 |
| Wimborne Minster's ancient saxon tower |
The access to the massive central tower in Wimborne Minster is gained via a narrow winding staircase behind a discreet and sturdy door. This steep passage has been climbed for centuries to access the now empty belfry above the ornate blue ceiling. However, the first part of the ascent pre-dates both the tower and the bulk of the building by many years, as the winders on the staircase spiral up inside the ancient round Saxon Tower.
The best place to view this piece of our heritage is from the outside of the building where it’s conical turret can be seen rising alongside the adjacent roof. Being of Saxon origin it is thought to be a surviving part of the twin monasteries that once stood here. And as such would have been familiar to the many nun’s and helpers who left Wimborne at the request of Boniface to help evangelize vast regions of the then barbarian Germany. There are many stories concerning these early missionaries, and their work has been well recorded. However, in amongst them is a strange and controversial tale that was repressed for many years, but, possibly for that very reason, keeps coming back to us - most recently through a German film. It is the controversial tale of Pope Joan.
 |
| St Michael's Fulda, built between 817 and 822 |
Ancient chroniclers recorded Joan’s life - some in vivid detail - and historians over the centuries have tried to unravel the truth behind the legends. She was also known as Joan the English as, although born in Mainz, Germany, she is said to have come from English stock, her parents being either helpers, or missionaries from right here in Wimborne. However, German society was somewhat different to that which her parents had left. Here, in Wimborne, women lived in a scholarly mixed community and held positions of power in the church, but that was not the case on the continent where women were relegated and girls denied all but a rudimentary education.
Hungry for learning, Joan’s solution to this prejudice was to disguise herself as a boy and, apparently showing outstanding ability, she swiftly rose through the church hierarchy, eventually being chosen for the papacy, where, one chronicler informs us, she may have ruled as Pope John for two years around the date of 850. By any standards this was some feat, and just how she kept her secret is not recorded.
 |
| Fulda Cathedral |
Joan’s young life was spent in the Benedictine abbey in the cathedral town of Fulda.
The Abbey is long gone, however a fragment of ninth-century Fulda still exists in the form of St Michael’s Church. This ancient chapel has a small Saxon turret containing a staircase leading up to a gallery. It is remarkably similar in style and period to the Saxon tower of our Minster. In this building, the young Pope Joan might well have knelt and prayed.
Early chroniclers tell us that Joan’s downfall was the birth of her son during a Papal procession through Rome. They all seem to agree on this point. However, her future after this revealing event becomes confused, ranging from death by an affronted mob to merely being deposed and living to see her son rise through the ranks of the church.
 |
| From the film Pope Joan, starring Johanna Wokalek and David Wenham |
These stories are difficult to corroborate, and arguments for and against Joan’s very existence, have raged throughout the centuries - and so historians, fascinated by this story, are still searching for the truth. Proof of her life seems obvious to many by the simple fact that Joan’s name is mentioned frequently in many ancient documents, and reinforced by curious facts, such as the street named the Vicus Papisa (the street of the woman pope), which lies on the very route she was said to have taken in Rome.
I hope that one day there will be a conclusion. It would be very interesting if such an obviously powerful woman - possibly once the most powerful leader in the western world – was indeed a Wimborne lass.
