Crusades In 1095, Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade in a sermon at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, AlexiosI, who needed reinforcements for his conflict with westward migrating Turks colonizing Anatolia. One of Urban's aims was to guarantee pilgrims access to the Eastern Mediterranean holy sites that were under Muslim control but scholars disagree as to whether this was the primary motive for Urban or those who heeded his call. Urban's strategy may have been to unite the Eastern and Western branches of Christendom, which had been divided since
Guilliaume de Montfort Guilliaume de Montfort Guilliaume de Montfort () (died 27 August 1101) was a French bishop, most notably the Bishop of Paris from 1095 to 1101. Montfort's date of birth is not known, but it was some time before the death of his father, Simon I de Montfort in 1087. He was Bishop of Yves some time before becoming the Bishop of Paris. In 1095, Pope Urban II held the Council of Clermont at Clermont-Ferrand, France. It excommunicated Philip I of France and Bertrade de Montfort, William's sister, for adultery. William had been noted as a great supporter of Urban II,