Urban II’s call for holy war had a variety of unintended consequences. First, his message resonated well beyond the military elite. Pilgrimages had long been part of European religious culture and, for many, the First Crusade fit into this established tradition. Across Europe, men and women from all walks of life joined “armies” led by charismatic preachers like Peter the Hermit, “took up the cross,” and headed for Jerusalem. Second, while Urban called for war against an external enemy, Europeans expanded the scope of the holy war to include perceived internal threats. As bands of pilgrim-soldiers made their way toward their destination, anti-Jewish violence erupted in many of the communities they visited, sparked by the crusaders’ contention that success in the Holy Land depended on the “purification” of Christian Europe. As you read the documents below, which relate to these two aspects of the response to Urban’s call for holy war, consider what they tell you about European religious culture in the Middle Ages. Why did so many Europeans find the call for a crusade compelling? Why did Europe’s Jews become a target of the religious zeal the Crusades inspired?