What in Your View Was the Short Term Significance of Pope Urban Ii's Sermon at Clermont?

What in your view was the short term significance of Pope Urban II's sermon at Clermont?

Pope Urban II's sermon at Clermont in November 1095, in response to Alexios' plea to safeguard Byzantine lands, proclaimed the calling of the first crusade and offered indulgences to participants who would help to reconquer Christian land. Following his call, the first wave of crusaders, or People's Crusade, who numbered 30,000 set off to the Holy Land. After that the princes and nobility set out and the forces numbered about 50,000. A consequence of Urban's speech at Clermont was a strengthened and popularised papacy due to the offer of spiritual rewards: in turn, this gained involvement from all social classes. Both of these factors resulted in strengthened popular faith in Christendom. Recruitment of the masses, and involvement of Christians from all over Europe eventually secured the capture of Jerusalem, but more importantly strengthened the power of the papacy.

A result of Urban's speech at Clermont was the strengthening of the papacy through the use Gregory VII's legacy which was the idea of a 'Just War'. ''The development of the idea of holy war is extremely significant to understanding the origins of the First Crusade''[1] By following Gregory's policy he was able to justify his ongoing fight with the German Emperor and the call for a Crusade to recapture Jerusalem. Urban II was simultaneously able to promote strict Gregorian reform ideals such as the papal bulls from 1079 while strengthening and expanding the influence of the papacy throughout Europe. By easing the tensions between the Latin Church in the west and the Greek Church in the east by sending messages of goodwill to Alexios he managed to weaken the German emperor who challenged the papacy's power when he claimed he could appoint popes himself. When the plea of Alexios came to help fight the Seljuk Turks, Pope Urban saw his opportunity to pacify the western society. He also believed that if he...