Conrad III elected King of the Romans

February 12, 1138

The Hohenstaufen duke of Franconia, brother of the late emperor Henry V's rival, was elected German king on the death of Lothair III. His contested succession reopened the Welf-Hohenstaufen quarrel that would define German politics for more than a century. The division soon acquired Italian names: Guelph and Ghibelline, labels that would outlast the original families and structure Italian factional politics well into the Renaissance.