8θ Dante Sexcentenary Lectures
worldly wisdom, yet in respect of loyalty and of years I was
not unworthy of it; inasmuch as ten years had passed since
the battle of Campaldino, where the Ghibelline party was
almost entirely broken and brought to an end, on which
occasion I was present, not inexperienced in arms, and was
in great fear, and afterward greatly exultant, by reason of
the varying fortunes of that battle.”
Dante’s priorate did, indeed, occur at an unlucky time, as
we shall shortly see. The strife between Guelf and Ghibel-
line, so far as Florence was concerned, had, to be sure, in
great part subsided. With the overthrow of Frederick II
and his sons Charles and Manfred by Charles of Anjou,
the Imperial cause had received its death-blow. Every-
where throughout northern Italy the Guelf party, supported
by the Pope and Charles of Anjou, obtained the ascendancy.
This was particularly true of Florence and Tuscany in gen-
eral, where, with the aid of a leader and eight hundred
horsemen sent them by Charles, the Guelfs compelled the
Ghibellines in large numbers to flee from Florence and most
of the Tuscan cities. Thus the Guelfs were solidly in the
ascendant all during Dante’s boyhood and youth. Not until
he was nearly twenty-five years of age did the Ghibellines
make a strong effort to come back. This was at the battle
of Campaldino, in 1289, to which Dante refers in the pas-
sage just quoted. There the Ghibellines were badly de-
feated and the Guelfs in Florence became stronger than
ever.
Yet peaceful unity could not last long in any Italian city
of this period, least of all in Florence. Indeed, it was not
long before the Guelfs themselves were split into two hos-
tile factions. These factions were known as the Blacks and
the Whites, and originated in the neighboring city of Pistoja,
which was dependent politically on Florence. In that city