Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg, a native of Eguisheim, Upper Alsace, was born into family was of noble rank, and his father, Count Hugh, was a cousin of Emperor Conrad II (1024–1039).

He had been educated at Toul, where he had successively become canon and, in 1026, bishop.

In the latter capacity, he had rendered important political services to his relative Conrad II, and afterwards to Emperor Henry III.

He has become widely known as an earnest and reforming ecclesiastic by the zeal he showed in spreading the rule of the order of Cluny.

On the death of Pope Damasus II in 1048, Bruno had been selected as his successor by an assembly at Worms in December.

Both the Emperor and the Roman delegates had concurred.

However, Bruno apparently favored a canonical election and stipulated as a condition of his acceptance that he should first proceed to Rome and be freely elected by the voice of the clergy and people of Rome.

Setting out shortly after Christmas, he meets with abbot Hugh of Cluny at Besançon, where he is joined by the young tuscan Benedictine monk Ildebrando, or Hildebrand, the future Pope Gregory VII.

Arriving in pilgrim garb at Rome in the following February, he is received with much cordiality, and at his consecration assumed the name Leo IX.

With Leo IX’s appointment to the papacy, the movement of church reform, which had been gathering momentum in Burgundy and Lorraine, finally comes to Rome.

Leo has brought several reform-minded churchman to Rome, including Ildebrando, who, together with the diplomat and reformer Humbert of Silva Candida, and the Benedictine reformer Peter Damian, assist the new pope in his extensive reform program.

Leo IX favored traditional morality in his reformation of the Catholic Church.

One of his first public acts is to hold the well-known Easter synod of 1049, at which celibacy of the clergy (down to the rank of subdeacon) is required anew.

Also, the Easter synod is where the Pope at least succeeds in making clear his own convictions against every kind of simony.

Benedict IX refuses to appear on charges of simony in 1049 and is excommunicated.

Pope Leo IX had occupied the greater part of 1049 in one of those progresses through Italy, Germany and France that form a marked feature in his pontificate.

After presiding over a synod at Pavia, he had joined Henry III in Saxony and accompanied him to Cologne and Aachen.

He had also summoned a meeting of the higher clergy in Reims in which several important reforming decrees were passed.

At Mainz, he had held a council at which the Italian and French as well as the German clergy were represented, and ambassadors of the Greek emperor were present.

Here too, simony and the marriage of the clergy had been the principal matters dealt with.

After Leo’s return to Rome, he holds another Easter synod on April 29, 1050.

It is occupied largely with the controversy about the teachings of Berengar of Tours.

In the same year, he presides over provincial synods at Salerno, Siponto and Vercelli, and in September revisits his native Germany.

The first attempt by Ramiro I of Aragon to take Graus, the northernmost Muslim outpost in the valley of the Cinca, had taken place in 1055, probably in response to the defeat of García Sánchez III of Navarre at Atapuerca the year before (1054), which had placed Ferdinand I of León and Castile in a commanding position against Ramiro's western border and the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza to his south.

His first expedition against Graus had failed, and in 1059 Ferdinand had succeeded in extorting parias (tribute) from Zaragoza.

Ramiro marches on Graus again in the spring of 1063, but this time the Zaragozans have with them three hundred Castilian knights under the infante Sancho the Strong and (possibly) his general Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid.

The presence of the Cid at the battle is based on a single source, the generally reliable Historia Roderici, which alleges that he was the alférez of Sancho at the time.

Considering the rarity of the Cid's name in the documents of the early 1060s, this is unlikely.

The circumstances of the actual battle are obscure.

Reinhart Dozy argued that Ramiro survived four months after the battle and that neither the Cid nor Sancho took any part in it.

The Fragmentum historicum ex cartulario Alaonis records only that occisus est a mauris in bello apud Gradus (he [Ramiro] was killed by the Moors in war near Graus), with no mention of the Castilians.

The aforementioned Chronica naierensis contains an account generally, though not universally, regarded as a legend: that Sancho Garcés, an illegitimate son of García Sánchez III of Navarre, eloped with the daughter of García's wife, Stephanie (probably by an earlier marriage), who was the fiancée of the Castilian infante Sancho, and that he sought refuge at the court first of Zaragoza, then later of Aragon.

Sancho, to avenge the disruption of his marriage plans, marched against Ramiro and Zaragoza, and Ramiro died in the encounter near "the place called Graus" (loco qui Gradus dicitur) in 1064 or 1070.

According to the Arabic historian al-Turtūshī, Ramiro (misidentified as "Ibn Rudmīr", the son of Ramiro) was assassinated by a Muslim soldier who spoke the Christians' language and infiltrated the Aragonese camp.

Pope Alexander II had first preached the Reconquista in 1063 as a "Christian emergency."

It was also preached in Burgundy, probably with the permission of participation of Hugh of Cluny, where the abbot's brother, Thomas de Chalon, leads the army.

Certainly zeal for the crusade had spread elsewhere in France, for Amatus of Montecassino notes that the "grand chivalry of the French and Burgundians and other peoples" (grant chevalerie de Francoiz et de Borguegnons et d'autre gent) is present at the siege of Barbastro.

Thus, a large army, primarily of Frenchmen and Burgundians, along with a papal contingent, mostly of Italo-Normans, and local Spanish armies, Catalan and Aragonese, is present at the siege when it begins in 1064.

The leader of the papal contingent was a Norman by the name of William of Montreuil.

The leader of the Spaniards is Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragon, whose realm is greatly threatened by the Moors to the south.

The largest component, the Aquitainian, is led by the Duke Guy Geoffrey, aka William VIII.

During William VIII's rule over Aquitaine, the alliance with the southern kingdoms of modern Spain is a political priority, as shown by the marriage of all his daughters to Iberian kings.Though the makeup of this grand army has been subject to much dispute, that it contained a large force of Frankish knights is generally agreed upon.

This expedition is the first campaign organized by the papacy against a Muslim city, and the precursor of the later Crusades movement.

Historian Reinhart Dozy first began a study of the War in the mid-nineteenth century based on the scarce primary sources, mainly Amatus and Ibn Hayyan.

Dozy first suggested the participation of a papal element based on Ibn Hayyan's reference to the "cavalry of Rome."

Subsequent historiography has stressed the Cluniac element in the War, primarily the result of Ferdinand I of León's recent attempts to introduce the Cluniac reform to Spain and inspired by the death of Ramiro I of Aragon following the failed Siege of Graus.

This interpretation has been criticized in more recent decades, especially the papal connection and Italian involvement.

It has been suggested that Alexander was preoccupied with the Antipope Cadalus at the time and did not preach a plenary indulgence for warriors of the Reconquista until the 1073 campaign of Ebles II of Roucy.

It has also been theorized that it was not William of Montreuil, but Guy Geoffrey, who was the "Roman" leader implied by Ibn Hayyan.

The duke of Aquitaine leads the army through the Pyrenees at Somport, joining the Catalan army at Girona early in 1064.

The entire army then marches past Graus, which had resisted assault twice before, and moves against Barbastro, at this time part of the taifa of Lleida ruled by al-Muzaffar.

The city is besieged for forty days until it surrenders, according to both Muslim and Christian sources.

Terms are given by the Christians to spare the lives of the Muslims and respect their properties, but the pact is quickly broken.

Another source tells us that the garrison offered to surrender their property and families in exchange for letting them leave the town, and so it was agreed with the besiegers.

However, the Crusaders didn't honor the treaty and killed the soldiers as they came out.

Crusader soldiers plunder and sack the city without mercy.

Thousands of Muslims, i.e.

residents and what little garrison remains, are massacred (reportedly fifty thousand) and the victors divide an enormous amount of booty.

Not only that, the plight of the women seems to have been especially tough as a consequence of the siege and victory of the crusaders.

During the siege, an indefinite but large number had died of thirst related diseases and the surviving females are subjected to degrading treatment after victory, converting them into servant and sex slaves, or sometimes even exposing them to the torture of their husbands.

The Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar records the capture of a good many Saracen girls and Saracen treasures.

Armengol III of Urgel is given the lordship of the city.

The Moors, in a counterattack in 1065, easily retake Barbastro and undo all the crusaders' work, massacring the small garrison.

Ermengol III dies on April 17, 1065, while defending the city from Moorish reprisals.

Thibaut, the Burgundian leader, dies also, possibly of wounds received on campaign, while returning to France after the loss of the city.

The Battle of Cassel (February 2, 1071) and the Flemish Succession War

The Battle of Cassel on February 2, 1071, was the decisive confrontation in the Flemish succession war, where Robert the Frisian emerged victorious over Countess Richilde of Hainaut and her allies, including King Philip I of France and Norman forces led by William FitzOsbern. The battle reshaped the political landscape of Flanders and northern France, weakening Norman and Capetian influence on the continent.

The Course of the Battle

• William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford, a close ally of King William I of England, fought on behalf of Richilde and her son Baldwin II of Hainaut, as part of a pro-Capetian and Norman coalition.
• During the battle, FitzOsbern was killed in action, ending his ambitions of marrying Countess Richilde and securing a foothold in Flanders.
• Robert the Frisian’s forces ultimately triumphed, but Robert himself was briefly captured.
• Meanwhile, Richilde was also taken prisoner, leading to a temporary halt in the fighting while both captives were exchanged for one another.
• The battle resumed, culminating in a major victory for Robert.

The Death of Arnulf III and the Fate of Gerbod the Fleming

• Arnulf III of Flanders, Richilde’s son and rightful heir, was killed during the battle, reportedly by Gerbod the Fleming, the first Earl of Chester.
• Gerbod, though a Flemish noble, fought for Robert, suggesting that he had either switched sides or acted independently.
• The killing of Arnulf III—possibly an accident—shocked the Flemish nobility, as Gerbod had effectively slain his own liege lord.

Consequences of the Battle

• With Arnulf dead, Robert the Frisian claimed the Countship of Flanders, solidifying his rule over the county.
• Richilde and Baldwin II fled back to Hainaut, where they continued to resist Robert, though with diminished power.
• King William I of England lost an important continental ally, as Robert was hostile to Norman influence in Flanders and northern France.
• The battle shifted the balance of power, weakening Norman expansion in Flanders while strengthening Robert’s independent rule.

Gerbod the Fleming’s Fate: A Life of Penance

• After killing Arnulf III, Gerbod reportedly fled to Rome, seeking papal forgiveness for the sin of killing his rightful lord.
• Pope Gregory VII granted Gerbod absolution but ordered him to enter monastic life, sending him to Hugh, Abbot of Cluny.
• Gerbod became a monk at Cluny, where he lived out his days in religious devotion.
• English and Norman chroniclers (Orderic Vitalis and the Hyde Chronicle) mistakenly recorded that Gerbod had been captured and imprisoned, unaware of his self-imposed exile and monastic life.

Legacy of the Battle of Cassel

• Flanders emerged as a dominant power under Robert the Frisian, marking the decline of Capetian and Norman influence in the region.
• The death of Arnulf III and the exile of Gerbod reinforced the final shift in Flemish leadership, ending Richilde’s hopes of restoring her son to power.
• The battle marked one of the last major setbacks for King William I’s continental ambitions, as Robert’s hostility toward Normandy made further expansion difficult.

The Battle of Cassel in 1071 had far-reaching consequences for Flanders, Normandy, and England, shaping the power struggles of northern France for years to come.

Desiderius, the great abbot of Monte Cassino, had in 1074 and 1075 acted as intermediary, probably as Gregory's agent, between the Norman princes, and even when the latter were at open war with the pope, they still maintained the best relations with Monte Cassino.

At the end of 1080, Desiderius had obtained Norman troops for Gregory.

In 1082, he had visited the Italian king and future Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV at Albano, while the troops of the Imperialist antipope were harassing the pope from Tivoli.

In 1083, the peace-loving abbot had joined Hugh of Cluny in an attempt to reconcile pope and emperor, and his proceedings seem to have aroused some suspicion in Gregory's entourage.

In 1084, when Rome was in Henry's hands and the pope besieged in Castel Sant'Angelo, Desiderius had announced the approach of Guiscard's army to both emperor and pope.

Though certainly a strong partisan of the Hildebrandine reforms, Desiderius belongs to the moderate party and cannot always see eye-to-eye with Pope Gregory VII in his most intransigent proceedings.

Yet when the latter lay dying at Salerno on May 25, 1085, the Abbot of Monte Cassino was one of those whom he had recommended to the cardinals of southern Italy as most fit to succeed him.

Under pressure from Prince Jordan I of Capua, to whom he has also rendered important service, Desiderius is elected Pope on May 24, 1086, taking the throne name of Victor III.

He is not at this time consecrated, owing to the presence of the Antipope Clement III in Rome.

Cluny III and the Expansion of Cluniac Architecture (1090–1095)

The fast-growing monastic community at Cluny in Burgundy, the spiritual and architectural center of the Benedictine order in France, required ever-larger buildings to accommodate its expanding influence and religious mission. The three successive abbey churches, known as Cluny I, II, and III, profoundly shaped Western European architectural practice from the 10th through the 12th centuries.

The latest and greatest of these, Cluny III, was undertaken under Abbot Hugh of Cluny, funded largely by the Alfonsine census from the kings of León-Castile, and became the largest building in Europe upon its consecration in 1095, a title it would hold until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in the 16th century.

Cluny II: The Predecessor to Cluny III (955–981)

• Built after the Hungarian raids of 953, Cluny II established the Burgundian trend of stone-vaulted churches.
• It was an important milestone but would eventually prove too small for the rapidly expanding Cluniac order.

The Alfonsine Census: A Royal Gift to Cluny (1053–1090)

• The construction of Cluny III was made possible by royal patronage from the kings of León-Castile.
• Ferdinand I of León had established an annual tribute (census) for Cluny between 1053 and 1065, fixing it at 1,000 golden aurei.
• In 1077, Alfonso VI of León-Castile reestablished the tribute and doubled it in 1090, providing Cluny with its largest financial gift ever.
• The Alfonsine census remained the most significant monetary contribution to the order, surpassing later grants, such as Henry I of England’s annual gift of 100 marks of silver from 1131.

Cluny III: A Monumental Architectural Achievement (1090–1095)

• Construction of Cluny III began in 1090 under Abbot Hugh, a major proponent of Cluniac expansion.
• The church's monumental plan included:
  • Five aisles, far larger than traditional Romanesque basilicas.
  • Two transepts, adding to the majestic scale of the structure.
  • A chevet with radiating chapels, reflecting Cluniac liturgical preferences.
  • A massive westworks and narthex, giving the church a commanding entrance.
  • A stone barrel vault, which allowed for an exceptionally broad nave.
• Consecrated in 1095, Cluny III became the largest building in Europe, dwarfing even the imperial cathedrals of Germany and remaining unrivaled until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in the 16th century.

The Legacy of Cluny III

• Benedictine churches across France and beyond followed the architectural model set by Cluny III, influencing later Romanesque and Gothic styles.
• The liturgical innovations of Cluny, reflected in its multiple chapels, vast ambulatory, and grand processional spaces, shaped medieval monastic worship.
• Cluny III stood as a symbol of monastic power and papal influence, reinforcing Cluny’s role as a center of European spirituality and reform.

The construction and consecration of Cluny III (1095) was a defining moment in medieval architecture and monasticism, establishing a model that would shape Romanesque church design for centuries.