Leibniz: On Mary Stuart and Popess Joan (not before 1693)

[A IV 5, p502]

The history of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland,1 is like that of Popess Joan2 –
it is a question of sides. This can be judged from tome 2, book 8 of the Histoire des
révolutions d’Angleterre [A IV 5, p503] to the year 1567, by Father d’Orléans. ‘The
history,’ he says, ‘of this famous Queen is among those learned in the crib and among
those tragic events through which children develop the taste for reading and books.’3
The fact is that on the Roman side, the Queen is represented as unfortunate, but not as
worthy of being so, and she is used to stir up minds against the Protestants.

© Lloyd Strickland 2007. Revised 2021

1
Mary Stuart (1542-1587).
2
In medieval times and the early modern period, the tale of Popess Joan – who was thought to have
been Pope in either the 9th or 12th century AD – was widely circulated and (among Protestants) widely
believed. In all likelihood she was a mythical figure, however.
3
Pierre-Joseph d’Orléans, Histoire des révolutions d’Angleterre depuis le commencement de la
monarchie [History of the revolutions of England since the beginning of the monarchy] (Paris, 1693),
vol. 2 p481.