The true story of the legend of Pope Joan

2024-02-26T15:15:20.211Z

Highlights: Stéphane Bern recounts the destiny of a woman pope that the church itself imagined in the 13th century, a popess who never existed. When did the legend of Pope Joan emerge? How has it evolved over the course of the texts? How, finally, was it used to justify the inaccessibility of women to the priesthood? To talk about it, Bern receives Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, historian, specialist in the papacy in the Middle Ages.

Stéphane Bern recounts the destiny of a woman pope that the church itself imagined in the 13th century, a popess who never existed, although many texts suggest the opposite. Or rather her legend, the true story of the legend of Pope Joan… When did the legend of Pope Joan emerge? How has it evolved over the course of the texts? How, finally, was it used to justify the inaccessibility of women to the priesthood? To talk about it, Stéphane Bern receives Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, historian, specialist in the papacy in the Middle Ages, and author of "History of Pope Joan: an investigation into the heart of the texts" (Presses Universitaires de Lyon)