page_title: Road to Canossa
section_title: At the castle
hierarchical_section_title: Road to Canossa / At the castle
caption_attribution_description: English: Henry at the gate of Canossa
context_page_description: The Road to Canossa, sometimes called the Walk to Canossa or Humiliation of Canossa, refers to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV's trek to Canossa Castle, Italy, where Pope Gregory VII was staying as the guest of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany, at the height of the investiture controversy in January 1077 to seek absolution of his excommunication.
  According to contemporary sources, he was forced to supplicate himself on his knees waiting for three days and three nights before the entrance gate of the castle, while a blizzard raged. Indeed, the episode has been described as "one of the most dramatic moments of the Middle Ages". It has also spurred much debate among medieval chroniclers as well as modern historians, who argue about whether the walk was a "brilliant masterstroke" or an embarrassing humiliation.
context_section_description: When Henry reached Matilda's castle, the Pope ordered that he be refused entry. Waiting at the gates, Henry took on the behavior of penance. He wore a hair-shirt, the traditional clothing of monks at the time, and allegedly walked barefoot. Many of his entourage, including the queen Bertha of Savoy and the prince Conrad, also supposedly removed their shoes. According to Lambert of Hersfeld and first-hand accounts of the scene (letters written by both Gregory and Henry in the following years), the king waited by the gate for three full days. Throughout this time, he allegedly wore only his penitent hair-shirt and fasted.
  Finally, 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 shared communion in the chapel of Sant'Apollonio inside the castle, signaling the official end of Henry's excommunication.
  Whether Henry actually did formal repentance has not been conclusively established. In any case, he regained his freedom to act and quickly returned to Germany, while Gregory remained with Matilda at the castle and in other locations in Tuscany for several months.
caption: Henry IV and his entourage at the gate, 19th century depiction
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