1. Mass (Clermont, AD 1095

On a cold November evening in 1095, Pope Urban II summoned all believers to attend Mass at Notre Dame de Clermont. The noble knight stepped out of one of the many coaches driving up to the cathedral and, adjusting his mantle, walked toward the entrance. A man in shabby clothes got out of his stagecoach, emptied the contents of an ointment into his palm and started massaging the leg of one of the horses. It was the groom, Mark. On the day of Urban’s sermon, he arrived at Notre Dame with his master, a noble knight. One of the knight’s horses had slipped a few weeks ago, and it was necessary to apply some healing balm to its leg, which needed massaging at hourly intervals. The veterinary surgeon had said that the injury was not particularly severe, but that the horse’s leg needed care for some time. For this purpose, the knight had employed Mark, who was to follow his horse everywhere and take care of its leg in a timely and conscientious manner, which he did. Mark would stop the horse from time to time, rub the healing balm into the areas the doctor had indicated and massage its right hind leg. The horse obviously enjoyed the massages; it had no problem letting Mark get close and would snort with satisfaction while being massaged.

The master of the horse had decided to attend the Mass that the pope was to deliver that day. There were rumors going around the country that Urban had a special message to deliver. Therefore, all those who had the opportunity to get there took it and arrived at Clermont Cathedral. Having finished massaging the horse’s leg, Mark stood in the churchyard feeling bored and cold. Yawning from idleness, he looked around and tried to guess which region each approaching coach had come from. Most coaches, lavishly decorated with old-fashioned ornamental sculptures, would stop in front of the cathedral. The ones with gilt statues, thick dark red curtains and decorative arbors were pieces of art – absolute masterpieces. There were a few such coaches in the yard, and their dazzling beauty added a particular

significance to the event that was taking place in the church. It would take a master craftsmen years to make such a coach, and those who had them did not gather in one place for just anything. Mark imagined how immense the desire to go everywhere would be if one owned such a coach – at the very least for showing off their gilt. The majority of the chariots that had gathered in the churchyard were not particularly expensive, yet ordinary people couldn’t afford them.

Finally, the nobility arrived. Mark could see that the most luxurious carriages had gathered in the churchyard within a one hundred-mile radius, and he realized that quite an important event would be taking place inside the cathedral. After a short while, there was hardly any room left in the churchyard, even for standing.

Mark suddenly remembered that he had to drop by the baker’s shop on his way home. He did not fancy that prospect much, as he also remembered that during a recent visit the baker had hinted that it was time to pay off the debts that had accumulated for him and the grocer. Mark could sell something to pay off his debts, but he didn’t have many belongings. The pawnbroker had already pawned his meager household items, and now Mark couldn’t imagine how he was going to preserve the last vestiges of his financial stability by massaging a horse’s legs.

The large crowd was so tightly packed inside the church that it seemed like it wasn’t a crowd of separate people at all, but rather one large body with thousands of arms and legs. It was practically impossible to get into the cathedral. Mark poked his head through the church door. The scent of the crowd’s collective breath, flavored with sweat and various other unpleasant smells, immediately hit his nose. Although, the people in the crowd came from all walks of life, they all immediately fell silent as Pope Urban II appeared at the cathedral’s altar. He sat on his throne solemnly and, with a slight movement of his head, ordered the Mass to start. The cardinals and priests began the ceremony of blessing; the sounds of the organ resonated from above.

“In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti,” the Bishop of Bologna said in prayer.

Though cramped and crushed together, the attendees crossed themselves as far as they could. This caused a great deal of movement to begin in the crowd, which did not turn into a brawl, only due to the sacredness

of the event and the God-fearing worshippers who had gathered in the cathedral.

Usually these kinds of people are fond of brawls, especially during events with massive amounts of people. The desire to enjoy themselves is what makes them gather during rural fairs or public executions held in city squares, and of course the best way to enjoy such events is to deplete the wine barrels and break each other’s jaws without reason and end up covered in blood. Then later, after getting home, they eagerly discuss the brawl, which had surely broken out over a trifling cause, and exaggerate the strength of each other’s blows. Those same people behave differently inside a church or during religious rituals. Most people are too afraid to display such behavior in the house of God. To show they are devout believers, they readily forgive each other for things like being elbowed by the man standing close to them or smelling the foul odor of another man’s breath emanate as he prays from the row behind. Whereas the same reasons could easily turn into bloodshed at any common inn, it simply does not happen in church. Church is the house of God. Here, people behave like guests, utilizing every bit of etiquette that they know.

Mark tried to break through the crowd to get into the cathedral, but not because he was very religious. Rather, it had become completely dark and quite cold outside and he could not stand out there any longer. He was even ready to venture underground to the hottest parts of hell just to find a little warmth. The organ’s smooth, soothing sounds were the only pleasant thing inside the church; everything else that was happening only expressed pain and agony, much like what God’s only begotten son had endured when founding Christianity.

Some of the bishops had surrounded the pope in a semi-circle and were staring at the sacred altar where the main rituals of the Mass were taking place. The celebrant archimandrite was directing his prayers to God, begging for peace after each quatrain. The sounds of the organ and the celebrant complimented each other perfectly. Naturally, Mark could not understand anything that was going on because he didn’t know Latin, but also because he was standing at the very end of the crowd from where hardly anything could be seen. He was the very last man standing at the back of the church. The Mass was concluding, and the celebrant made his call for peace with an already hoarse voice. With the last sounds of the organ, Urban II stood

up and walked to the altar quietly. This caused a flurry of excitement among the crowd, which began to shout, “Dieu le veut!” The pope motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and walked forward to give his sermon, but the crowd refused to calm down. They continued to interrupt the pope’s speech, shouting “Dieu le veut!”

Mark had heard the pope’s messengers announce beforehand that Urban II was to make an extremely important statement in his sermon. The people gathered inside the church couldn’t even guess what the pope would say. Some of them pretended to know everything and were telling those standing nearby that the pope was going to declare another anathema and pronounce another series of curses directly from the altar onto any antipopes. Some speculated that the papal treasury was on the verge of being empty, and Urban II had thought of some plan to fill it. Others were confidently claiming that the tension between the pope and antipope had reached a point where Urban had decided to attack Rome with his army.

The fragrant smoke of the incense had spread throughout the whole cathedral. The bishops’ clothing, woven with gold threads, shone under the candlelight, creating an illusion of grandeur. The Mass attendees exhibited a buzz of restless excitement, like bees in a hive. Urban was no less excited, yet he was hesitating whether to begin his sermon or to wait a bit longer until passions subsided. “Dieu le veut!” was reverberating throughout the church. Pope Urban turned toward the voices and blessed them.

“Dear and pious faithful, as you already know, I have an important message for you, for my faithful flock,” Pope Urban II began. “The knife with its edge turned obliquely upwards has reached the bone, making forbearance impossible. Therefore, today I must make a very important appeal.”

“Dieu le veut! Dieu le veut!” the crowd continued to shout in encouragement.

“Yes, dear faithful. God wills it. As you are well aware, not a leaf falls from a tree without it being God’s will. Today I want to share with you my concerns. For quite a while, we’ve been receiving disturbing information about acts of lawlessness committed by non-believers against Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Sepulcher of Christ in the Holy Land. Saracens are plundering the caravans of our pilgrim brothers, raping and killing women and selling children into slavery. The road to the Holy Land has become a sea of blood. Christians have been deprived of the chance to

fulfill their religious duty. I used to think that these sorts of crimes were carried out as simple robberies, but when I heard that they have been happening continually and are committed with such atrocity, I realized that this is nothing other than them trying to settle the score with believers. This is an encroachment on faith, and not on just a certain person or his property.”

Shouts of discontent were heard from the crowd. “I share your indignation. Since I am the pastor of the Christian Church, each Christian’s pain and sorrow is felt a hundredfold by me,” Urban continued. “It’s already a firmly established fact that our Christian brethren are in danger. Saracens have conquered the holy city of Jerusa lem, the tomb of our God, and are trampling the Holy Land under their feet. They are walking on the Holy Land like they are the owners and are doing everything possible to suppress our brothers and sisters in Christ. Blood and tears are irrigating the fields and deserts. Believers are leaving their ancestral home in despair and fleeing the Holy Land with their families. The Holy Land has now become the land of God’s perdition and torments. Every day I receive numerous letters in which my faithful flock is begging me for help so that they can somehow manage to survive. Brethren, we can’t bear this anymore. Each day of forbearance will cost a believer’s life.”

Urban raised his head and, looking at the church ceiling covered in colorful patterns, shouted, “Now is the time for us to protect our brothers and sisters! The hour of reckoning has come. It is time to establish God’s justice in the Holy Land and throughout the whole world. To arms, my dear faithful flock!”

“Dieu le veut!” the crowd shouted in response. The voices from the crowd spread like a wave. People were outraged and angry. They agreed with Urban II that they could no longer tolerate such treatment toward Christians. The crowd finally settled down when Urban gave the sign of peace.

“Every night the souls of martyred Christians visit me in my dreams and demand fair retribution,” Urban continued. “And as a pastor of the Christian flock, I recall them in my prayers every day, but the situation, unfortunately, is such that we must do more than pray. Christian meek ness is applicable only to Christians. There is only one language in which

you can talk to non-believers, and that is the language of weapons and intolerance against them. Not a single non-believer is good. All Saracens are under the eternal curse of God, and their earthly punishment is in our hands.”

Urban paused to take a breath and then continued. “From this moment on, all believers going on pilgrimage will take with them a weapon, in addition to the pope’s blessing, to withstand the ordeals along the way. The ultimate aim of pilgrims visiting the Holy Land will not be to pray at the tomb of God, but to finally liberate the Holy Land from non-believers. The Holy Land needs to be cleared of Muslims. That is the will of God, and we must all do our utmost to perform that sacred task.” The crowd chanted “Dieu le veut!” once more. People were slightly em barrassed; they didn’t really understand how the liberation would take place, who would actually go to the Holy Land, or how they would get there. The emotional atmosphere was so intense, however, that those questions were pushed aside. Each person assumed that the other might be aware of the Holy Land liberation plan and dared not ask any questions, not wanting to reveal their ignorance.

“I myself am ready to enlist for this heavenly goal. May there be no victims and let it be I who will have to go through any difficulties and hardship, for blessed is the man who will endure them to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.” Urban’s voice trembled with excitement. “Standing here at the altar, I also want to announce that all those who will choose to become soldiers of faith will immediately be exempt from taxes and duties. I will personally hand them small crosses cut from papal vestment, which will keep them safe along their way, and those soldiers of faith will have their steady place in the Kingdom of Heaven as martyrs in case of death, even if they die during the journey from disease or other causes. May the blessed cross, received from my hand, preserve them from all kinds of troubles and comfort them in times of hardship or distress. From this moment on, you all, my dear pilgrims, will be called Crusaders.

The crowd erupted with joy with joy. They were happy to finally be given the chance to restore justice. They did not have a particularly deep understanding of what was required of them, but they were sure that God willed it so.