Vezelay, Council of (Concilium Vezeliacum)

Vezelay, Council Of (Concilium Vezeliacum)

was held in 1146, after the capture of Edessa by the Saracens. Louis VII, the archbishop, bishops, abbots, and many of the nobility of France, attended. St. Bernard, who was present, urged the king, with great eloquence, to succor the Christians against the Turks. The monarch was among the first to assume the cross, together with his wife, Eleanor. After them Alphonso, count of St. Gilles; Thierry, count of Flanders; count Guido, and many others of the nobility, took the vow. See Mansi, Concil. 10:1100.