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According to the Vatican's records, there have been more than 260 popes—and all of them men. There is, however, a story dating back to medieval times that makes reference to a female pope known as Pope Joan. Legend has it that Joan disguised herself as a man so that she could become the pontiff, but her secret was reveled after she spontaneously gave birth during a procession.
But how much do we even know about Pope Joan? In this gallery, we delve into the her story. Click on to learn all about the legend(ary) female pontiff.
Pope Joan was supposedly a female pontiff who reigned between 855 and 858.
According to some accounts, Johannes Angelicus was born in Mainz, German, but moved to England as a young child, so she’s often referred to as an Englishwoman.
Joan supposedly fell in love with an English Benedictine monk and traveled to Athens with him, where she studied. To do so, she disguised herself as a man.
Joan then moved to Rome and rose through the Church ranks, going from notary to the Curia, to cardinal, before finally reigning as pope (or "papessa").
According to the legend, it was not until 858 that Pope Joan's identity as a woman was revealed.
This happened after Pope Joan unexpectedly went into labor during a procession.
Some accounts say Joan died while giving birth, while others say she was dragged by a horse and stoned in public humiliation, before being executed.
The first account of the story dates back to a 13th-century text by Dominican chronicler Jean de Mailly.
The story was then adopted by French Dominican Stephen of Bourbon in the13th-century text De septem donis Spiritu Sancti ('On the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit').
The first accounts of the story did not name the female pope. The legend only made reference to a woman who dressed as a man and became a pope. The sex of the pope was then revealed when she gave birth during a procession, followed by her death.
According to the chronicle of Martin of Troppau (aka Martin of Opava or Martinus Polonus), Chronicon pontificum et imperatorum, there is an alternative version of Pope Joan’s fate.
According to one of the manuscripts, after the revelation Joan was confined and deposed, but did not die until many years later.
And according to one version of the story, Pope Joan’s son became Bishop of Ostia.
Other versions of the story exist, with some even claiming that the female pope’s birth name was Agnes or Gilberta.
References to the Pope Joan story can be found in several literary works, including those of the Benedictine chronicler Ranulf Higden and the Italian humanists Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio (pictured).
The story of Pope Joan was accepted as a fact during the 14th and 15th centuries, including by the Council of Constance in 1415.
By the 16th century, both scholars and Catholic historians started to dismiss the story as fiction.
Then, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the story was used by Protestants as a satirical attack on the Catholic Church and the papacy.
The story survived until the 19th century, when some Protestants attempted to prove the historical existence of Pope Joan in an attempt to attack Catholicism, but to no avail.
One piece of evidence often used to prove the theory that Pope Joan was never real is simply the fact that there is no record of her among the papal histories from the 10th to the 13th centuries.
Pope Joan reportedly reigned between Leo IV and Benedict III. However Benedict III was immediately elected after Leo IV died on July 17, 855, leaving no room in between for the alleged pope to rule.
So, where does the story come from? One theory points to the legend being brought from Constantinople to Rome.
A letter from Leo IX to the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael I Cerularius mentions the pope’s indignation in learning that “the Church of Constantinople had already seen eunuchs, indeed even a woman, in its episcopal chair.”
Another theory points to a reference to the “effeminate weaknesses” of Pope John VIII (872-82) in dealing with the Greeks.
The degradation of the papacy in the 10th century is also mentioned as a possible root of the story, including a satire on John IX. This pope allegedly had mistresses, so there was a female influence on the papacy during that period.
Other theories link the roots of the legend to the false prophetess Theota.
The legend of the female pope may simply have its roots in a local Roman folktale.
The search for historical evidence has continued in the 21st century. Research conducted in 2018 by archaeologist Michael E. Habicht suggests that Pope John VIII had two distinct monograms. Habicht argues that the earlier monogram (856 to 858) belongs to Pope Joan.
The legend of Pope Joan has inspired many fictional works, including novels, plays, video games, and films.
Sources: (Britannica) (History) (New Advent) (Catholicity) (Smithsonian)
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According to the Vatican's records, there have been more than 260 popes—and all of them men. There is, however, a story dating back to medieval times that makes reference to a female pope known as Pope Joan. Legend has it that Joan disguised herself as a man so that she could become the pontiff, but her secret was reveled after she spontaneously gave birth during a procession.
But how much do we even know about Pope Joan? In this gallery, we delve into the her story. Click on to learn all about the legend(ary) female pontiff.