Philip I of France in the context of "Cecile of France"

The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.

While the council is known today primarily for the speech Pope Urban gave on the final day, it was primarily a synod focused on implementing the Cluniac reforms, enacting decrees and settling local and regional issues. This also included the extension of the excommunication of Philip I of France for his adulterous remarriage to Bertrade of Montfort and a declaration of renewal of the Truce of God, an attempt on the part of the church to reduce feuding among Frankish nobles.

Tancred of Galilee (also Tancred the Marquis; c. 1075 – 5 or 12 December 1112) was an Italian nobleman of Frankish origin, counted amongst the four main leaders of the First Crusade. He is credited as the first Christian to enter Jerusalem after its conquest in 1099. Present at the foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Tancred became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch in his uncle Bohemond's behalf. He then married princess Cecilie of France, thus becoming son-in-law to King Philip I of the Franks, and brother-in-law to King Fulk of Jerusalem (Cecilie's half-brother).

Despite his usual misidentification as an Italo-Norman, it is well established that Tancred's link to the Norman House of Hauteville was solely through his mother Emma (a sister of Bohemond I of Antioch). His long debated paternal lineage, on the other hand, has since been placed in the Northern-Italian ruling house of the Aleramids, a family of Frankish origin.

Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (French: le Gros) or the Fighter (French: le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing the institutions of royal power. He spent much of his twenty-nine-year reign fighting either the "robber barons" who plagued the Ile de France or Henry I of England for his continental possession of Normandy. Nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his power considerably, often resorting to force to bring lawless knights to justice, and was the first member of the house of Capet to issue ordonnances applying to the whole of the kingdom of France.

Louis was a warrior-king, but by his forties his weight had become so great that it was increasingly difficult for him to lead in the field (hence the epithet "le Gros"). Details about his life and person are preserved in the Vita Ludovici Grossi Regis, a panegyric composed by his loyal advisor, Suger, abbot of Saint Denis.

Bertrade of Montfort (c. 1070 – 14 February 1117), also known by other names, was a Norman noble from the House of Montfort. She was countess of Anjou (1089–1092) through her first marriage to Fulk the Rude and then queen consort of France (1092–1108) through her initially bigamous marriage to Philip I. Condemned in her era's ecclesiastical histories, she played a role in the popularization of pigache footwear and founded a daughter house of Fontevraud Abbey at Hautes-Bruyeres.

Gervais de Château-du-Loir (1007–1067) was a French nobleman, bishop, and a powerful figure of his time in Northern France. He was Bishop of Le Mans from 1036 and Archbishop of Reims from 1055.

His father was Aimon de Château-du-Loir, whilst his mother was Hildeburge de Bellême, daughter of Yves de Bellême. His maternal uncle, Avesgaud de Bellême, Bishop of Le Mans, raised Gervais and groomed him to succeed to the Bishopric of Le Mans. He was a strong supporter of the family of Blois, and opposed to the Angevins. At one point, he had to seek refuge at the court of William, Duke of Normandy. Henry I appointed him Archbishop of Reims in 1055. As Archbishop, he crowned Philip I of France in 1059. Philip's father, Henry I of France, was then alive but died in 1060. Gervais was then regent with Baldwin V, Count of Flanders until 1066. Gervais died in 1067 and was buried in Reims Cathedral.