Machielsen, Jan  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8492-0263
2025.
The myth of Pope Joan.
Rollo-Koster, Joëlle, Ventresca, Robert A., Eichbauer, Melodie H. and Pattenden, Miles, eds.
The Cambridge History of the Papacy,
Vol. 3.
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press,
pp. 221-245.
(10.1017/9781108662994.010)
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Abstract
During the thirteenth century, stories began to circulate in Rome of the existence of a female pope. What likely began as popular satire was eagerly picked up by monastic chroniclers who had their own axes to grind. For the papacy, the existence of a female pope – most commonly called Joan – only became problematic after the Reformation, when Protestants saw an opportunity to use these medieval (and therefore Catholic) authorities to challenge the papal apostolic succession and identify the papacy with the biblical Whore of Babylon. The arguments employed by both sides are hugely revealing of how Catholics and Protestants saw themselves and each other. More recently, Pope Joan has moved into the realm of fiction: in film and literature she became a feminist icon. Transgender readings – Joan as man in a woman’s body, rather than a woman in a man’s garment – are bound to inspire new interpretations of her story.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion |
| Subjects: | D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History D History General and Old World > DG Italy |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| ISBN: | 9781108493772 |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 31 July 2024 |
| Last Modified: | 31 Aug 2025 01:30 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/171069 |
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