Cadaver Synod: Trial of a Dead Pope
Gone Medieval
History Hit
4.5 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What could drive a pope to put a corpse on trial?
In 897, Rome staged one of the Middle Ages’ strangest spectacles: the Cadaver Synod, where Pope Stephen VI exhumed his predecessor and put his body on trial. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Jessica Wärnberg to unpack the violent politics behind the outrage, the rival factions at stake, and why this gruesome event still fascinates today.
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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. It was edited by Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From long-lost Viking ships and kings buried in unexpected places to tales of murder, |
| 0:07.7 | power, faith, and the lives of ordinary people across medieval Europe and beyond. |
| 0:13.2 | Join me, Matt Lewis, Dr. Eleanor Jarniger and some of the world's leading historians, |
| 0:18.0 | as we bring history's most fascinating stories to life only on |
| 0:22.3 | History Hit. With your subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries |
| 0:27.2 | with a brand new release every week exploring everything from the ancient world to World War II. |
| 0:33.6 | Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. |
| 0:41.7 | Hello, I'm Dr. Eleanorianica, and welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, |
| 0:46.8 | the podcast that delves into the greatest millennium in human history. |
| 0:51.1 | We uncover the greatest mysteries, the gobsmacking details, and the latest groundbreaking |
| 0:57.6 | research from the Vikings to the Normans, from kings to popes, to the crusades. We delve into |
| 1:05.1 | the rebellions, plots, and murders that tell us who we really were. And how we got here. |
| 1:19.7 | In the year 897, a shocking spectacle unfolded in the Holy City of Rome, |
| 1:26.5 | bastion of the burgeoning medieval church. |
| 1:30.3 | A Pope named Stephen the 6th, a man of, let's say, notorious reputation. |
| 1:38.3 | Put one of his predecessors on trial. |
| 1:42.3 | There's just one problem. His defendant, Pope Formosis, was already dead. |
| 1:51.5 | Not to be put off by that small inconvenience, Stephen had Formosus's decaying and puttified body |
| 2:00.1 | assumed, dressed in resplendent papal vestments, |
| 2:04.7 | and shakily propped up on a hastily erected throne to face a barrage of accusations. |
| 2:12.0 | Yep, that's right. |
| 2:13.1 | A corpse dragged from its grave, put on trial, and condemned by its successor in one of the most extraordinary episodes in papal history. |
... |
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