"Oh, race of Franks, race from across the mountains, race beloved and
chosen by God, - as is clear from many of your works,- set apart from all
other nations by the situation of your country as well as by your Catholic
faith and the honor which you render to the holy Church: to you our
discourse is addressed, and for you our exhortations are intended. We wish
you to know what a grievous cause has led us to your country, for it is the
imminent peril threatening you and all the faithful which has brought us
hither.
From the confines of Jerusalem and from the city of Constantinople a
grievous report has gone forth and has -repeatedly been brought to our
ears; namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed
race, a race wholly alienated from God, `a generation that set not their
heart aright and whose spirit was not steadfast with God,' violently
invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by pillage
and fire. They have led away a part of the captives into their own country,
and a part have they have killed by cruel tortures. They have either
destroyed the churches of God or appropriated them for the rites of their
own religion. They destroy the altars, after having defiled them with their
uncleanness....The kingdom of the Greeks is now dismembered by them and has
been deprived of territory so vast in extent that it could be traversed in
two months' time.
"On whom, therefore, is the labor of avenging these wrongs and of
recovering this territory incumbent, if not upon you, you upon whom, above
all other nations, God has conferred remarkable glory in arms, great
courage, bodily activity, and strength to humble the heads of those who
resist you ? Let the deeds of your ancestors encourage you and incite your
minds to manly achievements:-the greatness of King Charlemagne, and of his
son Louis, and of your other monarchs, who have destroyed the kingdoms of
the Turks and have extended the sway of Church over lands previously
possessed by the pagan. Let the holy sepulcher of our Lord and Saviour,
which is possessed by unclean nations, especially arouse you, and the holy
places which are now treated, with ignominy and irreverently polluted with
the filth of the unclean. Oh, most valiant soldiers and descendants of
invincible ancestors, do not degenerate; our progenitors., but recall the
valor of your progenitors.
"But if you are hindered by love of children, parents, or of wife, remember
what the Lord says in the Gospel, `He that loveth father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me', 'Every one that hath forsaken houses, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
everlasting life.' Let none of your possessions retain you, nor solicitude
for you, family affairs. For this land which you inhabit, shut in on all
sides by the seas and surrounded by the mountain peaks, is too narrow for
your large population; nor does it abound in wealth; and it furnishes
scarcely food enough for its cultivators. Hence it is that you murder and
devour one another, that you wage war, and that very many among you perish
in intestine strife.'
"Let hatred therefore depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let
wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon
the road to the Holy Sepulcher-, wrest that land from the wicked race, and
subject it to yourselves. That land which, as the Scripture says, `floweth
with milk and honey' was given by God into the power of the children of
Israel. Jerusalem is the center of the earth ; the land is fruitful above
all others, like another paradise of delights. This spot the Redeemer of
mankind has made illustrious by his advent, has beautified by his sojourn,
has consecrated by his passion, has redeemed by his death, has glorified by
his burial.
"This royal city, however, situated at the center of the earth, is now held
captive by the enemies of Christ and is subjected, by those who do not know
God, to the worship the heathen. She seeks, therefore, and desires to be
liberated and ceases not to implore you to come to her aid. From you
especially she asks succor, because as we have already said, God has
conferred upon you above all other nations great glory in arms.
Accordingly, undertake this journey eagerly for the remission of your sins,
with the assurance of the reward of imperishable glory in the kingdon of
heaven.."
When Pope Urban had urbanely said thes and very similar things, he so
centered in one purpose the desires all who were present that all cried
out, " It is the will of God! I It is the.will of God " When the venerable
Roman pontiff heard that, with eyes uplifted to heaven, he gave thanks to
God and, commanding silence with his hand, said:
"Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the
Gospel, `Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them'; for unless God had been present in your spirits, all of
you would not have uttered the same cry; since, although the cry issued
from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry as one. Therefore I say to
you that God, who implanted is in your breasts, has drawn it forth from
you. Let that then be your war cry in combats, because it is given to you
by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, this one cry be raised
by all the soldiers of God: 'It is the will of God! It is the will of God!'
[Deus vult! Deus Vult!]
"And we neither command nor advise that the old or those incapable of
bearing arms, undertake this journey. Nor ought women to set out at all
without their husbands, or brother, or legal guardians. For h are more of a
hindrance than aid, more of a burden than an advantage. Let the rich aid
the needy and according to their wealth let them take with them experienced
soldiers. The priests and other clerks, whether secular or regulars are not
to go without the consent of their bishop; for this journey would profit
them nothing if they went without permission. Also, it is not fitting that
laymen should enter upon the pilgrimage without the blessing of their priests.
"Whoever, therefore, shall determine upon this holy pilgrimage, and shall
make his vow to God to that effect, and shall offer himself to him for
sacrifice, as a living victim, holy and acceptable to God, shall wear the
sign of the cross of the Lord on his forehead or on his breast. When,
indeed, he shall return from his journey, having fulfilled his vow, let him
place the cross on his back between his shoulders. Thus shall ye, indeed,
by this twofold action, fulfill the precept of the Lord, as lie commands in
the Gospel, 'he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not
worthy of me."'
(Pope Urban II launching the first crusade, in William Safire, 1997, "Lend
me your ears: Great speeches in history")
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