councils. The first of these was held at Placentia in March;
ambassadors from the Greek Emperor appeared to petition for aid
against the Turks, and the members of the council were unanimous in
their support of the crusade. The second, the famous Council of
Clermont, was held at the town of that name in Auvergne in the month
of November. 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 the expectation that the pope himself would address
the people.

11. All the neighborhood presented the appearance of a vast camp.
Issuing from the church in his full canonicals, surrounded by his
cardinals and bishops in all the splendor of ecclesiastical costume,
the pope stood before the populace on a high scaffolding, erected for
the occasion, and covered with scarlet cloth. A brilliant array of
bishops and cardinals surrounded him, and among them, humbler in rank
but more important in the world's eye, the Hermit Peter, dressed in
his simple woolen gown. The pope's eloquent words touched every heart.
He was interrupted by the united voice of the people shouting "God
wills it! God wills it!" Hushing the joyous tumult with a wave of his
hand, the pontiff continued "Be they then your war-cry in the combat,
for those words came from God. Let the army of the Lord, when it
rushes upon its enemies, shout but that one cry, 'God wills it! God
wills it!' Let whoever is inclined to devote himself to this holy
cause wear on his breast or back the sign of the holy cross." From
this time the red cross was the sacred emblem of the crusaders.

THE FIRST CRUSADE.