Dimensions
129 x 198 x 15mm
The legend of Pope Joan - the English woman who, dressed as a man, headed the Catholic church in the middle of the ninth century - has long been a subject of irreverent speculation but rarely, until now, the subject of serious research. As the furore over women in the Catholic priesthood continues, and the Church, which once took her story as gospel, plays down the rumours that won't go away, it is time for a reappraisal.
Did she really fool the authorities and become pope, as was believed at every level of the Church until the Reformation?
Is her story harmless folklore, based on an obviously impossible scenario?
Or was the myth of Pope Joan invented by Protestant propagandists determined to undermine the authority of the papacy - or even by the Catholic church itself?
