In earlier chapters, there has already been mention of two important and interconnected ways in which ecclesiastical policies forged in or for the Regno affected France: the further development of a crusading ethos and the impact of ecclesiastical taxation. The first of these themes will be taken up again here, and the second mentioned in passing. But the aim of this chapter is to provide a broader perspective on the whole question of south Italian influence on the French church, meaning by that term both the French clergy and the French laity when engaged in Christian practices.

There is, and has long been, a debate about whether the lengthy war introduced by the Sicilian Vespers and ending with the (supposedly temporary) loss of Sicily by the Treaty of Caltabellotta created cynicism about crusades in general or at least cynicism about papally inspired crusades directed to parts of the world other than Outremer. It is true that initially there were complaints from, among others, the archbishop of Tyre that monies promised for the Holy Land were being diverted to the campaign Charles was to lead. But this did little to arouse doubts about its holiness. There can be little dispute about the enthusiasm originally felt in France for Charles of Anjou's victories against Manfred and Corradin. In 1273, the noted preacher Giles of Orléans called for prayers for Charles in the royal chapel in Paris, referring to that king as ‘the arm and champion of Holy Church’.