Ghibelline meaning
A member of the aristocratic political faction who fought during the Middle Ages for German imperial control of Italy, in opposition to the Guelphs and the papacy.
noun
Any member of a political party in medieval Italy that supported the authority of the German emperors in Italy in opposition to the papal party of the Guelphs.
noun
Of this party.
adjective
Origin of ghibelline
- Italian Ghibellino from Middle High German wībeling name of a Hohenstaufen estate
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition