Holy War and Crusade in Southern Italy: Twelfth to Fourteenth Centuries

The kingdom of Sicily was one of the most active theatres of crusading against Christians. The kingdom of Sicily saw the beginnings of holy wars against the political enemies of the papacy and the first uses of crusading indulgences to that end. It was a laboratory for the development of the internal crusades. This chapter outlines the proto-crusades that targeted southern Italy and Sicily in the twelfth century, such as those against Roger II and Markward of Anweiler, and their evolution into full-scale crusades during the thirteenth century, first against Frederick II and then against his heirs. These latter crusades were mostly fought by the Angevins and provided them with the support needed against the last Hohenstaufen. The revolt of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282 forced the papacy to use the crusade again, against the kingdom of Aragon and the Sicilians. The crusades launched during the war of the Vespers until 1302 aimed to maintain the integrity of the kingdom of Sicily in favour of the Angevins, but they failed, in particular in attracting participation from the Guelphs from northern Italy, and they eventually faded.