Pope Joan

*Includes pictures *Includes medieval and modern accounts of Pope Joan's story *Looks at the different theories about Pope Joan's existence *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves." - Mary Shelley The Middle Ages in Europe were some of the most precarious centuries in recorded history, bristling with war, excitement, and chaos. The Western Roman Empire had crumbled, territories were rapidly expanding, and heavy ploughs, hourglasses, spectacles, tidal mills, and more pioneering inventions were popping up across the continent. It was also a time of extreme prejudice, when women were treated as second-class citizens. Their only purpose in life was to procreate by the dozen. They were confined to their kitchens and barns at home. They could not vote, and most definitely were not allowed to be involved in anything with the word "office" in its title. What was worse, only a handful of these women would succeed in hauling themselves out of the trenches, as females were not allowed an education. Given this context, there have always been stories about women who broke the mold somehow, and of all the mysterious stories passed down over the centuries and chronicled by history's storytellers, one of the most fascinating and hotly contested subjects is Pope Joan, a young woman who was so desperate to squeeze herself out of the status quo that she had done the unthinkable. For decades, she disguised herself as a man, living amongst her oppressors as she paved her way to the papal throne. She would keep up this pretense for more than 2 years until that one fateful day, when it all came unraveling. By the early 13th century, the tale of a female pope who presided over the Catholic Church a few centuries earlier was making its way across Europe. In fact, in Chronica Universalis Mettensis, Jean de Mailly fleshed out a number of details: "Query: Concerning a certain Pope or rather female Pope, who is not set down in the list of popes or Bishops of Rome, because she was a woman who disguised herself as a man and became, by her character and talents, a curial secretary, then a Cardinal and finally Pope. One day, while mounting a horse, she gave birth to a child. Immediately, by Roman justice, she was bound by the feet to a horse's tail and dragged and stoned by the people for half a league, and, where she died, there she was buried, and at the place is written: 'Petre, Pater Patrum, Papisse Prodito Partum' Oh Peter, Father of Fathers, Betray the childbearing of the woman Pope]. At the same time, the four-day fast called the 'fast of the female Pope' was first established." As others took it up and spread it along, the legend of Pope Joan became a gripping tale of bravery and treachery, replete with drama, complete with a mystery lover, surprising twists, and even a cliffhanger. But of course, the overhanging question is whether Pope Joan really existed. Many, including modern historians and the Roman Catholic Church, are quick to dismiss Joan's story as myth, but others beg to differ and believe in the actual historical existence of a woman who would inevitably be one of the Church's most groundbreaking popes. Pope Joan: The Indestructible Legend of the Catholic Church's First and Only Female Pontiff looks at the riveting story of Pope Joan, including an examination of all the various theories regarding the legend's veracity. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Pope Joan like never before.