Historical Background of Dante 77
rival, induced neighbor to fight neighbor, and produced a
network of alliances and counter-alliances.
And finally the cities had to face the ever-present danger
of subjection by the major power of the German kings, who,
as emperors, claimed sovereign rights over the whole
Italian peninsula. This danger, whenever it became im-
minent, generally induced the dropping of hostile rivalry for
the time being and brought the cities into an alliance against
the common foe. And such an alliance could always count
upon papal backing, if, indeed, papal diplomacy had not
actually brought it into existence. Yet some cities feared
the ambitions of the Pope more than those of the emperor,
and thus conflicting interests separated the cities into two
major groups, those opposed to the emperor and favoring
the Pope, and those opposed to the Pope and favoring the
emperor. It was to these two groups that, in the early
thirteenth century, the famous party names of “Guelf” and
“Ghibelline” became attached, the former being applied to
supporters of the Popes, and the latter to the allies of the
emperors. Yet these two groups were not constant quan-
tities, for individual cities, as their interests dictated, shifted
back and forth from one group to the other. Nor did these
divisions stop at the city walls. The very individuals of
a given city were often divided among themselves, so that
the rivalries of Guelf and Ghibelline served also to rend
the citizenry into additional jealous factions.
These conditions of intense internal factional strife,
coupled with the need for unity and military leadership in
the wars fought outside the city walls, compelled the cities
to adopt a peculiar custom, namely, the practice of calling
in from the outside some able leader unconnected with any
of the parties in a given city, and entrusting to him supreme
executive power for a shorter or longer period. Such an