Pope Joan (??? - 857)
The protagonist of a popular medieval legend, "Joannes Anglicus" was
a talented and learned English woman who disguised herself as a man,
rose through the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and was eventually
elected pope, serving for 2 years from 855-857;
her true sex was revealed when she gave birth during a papal procession;
she died immediately thereafter, either due to death in childbirth or
murder by enraged church officials;
her legend was widely believed for centuries,
but most modern scholars now regard it as fictional.
