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Matilda of Tuscany ( Italian: Matilde di Canossa [maˈtilde di kaˈnɔssa], Latin: Matilda, Mathilda; c. 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as la Gran Contessa ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the ...
- Early Life
- Papal Alliance & The Investiture Controversy
- The Walk to Canossa
- Civil War
- Campaign Against Henry IV
- The First Crusade & Later Years
- Conclusion
Matilda was a descendent of the House of Canossa, a noble family established by her great-grandfather Atto Adalbert of Lucca (d. 988), a 10th-century Lombard military leader from Lucca and vassal to the German kings of Italy. Adalbert and his son Boniface expanded their domain and by 1027, the Canossa family's influence encompassed the counties of ...
Matilda returned to Italy without Godfrey and governed alongside her mother from their court at Mantua and presided over the land despite Godfrey’s inheritance of the domain. Matilda maneuvered over the following years to establish her influence in Italy with aid from her close ally, Hildebrand of Sovana (c. 1015-1085). Matilda had a strong persona...
In early January 1077 CE, Henry IV crossed the Alps into Lombardy with an army escorting him. Matilda and Gregory VII, upon news of his approach, rerouted to Matilda’s castle at Canossa. After arriving shortly before Henry IV, Matilda and Gregory VII watched the penitent Henry arrive at the Canossa’s walls seeking papal absolution. The events that ...
Later in 1077, Matilda relocated to Rome along the Tiber. As civil war engulfed the empire, she and Gregory VII aligned themselves with Rudolf’s rebellious faction of nobles. The pope issued a second excommunication to Henry IV in 1080, to which the German king again denounced the pope citing, among other things, his alleged adulterous transgressio...
Emperor Henry IV returned to Italy in 1090 to silence Pope Urban II and his openly-rebellious vassals, including the insurgent Matilda. Henry’s imperial army marched south, capturing much of Matilda’s Po Valley holdings. Though peace was offered to Matilda by Henry IV, entailing her submission to his authority and to Clement III, she rejected it ou...
In November 1095, at the behest of the Byzantines, Pope Urban II decreed the launch of the First Crusade (1095-1102) to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem from Muslim control. Years earlier, Matilda supported Pope Gregory VII’s advocacy for Christian intervention in the eastern Mediterraneanagainst Muslim influence. The devout Matilda of Canossa ...
Matilda of Canossa died on 24 July 1115. After her death, Henry V claimed her northern Italian possessions, while the Church claimed the Duchy of Tuscany. Some local leaders in her lands, citing Matilda’s release of towns from their feudal obligations, used the vacuum of power to establish a variety of city-states free of both imperial and church c...
- Michael Griffith
Matilda of Canossa (born 1046, Lucca, Tuscany—died July 24, 1115, Bondeno, Romagna) was the countess of Tuscany remembered for her role in the conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman emperor. The climax of this struggle, the confrontation of the emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII in 1077, took place at Matilda’s castle of Canossa.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mar 25, 2017 · Learn about Matilda of Tuscany, a powerful woman who ruled over part of Italy in the 11th century. She supported the papacy against the Holy Roman Emperors, fought in wars, and faced imprisonment and excommunication.
- Jone Johnson Lewis
Sep 2, 2021 · This is the story of Countess Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115), a faithful and fateful woman for the Catholic Church. She is not well known among the faithful today, and that is a shame, because history records few more loyal friends of the papacy. The story starts with the monk Hildebrand, one of the most influential and fascinating individuals ...
May 29, 2018 · Matilda of Tuscany. Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115) was a strong supporter of the papacy during the Investiture Controversy, who mediated at the famous meeting between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV at her ancestral castle of Canossa in 1077. With independence and conviction, Matilda, countess of Tuscany, led an unusual life for a woman ...
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Feb 6, 2017 · Learn about the life and achievements of Matilda of Tuscany, the last heir of the House of Canossa and a powerful ruler in medieval Italy. She fought against Emperor Henry IV, supported Popes Gregory VII and Victor III, and founded many religious institutions.
