Introduction
The medieval time period is generally understood to extend from the fifth century to the fifteenth century, leading into the Renaissance period. Ask anyone on the streets what defines the medieval period, and people might respond: “Kings, queens, knights, and dragons, right?”; “Everyone died from the Black Plague”; or “Women were forced to wear chastity belts.” Some of these statements are true, others are false, or are a mixture of the two. Medievalism is art, literature, and film that is inspired by the medieval period and takes creative license with medieval tropes. This genre revitalizes medieval myths and presents to modern audiences these lies as truth, recreating the reality of the medieval society and our society. These myths have a lasting impression on people and can leave the audience with misconceptions about the advancement of civilization or a deeper understanding of society through a medieval allegory. Medieval myths inspire us centuries beyond their existence.
A few medieval myths submerged by time resurfaced in recent years with the help of popular books and films. One of these myths is the myth of Pope Joan: a ninth century papess. Widely believed to be real in the medieval period, people began doubting her existence during the Renaissance and since then been disproved. Yet her influence remains. Initially, the story of Pope Joan hints to anti-Catholic propaganda and misogynistic tones with her violent death and the promise of never having a popess again; while not able to agree how she dies, all versions of the tale do include the pope and his party avoiding the street where Pope Joan gave birth and the pope required to sit on a special seat, so a church member may grope the pope’s testicles to confirm his manhood. Coming from a darker origin, the papess’ legacy supersedes the original tale and is twisted into a romantic legend filled with a whirlwind romance and divine knowledge. I contest that out of the contortions made, Pope Joan survives today as a positive role model through the reinvention of her myth and the emblem she becomes.
The Myth of Pope Joan
Before becoming a modern heroin, Pope Joan’s story starts in 855-857 A.D. She was believed throughout the medieval period (typically about the thirteenth century) to be the first female pope who ruled in the ninth century after the death of Leo IV and before Benedict III. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Popes, “The story first appears, between 1240 and 1250, in the Universal Chronicle of Metz attributed to the Dominican Jean de Mailly, according to which Victor III (d. 1087) was succeeded by a talented woman who, disguised as a man, had worked her way up in the curia as a notary, and had eventually been promoted cardinal”1. The Oxford Dictionary recalls the myth, writing, “She was betrayed when, mounting her horse, she gave birth to a child, and was ignominiously tied to a horse’s tail, dragged round the city, and then stoned to death”2. Although a widely popularized ending of the myth, other versions say she died during childbirth or that she was later killed by her son. Therefore, the birth of Pope Joan is one of pain and deception. Oxford Dictionary of Popes goes on to say that influential figures, like Petrarch and Boccaccio, reiterated her story, and it was David Blondel, a French Protestant, who dismissed the tale in Amsterdam treatises published in 1647 and 16573.
In Absolute Monarchs: The History of the Papacy by John Julius Norwich, he attributes another Dominican monk, Martin, as the first writer, and Martin creates the story of an Englishwoman who follows a lover to Athens and becomes well-learned, assumes the identity of John, later becomes pope, and delivers birth in the narrow lane between the Colosseum and St. Clement’s Church; Martin concedes that the pope avoids this street because of the deception, and she was removed from all accounts of papal history to hide the shame4. Norwich holds that the only reason that the Council of Constance does not refute Joan’s existence, more commonly known as Agnes during this time, is because she was so deeply believed real by the people that she was an “undeniable fact”5. Particularly in these stories, the reader can see that a woman ascending as pope is not celebrated. She is seen as being deceitful and deserving of punishment—more often death. The role of pope is one of the holiest positions as the translator of God, and women are seen as unfitting to be the pope because of their roles as deceivers and consorts of the devil. Even in helping create her existence, the stories try to deny her; all tales include later popes turning away from the scene of her birth and death, her being erased from papal history, and a violent or depressing ending for this anonymous woman accredited as Joan.
Two pieces of evidence attest on Pope Joan’s behalf—a surviving chair and multiple accounts of a statue with an elusive inscription. Absolute Monarchs reports a tradition where the pope sits in a marble throne with a key shaped hole in the seat of the chair and is “…felt by the junior cleric present as testimony of his male sex…the person who feels them shouts out in a loud voice, ‘He has testicles!’ And all the clerics present reply, ‘God be praised!’”6. Napoleon’s army took the “chaise percée” and exhibited the chair in the Louvre. Norwich believes that this special throne can be interpreted as a metaphorical birthing chair meant to represent the Mother Church7. This chair mocks the legitimacy of the pope and depicts the Catholic church as ridiculous. Not only does the Catholic church have the embarrassment of a female pope, but they must also grope new popes to assure his male sex.
On topic of the statue, this marble carving of a papess was believed to stand near the narrow street between the Colosseum and St. Clement’s Church where Pope Joan gave birth. Norwich writes that many primary sources do collaborate the existence of a female pope statue but what is depicted is not agreed upon; Theodoric of Niem said there was a marble statue showing childbirth, and Martin Luther described the statue as a woman in a papal cloak holding a child and a scepter inscribed with the phrase “Petre, Pater Patrum, Papisee Prodito Partum,” meaning “O Peter, Father of Fathers, Betray the Childbirth of the Woman Pope”8. The statue no longer exists. Another statue was commissioned of Pope Joan breastfeeding that was supposed to join the consequential series of papal busts in the Cathedral of Siena, but this bust also cannot be found. Had she been real, she would have been a dark spot on the history of the Catholic church, which conveniently provided the protestants with plenty of ammo to mock the Catholic church.
Modern Replications
A devilish woman and embarrassment to the Catholic church finds redemption in the modern world. Pope Joan is invited to the dinner table to celebrate Marlene’s promotion in Caryl Churchill’s famed feminist play Top Girls. This play features an all-female cast with a bizarre opening scene: a dinner party set in the modern century with famous women persecuted by men as the guests. Pope Joan is one of the invited women from history, and her character revels in her power, saying, “I never obeyed anyone. They all obeyed me”9. She joyously recalls the perks of being the pope and even joins in mocking the chaise percée10. However, she also notes that she is a heresey, that God would not talk to her because she was a woman, and “Woman, children, and lunatics can’t be pope”11. Her character embodies all the conflicting interpretations of the myth; she is simultaneously a victim, a religious icon, and a conflicted woman. Pope Joan is also reimagined in a German opera about love and redemption. Her legend serves as continuous inspiration for the theatre.
A more romantic version of Pope Joan is recreated by Donna Woolfolk Cross, which focuses more on the lovers Pope Joan takes in the myth. In this novel, Joan is a brilliant young woman suppressed by the society she lives in. After her brother dies, she assumes his identity and enters school, drawing her toward her destiny in Rome to fall into a forbidden romance with a knight that eventually leads to her fate12. On GoodReads, the book receives a four out of five-star review and is described as “…has all the elements one wants in a historical drama–love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book,” as attributed to the Los Angeles Times Book Review13. This book was adapted into a 2009 film that received a similar rating on an out of five scale on Rotten Tomatoes14. Many reviews appreciate bringing this medieval story to life and sparked interest into the historical accuracy of the works.
Another reincarnation of the Papess makes its way onto tarot cards. There are different understandings of who is on the card, but one interpretation does include Pope Joan. According to the Maria the Medium, The Papess is a card of intuition, inspiration, patience, and stability15. If presented upward, she can also, quite ironically, predict pregnancy, childbirth, and love; however, if The Papess is presented upside down, she presents the danger of isolation16. Papess tarot card moves Joan out of the Catholic church and into the more intimate daily lives of people. One would especially want to receive the upwards Papess if he or she is working on a big project or expecting a large promotion. The tarot card not only scripts its reader’s life but gives an accurate summary of Pope Joan’s life as well.
Conclusion
Pope Joan traveled a long treacherous road to make it to where she is today. Her story entails secrecy, betrayal, violence, and an untimely death. Once she was lecherous and ridiculed, and now she is brave and celebrated. Time treats some myths well. I rejoice in the legacy of Pope Joan and the influence she has despite never existing. Her myth allows women to see themselves in power, as divine interpreters, and as an intelligence worthy of praise. In her own myth, Pope Joan was so intelligent she could not be ignored. Even with her story becoming trivialized like Harlequin romance, she brings life to medieval women in the modern-day.
Notes
1J.N.D Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (New York: Oxford UP, 1986), 329.
2Kelly, 329.
3Kelly, 329.
4John Julius Norwich, Absolute Monarchs: A History of Papacy (New York: Random House, 2011), 63.
5Norwich, 65.
6Norwich, 67.
7Norwich, 68-9.
8Norwich, 65.
9Caryl Churchill, Top Girls (New York: Samuel French Inc., 1982), 33.
10Churchill, 30.
11Churchill, 26.
12“Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross.” Goodreads, last modified June 9, 2009, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27252.Pope_Joan?from_search=true.
13“Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross”
14“Pope Joan (2009).” Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed December 04, 2018. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pope_joan_2009?
15“Interpretation of the Papess Card.” Maria the Medium, last modified July 24, 2018, http://www.the-medium-maria.com/tarology/22-major-arcana-of-tarot/the-papess.html.
16“Interpretation of the Papess Card”
Bibliography
Churchill, Caryl. Top Girls. New York: Samuel French Inc., 1982.
This source was used as an example of one of the modern recreations of the Pope Joan myth. Caryl Churchill is an acclaimed playwright, and this is one of her most well-known plays that features an all-female cast.
“Interpretation of the Papess Card.” Maria the Medium. Last modified July 24, 2018, http://www.the-medium-maria.com/tarology/22-major-arcana-of-tarot/the-papess.html.
Maria the Medium provided a sufficient explanation of The Pappess card. Her interpretation and knowledge matched other sources’ interpretations of the same card.
Kelly, J.N.D. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.
This one is often referred to when researching the history of Pope Joan. Oxford Dictionary of Popes details the popes’ lives, deaths, and other political movements of the time. The publishing company lends its legitimacy to the dictionary.
Norwich, John Julius. Absolute Monarchs: A History of Papacy. New York: Random House, 2011.
Norwich proves to be a skeptical reader in his presentation of the myth. He fully believes it to be impossible and maybe even foolish. Despite his bias, he does present a compressive history of the tale and its artifacts.
“Pope Joan (2009).” Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed December 04, 2018. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pope_joan_2009?
This source provided some information on the 2009 adaptation and viewer’s commentary. It gave a brief synopsis and rating of the movie.
“Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross.” Goodreads. Last modified June 9, 2009, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27252.Pope_Joan?from_search=true.
Goodreads summarizes Cross’ novel and gives reader testimonies to accuracy and enjoyment. This book allowed Pope Joan to be more human than her other incarnations.
Game(s) of Thrones: Medieval Mythologies Project 