Was there once a female Pope that sat upon Saint Peter's throne in the hallowed halls of the Vatican? Well according to a certain urban legend there was. Her name was Joan and she reigned for more than two years sometime during the Middle Ages. According to accounts written by medieval monks, Joan who was of English parentage, hailed from Mainz, Germany and studied at a monastery there established by English missionaries while disguised as a boy. Women were mostly confined to their homes during those times. As such it would have been unthinkable for a girl to seek admission to a monastery to study. In his " History of Emperors and Popes, " a monk named Martin Polonus writes that Joan learned Greek and Latin and became knowledgeable in many branches of knowledge. After becoming sufficiently learned, this future pontiff dressed in male attire and went to Athens with a man said to be either her lover or teacher and subsequently made her way to Rome. By virtue of her...