# Canonical recap data for Council of Clermont (1095)
# Source: https://recap.at/1095/council-clermont
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: council-clermont
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1095/council-clermont"
title: Council of Clermont
aliases:
- First Crusade declaration
- Council of Clermont-Ferrand
- Urban II's crusade call
subtitle: Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade, redirecting European warfare and reshaping Christian-Muslim relations for centuries.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1095-11-01
datePrecision: month
year: 1095
decade: 1090
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
summaryLong: The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
lede: In November 1095, Pope Urban II convened a church council in Clermont, France, where he called for an armed pilgrimage to the Holy Land—a speech that launched the First Crusade and reshaped medieval Europe for centuries. The decision to mobilize Christian warriors under papal authority created a new fusion of religious devotion and military conquest that would define the next two centuries of warfare and politics.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Passages_d%27outremer_Fr5594%2C_fol._19r%2C_Concile_de_Clermont.jpg/1280px-Passages_d%27outremer_Fr5594%2C_fol._19r%2C_Concile_de_Clermont.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Council of Clermont"
importance: 84
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Dates
  value: 17–27 November 1095
- label: Location
  value: Clermont, Auvergne, France
- label: Convener
  value: Pope Urban II
- label: Attendees
  value: Mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen
- label: Primary outcome
  value: Papal call for armed expedition to reclaim Jerusalem
- label: Crusade launched
  value: First Crusade (1096–1099)
- label: Initial crusader departure
  value: Spring 1096
- label: Jerusalem captured
  value: 15 July 1099
timeline:
- date: 1095-11-17
  title: Council convenes
  description: Pope Urban II opens the Council of Clermont with ecclesiastical and lay attendees.
- date: 1095-11-27
  title: Crusade proclaimed
  description: Urban II delivers his call for armed pilgrimage to reclaim the Holy Land from Seljuk control, closing the council with a declaration that reshapes medieval warfare.
- date: 1096-04-01
  title: People's Crusade begins
  description: Informal crusade led by Peter the Hermit departs, preceding the organized military campaign.
- date: 1096-08-15
  title: First crusader army mobilizes
  description: Major feudal armies begin organizing for departure toward the Levant.
- date: 1099-07-15
  title: Jerusalem falls
  description: Crusader forces capture Jerusalem after a three-week siege, fulfilling Urban II's stated objective and establishing Crusader States.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Clermont"
  title: Council of Clermont (1095)
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Urban II's call to arms at Clermont triggered the First Crusade, fundamentally altering the relationship between Christianity, Islam, and the Mediterranean world. The event established the precedent for papal-sanctioned military campaigns and mobilized tens of thousands of Europeans toward the Levant, reshaping geopolitics, trade routes, and intercultural relations for the next two centuries.
categories:
- election
- war
taxonomy:
domain: religious
eventTypes:
- crusade_or_jihad
- interfaith_summit
canonicalClasses:
- mobilization
- conflict
- creation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: cascading
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in November 1095, launching centuries of religious warfare.
wikidataQid: Q49964
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260516003945/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Clermont"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-16
  label: Council of Clermont (1095)
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Clermont"
