Cy sensuit hystoire de Jehanne anglesche pappe · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Cy sensuit hystoire de Jehanne anglesche pappe
Subject: Pope Joan; Important Women; Famous Women
Period: 1400-1450;
Geographic: Italy; Vatican City
Description: A maiden named Joan had disguised herself as a man in order to follow her lover to England while he attended school. Joan had excelled in academics and became incredibly knowledgeable while attending school. Continuing to dress as a man, Joan went to Rome and was elected to succeed as Pope, known as Pope John. No one had known she was a woman, however, she ended up having a love affair which resulted in pregnancy. This image depicts Joan, dressed in her papal regalia standing as she gives birth to a child under her clothes. The birth happened during a public procession which revealed her identity as a woman. The other ecclesiastics in the image are all depicted looking down at the child that Joan had just given birth to. According to Boccaccio, Pope John (Joan), was thrown into a dungeon to die as punishment for posing as a male while holding the title of Pope.
Image Creator: Master of Boethius (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:25594
Language: frm
Source Name: Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation
Parent Collection: 1410 Paris
Image: mta_25594_OBJ.jpg