stablishing themselves in Europe. The clergy were of course
unanimous in support of the Crusade, and the council separated, each
individual member of it being empowered to preach it to his people.

But Italy could not be expected to furnish all the aid required; and
the Pope crossed the Alps to inspire the fierce and powerful nobility
and chivalrous population of Gaul. His boldness in entering the
territory, and placing himself in the power of his foe, King Philip of
France, is not the least surprising feature of his mission. Some have
imagined that cool policy alone actuated him, while others assert, that
it was mere zeal, as warm and as blind as that of Peter the Hermit. The
latter opinion seems to be the true one. Society did not calculate the
consequences of what it was doing. Every man seemed to act from impulse
only; and the Pope, in throwing himself into the heart of France, acted
as much from impulse as the thousands who responded to his call. A
council was eventually summoned to meet him at Clermont, in Auvergne,
to consider the state of the church, reform abuses, and, above all,
make preparations for the war. It was in the midst of an extremely cold
winter, and the ground was covered with snow. During seven days the
council sat with closed doors, while immense crowds from all parts of
France flocked into the town, in expectation that the Pope himself
would address the people. All the towns and villages for miles around
were filled with the multitude; even the fields were encumbered with
people, who, unable to procure lodging, pitched their tents under the
trees and by the way-side. All the neighbourhood presented the
appearance of a vast camp.

During the seven days' deliberation, a sentence of excommunication was
passed upon King Philip for adultery with Bertrade de Montfort,
Countess of Anjou, and for disobedience to the supreme authority of the
apostolic see. This bold step impressed the people with reverence for
so stern a church, which in the discharge of its duty showed itself no
respecter of persons. Their love and their fear were alike increased,
and they were prepared to listen with more intense devotion to the
preaching of so righteous and inflexible a pastor. The great square
before the cathedral church of Clermont became every instant more
densely crowded as the hour drew nigh when the Pope was to address the
populace. Issuing from the church in his frill canonicals, surrounded
by his cardinals a