Florence was divided between Guelphs, partisans of the pope, and Ghibellines, partisans of the emperor. In power, the Guelphs split into Whites, tied to the Cerchi family and defenders of popular participation, and Blacks, tied to the Donati family and closer to the pope. Dante was a White; in 1301 the Blacks took the city with the help of Charles of Valois, and the Whites were exiled. It is this struggle that Ciacco, Farinata, Brunetto and Vanni Fucci comment on and prophesy.
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