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The term Walk to Canossa (German, Gang nach Canossa), sometimes called the Humiliation of Canossa (Italian, l'umiliazione di Canossa), refers to the trek of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV from Speyer to Canossa Castle in Emilia Romagna to obtain the revocation of the excommunication imposed on him by the Pope Gregory VII. He was forced to humiliate himself on his knees waiting for three days and three nights, before the entrance gate of the castle, while a blizzard raged in January 1077.


Historical background[edit]
See also: Investiture Controversy and Concordat of Worms
When, in his early papacy, Gregory VII attempted to enact reforms to the investiture process, he was met by much resistance from the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. Henry insisted that he reserved the traditionally established right of previous emperors to "invest" bishops and other clergymen, despite the papal decree. Henry renounced Gregory as pope; in return, Gregory excommunicated and deposed Henry, in the Lenten synod of 1076, at Rome. He stated furthermore that, one year from that day, the excommunication would become permanent and irrevocable.[citation needed]

Journey[edit]
Violence had already broken out at Langensalza on 9 June 1075, suppressed by Henry. Now the patriarch of Aquileia and the papal legate met with German princes at Oppenheim, 16 October 1076, and swore an oath not to recognize Henry unless the ban were lifted. Fearing further rebellion among the German aristocracy, Henry felt he had to have his excommunication lifted. On the suggestion of his adversaries, he arranged to meet with the pope in Augsburg.[citation needed]

Henry commenced his trip in Speyer and travelling southward from Germany, he found his position precarious. He was still popular among the common people, but his nobles were still threatening to elect a new king. He had to secure his position in the church before the rapidly approaching deadline given by the pope.[citation needed]

Once he crossed the Alps by the Mont Cenis pass,[1] Henry took on the behavior of penitence. He wore a hair-shirt, the traditional clothing of monks at the time, and allegedly walked barefoot. Many of his entourage also supposedly removed their shoes. In these conditions he crossed the Alps, a long and harsh journey in late January. On 25 January 1077 he reached the gates of Canossa.[citation needed]

At the castle[edit]

Henry IV and his entourage at the pope's gate at Canossa in 1077, by August von Heyden
When Henry reached the castle of Canossa, the Pope ordered that he be refused entry. According to the first-hand accounts of the scene (letters written by both Gregory and Henry in the following years), Henry waited by the gate for three full days. During this time, he allegedly wore only his penitent hair shirt and fasted.[citation needed]

On 28 January the castle gates were opened for Henry and he was allowed to enter. Contemporary accounts report that he knelt before Pope Gregory and begged his forgiveness. Gregory absolved Henry and invited him back into the Church. That evening, Gregory, Henry, and Matilda of Tuscany (owner of the castle) shared communion in the chapel of Sant'Apollonio inside the castle, signaling the official end of Henry's excommunication.[2]

Henry quickly returned to his empire, but Gregory remained with Matilda at the castle and in other locations in Tuscany for several months. Later historians speculated upon a romantic or sexual relationship between the two, yet without any evidence. The accusation was sometimes raised by Protestant historians in the 17th century.[3]

Historical impact[edit]
The immediate effects of the Canossa meeting were limited. Although Henry was restored to the Church, any expectations that the Pope would restore support of Henry's right to the throne were soon dashed:[4] in March, a small group of powerful Saxon and South German territorial magnates, including the archbishops of Salzburg, Mainz and Magdeburg and several bishops, met at Forchheim and, on the assumption that Henry had irretrievably lost the imperial dignity, repudiated the Salian dynasty's claim to pass the imperial crown by heredity and, in the words of Bruno of Merseburg, present in his bishop's entourage, declared "that the son of a king, even if he should be preeminently worthy, should become king by a spontaneous election". The Pope confirmed the agreement.[5] His deposition still in effect, Henry was forced into civil war with Duke Rudolph of Swabia. Gregory levied a second excommunication against Henry, who ultimately won the civil war, invaded Rome, and forced Gregory to flee, replacing him with Antipope Clement III.[6]

The meaning in the greater history of Germany and Europe, however, was much more significant. During the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, Henry was exalted as a defender of the rights of both Catholics and opponents of the Pope. Many German Lutherans considered him the "first Protestant" and looked to his example for guidance in their struggle against what they saw as a tyrannical and unjust institution.[citation needed]