"With the kings, their heirs, relatives, in-laws, and friends discarded, the Neapolitans were left with their patron saint, in the very sense of a father from whom they could hope not for miracles, but for bread in the wild. From this legitimate desire to "a barbaric cult of blood." There is a big difference. San Gennaro, largely manipulated by the clergy to keep the unwary in check, became a weapon of blackmail in their hands in the unyielding hope of taming those who had and could."