View source for Guelphs and Ghibellines

{{Short description|Rival political factions in medieval Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines
| partof            = 
| image             = [[File:Communal fight in Bologna (Sercambi).jpg|250px]]
| caption           = A 14th-century conflict between the militias of the Guelph and Ghibelline factions in the ''[[comune]]'' of [[Bologna]], from the ''Croniche'' of Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca
| date              = 1125{{ndash}}1186 (first phase)<ref>{{cite book|language=it|last=Ippolito|first=Antonio Menniti|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/guelfi-e-ghibellini_%28Enciclopedia-dei-ragazzi%29/|title=Guelfi e Ghibellini|editor=Treccani|date=2005}}</ref><br />1216{{ndash}}1392 (second phase)<ref>{{harvnb|Faini|2006|pages=7–36}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jacques|first=Tony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3amnMPTPP5MC|title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A–E|editor=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|date=2007|page=209|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9780313335372}}</ref>
| place             = [[Northern Italy|Northern]]-[[Central Italy]]
| territory         = [[Italian city-states]] and [[Medieval commune|communes]]
| result            = 1st phase: [[Peace of Constance]] (1186)<br />2nd phase: Stalemate (1392)<br />{{bulleted list|title=Socio-political outcome|Decline of [[comune|free communes]]; rise of ''[[signorie]]''|Diffusion of [[Black Death]]|Extinction of [[Hohenstaufen]] dynasty|Conquest of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] by [[Charles I of Anjou|Charles of Anjou]]|[[Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire)|Great Interregnum]] after [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]'s death|Weakening of Imperial authority over Italy}}
| combatant1        = '''Guelphs''' {{Plainlist|
* [[Holy See]] ([[Papal States|Papacy]])}}
{{collapsible list|title=1st phase|{{Plainlist|
* [[Lombard League]]}}}}<hr/>{{collapsible list|title=2nd phase|{{Plainlist|
* [[House of Welf|Welfen]] (Empire)
* Pro-[[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]]
* [[Papal States]]
* [[Republic of Florence|Pro-Guelph Florence]]
* [[Lordship of Milan|Pro-Guelph Milan]] led by [[Della Torre]]
* House of [[Della Torre]]
* [[Bologna|Commune of Bologna]]
* [[Republic of Siena]]
* [[Republic of Lucca]]
* [[Republic of Genoa]]
* [[Duchy of Ferrara|March of Ferrara]]
* [[Republic of Massa]]
* Pro-Guelph [[March of Montferrat|Montferrat]]
* [[County of Savoy]]
* [[Republic of Ancona]]
* [[Patria del Friuli|Patriarchate of Aquileia]]
* [[Lodi, Lombardy|Lodi]]
* [[Perugia]]
* [[Mantua]]
* [[Orvieto]]
* Variable Italian city-states}}}}
| combatant2        = '''Ghibellines''' {{Plainlist|
* [[Holy Roman Empire]]}}
{{collapsible list|title=1st phase|{{Plainlist|
* [[Holy Roman Empire]]}}}}<hr/>{{collapsible list|title=2nd phase|{{Plainlist|
* [[Hohenstaufen|Staufen]] (Empire)
* Pro-[[Hohenstaufen|Staufen]] [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]]
* [[March of Treviso]]
* [[Duchy of Urbino|County of Urbino]]
* [[Republic of Florence|Pro-Ghibelline Florence]]
* [[Lordship of Milan|Pro-Ghibelline Milan]] led by [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]]
* [[Republic of Siena]]
* [[Republic of Lucca]]
* [[Republic of Pisa]]
* [[Duchy of Modena]]
* [[Republic of Massa]]
* Pro-Ghibelline [[March of Montferrat|Montferrat]]
* [[Pavia]]
* [[Terni|Commune of Terni]]
* [[Asti]]
* [[Todi]]
*[[Santa Fiora]]
* Variable Italian city-states
** [[Empire of Nicaea]]<ref>Angelov, Dimiter (2019). ''The Byzantine Hellene: The Life of Emperor Theodore Laskaris and Byzantium in the Thirteenth Century''. Cambridge University Press. p. 89.</ref>
*[[Crown of Aragon]]
}}}}
| commander1        = {{collapsible list|title=1st phase|[[Guido da Landriano]]}}<br />{{collapsible list|title=2nd phase|{{Plainlist|
* [[File:Blason duché ni Brunswick.svg|14px]] Emperor [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto IV]]
* [[Pope Gregory IX]]
* [[Pope Celestine IV]]
* [[Pope John XXII]]
* [[Ottaviano degli Ubaldini]]
* [[Charles I of Anjou|Charles of Anjou]]
* [[John III, Count of Armagnac|John III of Armagnac]]
* [[Azzo VII d'Este|Azzo VII, Marquis of Ferrara]]}}}}
| commander2        = {{collapsible list|title=1st phase|Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I]]}}<br />{{collapsible list|title=2nd phase|{{Plainlist|
* Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]
* Emperor [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VII]]
* Emperor [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]]
* [[Ezzelino III da Romano]]
* [[Enzo of Sardinia]]
* [[Manfred, King of Sicily|Manfred of Sicily]]
* [[Guido I da Montefeltro|Guido I, Count of Urbino]]}}}}
| units1            = 
| units2            = 
| strength1         = 
| strength2         = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Guelphs and Ghibellines}}

The '''Guelphs''' and '''Ghibellines''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|w|ɛ|l|f|s|...|ˈ|g|ɪ|b|ᵻ|l|aɪ|n|z}} {{respell|GWELFS|_..._|GHIB|il|ynze}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|-|l|iː|n|z|,_|-|l|ɪ|n|z}} {{respell|-|eenz|,_-|inz}}; {{langx|it|guelfi e ghibellini}} {{IPA|it|ˈɡwɛlfi e ɡibelˈliːni, -fj e -|}}) were factions supporting the [[pope]] (Guelphs) and the [[Holy Roman emperor]] (Ghibellines) in the [[Italian city-states]] of [[Central Italy|Central]] and [[Northern Italy]] during the [[Middle Ages]]. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalry between these two parties dominated political life across [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]]. The struggle for power between the Papacy and the [[Holy Roman Empire]] arose with the [[Investiture Controversy]], which began in 1075 and ended with the [[Concordat of Worms]] in 1122.

==History==
{{History of Italy}}

===Origins===
[[File:BattagliaLegnano.jpg|thumb|right|The defence of the [[Carroccio]] during the [[battle of Legnano]] (1176) by [[Amos Cassioli]] (1832–1891)]]
The conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines  arose from the political divisions caused by the [[Investiture Controversy]], about whether secular rulers or the pope had the authority to appoint bishops and abbots. Upon the death of [[Emperor Henry V]], of the [[Salian dynasty]], the dukes elected an opponent of his dynasty, [[Lothair III]], as the new emperor. This displeased the house of [[Hohenstaufen]], who were allied with and related to the old dynasty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Christopher Kleinhenz |title=Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1135948801 |page=507}}</ref> Out of fear of the Hohenstaufen, Lothair III placed himself under the pope's protection. To this end, he ceded all Imperial rights to the pope under Henry V's [[Concordat of Worms]]. War then broke out in Germany between those who supported the Hohenstaufen, and those who were aligned to Lothair and the pope. Upon Lothair's death, the Hohenstaufen [[Conrad III]] was elected, while Lothair's heir, [[Henry the Proud]], of the [[House of Welf]], continued fighting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mrs. Markham |title=A History of Germany, from Its Invasion by Marius Down to the Year 1867: On the Plan of Mrs. Markham's Histories. For the Use of Young Persons |date=1872 |publisher=J. Murray |pages=104–105}}</ref>

''Guelph'' (often spelled ''Guelf''; in Italian ''Guelfo'', plural ''Guelfi'') is an [[Italian language|Italian]] form of the name of the [[House of Welf]], the family of the dukes of [[Bavaria]] (including the namesake Duke [[Welf II of Bavaria]], as well as [[Henry the Lion]]). The Welfs were said to have used the name as a rallying cry during the [[Siege of Weinsberg]] in 1140, in which the rival [[Hohenstaufen]]s (led by Conrad III) used "Wibellingen" (the name of a castle today known as [[Waiblingen]], as their cry; "Wibellingen" subsequently became ''Ghibellino'' in Italian).<ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Guelphs and Ghibellines |volume=12 |pages=668–669}}</ref><ref>[[Will Durant]], ''[[The Story of Civilization]]'', Vol.4: [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106006103128&view=1up&seq=695 ''The Age of Faith'', p. 661], [[Simon & Schuster]], 1950.</ref> Thus, the Hohenstaufen faction became known as the Ghibellines and the Welfs eventually became known as the Guelphs. The Ghibellines were the imperial party, while the Guelphs supported the pope. Cities more directly threatened by the enlargement of the [[Papal States]] tended to align with the Ghibelline faction, while the cities that wanted more autonomy from the Empire tended to belong to the Guelph faction. The clash between the municipalities of Northern Italy and imperial power originated in the [[Investiture Controversy|struggle for investitures]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Ilario|first1=Giorgio|last2=Gianazza|first2=Egidio|last3=Marinoni|first3=Augusto|author-link3=Augusto Marinoni|title=Legnano e la battaglia|year=1976|language=it|publisher=Edizioni Landoni|id=SBN [https://opac.sbn.it/bid/LO11256757 IT\ICCU\LO1\1256757]|page=16}}</ref> The Guelph [[Lombard League]] defeated Emperor [[Frederick Barbarossa]] at the [[Battle of Legnano]] in 1176. Frederick recognized the full autonomy of the cities of the Lombard league under his nominal [[suzerainty]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Ilario|first1=Giorgio|last2=Gianazza|first2=Egidio|last3=Marinoni|first3=Augusto|author-link3=Augusto Marinoni|title=Legnano e la battaglia|year=1976|language=it|publisher=Edizioni Landoni|id=SBN [https://opac.sbn.it/bid/LO11256757 IT\ICCU\LO1\1256757]|page=155}}</ref>

The conflict between the two factions dominated the politics of medieval Italy, and persisted long after the confrontation between emperor and pope had ceased. Smaller cities tended to be Ghibelline if the larger city nearby was Guelph. For example, Guelph [[Republic of Florence]] and Ghibelline [[Republic of Siena]] faced off at the [[Battle of Montaperti]], 1260.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/montaperti/|title=Montaperti|access-date=30 August 2023|language=it}}</ref> [[Pisa]] maintained a staunch Ghibelline stance against her fiercest rivals, the Guelph [[Republic of Genoa]] and Florence. Local or regional political reasons motivated political alignments. Within cities, party allegiances differed from [[guild]] to guild, ''[[rione]]'' to ''rione'', and a city could easily change party after internal upheavals. The conflicts between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended in the 14th century with the creation of a new situation, where the State and the laity began to withdraw from any ecclesiastical interference.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/guelfi-e-ghibellini_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/|title=Guelfi e Ghibellini |access-date=30 August 2023|language=it}}</ref>

===13th–14th centuries===
{{Further|Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire)}}
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2023}}

At the beginning of the 13th century, [[Philip of Swabia]], a Hohenstaufen, and [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto of Brunswick]], a Welf, were [[German throne dispute|rivals for the imperial throne]]. Philip was supported by the Ghibellines as a son of Frederick I, while Otto was supported by the Guelphs. Although the Guelphs initially succeeded in getting Otto crowned as Emperor, Otto turned against the Papacy, was excommunicated, and was replaced with Philip's heir [[Emperor Frederick II]].<ref>Abulafia, David, ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. V: c. 1198 – c. 1300'', Cambridge University Press, 1999, pp. 127, 131, 378, 381</ref> Frederick II was an enemy of both Otto and the papacy, and during Frederick's reign, the Guelphs became more strictly associated with the papacy while the Ghibellines became supporters of the Empire and Frederick in particular. [[Pope Gregory IX]] excommunicated Frederick II in 1227 for failing to go on Crusade, then again for going on the [[Sixth Crusade]] (1228–1229) while excommunicated. While Frederick was in the [[Crusader states]], this division developed there, and his regent in Italy fought a [[War of the Keys|war]] with the Pope. That war was ended and the excommunication was lifted in 1230, but the hostility continued.

In 1237, Frederick entered Italy with a large army, intending to subdue the defiant cities of the [[Lombard League]]. Pope Gregory tried to broker a peace, but failed. Frederick [[Battle of Cortenuova|defeated the League at Cortenuova]] and refused all peace offers from them. He [[Siege of Brescia (1238)|besieged Brescia]] but was repulsed. In 1239, Frederick was again excommunicated by Pope Gregory. In response, he expelled [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] and the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friars from Lombardy and made his son [[Enzo of Sardinia|Enzo]] Imperial vicar in Italy. He also annexed [[Romagna]], [[Marche]], the [[Duchy of Spoleto]], and part of the [[Papal States]], and marched through Tuscany hoping to capture [[Rome]]. He was forced to retreat, sacking the city of [[Benevento]]. Soon the Ghibelline city of [[Ferrara]] fell and Frederick once more advanced, capturing [[Ravenna]] and [[Siege of Faenza|Faenza]]. The Pope convened a council, but an Imperial-Pisan fleet defeated a Papal fleet carrying cardinals and prelates from Genoa in the [[Battle of Giglio (1241)|Battle of Giglio]]. Frederick approached Rome. Meanwhile, Pope Gregory died. Frederick withdrew his forces and freed two cardinals he had jailed in Capua. However, Frederick marched again against Rome throughout 1242 and 1243.

[[File:Mitteleuropa zur Zeit der Staufer.svg|thumb|Map of central Europe during the time of the Hohenstaufen Emperors, primarily showing the territories of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of Sicily]].]]

A new pope – [[Innocent IV]] – was elected. At first, Frederick was pleased with the election since Innocent had relatives in the Imperial camp. However, the new Pope immediately turned against Frederick. When the City of [[Viterbo]] rebelled, the Pope backed the Guelphs. and Frederick immediately marched to Italy and besieged [[Siege of Viterbo|Viterbo]]. The pope signed a peace treaty with the emperor, relieving the city. After the Emperor left,  Cardinal [[Raniero Capocci]], leader of Viterbo, had the garrison massacred. The Pope made another treaty but he immediately broke it and continued to back the Guelphs. The Pope supported [[Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia]] as King of the Romans and soon plotted to have Frederick killed. After an attempted assassination failed, the pope fled to [[Liguria]]. Soon the tide turned against the imperial party. The Lombard city of Parma rebelled. Enzo – who had not been present – asked his father for help. Frederick and [[Ezzelino III da Romano]], the Tyrant of Verona, laid siege to the city. The imperial camp was ambushed by the Guelphs and in the ensuing [[Battle of Parma]] the imperial party was routed, losing much of their treasury.

Frederick lost his momentum against the rebellious communes in the immediate future. Sensing this, Innocent began plans for a crusade against Sicily. Frederick soon recovered and rebuilt an army, but this defeat encouraged resistance in many cities that could no longer bear the fiscal burden of his regime: parts of the Romagna, Marche and Spoleto were lost. In May 1248, Frederick's illegitimate son Richard of [[Chieti]] defeated a papal army led by Hugo Novellus near [[Civitanova Marche]] and recaptured some areas of the Marche and Spoleto. Basing himself in Piedmont in June, Frederick hosted many nobles of northern Italy and ambassadors from foreign kings in his court, and his deposition, it seems, had not diminished his fame or preeminence.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/stupormundi0000lion/page/286/mode/2up] ''Stupor Mundi; the Life & Times of Frederick II, Emperor of the Romans, King of Sicily and Jerusalem, 1194-1250'', M. Secker, 1912. p. 264-265</ref> Nevertheless, it was only by strenuous, even unrelenting effort that Frederick was able to stabilize the situation by the close of 1248 and replenish his coffers, raising some 130,000 gold ounces.{{sfn|Kantorowicz|1937|p=659}} Frederick remained confident but after several years of war and conspiracy, he was increasingly suspicious and wearied.

The Ghibellines were eventually defeated in the [[Battle of Fossalta]] against the army of Bologna. Enzo was captured. Enzo was held in a palace in Bologna, where he remained captive until his death in 1272. Richard of Chieti was also killed in 1249, possibly in the same battle. Frederick named Manfred as Legate General of Italy to replace the now captive Enzo.

The struggle continued: the Empire lost [[Como]] and [[Modena]], but regained [[Ravenna]]. From early 1250, the situation progressively favoured Frederick II. In the first month of the year, the indomitable Ranieri of Viterbo died, depriving pro-papal leadership in Italy of an implacable foe of Frederick. An army sent to invade the Kingdom of Sicily under the command of Cardinal Pietro Capocci was crushed in the Marche at the [[Battle of Cingoli]] and Imperial ''condottieri'' again reconquered the Romagna, the Marche and Spoleto. [[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad, King of the Romans]], scored several victories in Germany against William of Holland and forced the pro-papal Rhenish archbishops to sign a truce. Innocent IV was increasingly isolated as support for the papal cause dwindled rapidly in Germany, Italy, and across Europe generally. Frederick of Antioch had relatively stabilized Tuscany as imperial vicar and podestà of Florence. Piacenza changed allegiances to Frederick and [[Oberto Pallavicino]], Imperial vicar of Lombardy, recaptured Parma and a swathe of central Lombardy. Ezzelino da Romano held Verona, Vicenza, Padua and the [[Trevisan March]] along with most of eastern Lombardy. Only Milan, Brescia, Modena, Mantua, Ferrara, and Bologna held out. Genoa was threatened by Frederick's allies and Venice's support for Innocent and the League waned. Even with imperial prospects brightening however, areas of Italy had been ravaged by years of war and even the resources of the wealthy and prosperous Kingdom of Sicily were strained. Frederick's unified regime in Italy and Sicily was despotic and brutal, imposing harsh taxes and ruthlessly suppressing dissent. Nevertheless, that his administrative system consistently recovered in the face of reversals remains an impressive feat.

Frederick, however, did not take part in any of the campaigns of 1250. He had been ill and likely felt tired, withdrawing to the Kingdom of Sicily where he remained for much of the year. Suddenly on 13 December 1250, however, after a persistent attack of dysentery, Frederick died in [[Castel Fiorentino]] (territory of [[Torremaggiore]]), in [[Apulia]]. Despite the betrayals, setbacks, and flux of fortune he had faced in his last years, Frederick died peacefully, reportedly wearing the habit of a [[Cistercian]] monk. Of his father's death, Manfred wrote to Conrad in Germany, "The sun of justice has set, the maker of peace has passed away."{{sfn|Abulafia|1988|p=407}}

At the time of Frederick's death, his preeminent position in Europe was challenged but certainly not lost.<ref name="Abulafia506-507">{{cite encyclopedia|title=The kingdom of Sicily under the Hohenstaufen and Angevins |first=David |last=Abulafia |encyclopedia=The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198 – c. 1300 |volume=5 |editor-first1=David |editor-last1=Abulafia |editor-first2=Rosamond |editor-last2=McKitterick |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |pages=506–507}}</ref> The political situation remained fluid and the victories of 1250 had put Frederick seemingly in the ascendant once again. Everywhere Innocent IV's fortunes seemed dire: the papal treasury was depleted, his anti-king William of Holland had been defeated by Conrad in Germany and forced to submit while no other European monarch proved willing to offer much support for fear of Frederick's ire. In Italy, Frederick's lieutenants and partisans had recaptured much of the territories lost in the last two years; he was in a strong position and he prepared to march on Lyon in the new year. Despite the economic strains placed on the ''Regno'', support from the Emperor of Nicaea, [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]], enabled Frederick to relatively refill his coffers and resupply his forces. After the failure of Louis IX's crusade in Egypt, Frederick had skillfully imaged himself as the aggrieved party against the papacy, hindered by Innocent's machinations from supporting the campaign. Frederick won growing support on the wider diplomatic stage. Only his death halted this momentum. His testament left Conrad the Imperial and Sicilian crowns. Manfred received the principality of [[Taranto]], 100,000 gold ounces, and regency over Sicily and Italy while his half-brother remained in Germany. Henry Charles Otto, Frederick's son by Isabella of England, received 100,000 gold ounces and the [[Kingdom of Arles]] or that of [[Jerusalem]], while the son of [[Henry (VII) of Germany|Henry VII]] was entrusted with the Duchy of Austria and the [[March of Styria]]. Perhaps aiming to lay stones for a potential peace settlement between Conrad and Innocent—or a final crafty scheme to further demonstrate papal prejudice against him, Frederick's will stipulated that all the lands he had taken from the Church were to be returned to it, all the prisoners freed, and the taxes reduced, provided this did not damage the Empire's prestige. In peacefully passing on his realms to his sons Frederick accomplished perhaps the main goal of any ruler. At his death, the Hohenstaufen empire remained the leading power in Europe and its security seemed assured in the persons of his sons.

[[File:Battle of Montaperti.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Montaperti]], workshop of [[Pacino di Buonaguida]]]]

After the death of Frederick II in 1250, the Ghibellines were supported by Conrad IV and later King [[Manfred of Sicily]]. The Guelphs were supported by [[Charles I of Naples]].<ref name=EB1911/> The Ghibellines of [[Republic of Siena|Siena]] defeated the Florentine Guelphs at the [[Battle of Montaperti]] (1260). After the Hohenstaufen dynasty lost the Empire when Charles I executed [[Conradin]] in 1268, the terms Guelph and Ghibelline became associated with individual families and cities, rather than with the conflict  between empire and papacy. The stronghold of Italian Ghibellines was the city of [[Forlì]], in [[Romagna]]. That city remained with the Ghibelline factions, partly as a means of preserving its independence, rather than out of loyalty to the temporal power, as [[Forlì#Middle Age|Forlì]] was nominally in the Papal States. Over the centuries, the papacy tried several times to regain control of Forlì, sometimes by violence or by allurements.

The division between Guelphs and Ghibellines was especially important in [[Florence]]. The two factions frequently fought each other over power in many other northern Italian cities. The two sides were now fighting either against German influence (in the case of the Guelphs) or against the temporal power of the Pope (in the case of the Ghibellines).<ref name="EB1911" /> In Florence and elsewhere, the Guelphs usually included merchants and burghers, while the Ghibellines tended to be noblemen. To identify themselves, people adopted distinctive customs such as wearing a feather on a particular side of their hats, or cutting fruit a particular way, according to their affiliation.

The conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines was important in the [[Republic of Genoa]], where the former were called ''rampini'' ("grappling hooks") and the latter ''mascherati'' ("masked"), although the origin of these terms is not clear.<ref>{{Cite book|title=La liguria e la sua anima|last=Gori – Martini|publisher=Sabatelli|year=1967|isbn=8875451893|location=Savona, Italy}}</ref> Local families like [[Fieschi family|Fieschi]] and [[House of Grimaldi|Grimaldi]] usually sided with the Guelph party, in conflict with the [[Doria (family)|Doria]] and some branches of the [[House of Spinola|Spinola]] families. While [[Genoa]] was often under Guelph rule in the early years of the 13th century, in 1270, Ghibellines [[Oberto Spinola]] and [[Oberto Doria]] revolted against the Guelphs and established a separate government which lasted a couple of decades. Guelph families fled to their strongholds east (Fieschi) and west (Grimaldi). They were forced to cease their resistance after several military campaigns: they were again accepted in the city's political life, after paying war expenses.

===White and Black Guelphs===
{{anchor|White and Black Guelphs}}
[[File:Particolare degli afreschi del palazzo Comunale di San Gimignano 1292.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Campaldino]] on a fresco in [[San Gimignano]]]]

After the Tuscan Guelphs finally defeated the Ghibellines in 1289 at the [[Battle of Campaldino]] and at [[Vicopisano]], the Guelphs began infighting. By 1300, the Florentine Guelphs had divided into the Black and White Guelphs. The Blacks continued to support the Papacy, while the Whites were opposed to Papal influence, specifically the influence of [[Pope Boniface VIII]]. [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] was among the supporters of the White Guelphs. In 1302 he was exiled when the Black Guelphs took control of Florence.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Haegen|first1=Anne Mueller von der|last2=Strasser|first2=Ruth F.|title=Art & Architecture: Tuscany|date=2013|publisher=H.F. Ullmann Publishing|location=Potsdam|isbn=978-3-8480-0321-1|page=66|chapter=Between Papacy and Empire – the Interminable Conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines}}</ref>

Those who were not connected to either side or who had no connections to either Guelphs or Ghibellines considered both factions unworthy of support but were still affected by changes of power in their respective cities. Emperor [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VII]] was disgusted by supporters of both sides when he visited Italy in 1310. In 1325, the city-states of Guelph [[Bologna]] and Ghibelline [[Modena]] clashed in the [[War of the Bucket]], resulting in Modena's victory at the [[Battle of Zappolino]], which led to a resurgence of Ghibelline fortunes. In 1334, [[Pope Benedict XII]] threatened people who used either the Guelph or Ghibelline name with [[excommunication]].

===Later history===
[[File:Holy Roman Empire at the Golden Bull of 1356.png|thumb|The Holy Roman Empire when the [[Golden Bull of 1356]] was signed]]
The term Ghibelline continued to indicate allegiance to the declining Imperial authority in Italy, and saw a brief resurgence during the Italian campaigns of Emperors [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VII]] (1310) and [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]] (1327).<ref>{{cite web |title=Guelf and Ghibelline European History|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Guelf-and-Ghibelline |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Since the Pope granted [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] (Southern Italy) to the French prince [[Charles I of Anjou]], the Guelphs took a pro-French stance. As late as the 16th century, Ghibellines like the Colonna or Gonzaga still fought for [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]], while Guelphs like the [[Orsini family|Orsini]] and Este still fought for the French.<ref>{{cite book |last1=James D. Tracy |title=Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521814316 |page=39}}</ref> During the French-dominated [[Avignon Papacy]], [[Pope John XXII]], who supported the French-allied King [[John of Bohemia]], excommunicated John's rival Emperor Louis IV in 1324 and threatened heresy charges against the Ghibellines. The Ghibellines then supported Louis' invasion of Italy and coronation as King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louis IV Holy Roman emperor|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-IV-Holy-Roman-emperor |website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=7 October 2023 }}</ref> The conflict over Naples broke out again when it was [[Aragonese conquest of Naples|conquered]] by Aragon in 1442 and remained fought over between the [[Habsburg]]s and [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]]s until the Bourbons gained control for good following [[War of the Polish Succession]] in 1735.

In [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]], the Guelphs and Ghibellines cooperated in the creation of the [[Golden Ambrosian Republic]] in 1447. However, over the next few years they engaged in intense disputes. After the initial leadership of the Ghibellines, the Guelphs seized power at the election of the Captains and Defenders of the Liberty of Milan. The Guelph government became increasingly autocratic, leading to a Ghibelline conspiracy led by Giorgio Lampugnino and Teodoro Bossi. It failed, and many Ghibellines were massacred in 1449.<ref name="Sforza. 1907">''A History of Milan under the Sforza.'' Cecilia M. Ady, Edward Armstrong; Methuen & Co., 1907.</ref> Others fled, including the prominent Ghibelline [[Vitaliano I Borromeo]], who was sheltered in his [[House of Borromeo|County of Arona]]. Public opinion turned against the Guelphs. In the next elections the Ghibellines were briefly victorious, but were deposed after imprisoning Guelph leaders Giovanni Appiani and Giovanni Ossona.<ref name="Sforza. 1907" /> After [[Francesco I Sforza]] was made Duke by Milan's senate in 1450, many Ghibellines who had fled such as Filippo Borromeo and Luisino Bossi were restored to positions of prominence in Milan.<ref name="Storiadimilano">{{cite web |url=http://www.storiadimilano.it/cron/dal1426al1450.htm |title= Storia di Milano ::: dal 1426 al 1450 |first1= Maria Grazia |last1= Tolfo |first2= Paolo |last2=Colussi |date=January 23, 2009 |work=Storia di Milano |publisher=Storiadimilano |location=Milano | language=it |trans-title=History of Milan ::: from 1426 to 1450 |access-date=May 6, 2010 }}</ref>

In the 15th century, the Guelphs supported [[Charles VIII of France]] during his invasion of Italy at the start of the [[Italian Wars]], while the Ghibellines were supporters of the emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor]]. Cities and families used the names until [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]], consolidated the imperial power over Italy in 1529. In the course of the Italian Wars of 1494 to 1559, the political landscape changed radically and the division between Guelphs and Ghibellines became irrelevant. This became evident with the election of [[Pope Paul V]] (1605), the first to bear the "Ghibelline" {{Lang|de|[[Reichsadler]]}} in ''[[Chief (heraldry)|chief]]'' on his [[Papal coats of arms|Papal coat of arms]].

===Modern aftermath===
[[File:Piazza di parte guelfa, Palazzo dei Capitani di Parte Guelfa, 01.jpg|thumb|[[Palazzo di Parte Guelfa]] in [[Florence]]]]
On 25 March 2015, the ''Parte Guelfa'' was reconstituted as a Christian order and [[archconfraternity]] to serve the [[Catholic Church]] and the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, guided by the Captain-General Andrea Claudio Galluzzo under the custody of Consul Luciano Artusi. The Mayor of [[Florence]] established the headquarters of the reborn Guelph Party in the historic [[Palazzo di Parte Guelfa]] in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parteguelfa.it/arciconfraternita/statuto/|title=Statuto – Parte Guelfa – Ordo Partis Guelfae|date=16 May 2015 |access-date=29 August 2024|language=it}}</ref>

==Allegiance of the main Italian cities==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Main Ghibelline cities
! Main Guelph cities
! Cities of variable allegiance
|-
|-valign="top"
|{{plainlist|
* [[Arezzo]]
* [[Assisi]]
* [[Asti]]
* [[Como]]
* [[Fabriano]]
* [[Foligno]]
* [[Forlì]]
* [[Grosseto]]
* [[Modena]]
* [[Pavia]]
* [[Pisa]]
* [[Pistoia]]
* [[Spoleto]]
* [[Terni]]
* [[Treviso]]
* [[Urbino]]}}
|{{plainlist|
* [[Alessandria]]
* [[Ancona]]
* [[L'Aquila|Aquila]]
* [[Bologna]]
* [[Brescia]]
* [[Chambéry|Camberia]]
* [[Crema, Lombardy|Crema]]
* [[Cremona]]
* [[Faenza]]
* [[Genoa]]
* [[Lecco]]
* [[Lodi, Lombardy|Lodi]]
* [[Mantua]]
* [[Orvieto]]
* [[Perugia]]
* [[Pontevico]]}}
|{{plainlist|
* [[Bergamo]]
* [[Ferrara]]
* [[Fivizzano]]
* [[Florence]]
* [[Gubbio]]
* [[Lucca]]
* [[Milan]]
* [[Padua]]
* [[Parma]]
* [[Piacenza]]
* [[Prato]]
* [[San Miniato]]
* [[Siena]]
* [[Verona]]
* [[Vicenza]]}}
|}

==Allegiance of the main Italian families==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Main Ghibelline families
! Main Guelph families
! Families of variable allegiance
|-
|-valign="top"
|{{plainlist|
* [[Scaliger|Della Scala]]: from [[Milan]]
* [[House of Lambertazzi|Lambertazzi]]: from [[Bologna]]
* [[House of Carrari|Carrari]]: from [[Bologna]]
* [[House of Parcitadi|Parcitadi]]: from [[Rimini]]
* [[House of Frigerio|Frigerio]]: from [[Como]]
* [[House of Quadrio|Quadrio]]: from [[Como]]
* [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]]: from [[Milan]]
* [[House of Guttuari|Guttuari]]: from [[Asti]]
* [[Guidi (family)|Guidi]]: from [[Casentino]]
* [[House of Ubaldini|Ubaldini]]: from [[Mugello]]
* [[House of Torelli|Torelli]]: from [[Ferrara]]
* [[House of Ordelaffi|Ordelaffi]]: from [[Forlì]]
* [[House of Uberti|Uberti]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[House of Lamberti|Lamberti]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[Della Gherardesca family|Della Gherardesca]]: from [[Pisa]]
* [[House of Salimbeni|Salimbeni]]: from [[Siena]]
* [[House of Buonconti|Buonconti]]: from [[Siena]]
* [[House of Da Romano|Da Romano]]: from [[Treviso]]
* [[Aleramici]]: from [[Montferrat]]
* [[Pallavicini family|Pallavicino]]: from [[Po Valley]]
* [[House of Gorini|Gorini]]: from [[Pisa]]}}
|{{plainlist|
* [[House of Geremia|Geremia]]: from [[Bologna]]
* [[Fieschi family|Fieschi]]: from [[Genoa]]
* [[Della Torre]]: from [[Milan]]
* [[House of Giocoli|Giocoli]]: from [[Ferrara]]
* [[House of Este|Este]]: from [[Ferrara]]
* [[House of Turchi|Turchi]]: from [[Ferrara]]
* [[House of Adelardi|Adelardi]]: from [[Ferrara]]
* [[House of Malatesta|Malatesta]]: from [[Rimini]]
* [[House of Del Sale|Del Sale]]: from [[Ravenna]]
* [[Cerchi family|Cerchi]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[House of Cavalcanti|Cavalcanti]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[Frescobaldi]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[House of Falconieri|Falconieri]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[Gherardini family|Gherardini]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[Pazzi]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[House of Simonetti|Simonetti]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[House of Tornabuoni|Tornaquinci]]: from [[Florence]]
* [[House of Ugoni|Ugoni]]: from [[Brescia]]
* [[House of Boschetti|Boschetti]]: from [[Modena]]
* [[House of Rangoni|Rangoni]]: from [[Modena]]
* [[House of Della Rosa|Della Rosa]]: from [[Modena]]
* [[House of Guidoni|Guidoni]]: from [[Modena]]}}
|{{plainlist|
* [[Malaspina family|Malaspina]]: from [[Tuscany]]}}
|}

==In heraldry==

Some individuals and families indicated their faction affiliation in their [[coat of arms|coats of arms]] by including an appropriate [[Chief (heraldry)|heraldic "chief"]] (a horizontal band at the top of the shield). Guelphs had a ''capo d'Angiò'' or "chief of Anjou", containing [[:File:Image-Blason Sicile Péninsulaire.svg|yellow fleurs-de-lys on a blue field, with a red heraldic "label"]], while Ghibellines had a ''capo dell'impero'' or "chief of the empire", with a form of the [[:File:Flag Germany Emperors Banner.svg|black German imperial eagle on a golden background]].<ref>''The Complete Book of Heraldry'' by Stephen Slater ({{ISBN|1843096986}}), p. 201.</ref> Families also distinguished their factional allegiance by the architecture of their palaces, towers, and fortresses. Ghibelline structures had "swallow-tailed" crenellations, while those of the Guelphs were square.<ref>W.F. Butler (1906) ''The Lombard Communes'', p. 348</ref>

<gallery widths="120" heights="160">
File:Coa gaioli boidi.svg|Coat of arms of an Italian family with Ghibelline (Imperial) style heraldic chief at top
File:Coa fam ITA roberti.jpg|Coat of arms of the Roberti family of [[Reggio Emilia|Reggio]], with Guelph (Anjou) style heraldic chief at top
File:Casa di Romeo (Verona).jpg|Ghibelline swallow-tailed [[merlon]]s of the "Casa di Romeo", of the Montecchi family of [[Verona]].
File:parapet_parts.svg|Annotated diagram with both types of merlons
</gallery>

== In vexillology ==
During the 12th and 13th centuries, armies of the Ghibelline communes usually adopted the [[Flags of the Holy Roman Empire#War flag|war banner of the Holy Roman Empire]]{{snd}}white cross on a red field{{snd}}as their own. Guelph armies usually reversed the colors{{snd}}red cross on white. These two schemes are prevalent in the civic heraldry of northern Italian towns and remain a revealing indicator of their past factional leanings.

<gallery widths="160" heights="90">
File:Bandiera Lombardia.svg|alt=|Guelph Flag
File:Flag of John the Baptist.svg|alt=|Ghibelline Flag
</gallery>

==In art and popular culture==

===In literature===
<!--each section names a poem, play, book, or film, which is a citation-->
* In [[Dante Alighieri]]'s ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' (1300s), participants in the conflict are featured prominently. For example, Mosca dei Lamberti is the character suffering in hell for the schism for which he was held responsible.<ref>"You will remember Mosca, too, who said alas 'What's done is at an end, which was the seed of evil for the Tuscans'. I added: and brought death to your own kinsmen; then having heard me speak, grief heaped on grief." (Inferno, XXVIII, lines 106–110)</ref>
* In ''[[The Decameron]]'' (1350s) by [[Giovanni Boccaccio]], one of the ladies is a firm adherent of the Ghibellines.
* The ''[[Life of Castruccio Castracani]]'' (1520) by [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] tells the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in the city of [[Lucca]] during the reign of Tuscan condottiere [[Castruccio Castracani]].
* In the notes to the poem ''[[The Shepheardes Calender]]'' (1579), English poet [[Edmund Spenser]]'s annotator E. K. claimed (incorrectly) that the words "Elfs" and "Goblins" derive etymologically from Guelphs and Ghibellines.
* The Shakespeare play ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' is believed to have been based on the conflict as the city of [[Verona]] had switched hands often between the two groups. Shakespeare may have also based the Capulet and Montague families on the two groups.
* ''[[Valperga (novel)|Valperga]]'' (1823) is a historical novel by [[Mary Shelley]] influenced heavily by both Dante and Boccaccio, that deals directly with the Guelph and Ghibelline conflict. Its central figure, [[Castruccio Castracani]], is a Ghibelline, while his love, the Duchess of Valperga, is a Guelph.
* In [[Arthur Schopenhauer|Schopenhauer]]'s essay "On Women",<ref>''[[Parerga and Paralipomena]]'', Volume 2, Chapter 27, § 368</ref> he claimed that women are usually unfriendly toward each other.<ref>"…between women there is already, by nature, hostility…." (zwischen Weibern ist schon von Natur Feindschaft)</ref> The reason is that "with women only one thing is decisive, namely, which man they please."<ref>"...&nbsp;bei ihnen (Weibern) nur eine entscheidet, nämlich: welchem Manne sie gefallen haben."</ref> Schopenhauer asserted that "Even when they meet in the street, women look at one another like Guelphs and Ghibellines." ("''Schon beim Begegnen auf der Straße sehn sie einander an wie Guelfen und Ghibellinen.''")
* In ''[[The Cantos]]'' (1915–1962), [[Ezra Pound]] makes repeated mention of both Guelfs and Ghibellines. The pro-Papal Guelfs are associated with usury and corruption while the pro-Imperial Ghibellines are associated with law and order. The famous "fascist" canto, LXXII, makes mention of Ezalino (who would appear to be the sometime-Ghibelline leader [[Ezzelino III da Romano]]), "who didn't believe the world was made by a Jew" (i.e., he rejected papal and Christian claims and embraced the [[antisemitism]] of [[World War II]] in the [[Fascism|fascist milieu]] in which the Canto was written).
* In ''[[Christ Stopped at Eboli]]'' (1945), [[Carlo Levi]] compares the peasants and gentry of [[Aliano]] to the Guelphs and Ghibellines, respectively, with the [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist regime]] as the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and the desire to be left alone for local rule as the Papacy.
* In ''The Lost Steps'' (1953), by [[Alejo Carpentier]], the narrator refers to the Guelphs and Ghibellines to describe the nature of the sudden guerrilla fighting that breaks out in the streets of a Latin American city.
* In ''[[The Quentaris Chronicles]]'' fantasy book series (2003–2009), the Duelphs and Nibhellines are feuding families based on the Guelphs and Ghibellines.
* In ''[[A Room with a View]]'', book written by [[E. M. Forster]] in 1908, there is a reference to the Guelph and Ghibelline conflict in the first chapter after Miss Bartlett and Mr Beeb's conflict, when one of the little old ladies comes to chatter. In the book there is a spelling mistake where Guelphs is written "Guelfs"; this could be attributed to the Italian spelling of the word.
* In ''Rumpole and the Tap End'' published in the ''Third Rumpole Omnibus'' (1997), written by John Mortimer, the rival crime families the Timsons and the Molloys are likened to the Guelphs and Ghibellines.

===In film===
* ''[[The Flame and the Arrow]]'' (1950) starring [[Burt Lancaster]], [[Virginia Mayo]] and [[Nick Cravat]] is set in the Guelph and Ghibelline era of 12th century [[Lombardy]].
* ''[[Barbarossa (film)|Barbarossa]]'' (2009) starring [[Rutger Hauer]], [[Raz Degan]] and [[F. Murray Abraham]] is set during the struggles between Guelph and Ghibellines and in particular during the [[battle of Legnano]].
* In [[Jeff Baena]]'s ''[[The Little Hours]]'' (2017), based on ''[[The Decameron]]'', [[Nick Offerman]] plays a minor Lord given to long, rambling conspiracy theories about how the Guelphs are coming for him.

=== In music ===
* [[Riccardo Zandonai]]'s early 20th-century opera [[Francesca da Rimini (Zandonai)|''Francesca da Rimini'']] follows a plot of the character from Dante's [[Inferno (Dante)|''Inferno'']], part of which includes a battle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines.

==See also==
* [[Caesaropapism|Cæsaropapism]]
* [[Guelph, Ontario]]
* [[Hierocracy (medieval)]]
* [[Royal Guelphic Order]]
* [[The clash between the Church and the Empire]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Guelphs and Ghibellines |volume=7 |first=Edmund Garratt |last=Gardner}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last=Abulafia|first=David |author-link=David Abulafia|title=Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor|publisher=Penguin Press|year=1988|isbn=88-06-13197-4}}
* {{cite book|language=it|last=Faini|first=Enric|url=http://www.rmoa.unina.it/574/1/RM-Faini-Convito1216.pdf|title=Il convito del 1216. La vendetta all'origine del fazionalismo fiorentino|publisher=University of Florence|date=2006 }}
* {{cite book|last=Kantorowicz|author-link=Ernst Kantorowicz|first=Ernst|title=Frederick the Second, 1194–1250|year=1937|publisher=Frederick Ungar|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/fredericktheseco000027mbp/page/n5}}
* {{cite book|last=Machiavelli|first=Niccolò|url=https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/machiavelli/niccolo/m149h/complete.html|title=History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy from the Earliest Times to the Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent|date=1532|access-date=2009-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013232843/https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/machiavelli/niccolo/m149h/|archive-date=2016-10-13|url-status=dead}}

== External links ==
* {{Wikisourcelang-inline|it|Istorie fiorentine}}
* {{commons category-inline}}

{{Italy topics}}
{{authority control}}

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