The Legend of Pope Joan
© Michelle Munro
As a child, Joan showed a high level of intelligence. By the time she was twelve, her parents had decided that she needed a formal education. During a time when females had no rights as far as learning, they encouraged their daughter to dress like a boy so she could attend the Benedictine Monestary in Fulda.
Calling herself John Anglicus, Joan was quickly accepted by her peers. She excelled in her studies and a few years later travelled with a teacher to Athens where she studied the liberal arts. She remained in Athens until her teacher died, then moved to Rome after taking a position at the Trivium. In Rome, she became well-known through her work with the poor.
Joan spent the next several years working her way up the ladder of the Catholic Church. In 856, she was unanimously elected Pope. Using the name Pope John VIII, she proved herself quite capable in the position. In her free time, she used her musical gifts to compose many religous compositions.
Two years after being elected Joan became pregnant, supposedly by one of her cardinals. She kept the pregnancy a secret, but during a ceremonial procession down the Via Sacra something went wrong. She went into early labor and delivered a baby boy in the middle of the street. Her identity was revealed.
There are two versions of what happened next. The first, and most gruesome, says that after the birth her feet were tied to the hooves of her horse and she was dragged to her death. The baby was also murdered. The other version says she received a vision from God in which he gave her the choice of being discovered and shunned by the world or of spending the rest of eternity in hell. She chose to suffer on Earth. She was immediately deposed from the papacy and entered a convent where she did years of pennance. Her son went on to become the Bishop of Ostia.
Whether or not there ever was a Pope Joan may never be certain. Although there are over five hundred ancient manuscripts containing accounts of her papacy, they did not appear until centuries after her supposed reign. During the Counter-Reformation of the 17th century, the Catholic Church seized hundreds of books and manuscripts in an effort to destroy all records mentioning Joan. The entire collection of her musical compositions was also destroyed. Were they trying to hide something or simply trying to put a stop to a rumor that had become an embarrassment to the Church?
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