Ghiblins

The Ghibellines are presented in the Decameron chiefly as a political affiliation made visible through individual loyalties and reactions to a change of rule in Sicily. The uprising against Charles I of Anjou gives that allegiance immediate narrative force: it alters Currado Malespina’s hopes, prompts the disclosure of Giusfredi Capece’s identity, and becomes a point of admiration for a Ghibelline lady in another story. The text records these political signs more clearly than it describes the faction as an organized body.

Political identity and historical framing

A footnote to the story of Giusfredi Capece defines the Ghibellines as supporters of the papal faction against the Guelphs, whom it identifies as adherents of Emperor Frederick II. That is the book’s own gloss on the political label. The narrative itself gives the affiliation practical meaning through its characters’ responses to the contest for Sicily, rather than through an account of offices, membership, or collective institutions.

The uprising is associated with the succession struggle between Charles I of Anjou and the forces that opposed him. In the account’s explanatory note, the Ghibellines’ machinations help bring about the popular rising known as the Sicilian Vespers, which expels Charles from the island. The faction’s appearance therefore belongs to a larger conflict over political authority, though the stories do not provide a detailed history of its development.

The revolt’s effect on Currado and Giusfredi

Currado Malespina is explicitly identified as a Ghibelline. After keeping Giannotto and Spina imprisoned for a year, he rejoices when news arrives that the people of Sicily have risen against Charles I of Anjou and taken the island from him. The news matters to Giannotto for a different reason: he reveals that he is Giusfredi Capece, the son of Arrighetto Capece, and explains that his father had once ruled in Sicily under King Manfred. He believes that, if freed, he could regain high standing there.

The revolt thus turns a political report into the occasion for a personal revelation. Once Currado investigates and confirms Giusfredi’s identity, he offers to end the young man’s imprisonment and settle his relationship with Spina through marriage. The affiliation does not itself release Giusfredi; rather, Currado’s reaction to the uprising opens the conversation that allows Giusfredi’s birth and prospects to emerge. The episode shows political allegiance working within household and personal affairs, without equating Currado’s Ghibelline identity with Giusfredi’s lineage or claiming that the faction organized his rescue.

Victory, restored standing, and narrative perspective

A later report completes the political reversal. During the revolt, Arrighetto Capece is freed from captivity, made captain by the people, and followed in the expulsion and killing of the French. The account says that he has become especially favored by the new king, who restores his honors and possessions. This news reaches the family banquet at which Giusfredi has already been reunited with his mother and brothers, extending a private reconciliation into a larger restoration of family status.

The Ghibellines also register as a viewpoint within the storytelling company. Before the tale of Titus and Gisippus begins, the narrator notes that a Ghibelline lady praised the king more than the others did. The remark links her political sympathy to the discussion of royal magnificence, then introduces a story meant to show that citizens can display generosity equal to or greater than that of kings. Across these appearances, Ghibelline identity marks a stance toward political change and its victors; the evidence does not establish a uniform doctrine or describe the faction’s internal structure.