Canossa

Canossa is a former castle of Matilda, Countess of Tuscany, situated in the foothills of the Apennines, in the province of Reggio Emilia and about eighteen miles from Parma.

Related Topics:
Matilda, Countess of Tuscany - Apennines - Province of Reggio Emilia - Parma

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Going to Canossa is a term coined from European history, referring to a ruler's show of submission to win favor from the Pope. It originates in the story of Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII (see below). It was a practice that illustrated the church's monopoly on legitimacy and the power of the Pope.

Related Topics:
Europe - Pope - Henry IV - Pope Gregory VII

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One of the most dramatic moments in the history of the western church came when Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV knelt in the snow at Canossa in 1077 and begged Pope Gregory VII to lift the ban of excommunication. The pope had prohibited lay control over the placing of clergy in the church (particularly the investiture of bishops) and, by securing the forgiveness of Pope Gregory VII, the emperor was also securing the imperial power that had been jeopardized by his excommunication.

Related Topics:
Holy Roman Emperor - Henry IV - 1077 - Gregory VII - Investiture

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The end of the need for European rulers to go to Canossa is best displayed by Napoleon, who crowned himself to show he did not need the church's authority to rule. During the Kulturkampf of the 1870s in Germany, Otto von Bismarck declared that he would not go to Canossa.

Related Topics:
Napoleon - Kulturkampf - 1870s - Germany - Otto von Bismarck

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