Guelphs and Ghibellines

Originally the names of two German parties formed in the 12th century around the families to which respectively belonged the dukes of Saxony and Bavaria and the lords of Hohenstaufen. The rivalry between these two families determined much of the history of Germany in the 12th century, and the names in question were employed at an early date in Italy, where the Ghibellines formed the party of the emperor Frederick I and the Guelphs formed the party opposed to him. In the next century the terms acquired a wider sense; the Ghibellines still formed the Imperialist party, but the term Guelph lost all trace of its original association with dynastic rivalries in Germany and became applied to the supporters of the papacy in its struggle against the empire. Long after this struggle had become a matter of history these ancient names survived in Italian civic politics, often denoting factions whose origin had no real connection with the rivalry of empire and papacy in an earlier age.

The great struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines was reflected in Florentine civil strife and was further acerbated by the rise at the end of the 13th century of two factions within the Guelphs: the Blacks (Neri), extreme Guelphs led by Corso Donati and the White (Bianchi) moderate Guelphs under Vieri Cerchi later joined by the Ghibellines.

Of the terms themselves, Guelph represents the old German personal name Hwelp, originally perhaps a nickname (it corresponds to the English word "whelp"), but borne by many persons of rank, notably Welf duke of Bavaria in the 11th century. Ghibelline is a form of the place-name Waiblingen, an ancient possession of the lords Hohenstaufen, and not far from the castle of that name.