The Pope's Pitch

In 1095, Pope Urban II delivered one of history's most consequential speeches at the Council of Clermont. He called on Christian Europe to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control.

He promised something irresistible: complete forgiveness of sins for anyone who took up the cross. Die on crusade, and you skip purgatory entirely. The response was overwhelming — tens of thousands of men from across Europe volunteered.

Motivations ranged from genuine faith to naked greed. Younger sons with no inheritance saw the crusade as their only path to land and wealth in the East.