Walk to Canossa
He was the son of Count Markwart of Eppenstein (d. 1076) and his wife Liutbirg of Plain, the younger brother of Liutold of Eppenstein, who was enfeoffed with the Carinthian duchy after the deposition of the Zähringen duke Berthold by King Henry IV of Germany in 1077. Both brothers had been loyal allies of the king during the fierce Investiture Controversy and the Walk to Canossa. When the princes elected Rudolf of Rheinfelden anti-king, the Eppensteins ensured King Henry's safe passage back to Germany.