John XX.

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A Pope by the name of John XX. did not exist - according to correct counting, Pope John XXI. should wear this number.

In 1276, Petrus Hispanus was elected Pope and took the Pope's name John, correctly counting the twentieth Pope of that name. Due to a supposedly overlooked Pope John from the year 984, however, the census of Popes John XV was seen at that time . until John XIX. as incorrect. Therefore, the new Pope decided in an alleged correction of the count for the name John XXI. - in fact, however, the error lay in the very interpretation that accidentally counted Pope John XIV twice.

Explanation

As Louis Duchesne , the editor of the Liber Pontificalis , has shown, the tradition error in question arose in the 11th century in the period after the pontificate of the last correctly counted Pope of this name ( John XIX. , 1024-1032) because of the fact that in the papal lists the representation of Pope John XIV (983–984) was incorrectly copied. In addition to the duration of his eight-month term of office (mens. VIII) , the duration of his four-month imprisonment (per IV menses) was also given for this. This was then read out in the 11th century in such a way that in addition to the eight-month pontificate of John XIV there was also a four-month pontificate of another John. In this way, the one John XIV became two popes of that name:

John m. VIII.
John m. IV.

The accepted second John XIV., Subsequently counted as John XIV. Bis , left the counting of John XV. until John XIX. appear in retrospect to be incorrect, which is why Peter of Spain finally decided this alleged error John XIV. to avoid updating to take into account from now on in the count and therefore to make himself as twenty-first pope of that name count.

Legend of Popess Joan

The irregularity in the census has occasionally been attributed to the fact that the church had withheld a very special pope of this name, namely the legendary Pope Joan , in the tradition and thereby mixed up the census. This legend, attested to since the 13th century, saw Johanna as the direct successor of Leo IV († 855), while John XIV. To as the successor of John XIV († 984) more than a century later and a suppressed John XX. even not until the 11th – 13th centuries. Century.

literature

  • Reginald L. Poole: The Names and Numbers of Medieval Popes . In: The English Historical Review, Vol. 32, No. 128 (1917), pp. 465-478, especially pp. 474-475 ( DOI: 10.1093 / ehr / XXXII.CXXVIII.465 ).