Why did Dante Alighieri support the White Guelfs?

Dante Alighieri’s support for the White Guelfs was rooted in his opposition to the political interference of Pope Boniface VIII in the affairs of Florence.1

During the 1290s, the ruling Guelf party in Florence split into two factions: the Blacks, led by Corso Donati, and the Whites, led by Vieri dei Cerchi. Dante aligned with the Whites, who sought to maintain the city's autonomy against the mounting territorial and political ambitions of the papacy.12

As a prior in 1300, Dante acted as a spokesman for those determined to resist the Pope's policies. His stance was part of a broader intellectual evolution; he became a fervent defender of the principle that political authority for the empire does not derive from the pope, a position he later articulated in works such as the Monarchia and The Divine Comedy. This resistance ultimately led to his exile in 1302, after a coalition of the papacy, the French, and the Black Guelfs seized control of Florence.13