Canossa

American  

[kuh-nos-uh, kah-naws-sah] / kəˈnɒs ə, kɑˈnɔs sɑ /

noun

1. a ruined castle in N Italy: scene of the penance of Emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire before Pope Gregory VII in 1077.

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idioms

1. go to Canossa, to humble oneself.

Canossa British  

/ kaˈnossa, kəˈnɒsə /

noun

1. a ruined castle in N Italy, in Emilia near Reggio nell'Emilia: scene of the penance done by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV before Pope Gregory VII

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Example Sentences

Hence the pilgrimage to the diner in Iowa is a form of penance, like the road to Canossa in medieval times.

From Salon • May 20, 2023

Drawing from endless documents about King Henry’s visit to Canossa, ChatGPT might well make the same mistake.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2023

Remembering the 6,000,000 Jews exterminated by Hitler, the Jerusalem Post commented: "There is no Canossa where Germans can perform penance except that reared by their own conscience."

From Time Magazine Archive

To some disinterested observers, the warnings about damnation seemed rather medieval, like a penitent monarch shivering in the cold at Canossa.

From Time Magazine Archive

He crossed the Alps with his wife and one or two servants, in midwinter, and came to the fortress of Canossa, near Parma, a stronghold belonging to the Countess Matilda, whither Gregory had gone.

From A Short History of Italy (476-1900) by Sedgwick, Henry Dwight