The Woman of Canossa Castle

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1:20Dana Schwartz:Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim & Mild from Aaron Menke. Listener discretion advised. It's January 1077, a season noted by chroniclers as the coldest winter Europe has seen in years. An entourage of about 50 travelers is making a treacherous journey across the Swiss Alps, from Germany to northern Italy. When they finally arrive at their destination, they are made to wait outside the castle's doors, potentially in a blizzard, depending on your source. The group's leader is barefoot and wearing a sillis, a traditional garment of pennants made of uncomfortable animal hair.

2:09This humiliating ordeal continues for three days before the castle gates are finally opened and the man leading the entourage is let inside. It's a dramatic scene for any story, but it becomes far more remarkable when I tell you that the man who humbled himself by waiting three days in the snow was Henry IV, king of Germany, king of Italy, and future Holy Roman Emperor. The man he was waiting on, meanwhile, was Pope Gregory VII. This meeting at Canossa Castle was a key moment in a conflict now known as the Investiture Controversy, which pitted the reformist papacy against the traditional monarchy.

2:58Building tensions came to a head in 1076 when Pope Gregory had excommunicated Henry and refused to recognize him as the German king. Thus, Henry made the crossing from Germany to Italy in order to humble himself, where the Pope was staying at the Castle of Canossa under the protection of the castle's lord, Matilda of Tuscany. Matilda was one of the most important governing figures in the Italian Middle Ages, and one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages at large. She is best remembered for her role as the host, mediator, and shirty of this famous meeting at Canossa. The importance of her role, however, has often been diminished or erased entirely at different points in history.

3:53Even less popular in scholarly works are her military accomplishments amidst later, different crises. The conflict between King Henry and Pope Gregory at Canossa Castle is considered a key event by historians, representative of a larger shift in the structures of power in the 11th century. As the king fought to preserve his influence, and the pope sought to expand his, members of both institutions had to face a similar anxiety. How, if at all, would women fit into these growing spheres? Would they be a valuable asset, or a force of destruction? In both her lifetime and her legacy, Matilda of Tuscany has been painted as both.

4:51I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Matilda was born into a legacy of power, but the odds were stacked against her inheritance. Born to Boniface of Tuscany and Beatrice of Bar around 1046, she was the youngest of three children. Matilda's ancestor built Canossa Castle, a powerful fortress in northern Italy, about a century before Matilda was born. In that time, the lords of Canossa had risen from lesser counts to some of the most powerful dukes in Italy. Boniface, in particular, aggressively expanded the family's territorial holdings, making their status and power in the region unmatched by the time he had heirs.

5:45The house maintained strong alliances with the Holy Roman Emperors, while simultaneously patronizing monasteries and churches, paving the way for Matilda's eventual role as a mediator between those factions. It was a series of tragedies that put the youngest daughter in a position to lead the family. First, there was the murder of Matilda's father in 1052, ambushed by an unknown assassin while hunting. Matilda's elder sister died the next year, making Matilda heir apparent after her brother, Frederick, who inherited the family lands and titles under the regency of their mother. While Frederick and Matilda were still children, Beatrice worked shrewdly to ensure both her future and the futures of her children.

6:45Politics were not new to her. She had grown up in the German court as an orphan raised by her aunt, the Empress herself. As regent, she not only maintained the family's extensive holdings, but built up her contacts and influence within the church. Without a husband and her male heir not yet of age, though, Beatrice was vulnerable to having her rule challenged. Her late husband, Boniface, had ensured that his wife and daughter would retain all possessions upon his death, but he could not offer those same protections for the lands and titles due to patriarchal limitations. In a strategic move, Beatrice chose to remarry the delightfully named Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine.

7:44While there were great benefits to this marriage, there were also some major drawbacks. One was that Godfrey the Bearded had long-standing beef over the ownership of Lorraine with Beatrice's cousin, Emperor Henry III. He isn't to be confused with his son, Henry IV, who will return to soon. The joining of Beatrice and Godfrey's considerable territories, though, posed a real risk to this emperor's power. Another problem was that Beatrice did not ask for Henry's permission to marry, which she was required to do by law. As a result, Henry forcibly kept both Beatrice and Matilda in German court for about a year.

8:33They were allowed to return home upon the Emperor's untimely death in 1056. But it was a home without Frederick. Like his father, he had been mysteriously assassinated. Without a living male heir in the Canossa line, Matilda inherited under her mother's guidance. Beatrice appears to have taken great interest in her daughter's political education, and Matilda spent the next decade preparing for the day that she would rule on her own. It was still the 11th century, though, so she would need a husband. Her stepbrother was convenient enough. Godfrey the Bearded had an even more delightfully named son, Godfrey the Hunchback, to whom Matilda was betrothed.

9:25They married shortly after the elder Godfrey's death in 1069, ensuring protection for the Canossa women at the cost of their independence. Within just two years, however, Matilda would gain that independence back. We can't say exactly what caused the marriage to fall apart, but the death of the couple's infant daughter potentially pushed Matilda to leave. Despite the hunchback's numerous attempts to win her back, Matilda made it very clear that they were separated. While the divorce would never be legalized, the two remained separated until Godfrey the Hunchback's death. All the while, Matilda was coming into her own as the head of the family.

10:15The first surviving document of Matilda and Beatrice's joint rule is dated 1072, when Matilda would have been around 26 years old. They began to hold court together, and Matilda was referred to as Countess or Duchess by contemporaries. Matilda also frequented papal councils, and she and her mother built a strong relationship with the new Hope Gregory VII, elected in 1073. One surviving letter of his is addressed, quote, To Matilda, a young woman of excellent worth, greeting, and apostolic blessing. In another letter, he calls her his, quote, While none of Matilda's letters in return survived, we know the strength of Matilda's devotion to Gregory's cause.

11:12At 28, Matilda prepared to command her considerable troops for the first time to aid the Pope's attack on the Normans. While the campaign ultimately fizzled before it began, Matilda and Beatrice attended Gregory's councils of war, and were seen by many, for better and worse, as his strongest allies. The Canossa women were especially important allies to have for the Pope because of their familial ties to the new King of Germany, King Henry IV, who was by this point a young man. Pope Gregory once wrote to an ally, quote, Beatrice and her daughter Matilda, deeply attached to the Roman Church, have been working firmly to unite our will with the kings.

12:04It was a link the Pope desperately needed. His grand plans of reform were not met with enthusiasm by many nobles, and certainly not by King Henry. The reform at the root of the Grand Conflict was the Pope's desire to limit the nobility's ability to appoint church officials, a practice known as investiture. This was a problem because the nobility really liked appointing church officials, as they could install friends in high places or sell the positions to the highest bidder. Before the crisis exploded and the E-word, or excommunication, was thrown around, Matilda had tried hard to put out the spreading fires.

12:56In one particularly wild story, she successfully argued for clemency for a noble who was sentenced to death after insulting the Pope, only for that noble to form a mob, abduct Gregory from his own Christmas Eve mass, and imprison him in a tower. Papal supporters naturally gathered their own mob and freed Pope Gregory, but it was clear that tensions were out of any individual's control, no matter how powerful he or she may be. In the following month of January 1076, a council of Henry's supporters, including a number of bishops loyal to the king, convened in the city of Worms to discuss the Pope Gregory problem.

13:48Among their many grievances with the Pope was women having too much power in his court. They backed up this allegation with a rumor that Gregory and Matilda were not merely allies, but also had a sexual relationship. This rumor may have been fueled by none other than Matilda's estranged husband, the Hunchback, now one of Henry's strongest supporters. The bishops wrote to Pope Gregory, quote, you have filled the entire church with the stench of the gravest of scandals, rising from your intimacy and cohabitation with another's wife who is more closely integrated into your household than necessary.

14:37The general complaint is sounded everywhere that all judgment and decrees are enacted by women in the Apostolic See, and ultimately that the whole orb of the church is administered by this new senate of women." The effect of this accusation was twofold. First, it attempted to force Gregory to distance himself from one of his strongest allies, and second, it painted him as a hypocrite, considering he sought to end clerical marriages and enforce celibacy. Godfrey the Hunchback would not live to see the consequences of his rumor spreading. He was assassinated in February, allegedly while using the latrine.

15:28If you are keeping score, that's three mysterious assassinations so far. There were contemporary rumors that Matilda was behind his death, but those rumors, like the rumors of Matilda having a sexual relationship with the Pope, are unsubstantiated. The council was the final straw for Pope Gregory, who responded by excommunicating King Henry, releasing Christians from their oath of allegiance to the king. This was great news for any German princes looking for an excuse to rebel. Pope Gregory didn't stop there, further cutting off Henry's influence by excommunicating the bishops he had appointed amongst other allies.

16:15By the fall, Henry realized he had underestimated his opponent and overestimated his own power. The German princes declared that if Henry did not reconcile with the papacy within a year and a day of his excommunication, they would depose him. Henry had little choice but to agree to that condition, and he decided that meeting Gregory in person would be better for PR. While Henry was making his plans to travel south, Pope Gregory was already headed north to meet with the German princes. It was Matilda's job to plan his route through her territories and ensure the Pope's protection. While Matilda had been preparing to lead for many years by this point, this was one of the first tests of her independent skill.

17:11Her mother Beatrice had died in April of 1076, I promise, of natural causes. If we dismiss the rumors of Matilda having assassinated her husband, it was actually sheer luck that her mother had died after her husband had, because if Beatrice had gone first, Matilda's estranged husband, the hunchback, could have easily staged a claim to his wife's lands. But as fate would have it, Matilda was now the only living member of the Canossa line at this moment of crisis in the region, and she met the moment with confidence. Pope Gregory wrote to German supporters, quote, We have set out on a journey to you beset by many dangers, against the wish of almost all our advisors except Matilda, that most dear and faithful daughter of Saint Peter.

18:07Matilda successfully delivered the Pope to the meeting place, but the princes never showed. They soon received news of Henry's journey, but it wasn't yet known what his intentions were, and so in order to protect Pope Gregory, Matilda decided they should retreat to Canossa Castle. I've already told you what happened next, but not the details of what happened inside. So, King Henry arrived at Canossa Castle and waited three days in the snow to humble himself. Then, during the meeting between King and Pope, it was Matilda and another woman, Henry's mother-in-law Adelaide of Turin, who mediated the agreement.

18:55Despite the bishop's denouncement of the Pope's quote Senate of Women, both sides relied on their intervention to settle this major crisis. Ultimately, King Henry received absolution. His promise to ensure Gregory's safety had to be sworn by several shirties, but who exactly made up that group is contested. In his original account, Gregory names the abbot Hugh of Cluny, Matilda, Adelaide, and other princes and bishops. However, other contemporaries leave out Matilda and Adelaide from the scene. Local Italian laws, as well as canon law, limited women's ability to act as legal witnesses. Presenting their involvement, therefore, was likely seen as problematic.

19:51This was taken a step further when Pope Gregory would go on to exclude Matilda and Adelaide entirely from later accounts of the events at Canossa. All in all, King Henry's propaganda against Matilda had worked. After this meeting, Gregory publicly distanced himself from his closest ally in order to prevent scandal. While the story of the investiture controversy often ends with the resolution at Canossa, it was far from the real end of Gregory and Henry's conflict, and far from the end of Matilda's involvement. From here, we're going to fast forward a few years. By 1080, Henry found himself excommunicated again.

20:45A contingent of German princes saw Henry's actions at Canossa as a sign of weakness, and they appointed Henry's brother-in-law as their own king. Pope Gregory, despite the reconciliation, took advantage of that rebellion and supported those princes. This time, however, Henry decided who could play at that game, and he proclaimed Pope Gregory illegitimate. He appointed his own anti-pope to act in Gregory's stead. Yes, the Catholic Church officially recognizes this figure as anti-pope Clement III. War naturally broke out. Though Matilda had once again tried to maintain peace between King and Pope, Matilda ultimately pledged her armies to Pope Gregory.

21:39While he does not name her in his letters, we know the pair strategized together. Before they could successfully orchestrate their planned attack on the anti-Pope, Henry's forces attacked Matilda in what is now referred to as the Battle of Volta. We don't know for sure how big either army was, but it's likely that Matilda was both caught by surprise and outnumbered. She suffered a major defeat. The Battle of Volta was one of the first times Matilda's prowess as a commander was tested, and it was a failure. As a consequence, many of her noble allies began to defect. Matilda made a strategic retreat to Canossa and its surrounding territories, where she could not only protect herself, but try to block Henry's eventual return to Germany.

22:35She didn't sit idly by during this time. Instead, she spread Gregorian propaganda throughout Italy that would become important later on. Meanwhile, the king's victory enabled him to march into ally territory and push towards Rome. Matilda's troops slowed his journey but could not prevent it. In 1083, Gregory was forced to retreat, and the next year a council of cardinals and nobles deposed him on grounds of treason. Clement III then consecrated Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, on Easter Sunday, 1084. Emboldened, Henry's allies advanced into Matilda's territory. This time, though, she was prepared. The Knosin charge swept through the Imperial Army's outer defenses, causing a panic and descending into a rout.

23:36Matilda's armies ultimately captured a hundred knights, six major nobles, and the Bishop of Parma. This victory shifted the tide of the war in Italy. As blood was shed on Italian soil, Pope or ex-Pope Gregory died in exile. We do not know how Matilda felt about the loss of her ally, but she remained committed to his cause. As a popular reformist figure, she was asked by abbots to help choose the new pope, but the process was ultimately delayed by over a year. By 1087, Matilda was strong enough to mount an army expedition to Rome. She successfully gained enough control of the city to invite a newly elected reformist pope to celebrate Mass.

24:28But by this point, she was not just a distant commander, but personally leading her troops into the field. In 1091, Matilda and Henry once again met at Canossa, but without a pope, and this time, he was trying to seize her castle and she was trying to defend it. Details on this battle are very scarce, but we know that, somewhat remarkably, an outnumbered Matilda forced Henry to retreat. Her victory appears to have been won by splitting Henry's forces. Matilda fled from Canossa while simultaneously bolstering its forces. He would have to decide between capturing her or her castle. It was ultimately a disastrous defeat for Henry, and in the end, ended his campaign in Italy.

25:23Henry's allies could not believe what had happened, not only because a man of such power had lost, but because he was defeated by a woman. In his anger, one author recorded, quote, quote, Matilda cannot be restrained, being so aroused by female rage that she prefers war to peace. A cardinal was dismayed that Henry had been, quote, overcome by feminine triumph. At the same time, Matilda's supporters recontextualized her warfare in classical feminized language. One poet wrote, quote, Like Penthesilia of the Amazonian race, she ordered and commanded her battle lines. The same poet placed her in the traditions of Judith and Deborah, biblical women who were divinely driven towards violence.

26:24Positive or negative, the focus on Matilda's gender reflects the original anxieties expressed at Worms. What happens when a woman gains great influence? Anxieties were furthered when Henry's own son, Conrad the Crown Prince, defected to the Reformist forces in 1093. Historians believe he was swayed by his dissatisfaction with his father and successful reformist propaganda from figures like Matilda. Or, as Henry's contemporary biographer put it, Conrad, quote,

27:13Conrad came to rely on Matilda for safety after his rebellion, and he wouldn't be the only one. In the following year, Henry's wife, Eupraxia, entered Matilda's protection too. This was allegedly not planned by Eupraxia on her own. Matilda's chronicler claimed Matilda secretly sent a squadron to rescue the queen from Verona. Eupraxia publicly denounced her husband Henry's poor treatment and, quote, perversions in 1095. These alleged abuses included imprisoning her and subjecting her to fornication with other men. Pope Urban endorsed her claims. But it is of note that many modern scholars now view these accusations as propaganda against Henry fabricated by Matilda.

28:09Nonetheless, they further contributed to the collapse of Henry's authority in Italy. The king of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor was once again subjected to public shame and imprisoned for three years. Matilda had won. In the words of one chronicler, the woman mighty in war closes Italy. It was the combined effects of two decades of military strategy and intellectual propaganda that ultimately brought down an emperor. Matilda's conflict with Henry had ended, but she lived and ruled for many more years. At the age of 69, she died of cardiac arrest. Without an heir of her own, she left her land and titles to Henry's son, Henry V.

29:02Thus, the House of Canossa died with her. In the years that followed her passing, the reformist church she helped install would increasingly push women out of public life. Quote,

29:21As the culture shifted, so did history. Women with great power, including Matilda, were left out of records, their experiences erased. It was not until the counter-reformation of the 16th century that public interest in Matilda was revived, with her becoming a symbol of the church's triumph. Even after defeat, she always managed to win in the end. That's the story of Matilda and Kenosa Castle, but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear about what happened to Matilda after she died.

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