Pope Urban II christian nations, and the Muslim incursions into Europe. He is best known for initiating the First Crusade (1096–99) and setting up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the Church. He promised forgiveness and pardon for all of the past sins of those who would fight to reclaim the holy land, and free the eastern churches.This pardon would also apply to those that would fight the Moors in Spain. Urban, baptized Eudes (Odo), was born to a family of Châtillon-sur-Marne. He was prior of the abbey of Cluny, later Pope Gregory VII
Religious war expansion into Asia Minor and Europe proper. Later, Crusades were launched against other targets, either for religious reasons, such as the Albigensian Crusade, the Northern Crusades, or because of political conflict, such as the Aragonese Crusade. In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II raised the level of war from "bellum iustum" ("just war"), to "bellum sacrum" ("holy war"). In 16th-century France there was a succession of wars between Roman Catholics and Protestants (Hugenots primarily), known as the French Wars of Religion. In the first half of the 17th century, the German states, Scandinavia (Sweden, primarily) and Poland