Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
Person 1073-1085 · about 12 years old · show in timeline

Gregory VII (pope 1073 to 1085): Excommunicated Emperor Henry IV, whom he made do penance at Canossa, and died abandoned in exile at Salerno

Hildebrand was pope as Gregory VII from 1073 to 1085. He excommunicated Henry IV and made him wait as a penitent at Canossa in 1077; the Catholic Encyclopedia describes Henry standing barefoot in ice and snow before the castle, while the Britannica cautions that the scene is embellished by legend. In 1078 he declared consecration by simoniacs void. He died in exile at Salerno after the Romans and many confidants had abandoned him.

Life dates
1073-1085 (about 12 years old)
Country
Germany, Italy
Institutions
Holy See
Category
Persecution
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Henry IV at Canossa, stripped of his royal robes, had to come barefoot through ice and snow to crave admission. The Britannica writes that the occurrence was quickly embellished by legend and much remains uncertain.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Pope St. Gregory VII
    „Henry had to come barefooted mid ice and snow“
    Pope St. Gregory VII, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), Bd. 6, Artikel Pope St. Gregory VII. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Gregory (Popes), Gregory VII.
    „This occurrence was quickly embellished and inwoven by legend“
    Gregory (Popes), in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 12, Artikel Gregory (Popes), Gregory VII.. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. According to the Britannica, his pontificate came to a melancholy close: he died an exile in Salerno, and the Romans and many of his confidants had renounced him.
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Gregory (Popes), Gregory VII.
    „he died an exile in Salerno; the Romans and a number of his most trusted coadjutors had renounced him“
    Gregory (Popes), in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 12, Artikel Gregory (Popes), Gregory VII.. Original

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource): Pope St. Gregory VII, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), Bd. 6, 1 January 1909. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Cambridge University Press (Wikisource): Gregory (Popes), in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 12, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
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Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.