The ninth century Pope John VIII was brilliant, kind, musically talented ….. and female. Well, probably not, but that’s what some historians say — and others think it is pure myth.
The object of this blog is not to tell you what to believe. Here’s the story — it’s up to you to believe…. or not.
The story is about Pope Joan — yep, Joan, not John. According to legend, Pope Joan served as pope during the middle ages.
Although the story of the female pope has several versions, here’s how it usually goes. An English woman named Joan ( or Jeanne) resented the fact that she wasn’t allowed to get an education. At the time, book-learning was thought to be unnecessary, and even harmful, for a woman. So Joan disguised herself as a man — probably a monk — and called herself John English (in some versions of the story, John of Mainz.)
She went to Athens to study, where she impressed everyone with her scholarship.After her studies, she moved to Rome, where she taught science, became a secretary in the Curia (the central administration arm of the Roman Catholic Church,) and eventually was made a cardinal. Once again, her abilities attracted the attention of scholars — and — her conduct was also considered flawless.
So Joan, still in disguise, was elected pope. Over the next two years, five months, and four days, she handled the position very well. But then, she gave herself away — during a solemn procession through the streets of Rome, the pope got down from her horse — and — gave birth to a child, then and there.
Now here’s where the story diverges…. some versions say she died in childbirth or soon afterward. Others say a furious mob tied her to the tail of a horse, dragged her through the city, and finally stoned her to death. And another version has her immediately deposed as pope, but living out a long life, and doing penance — lots of penance. Some versions say her son grew up to be a bishop.
A female pope was first mentioned during the ninth century by a historian called Anatasius the Librarian. Actually, Joan’s name turns up in some early lists of the popes. Several versions of the story were written down by Dominican record keepers during the 13th century. In a report written by Martin of Troppau, a Dominican friar from Poland, in 1265 named names, gave deaths, and placed Joan’s papacy in the 9th century. Since he’d served in the Curia as chaplain to a pope, his story was widely believed.
So was Joan real? Probably not. Does it matter? Probably not. Maybe the story tells us something important about the attitudes toward sex and gender back in the middle ages.
It’s generally agreed that Joan didn’t exist. According to Vatican records — and there are a lot of them — all the popes are accounted for and there’s no Joan among them. The John VIII that their records list has a very complete biography — he was born in Rome, served as pope from 872 to 882, involved himself heavily in politics, bribed the Saracens to keep them from invading Rome, and was assassinated by his own relatives. A story about him would make a pretty good “pope story” — but I don’t think it could top Joan’s story.
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