POPE URBAN II
At a time long ago, in a land called Clermont, there was a man standing in front of a great gathering of knights.  This group was filled of men with one thing in common: their desire to defend their faith, Christianity.  These men were ardently listening to the man standing in front of them, listening to his stirring words and meaningful promises.  He had the ability to command the attention of his listeners and persuade them to follow his lead.  This man was none other than the great Pope Urban II. 
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Historical Biography
Who: Pope Urban II
What: He was a pope who launched the First Crusade in an attempt to rid Palestine (The Holy Land) of the Muslim Seljuk Turks.
Where: Pope Urban II called a meeting in Clermont, France outside the Clermont Cathedral to launch the First Crusade. 
When: Pope Urban II was born in 1042 and died in 1099.  He was canonized in 1088 and ruled as Pope from 1088 to 1099.  The First Crusade was launched in 1095, and lasted four years.
Why: Pope Urban II started the Crusades because he wanted to reunite the Western and Eastern churches, and he wanted to retrieve the Holy Land for the Christians from the Muslims.
How: Pope Urban II gathered many men at the Clermont Cathedral, and asked them to join the Crusades and used many inspirational words, asking the soldiers to fight against the Muslims and free the Holy Land from their rule.  His words had a great impact on the warriors, and they agreed to help fight.
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Important Terms / Definitions
Crusade
- A holy war undertaken with papal sanction
- Literal definition: going to the Cross

Truce of God
- It was declared in 1027
- The truce banned fighting from Thursday to Monday, on significant feast days, and during other religious periods such as Lent
- It said that �no Christian should kill another Christian since whoever kills a Christian doubtless sheds the blood of Christ.�; this was added in 1054
- It also promoted that the only fighting acceptable to God was that carried out in the defence of Christianity
- This truce, along with the Peace of God, promoted holy war and made it acceptable
- When Pope Urban II asked the warriors to fight in the Crusades, he mentioned the Truce of God as his argument of why they should help him fight the Turks
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