HIST-281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Della Torre, Hohenstaufen
23 Oct 2020
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Document Summary
The house of welf opposed the claim of the hohenstaufen"s for centuries. This led to the welf-waibling or guelf-ghibelline crises. This crisis afflicted the germanic lands north of the alps. Cities like milan, venice and florence had to pick sides: papal involvement. They usually supported the welfs against the hohenstaufen emperors. This meant italian cities had to play popes and emperors against each other. Local resistance was often led by heads of oligarchic merchant families: arnold of brescia. He was a radical priest and wielded influence in lombardy"s wealthy cities like milan. It was run by the participatory oligarchy in the 12th century. It different from the feudal scene the hres were used to: oligarchic families. Different communes were dominated by different oligarchic families. In milan, the visconti and della torre struggled for power. This added to the complexity of the situation. He was an eloquent speaker and capable of swaying even the wealthiest oligarchs.
