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Pope Joan (Ioannes Anglicus, 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years [1] during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe.
- Who Was Pope Joan?
- The First Mentions of Pope Joan
- Additional Retellings
- Acceptance as Belief
- Reexaminations of The Legend
- Modern Thoughts
- Pope Joan in Fiction
There are many versions of this story, and many inconsistencies exist. The most common retelling involves a woman who went under the moniker of John Anglicus. The woman reportedly came from the German city of Mainz. However, some say that she was of English descent, spending time in Mainz before entering the Church. Either way, she supposedly rose ...
Legend says that the Church went above and beyond to bury every shred of evidence that Pope Joan existed. It wasn’t until several centuries later that Joan’s story first came to light. The first recorded mention of the woman pope was by Jean de Mailly in the 13th century. Jean de Mailly was a member of the Dominicans. In “Chronica Universalis Mette...
While Jean de Mailly put Pope Joan back into the limelight, her story didn’t gain prominence until later retellings. French Dominican, Stephen of Bourbon, included the story of Pope Joan in “De Septem Donis Spiritu Sancti.” Also known as “Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost,” this work was picked up and retold several times during the 13th century. The t...
From the 13th century to the 15th century, the story of Pope Joan was regarded as fact. Johanna was used as a moral anecdote in Dominican preaching. At the behest of Pope Sixtus IV, Bartolomeo Platina put the story in the Vatican library. During the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, legends of the female pope continued to get attention. She was men...
Questions of authenticity began to arise in the latter half of the 16th century. One of the first to try to deconstruct the legend was Florimond de Raemond, a French jurist. The more he analyzed texts and historical recounts, the more the story fell apart. At the start of the 17th century, Pope Clement VIIIoutright declared the story untrue. With t...
Today, the general consensus is that Pope Joan did not exist. The real Pope John VIII ruled between 872 and 882. However, a lack of reliable records during the Dark Ages led to some confusion that might have forged the path for the story to spiral. The same applies to the confusing numbering system of all Popes with the John moniker. There’s no evi...
Whether or not Pope Joan truly existed is still in question. But one thing we do know is that her tale is fascinating. It’s a scandalous story that many artists used as inspiration for their own works. She was the subject of plays by Ludwig Achim von Arnim, Bertolt Brecht, and more. A historical romance by Donna Woolfolk Cross became a German music...
Almost one thousand years ago, a woman who, disguised as a man, allegedly rose to the highest ranks of the Catholic Church. However, the accounts of this event have been the focus of intense study, with the authenticity of this story the subject of heated debate among historians.
Pope Joan, legendary female pontiff who supposedly reigned for more than 25 months, from 855 to 858, under the title of John VIII. It has subsequently been proved that a gap of only a few weeks fell between Pope Leo IV and Pope Benedict III and that the story is entirely apocryphal.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jun 10, 2015 · After distinguishing herself as a scholar, she rose through the church ranks and was elected Pope John VIII in the year 855.
As recently as 2018, an archaeologist studying papal monograms on medieval coins said they found evidence in these of a real Pope Joan reigning around 856 AD. There's lots of conflicting evidence but legend states Pope Joan sat during the 9th century.
Oct 31, 2017 · For hundreds of years, many people, both devout Catholics and conspiracy theorists alike, believed that Pope John VIII, who served in the 9th century, was actually a woman named Joan. Word of Pope Joan first appeared in the 13th century and spread widely throughout Europe.
