Pope Urban II speech reflect much more clearly what later authors thought Urban II should have said to launch the First Crusade than what Urban II actually did say. As a better means of evaluating Urban's true motives in calling for a crusade to the Holy Lands, there are four extant letters written by Pope Urban himself: one to the Flemish (dated December 1095); one to the Bolognese (dated September 1096); one to Vallombrosa (dated October 1096); and one to the counts of Catalonia (dated either 1089 or 1096–1099). However, whereas the three former letters were concerned with rallying popular support for the
Pope Urban II Pope Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), born Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was Pope from 12 March 1088 to his death in 1099. Urban II was a native of France. He was a descendant of a noble family in Châtillon-sur-Marne. Reims was the nearby cathedral school that Urban, at that time Eudes, began his studies at 1050. Before his papacy he was the abbot of Cluny and Bishop of Ostia under the name Eudes. As the Pope he would have to deal with many issues including the antipope Clement III, infighting of various