So the Duke went to strategy number two, turning the matter into an international crusade. Couldn't the Pope see that his cause was just, that Harold was an infamous oath breaker, a despoiler of churches? William on the other hand was a builder of abbeys, a protector of bishops against bullying barons. It was completely absurd and it worked like a dream. The Pope was won over, gave William his Papal blessing and invested him with his ring and his banner. It was now much more than a dynastic feud. William used the consecration of his wife's abbey, here at La Trinite in Caen, to proclaim a crusade against the infidel Harold. And the barons who'd fought shy of risking their necks on the Duke's personal vendetta now flocked to join the legions of the blessed.