by Nene Adams ©1999 - All rights reserved

Petre pater patrum papissae prodito partum.

You may be wondering: just what the heck is Pope Joan doing in a series of essays about women warriors? Did she smite a smarmy cardinal with a miter on one of her less-than-fresh days? Not exactly. First of all, Pope Joan is a LEGEND. Her story, which I'll relate to you in a moment, is NOT - let me repeat that for the cheap seats - NOT based in historical fact.

However, the thought that a woman could occupy the throne of Peter and basically head the most powerful organization in history is certainly a provocative one. Her legend has been told and re-told throughout the centuries; the story of Pope Joan was even used as a propaganda instrument by the Protestant Reformation movement. Therefore, since this legend embodies the attributes we have come to associate with the Amazon spirit - mainly the courage to step away from the accepted women's roles and shatter convention, bravely standing by one's convictions and to hell with the social norm  - we're going to examine this legend in detail, both the arguments for her existence (yes, there are some) and the historical proofs against.

First, let's have the legend in all its glory. Or one version of it, anyway, taken from the third recension of the chronicle of Martin of Troppau, also named Martinus Polonus.

After Pope Leo IV's reign (847-855 A.D.) and subsequent demise, one Englishman named John of Mainz (Johannes Anglicus) was elected to the papal seat and reigned for two years, seven months and four days. This Pope John VIII was actually a woman named Joan (or Agnes, Gilberta or Jutta depending on the source - but Joan became the standard in the 14th century. Before that, many of the legends recounting a female popess did not mention a specific name for the impostor). This brilliant and extremely talented woman was educated in Athens and lived with her lover - who dressed Joan in male clothing (a fairly kinky twist to a relationship in that time period, but hey, different strokes for different folks).

Joan made such extraordinary progress in her studies that she quickly outstripped her peers. She went to Rome - still in drag - and taught science, gaining the attention of the literati and the intelligentsia of that city, who were, of course, all male. The details of her meteoric rise to the papacy are unrecounted, but when Leo IV joined the Choir Eternal, Joan stepped onto the throne of Peter and into history.

Alas! Joan was indiscreet and her high level of intelligence was unable to protect her from her own biological clock. She became pregnant by one of her attendants but managed to hide it for a while. Nature will take its course, however. Joan gave birth to a child during a procession from St. Peter's to the Lateran, somewhere between the Coliseum and St. Clement's. Supposedly, papal processions make a detour to avoid this section of road and the practice continues to this day.

Martinus tells us that Joan expired on the spot and was buried there. In another version, this time by a Dominican chronicler, Etienne de Bourbon (Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost), after the birth Joan was tied to the tail of her horse, dragged around the city, stoned to death by the mob and buried at the place where she had died. In yet another variation (Universal Chronicle of Metz and Mirabilia Urbis Romae), the pregnant popess had a vision in which she was offered a choice between temporal disgrace or eternal punishment; after choosing the former, Joan ended her days in confinement in the open street.

In yet another variation (this time, it's Martinus again), Joan was deposed and did penance for many years. Her bastard son became Bishop of Ostia and, following Joan's death, had her interred there.

At any rate, the Catholic Church in the 14th and 15th centuries did accept Pope Joan as an historical figure whose existence was not in doubt - mainly due to the 13th century work of good old Martin of Troppau/Martinus Polonus, a Dominican who gave this popess a name that finally stuck. Martinus lived at the Curia as papal chaplain and penitentiary until he died in 1278. His papal history was widely read and through his writing efforts, the tale became generally accepted as fact rather than fancy.

How widely did the Church accept the existence of an embarrassing popess?

In the Siena Cathedral, a bust of Pope Joan resided among the other popes until Clement VIII in 1601 had it transformed into "Pope Zacharias." After thoroughly searching the papal records in 1276, Pope John XX changed his title to Pope John XXI in recognition of Joan's reign. For three hundred years, the story of Pope Joan was included in the Church's official pilgrim's guidebook to Rome.

Now you've gotten to know the legend. Let's examine the facts.

Pope Joan's reign is placed by Martinus between the reigns of Leo IV and Benedict III. Leo IV died on July 17, 855 and, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, was immediately followed by his successor, Benedict III. However, owing to the presence of an anti-pope (the deposed and excommunicated Cardinal Anastasius), Benedict was not consecrated until September 29, 855.

Coins have been found which clearly depict Benedict III and Emperor Lothair, who died on September 28, 855 - therefore, Benedict must have been recognized as Pope before that date. Furthermore, on October 7, 855, Benedict III issued a charter for the Abbey of Corvey. Then there's Hinemar, the Archbishop of Reims, who sent a messenger to Leo IV. This messenger learned of Leo's death on the way and therefore gave the petition he carried to Benedict.

Hmmm... I don't see a gap of more than two years there, do you?

Another piece of "evidence" for Joan's existence that has been cited has to do with a well documented trial for heresy which took place in 1413. Jan Hus was being tried for preaching the doctrine that the Pope was fallible (gasp!). In defending himself, Hus cited many examples of Popes who had sinned or committed crimes against the Church. His accusations were gone over in minute detail by his judges, who labeled them blasphemy.

However, Hus' statement that "many times have the Popes fallen into sin and error; for instance, when Joan was elected Pope, who was a woman" was not disputed by any of the 28 cardinals, four patriarchs, 30 metropolitans, 206 bishops and 440 theologians who were present, nor was he charged with blasphemy or lying on this one charge.

Okay, it's circumstantial at best, however if you recall, I did say earlier that Pope Joan's existence was NOT disputed by the Catholic Church in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Beginning in the 16th century, Catholic historians began to deny the existence of Pope Joan, including Pavinio, Aventinus, Baronius and others. But before you start shouting "cover up!" and formulating conspiracy theories, let me go on to say that it wasn't just the Catholics who were debunking Joan. The French Protestant historian, David Blondel (1590-1655) published studies on the mythic nature of this story in Holland in 1647 and 1657; he hypothesized that Pope Joan's legend may have come from a satire on Pope John XI.

There have been many theories as to the origins of the Pope Joan story by both Catholic and Protestant historians. However, it is true that during the Protestant Reformation in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, the legend of the popess added fuel to the anti-Rome fires when she was held up as an illustration of how corrupt the Church had become. After the 18th century, the myth began to lose credibility. A few 19th century Protestant zealots, including Kist (1843), Suden (1831) and Andrea (1866) attempted to revive the Pope Joan controversy but by this time, most serious historians recognized that there just wasn't any documented truth behind the legend.

An interesting theory found in Larousse's Dictionary of World Folklore is that the Pope Joan story is a actually a satire on the influential female senator Marozia who held office in 10th century Rome.

So just who the heck was Pope Joan?

A legendary woman with enough brains and will power to aspire to the highest and most powerful seat in Europe. A woman who did not allow the restrictive customs of the day to hold her back from achieving her goal. A woman who successfully fooled the most learned men of her day and pulled off the greatest scam in history.

Okay, she didn't really exist, but that doesn't mean we can't still admire this mythic figure and allow her to inspire us with a small dose of her intelligence, determination and the sheer chutzpah it took to succeed where so many men before her had failed. She got what she wanted, not through force of arms, but through cleverness and brain power.

All in all, not a terribly bad role model... wouldn't you agree?

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