- Guelf also spelled:
- Guelph
- Areas Of Involvement:
- imperialism
Guelf and Ghibelline
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Who were the Guelfs and Ghibellines?
During the Middle Ages, the Guelfs and Ghibellines were opposing factions in German and Italian politics. The Guelfs were sympathetic to the papacy, while the Ghibellines were sympathetic to the German emperors. The division between these groups caused strife within the cities of northern Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries.
The name Guelf came from Welf, the dynasty of German dukes of Bavaria. Ghibelline came from Waiblingen, a castle belonging to the Hohenstaufen dukes of Swabia, who opposed the Welfs. These terms may have originated as battle cries during Conrad III's defeat of Welf VI of Bavaria in 1140.
The conflict between the Guelfs and Ghibellines changed after the Hohenstaufen lost southern Italy in 1266. The Guelf party became conservative, aiming to maintain the exile of the Ghibellines and their confiscated holdings. The importance of both parties declined rapidly during the 14th century, and the terms became associated with local factions.
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Why did the Guelfs and Ghibellines become rivals?
The Guelfs and Ghibellines were members of opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages. The Guelfs were sympathetic to the papacy, while the Ghibellines were sympathetic to the German (Holy Roman) emperors.
During the reign of Frederick II, the Italian parties took on the names Guelf and Ghibelline and contributed to intensifying antagonisms within and among the Italian cities. Most often, previously existing factions in the cities adopted a pro-papal or pro-imperial attitude, drawing themselves into the wider international struggle without losing their local character. The fighting between Guelfs and Ghibellines often ended with the exile of the losing party.
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What areas or cities in Italy were affected by the Guelf and Ghibelline conflict?
The conflict between the Guelfs and Ghibellines affected many cities in Italy. These parties intensified antagonisms within and among Italian cities. Most often, factions within the cities adopted a pro-papal (Guelf) or pro-imperial (Ghibelline) attitude, drawing themselves into the wider international struggle.
Cities involved:
* Florence The rivalry between Ghibellines and Guelfs was especially ferocious in Florence.
* Milan The Milanese were drawn into the struggle between the Guelfs and Ghibellines.
* Genoa The Fieschi family played an important role in Guelf politics in medieval Italy.Other cities involved in the wars between Guelf-controlled Florence and its allies included Montepulciano, Bologna, Orvieto, Pisa, Siena, Pistoia, and Arezzo.
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How did these two groups influence Italian politics?
During the Middle Ages, the Guelfs and Ghibellines were opposing factions in German and Italian politics. The Guelfs were sympathetic to the papacy, while the Ghibellines were sympathetic to the German (Holy Roman) emperors.
During the reign of Frederick I Barbarossa, the terms Guelf and Ghibelline became significant in Italy as the emperor tried to reassert imperial authority over northern Italy. This split the peninsula between those who sided with the emperor and those who opposed imperial interference, including the popes.
The rivalry between Ghibellines, representing feudal aristocrats, and Guelfs, representing wealthy merchants, was especially ferocious in Florence. After the Hohenstaufen line ended, the Guelf and Ghibelline conflict changed, with Guelfism supporting the Angevin presence in southern Italy. Both parties declined in importance during the 14th century as emperors ceased interfering in Italy and popes moved to France.
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What was the role of the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in this struggle?
During the Middle Ages, the Guelf and Ghibelline factions emerged in German and Italian politics. The Guelfs supported the papacy, while the Ghibellines were sympathetic to the German (Holy Roman) emperors, contributing to conflict within northern Italian cities.
During the reign of Frederick II, the Italian parties adopted the names Guelf and Ghibelline and intensified antagonisms within Italian cities. These conflicts often resulted in the exile of the losing party. As cities took sides, antagonisms between them were aggravated. In the international sphere, Guelfism became a system of alliances supporting the Angevin presence in southern Italy, including the popes and Florence with its Tuscan allies.
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How did the rivalry between Guelfs and Ghibellines shape the culture and society of medieval Italy?
The rivalry between the Guelfs and Ghibellines shaped culture and society in medieval Italy through chronic strife within cities. These factions, initially siding with the papacy (Guelfs) or the German emperors (Ghibellines), intensified antagonisms within and among Italian cities.
Often, existing factions adopted pro-papal or pro-imperial stances, intensifying local and international struggles. The conflict led to wars between Guelf-controlled cities like Florence and Ghibelline cities such as Pisa. After the Hohenstaufen loss of southern Italy, the Guelf party became a conservative force that maintained the exile of Ghibellines whose holdings had been confiscated. The importance of both parties declined in the 14th century, as they lost international significance and implied only local factions.
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Guelf and Ghibelline, members of two opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages. The split between the Guelfs, who were sympathetic to the papacy, and the Ghibellines, who were sympathetic to the German (Holy Roman) emperors, contributed to chronic strife within the cities of northern Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Origins of the rivalry
Guelf was derived from Welf, the name of the dynasty of German dukes of Bavaria who competed for the imperial throne through the 12th and early 13th centuries. The name Ghibelline was derived from Waiblingen, the name of a castle of the Welfsā opponents, the Hohenstaufen dukes of Swabia. The rivalry between Welfs and Hohenstaufens figured prominently in German politics after the death of the Holy Roman emperor Henry V in 1125: Lothar II (reigned 1125ā37) was a Welf, and his successor as emperor, Conrad III (reigned 1138ā52), was a Hohenstaufen. A dubious tradition relates that the terms Guelf and Ghibelline originated as battle cries (āHie Welf!ā āHie Waiblingen!ā) during Conrad IIIās defeat of Welf VI of Bavaria in 1140 at the siege of Weinsberg.
Divisions in Italy
It was during the reign of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (1152ā90) that the terms Guelf and Ghibelline acquired significance in Italy, as that emperor tried to reassert imperial authority over northern Italy by force of arms. Frederickās military expeditions were opposed not only by the Lombard and Tuscan communes, who wished to preserve their autonomy within the empire, but also by the newly elected (1159) pope Alexander III. Frederickās attempts to gain control over Italy thus split the peninsula between those who sought to enhance their powers and prerogatives by siding with the emperor and those (including the popes) who opposed any imperial interference.
Conflict between cities
During the struggles between the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II (reigned 1220ā50) and the popes, the Italian parties took on their characteristic names of Guelf and Ghibelline (beginning in Florence) and contributed to intensifying antagonisms within and among the Italian cities. Most often, previously existing factions in the cities (usually among the nobility) adopted a pro-papal or pro-imperial attitude, thus drawing themselves into the wider international struggle but without losing their local character. The fighting between Guelfs and Ghibellines in various communes often ended with the exile of the losing party from the city. The rivalry between Ghibellines (in this case representing feudal aristocrats) and Guelfs (representing wealthy merchants) was especially ferocious in Florence, where the Guelfs were exiled twice (1248 and 1260) before the invading Charles of Anjou ended Ghibelline domination at Benevento in 1266.
Besides the vying of local factions for power within a city, antagonisms between different cities were aggravated as they took sides on the papal-imperial issue. A series of wars, for example, was fought from the mid-13th century through the early 14th century between Guelf-controlled Florence and its alliesāMontepulciano, Bologna, and Orvietoāand its Ghibelline opponentsāPisa, Siena, Pistoia, and Arezzo.
Changing meanings and 14th-century decline
After the Hohenstaufen loss of southern Italy (1266) and the final extinction of their line (1268), the Guelf and Ghibelline conflict changed in meaning. In the international sphere, Guelfism constituted a system of alliances among those who supported the Angevin presence in southern Italyāincluding the Angevin rulers of Sicily themselves, the popes, and Florence with its Tuscan allies. Within the many cities where the Guelfs triumphed, the party became a conservative force, a property-owning group interested in maintaining the exile of the Ghibellines whose holdings had been confiscated. Ghibellinism became associated with a nostalgia for the empire (a waning force in Italy after 1268) and briefly revived during the Italian expeditions of the emperors Henry VII in 1310ā13 and Louis IV in 1327ā30.
During the course of the 14th century, the importance of both parties rapidly declined. They lost international significance because the emperors no longer interfered in Italy and the popes moved from Rome to France. āGuelfā and āGhibellineā implied only local factions.
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Revival in the 19th century
The terms were revived during the movement for Italian unification of the 19th century. The Neo-Guelfs were those who urged the pope to lead a federation of Italian states. (Vincenzo Giobertiās Del primato morale e civile degli italiani [āOn the Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italiansā], published in 1843, was the classic expression of this attitude.) Their opponents, the Neo-Ghibellines, saw the pope as a barrier to the development of Italian unity.