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(It. Hist.) In the twelfth century, the Welfs, or Guelfs, dukes of Bavaria, were constantly at war with the house of Hohenstauffen, whose chief adversary in Italy was the pope. The popes thus became the heads of the Guelf party, as opposed to the Ghibellines, or supporters of the emperor ; and the struggle between the two became a contest between the spiritual and temporal powers.
By Henry Percy Smith
