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28 January 1077Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

The Investiture Controversy peaks with Henry IV's walk to Canossa

An emperor stands barefoot in the snow to beg a pope's forgiveness

On the timeline · around 28 January 1077 · Feudal Europe Takes ShapeFeudal Europe Takes ShapeChurch, Learning, and LawThe Investiture Controversy peaks with Henry IV's walk to Canossa1000102510501075110011251150

Quick facts

Location
Canossa Castle, Italy
Pope
Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085)
Emperor
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Dispute
Lay investiture of bishops

What happened

Pope Gregory VII, elected in 1073, pushed an aggressive reform agenda insisting that only the pope could appoint bishops and abbots, a direct challenge to the long-standing practice of kings and emperors installing their own clergy, known as lay investiture. In 1075 Gregory demanded secular rulers stop the practice entirely. Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who had installed his own candidates as archbishops that same year, refused, and in January 1076 he convened the Synod of Worms, where he and his bishops renounced Gregory and called for his abdication. Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry, which emboldened German nobles to threaten deposing him. Facing collapse, Henry crossed the Alps in winter and, in January 1077, stood as a penitent outside Gregory's refuge at Canossa for three days before the pope granted him absolution.

Why it matters

Canossa became the era's starkest image of papal power over secular rulers, but it did not resolve the underlying dispute: fighting between empire and papacy continued for decades afterward, including the Great Saxon Revolt against Henry, until a 1122 compromise finally split the appointment of bishops between spiritual and secular authority.

How we know

The dispute and Canossa are documented in the letters of Gregory VII himself, which survive in his Register, and in multiple contemporary chronicles from both the imperial and papal sides.

Sources

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