont. 1J. Phillips, Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades, p. 2. He received an education at the Cathedral of Rheims. Odo resided at Reims from c. 1050-1067. The future Pope became prior at Cluny Abbey in 1067. In 1080 Odo found himself in Rome and entered the administration of Pope Gregory VII. 2M. Gabriele, ‘The Last Carolingian Exegete: Pope Urban II, The Weight of Tradition, and Christian Reconquest’, Church History, Vol. 81, No. 4 (December 2012), p. 799.
Gregorian Reform
Gregory had certainly found Odo to have been a great ally and an asset to his own agenda and thus appointed Odo as Cardinal bishop of Ostia in 1080.3M. Gabriele, ‘The Last Carolingian Exegete: Pope Urban II, The Weight of Tradition, and Christian Reconquest’, Church History, Vol. 81, No. 4 (December 2012), p. 799.
The monastic house at Cluny was founded in 910. The monks who resided there sought a return to basics. There was a growing concern within the Church that the monastic life was becoming too slack and that monks were failing to honour their three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Particularly, there was a concern with monks living luxurious lifestyles and thus abandoning their vow of poverty. This desire to reform the monastic life influenced papal reform in the eleventh century. Thus Odo came from a strong reformist background. As a result, Odo was one of the most ardent supporters of the Gregorian Reform Movement. He was a trusted advisor to Gregory.
During the Investiture Crisis of Gregory’s papacy, Gregory entrusted Odo with a mission to South Germany from where Odo was able to gather support for Gregory and the reformed Papacy. Ood worked hard to further the Gregorian Reforms.
Gregory had recommended Odo as his successor, however, when Gregory died in 1085, another Pope was chosen – Victor III. Victor’s pontificate was short-lived and when he died some 16 months after taking office, he also named Odo as a possible successor. 4U.R. Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, (Pennsylvania, 1995), p. 135.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Papacy
Odo was duly elected Pope in March 1088 and chose the name Urban – perhaps because he perceived himself as the Bishop of the Eternal City. This choice of name then was highly significant. Urban was unable to enter Rome initially upon his appointment. As a result of the Investiture Controversy, the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV elected an ‘anti-pope’ named Clement III. In 1088, Clement occupied Rome and had the support of a substantial number of the Roman clergy. Therefore Urban spent these years touring France and Italy.5U.R. Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, (Pennsylvania, 1995), p. 135.
Thus the beginning of Urban’s papacy was fraught with difficulties. Much of his papacy was then spent not only enforcing the Gregorian Reforms but also establishing his own papal authority. Indeed the Gregorian Reforms themselves sought to enhance papal authority by elevating the clergy to a superior state to the laity. Urban was especially concerned with reforming the clergy by enforcing clerical celibacy and removing lay interference in the appointment of ecclesiastical office and clerical matters.
Urban presided over 3 major councils in Italy – 1089 Melfi; 1091 Benevento; 1093 Troia. In these councils, Urban renewed previous declarations against some key issues of the Gregorian Reform Movement – simony, lay investitures, and clerical marriages. One way Urban sought to reduce the number of clerical marriages was to impose a tax called the cullagium tax. This was an annual tax levied upon the clergy who kept concubines. At these councils, Urban also denounced the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV and the anti-pope, Clement III.
Urban Takes Rome
Pope Urban II was only able to enter Rome in 1094. He drove Clelemnt out of the holy city by bringing an army from Southern Italy. 6Blumenthal, U.R., The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, (Pennsylvania, 1995), p. 135. Once Urban entered Rome, he began what is often perceived as the second phase of his pontificate. From this time he sought to rebuild papal authority throughout the Western Church.
Although Urban did not completely defeat Clement who had retreated to Ravenna in 1094, Urban did secure the recognition of his Pontificate in France, Spain and England thus ecclesiastically isolating the German monarchy.
Urban’s fight to secure his papacy ought to be borne in mind when we think about Urban and his motives for calling the First Crusade. Many historians have argued that the Crusade served not only to assist those Christians in the East who had asked for aid but also to strengthen Urban’s position as Pope.
Bibliography
Blumenthal, U.R., The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, (1995).
Gabriele, M., ‘The Last Carolingian Exegete: Pope Urban II, The Weight of Tradition, and Christian Reconquest’, Church History, Vol. 81, No. 4 (December 2012), pp. 796-814.
Phillips, J., Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades, (2010).
Stroll, M., Popes and Antipopes: The Politics of Eleventh Century Church Reform, (2012).
(Cover Image: Pope Urban II preaches the first crusade. Origin: Amsterdam. Date: 1683. Object ID: RP-P-1896-A-19368-407.)
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