Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, disguised as a pilgrim, obtains the pardon of Pope Gregory VII beneath the walls of Canossa Castle. Indeed, at the Diet of Worms, Pope Gregory VII was deposed and slandered; subsequently, the German princes, seeking to reduce the emperor’s power, sided with the Pope. After excommunicating the emperor, the Pope set out for Germany. The emperor’s arrival prompts him to seek refuge in the castle of his trusted Countess Matilda of Canossa, where the emperor will ask for forgiveness. Thus, the brief harmony that had united Otto III and Sylvester II in the year 1000 is shattered.
