New Art and Fun Fact: The Cadaver Synod

The Library of St. Severinus. (by G. & F. Caracuzzo.)

Formosus means "good-looking" in Latin. So please don't judge by the haircut alone.

Pope Stephen VI (or VII): never called pretty in his life, and insanely jealous of Formosus's hair.

Stephen VI (or VII) cross-examines the defendant: "Do you deny, sir, that you mock this sacred court with your glazed stare, pungent aroma and distasteful habit of dropping bits of yourself on the carpet?"

We're getting close, Amiculi. 

The last half-dozen pages of the preview book are in progress. Here, to the left, is a sampling of Page 13.


And now, guess what time it is...?

ROMAN DEBAUCHERY FUN-FACT TIME! YAY!!!

This is a particularly relevant Fun Fact, as it inspired a similarly grisly reference in Amiculus. It is about the trial of a Pope that took place after said Pope had already died.


Pope Formosus (A.D. 891-896) had the misfortune of rising to the throne during "The Iron Age of Popes," when Papal intrigue and corruption was rife, and droves of popes died in grisly and unsavory fashion: poison, torture, and in one case, being beaten to death by an enraged husband after being caught in bed with his wife. Fortunately, Formosus proved to be smarter, more able and more morally-centered than the rest of his sullied class, and died peacefully after reigning for five years. However, this did not prevent scores of nobles and clergy from violently hating his guts, and none hated him more than his successor, Stephen VI (or VII), who went so far as to call "The Cadaver Synod" to try the deceased Pope for his "crimes."

In January, 897, Formosus's corpse was wrenched from its tomb, dressed in the Papal vestments and propped up on the throne, while Stephen railed at it, accusing it of perjury, coveting the Papacy, and violating sacred canon. A terrified deacon was given the job of answering for Formosus in defense. He didn't do a very good job of it, because the corpse was found guilty on all counts. It was stripped of its robes, three fingers of its right hand (used in giving blessings) were chopped off,  and eventually Formosus's body was chucked into the Tiber River. 

To Rome's credit, this spectacle did not sit well with either the clergy or the laity, and, eight months later, Stephen was overthrown and strangled. Formosus was recovered, dressed up and brought to the Confession of St. Peter's Basilica, where a mass was said for his soul. He was then re-buried, whereupon the practice of Papal meat-puppetry mercifully disappeared for the next several centuries.