ghibelline means in the politics of medieval Italian city states, any member of a faction that supported the Holy Roman Emperor in a long struggle against the Guelphs and the Pope.
ghibelline is pronounced /ˈɡɪbəlin/.
Why “ghibelline” is a great word
A member of the medieval Italian political faction that supported the Holy Roman Emperor against the papal Guelph party. From Italian *ghibellino*, from German *Waiblingen*, the name of a Swabian castle held by the Hohenstaufen dynasty, from Old High German *Weibilinga*, possibly a suffixed form of the personal name *Wabilo*. Unlike "Guelph" (which swore allegiance to the papal banner and municipal liberty) or "Hohenstaufen" (which named the specific imperial house), *Ghibelline* was the banner for a chaotic alliance of nobles, exiles, and communes, all finding momentary advantage beneath the eagle's shadow. It was the forked merlon on a Tuscan tower, the bitterness in a banished poet's verse, and the cold pragmatism of welcoming a distant German king to settle a local street fight—the old, impossible dream of world-order, forever crumbling into the particular dust of Italian piazzas.
Etymology
From Italian ghibellino, from German Waiblingen, from Middle High German Wibellingen, the name of a castle in Swabia held by the Hohenstaufen dynasty (nowadays in the township of Waiblingen), from Old High German Weibilinga, Weibelingen, possibly a suffixed form of the personal name Wabilo, Wahilo.
The emperor's supporters used the name as a rallying cry, which was probably introduced to Italy during the reign of Frederick Barbarossa, 1155—1190.
noun
- In the politics of medieval Italian city states, any member of a faction that supported the Holy Roman Emperor in a long struggle against the Guelphs and the Pope.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- antipope 80% match — A person who claims or claimed to be the pope, usually as the result of a disputed election or deposition, but is not considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be the real pope. vs ghibelline →
- monarchist 80% match — A supporter of, or believer in, monarchy. vs ghibelline →
- antiemperor 79% match — One who declares himself emperor in opposition to a reigning emperor. vs ghibelline →
- condottiere 78% match — A mercenary military leader from 14th-century Italy and later in other parts of Europe. vs ghibelline →
- ultramontane 78% match — Promoting the supremacy of the Pope. vs ghibelline →
- capulet 78% match — A member or citizen of the family, party, or country of the wife in a Romeo and Juliet couple and/or one of a pair of feuding groups, the other identified as Montague. vs ghibelline →
- machiavellism 78% match — Machiavellianism vs ghibelline →
- burgrave 78% match — The military governor of a town or castle in the Middle Ages, especially in German-speaking Europe; a nobleman of the same status. vs ghibelline →