The Power of the Papacy and Reign of the Church in 11th Century Western Eropean Society in Pope Urban II's speech at Clermont, France
The State and the Church, which helped establish the Holy RomanEmpire (of which the central city is Rome), characteristically influenceEuropean society of the 11th century. The social structure of the societywas mainly divided into two main categories, where people are both subjectsof the State as citizens, and by the Church, as Christian followers. Theinfluence and power of the Church is especially greater than the State,because the Church had influenced society not only through its doctrinesand teachings, but affected the way and manner of living of its followers(spiritually, mentally, and emotionally). The power of the Church in the 11th century society is reflected inPope Urban II's speech at Clermont, France, delivered in the year 1095.This event was crucial and significant in the history of European societyand the Catholic Church because Pope Urban's speech illustrates the risingpower of Papacy, where an overlapping of political and reli
" The call for Christians to wagewar against the invaders ("Let the holy sepulcher of our Lord and Saviour,which is possessed by unclean nations, especially arouse you, and the holyplaces which are now treated, with ignominy and irreverently polluted withthe filth of the unclean") is clearly a defensive move which concerns thepolitics of religion, for Urban feared that the Moslem invasion couldresult to the weakening of control and power of Christianity in the Easternnation. In discussing the themes of the increasing influence and control ofthe Church over the society had been the legacy of Pope Gregory VII, whostrove for a more strengthened Papacy during the 10th - early 11thcenturies. Whoever joins the Crusades, says the Pope, "shall wear the sign ofthe cross of the Lord on his forehead or on his breast. a race from thekingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race wholly alienated fromGod, `a generation that set not their heart aright and whose spirit was notsteadfast with God,' violently invaded the lands of those Christians andhas depopulated them by pillage and fire. His successor, Urban II, followed Gregory's reforms in theChurch, and sought to obtain political and religious power in the society. Urban's speech is more than an expression of religious belief;moreover, his speech implies and extends the message to the audience thatfailure to act against these invaders in the East would result to thedominance of Islam as a religion, which is strong competition against theChurch. Furthermore, the Clermont speech delivered by Urban II alsosparked the beginning of the Crusades movement, the Christian "Holy war"that the Pope called for to compete against the invading Moslem (SeljukTurks) followers that have been occupying Eastern Christiannations/societies. In describing the Moslem invaders, Urban usedderogatory terms and descriptors to illustrate to his audience theseemingly "dangerous" character of the Moslem invaders: ". Thus, Urban's speech is politically motivated, and a natural reaction overthe threat of the possible and eventual dominance of Islam as a worldreligion in both Eastern and Western societies.
Common topics in this essay:
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