Home > Pope Urban II
Urban II, né Otho of Lagery (or Otto or Odo) (b. 1042 d. July 29, 1099), pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099, was born into nobility in France at Lagery (near Châtillon-sur-Marne ) and was church educated. He was archdeacon of Reims when, under the influence of St Bruno his teacher, he resigned and entered the cloister at Cluny where he rose to be prior. In 1078, Gregory VII summoned him to Italy and made him cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms, especially as legate in Germany in 1084, and was among the few whom Gregory nominated as possible successors to be Pope. Desiderius, abbot of Monte Cassino (who took the name Victor III) was chosen Pope initially, but after his short reign Odo was elected by acclamation (March 1088) at a small meeting of cardinals and other prelates held in Terracina . He took up the policies of Pope Gregory VII, and while pursuing it with determination showed greater flexibility and diplomatic finesse. At the outset he had to reckon with the presence of the powerful Antipope Clement III in Rome; but a series of well-attended synods held in Rome, AmalfiAmalfi a town and archiepiscopal see of Campania, Italy, in the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1315 meters, 4314 feet), surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. Amalfi is first mentioned in, BeneventoBenevento is a town and archiepiscopal see of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 32 miles northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 400 ft. above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore and Sabbato. Estimated population in 1997 w, and Troia supported him in renewed declarations against simonySimony is the ecclesiastical crime and personal sin of paying for offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:18-24. Simon Magus offers the disciples of Christ payment for the power, lay investiture, and clerical marriagesA vow of clerical celibacy is the promise of a Christian priest or bishop to remain unmarried, or, in some churches, of a deacon or priest not to remarry if his wife dies. In conjunction with church rules prohibiting sex outside of marriage, this implies, and a continued opposition to Henry IV, Holy Roman EmperorHenry IV ( November 11, 1050 — 1106) was King of Germany from 1056 and Emperor from 1084, until his abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty. Henry was the eldest son of the Emperor Henry III, by his second wife Agnes de Poitou,.
In accordance with this last policy, the marriage of the countess Matilda of TuscanyMatilda, countess of Tuscany ( 1046 July 24, 1114), was the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the investiture controversy, and is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments. She is sometimes called with Guelph of Bavaria was promoted, Prince Conrad was helped in his rebellion against his father and crowned King of the Romans at Milan in 1093, and the empress (Adelaide or Praxedes) encouraged in her charges against her husband. In a protracted struggle also with Philippe I of France, whom he had excommunicated, Urban II finally proved victorious.
1 Crusades
Urban is most well known for starting the First Crusade.
Urban's crusading movement took its first public shape at the Council of Piacenza, where in March 1095 Urban received an ambassador from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, asking for help against the Muslims. A great council met, attended by numerous Italian, Burgundian, and French bishops in such vast numbers it had to be held in the open air outside the city. At the Council of Clermont held in November of the same year, Urban's sermon proved the most effective single speech in European history, as he summoned the French people to wrest the Holy lands from the hands of the Turks. France, he said, was already overcrowded and the Holy Lands of Canaan were overflowing with milk and honey. He asked the Frenchmen to turn their swords in favour of God's service, and the assembly replied Dieu le veult! -- "God wills it!"
Urban II died on July 29, 1099, fourteen days after the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders, but before news of the event had reached Italy; his successor was Paschal II.
