Pope Put His Dead Predecessor on Trial #history #medieval #dark

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Ever heard of a dead Pope being put on trial? In 897 AD, Pope Stephen VI did exactly that to his predecessor, Pope Formosus. Stephen literally dug up Formosus's 9-month-old corpse, dressed it in papal robes, and propped it up in court for what became known as the Cadaver Synod. The decomposing body was assigned a lawyer while Stephen screamed accusations of perjury and illegal papal election. When the corpse obviously couldn't defend itself, Stephen declared it guilty, stripped off its papal vestments, cut off three blessing fingers, and threw the remains into the Tiber River. This bizarre trial shocked medieval Europe and ultimately backfired spectacularly on Stephen, who was later strangled in prison.