Pope Joan

Pope Joan, born Johanna von Ingelheim was the title character and protagonist of the 2009 film Pope Joan.

On January 28, 814 - the day Charlemagne died - a baby girl named Johanna was born in a hut near the German city of Ingelheim am Rhein. The daughter of the village priest and a woman who secretly worshipped Woten Johanna grew up to be a sharp and intelligent girl. Despite being a female she was educated in the Cathedral school in Dorestad, supported by the local Count Gerold. With his help she built a model set of doors that could be closed with running water.

When Gerold left to fight in the army of Lothair I Gerold's wife tried to marry off Johanna to eliminate her rival for Gerold's affections. The wedding ceremony was attacked by Vikings, leaving Johanna the only survivor. Johanna ran away and disguised herself as a man. She then entered the Benedictine monastery at Fulda, Germany. When a fever epidemic hit the monastery Johanna was able to avoid physical examination and flee with the help of an elderly monk who had realized the young Johannus Anglicus was a female a long time ago.

Delirious from the fever Johanna floated downstream in a raft before being found by Arn. The son of a woman Johanna had helped earlier, Arn and his family helped nurse Johanna back to health. Because of Johanna's earlier help Arn was in the right place to become a manager for the local Count. Johanna became a tutor to Arn's daughter Arnalda. Eventually she grew restless. Resuming her male disguise she left for Rome on a pilgrimage.

Arriving in Rome Johanna became wildly known as a healer. When Pope Sergius came down with a severe case of gout she was called to assist. She was able to help Sergius get better, and soon became one of his most trusted advisers. When the armies of Lothair arrived in Rome to force the Pope to show obedience to Lothair Johanna used a large scale hydraulic device similar to the model she and Gerold built years earlier to close the doors to the Vatican, scaring Lothair's soldiers into believing God had done that.

What Johanna didn't know was that Gerold was working for Lothair and remembered the old model they had built. Finding her in a chapel Gerold told her that he didn't think that model would work as well on a large scale as it had. He further said that he had buried Johanna's brother next to his family, and that he loved Johanna. The pair later made love in a secluded place near the city of Rome.

Lothair's allies were later able to poison Sergius. Johanna and Gerold made plans to get out of Rome, knowing that Johanna's rival Anastasius Bibliothecarius would probably win the next election and that Johanna would be in danger when that happened. That was when a delegation arrived to inform Johanna that she had been elected their Lord Pope by the people of Rome.

Anastasius was not happy with the situation - there was a seemingly young man who had just been elected Pope who could probably reign for several decades. However his father Arsenius reasoned it was probably divine retribution for their arrogance and their ambition.

Johanna brought a new energy to the Papacy, working hard to restart the aqueducts and ensure that the people of Rome were well taken care of. However Gerold and Johanna soon learned that their lovemaking had led to Johanna becoming pregnant. Even though Johanna was a very popular Pope both Gerold and Johanna knew the Romans would never tolerate her continued existence if the fact that she was a pregnant woman became public knowledge. She and Gerold decided to disappear but not until after Easter. Before they could disappear Gerold was murdered on the streets of Rome. Johanna meanwhile had collapsed on a public street during a procession and died in childbirth.

Anastasius was elected Pope immediately afterwards. However he was not a popular Pope and was deposed not long afterwards. Anastasius was exiled him to a monastery, where he wrote the Liber Pontificalis, a list of all the Popes up to that time. Anastasius purposely omitted Johanna from his listing of the Popes. However Arn's daughter Arnalda - who also disguised herself as a man and became Bishop Arnaldo of Paris, wrote a history of Pope Joan and ensured its placement in the Liber Pontificalis in payment of the debt she and her family owed to Johanna.

Trivia

 * Johanna was played by four individuals in the film. The infant Johanna was portrayed by Tabitha Christina Rieger.  This was followed by the 6 to 9 year old Johanna being played by Tigerlily Hutchinson.  Lotte Flack played Johanna as a 10 to 14 year old girl, followed by Johanna Wokalek playing the adult Johanna.