Historical Figures

Urban II (1042 - 1099)

Eudes de Châtillon became pope under the name of Urban II in 1088. Archdeacon in Auxerre, then monk in Cluny in 1070. In 1078, he became cardinal bishop of Ostia. He then presided over several councils. He must then face the schism of the imperial party, of which he triumphs. He continues the reforming work of Gregory VII. He presided over the Council of Clermont (1095) and there preached the Crusade, conceived by him as a means of unifying Western Christianity under papal authority. It was also on this occasion that he excommunicated the King of France Philippe I for his remarriage with Bertrade de Montfort. He dies before he learns of the capture of Jerusalem.