Image: Bertha of Savoy, the Holy Roman Empress, was dong a penance barefoot

Description: In the winter of 1077, the queen Bertha of Savoy, the later Holy Roman Empress, joined the penance by which her excommunicated husband Henry IV begged for forgiveness from Pope Gregory VII before the gate of the castle Canossa. As her husband did, the queen removed her shoes and stood barefoot in the snow despite the great humiliation, showing her touching support to her husband. While the Pope made them await outside for 3 days before he accepted the surrender of Henry IV.
Title: Bertha of Savoy, the Holy Roman Empress, was dong a penance barefoot
Credit: Digitized from a woodcut on sig. u2v (p. 232) of John Foxe, Actes and Monuments (London: John Day, 1570). Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, The Ohio State University Libraries, BR1600 .F6 1570 c.1 Rare Oversize.
Author: John Foxe
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
License: CC0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
Attribution Required?: No