History fact #1
Some stories from the old days make the hair on your arms stand up. In early 897, Pope Stephen VI had the corpse of Pope Formosus dug up, dressed in papal vestments and propped in a chair to stand trial. You can almost smell it: winter air, thick incense, and something underneath the incense that nobody mentioned. A deacon had to speak for the dead man. After the guilty verdict, the three fingers Formosus had used for blessings were cut off, and the body was later thrown into the Tiber. Rome didn't forget it, though. Within months Stephen had lost his power, and the trial's rulings were later thrown out. What do you think made ordinary people turn against a trial like that?
Sources:
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/world-history-magazine/article/vatican-dead-pope-on-trial
History fact #2
In early 897, a strange trial took place in Rome. Pope Stephen VI had his predecessor, Pope Formosus, dug up about nine months after his death. The body was dressed in papal vestments, propped up in a chair and put on trial before a hall of churchmen. A deacon was given the job of speaking for the dead man. The verdict was guilty. Every appointment Formosus had made was revoked, and the three fingers he had used to give blessings were cut off. Within months the tide turned: Stephen lost power and died in prison, and a later pope annulled the trial and banned trials of the dead. What do you think the people in that hall were thinking as they watched?
Sources:
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/world-history-magazine/article/vatican-dead-pope-on-trial
