Part 4/14:
While Urban II’s call to arms appeared spontaneous, it was the culmination of months of strategic preparation. The pontiff saw not merely a religious opportunity but a political one; he sought to unite a fracturing Latin Christendom. A history of divisions and rivalries within Europe could be harmonized under the banner of a holy cause. Urban's appeal was not confined to the elite; it extended to all who were of “the Lord,” encompassing peasants, clergy, and nobility alike.