Before winning the battle of Montaperti, this group agreed to the Peace of Constance after it lost the Battle of (*) Legnano, in which it was opposed by the Lombard League.
A leader who defected from this faction surrendered his fleet at the Battle of Meloria, which led to the decline of a major stronghold for this faction. A city loyal to this faction won the War of the Oaken Bucket. This faction was victorious in a battle in which a man sympathetic to this group cut off the hands of the standard-bearer of their opponents. Before winning the battle of Montaperti, this group agreed to the Peace of Constance after it lost the Battle of (*) Legnano, in which it was opposed by the Lombard League. This group got its name from a Hohenstaufen castle in Franconia and it supported the imperial ambitions of Frederick Barbarossa against the supporters of the Papacy. For 10 points, identify this Italian faction that spent the medieval and early Renaissance periods opposing the Guelphs.
A leader who defected from this faction surrendered his fleet at the Battle of Meloria, which led to the decline of a major stronghold for this faction.
Ghibellines or [Ghibellini; prompt on "Hohenstaufens" or "supporters of Frederick Barbarossa" or equivalents]