Duke William of Aquitaine, having recently returned from Iberia; Count Fulk of Anjou; Count Stephen of Blois; the Count of Champagne; Count William of Toulouse; and Raymond, brother to the Count of Toulouse and the Earl of Rouergue and Count of Saint Gill, all joined the assembly with their own luxurious retinues, making for an exceptionally magnificent procession.
The most powerful princes and the most prestigious Bishops all gathered at Clermont.
A monk from Normandy wrote thus on a piece of parchment: "In the spring of March 1077, when news arrived that the heartland of the Greek Empire had been occupied by the Turkic People and that Christians were suffering a fierce and devastating invasion, Pope Gregory VII, moved by devout compassion and love for God, crossed the Alps into Gaul and decided to convene a great council at Clermont."
