Pope Joan was supposedly a female Pope who reigned for a few years some time during the Middle Ages. The story first appeared in 13th-century chronicles, [1] and was subsequently spread and embellished throughout Europe. It was widely believed for centuries, though modern church authorities have tried to suppress it, claiming that it derives from historicized folklore regarding Roman monuments or from anti-papal satire. The first mention of the female pope appears in the chronicle of Jean de Mailly, but the most popular and influential version was that interpolated into Martin of Opava's Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum, later in the 13th century. Most versions of her story describe her as a talented and learned woman who disguises herself as a man, often at the behest of a lover. In the most common accounts, due to her abilities, she rises through the church hierarchy, eventually being elected pope. However, while riding on horseback, she gives birth, thus exposing her gender. In most versions, she dies shortly after, either being killed by an angry mob or from natural causes. Her memory is then shunned by her successors.
She sounds like an amazing person to survive the brutal discrimination of the medieval church. I would love to shale her hand.
overlooked again! cant believe it :icon_sad: http://emptyclosets.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=5274&stc=1&d=1363285815
I would tend to regard it as a transgender pope story, rather than a female pope story, anyway. At least potentially. That is a really long-term commitment to living as male.
The Pope was the most powerful person in Europe in those days, the call of power could overpower one's gender identity. In any case, this is likely to be a legend, but strange things have happened in the church's history (like the trial of the dead Formosus), so I would not declare it totally impossible.
Nope, you aren't. When I saw the title, I thought to myself, "oh my god I know she's Jewish but please make it happen somehow". It's a cute story, but that's all it is.
