As a kid, I was always fascinated by mention of the Clone Wars. It sounded like some ancient event cloaked in mystery, and lent an air of history to the Star Wars universe not unlike what we get in Dune with the Butlerian Jihad or any number of historic battles in The Lord of the Rings.

Later, having read the Dark Empire comics in the years between ROTJ and the prequels, I went along with the idea that the Dark Side caused Palpatine to rapidly age, and the clones in question were empty vessels for Palpatine to transfer his consciousness to. The Clone Wars were therefore an attempt by the Jedi to destroy all of Palpatine's clone bodies, and therefore limit his power (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Empire_I).