Show Pope I Joan Joan Fact Fact or Fiction H Kathryn Jones Faculty Staff Many years ago before any of us were born there lived a woman of particular particular particular par par- wit and breeding This woman who lived in the middle of the thirteenth thirteenth thirteenth thir thir- century dressed as a man taught science in Rome occupied the papal chair for two years seven months and four days and bore a child opening forever more all eyes to her secret life The New Advent a Catholic Encyclopedia of Pope Joan shares three variations of this so called fable with similar elements of woman man Pope child and ultimate death The first version does not give Joan a name however it does say she was a avery avery very talented woman dressed as a aman aman aman man who became the Pope One day while on horseback she gave birth to a son When discovered she was bound to the tail of a horse dragged around the city stoned to death by the mob and buried at the place where she died In the second version of the story Joan began her days as Pope John of Mainz The story goes that as a girl she was brought to Athens in male clothes by her lover and there made such progress in learning that no one was her equal When she arrived in Rome she taught science and gained attention from learned men Respect for her knowledge grew and she was chosen as Pope Unfortunately she gave birth to toa toa toa a child during a procession from St. St Peters Peter's tn to th the I T and Inn died almost t immediately In later versions Joan does penance for many years Her son becomes Bishop of Ostia or she has a girl named Agnes or Gilberta and ultimately dies in an open street The arguments for and against the Pope Joan legend are too numerous to mention but lets let's focus on a few Ranulph Higden a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of St. St and probably the librarian spoke of the actuality of Pope Joan in 1327 The original manuscript is said to rest in the Huntington Library in California a. a Other sources including that than of Thomas Harding an English Catholic in the suggests that in various writings he has read those recording recite an exact row and order of 91 I r r 3 r t r rAy Ay 1 fx r v PY J it r sf i ic l c 0 f J J C 4 Q r 3 i t J 1 c C Cco m co 4 Q c. c Y E IJ A L The legend of Pope Joan is considered by many a fairy tale and by most an popes and make no mention at all of this woman Pope Joan According to Donna Woolfolk Cross author of the book Pope Joan published published published pub pub- in 1996 There are more than ancient manuscripts containing accounts of Joans Joan's papacy Cross suggests suggests suggests sug sug- reading her book to discover the truth though she gives a maybe as asher asher asher her final answer on what she truly believes herself Perhaps the origin of the tale has less to do with the truth and more to todo todo todo do with the talk among Protestants during the Reformation What better r way to see the Papacy as preposterous Just carve out a story about a woman woman- turned Pope Was Vas the purpose of the story of Pope Joan originally meant to be shared as a lesson A lesson about women and the roles meant exclusively for men Or is this thought bred only out of current- current day thoughts and opinions What about the street in Rome called the Via Sacra or Sacred Road now the Via S. S Giovanni on which Joan was reported report report- ed to have given birth to the child What of the statue that stood in the Cathedral of Siena until 1601 when it mysteriously changed into a bust of Pope Zacharias What of any of this Perhaps nothing perhaps everything Perhaps like the woman of years ago off her fort a 1 Popes Pope's red r robe oe f g worthy enough to remember in inthe the story of a woman turned Pope whether we believe the truth of the story or or not |