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Guelph is most likely an Italian form of Welf, the family of the dukes of Bavaria (including the namesake Welf, as well as Henry the Lion). The Welfs were said to have used the name as a rallying cry during the Battle of Weinsberg in 1140, in which the rival Hohenstaufens of Swabia (led at the time by Conrad III) used Waiblingen, the name of a castle, as their cry. Waiblingen became Ghibelline in Italian. The names were likely introduced to Italy during the reign of Frederick BarbarossaFrederick I Hohenstaufen ( 1122 June 10 1190), also known as Frederick Barbarossa ("Frederick Redbeard") was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18 1155. He was also Duke of Swabia (1147-1152, as Frederick I. While campaigning in Italy to expand imperial power there, the Lombard League and its supporters became known as Guelphs, while those who supported Frederick became known as Ghibellines. The Lombard League defeated Frederick at the Battle of LegnanoThe Battle of Legnano marked the culmination of the futile attempts of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa) to dominate the Italian city states. Frederick failed to receive expected German reinforcements, and his largely cavalry forces we in 1176Events May 22 Murder attempt by the Hashshashin (Assassins) on Saladin near Aleppo. September 17 Battle of Myriokephalon Births Rastko Nemanjic, serbian prince who will later become the Saint Sava Leopold VI of Austria, the Glorious Deaths Emperor Rokujo.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Philip of SwabiaPhilip of Swabia ( 1177- 1208), German king and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV, was the fifth and youngest son of the emperor Frederick I and Beatrix, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and consequently brother of the emperor Hen and Otto of BrunswickOtto IV of Brunswick was King of Germany ( 1208- 1215) and Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 1215. He was the son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony and Matilda Plantagenet, and was elected king when his rival for the throne, Philip of Swabia ( Hohe were rivals for the throne. Philip was supported by the Ghibellines as a relative of Frederick I, while Otto was supported by the Guelphs. Philip’s heir, Frederick IIFrederick II ( December 26, 1194 ( December 13, 1250), Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212, unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 until his deat, 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. Frederick II also introduced this division to the Crusader States in SyriaThe Syrian Arab Republic is a country in Southwest Asia, bordering (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. The border with Israel is subject to dispute, pending the resolution of outstanding conflicts over possession of the Gola during the Sixth Crusade.

After the death of Frederick II in 1250 the Ghibellines were supported by Conrad IV and later Manfred, while the Guelphs were supported by Charles of Anjou. After the Hohenstaufen line went extinct with Conradin’s death in 1268, the Guelphs and Ghibellines became associated with individual families and cities, rather than the struggle between empire and papacy. The division between Guelphs and Ghibellines was especially important in Florence, although the two sides frequently rebelled against each other and took power in many of the other northern Italian cities as well. Essentially 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). In Florence and elsewhere the Guelphs usually included merchants and burghers, while the Ghibellines tended to be noblemen. They also adopted peculiar customs such as wearing a feather on a particular side of their hats, or cutting fruit a particular way, according to their affiliation.

By 1300 the Guelphs in Florence were fighting amongst themselves, and were divided into the Black Guelphs and the 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 was among the supporters of the White Guelphs, and in 1302 was exiled when the Black Guelphs took control of Florence. Those who were not connected to either side, or who had no connections to either Guelphs or Ghibellines, considered both factions unworthy of support. Emperor Henry VII was disgusted by supporters of both sides when he visited Italy in 1310, and in 1334 Pope Benedict XII threatened excommunication to anyone who used either name.

In the 16th century the Guelphs supported of Charles VIII of France during his invasion of Italy, while the Ghibellines were supporters of emperor Maximilian I. Cities and families used the names until Emperor Charles V firmly established imperial power in Italy in 1529.

Adapted from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica and the Catholic Encyclopedia.