Giovanna a legendary female pope who supposedly reigned for a few years some time during the Middle Ages. The story appeared in 13th-century chronicles and spread throughout Europe. It was believed for centuries though modern religious scholars consider it fictitious.
During the Reformation in the sixteenth century, the Catholic Church began to deny the existence of Pope Joan. However, at the same time, Protestant writers insisted on her reality, primarily because the existence of a female pope was a convenient piece of anti-Catholic propaganda.
Most versions of her story describe her as a talented and learned woman who disguises herself as a man often at the behest of a lover. She rises through the church hierarchy, eventually being elected pope. However, while riding on horseback she gives birth, thus exposing her gender. In most versions, she dies shortly after, either being killed by an angry mob or from natural causes.
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