Pope Joan

“Pope Joan is a legendary female Pope who supposedly reigned for a few years some time in the Middle Ages. The story first appeared in the writings of 13th-century chroniclers, and subsequently spread through Europe. It was widely believed for centuries, though modern historians and religious scholars consider it fictitious, perhaps deriving from historicized folklore regarding Roman monuments or from anti-papal satire.

The first mention of the female pope appears in the chronicle of Jean Pierier de Mailly, but the most popular and influential version was that interpolated into Martin of Troppau's Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum somewhat later in the 13th century. Most versions say that she was a talented and learned woman who disguised herself as a man, often at the behest of a lover. Due to her abilities she rises through the church hierarchy, eventually being chosen as pope. However, while riding on horseback one day, she gives birth to a child, thus revealing her sex. In most versions she dies shortly after, either by being killed by an angry mob, or from natural causes, and her memory is shunned by her successors.”

“Book review: ‘Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy,’ by John Julius Norwich

 By DAVID WALTON

 

Published Aug 19, 2011 8:07 PM

“After nearly two thousand years of existence, the Papacy is the oldest continuing absolute monarchy in the world,” writes British historian John Julius Norwich at the start of his very readable and rewardingAbsolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy.””