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Pope Donus II

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An image supposedly depicting Donus II, published in Chronologia Summorum Romanorum Pontificum in 1675
Not to be confused with the historical Pope Donus

Pope Donus II is an apocryphal Pope that allegedly held the title briefly between Benedict VI and Benedict VII during the 970s. The creation is likely due to papal catalogues accidentally confusing the title domnus for a proper name caused by the later addition of some antipopes into papal listings. His existence has been documented since at least the 16th century, and has been considered a Pope by the Vatican for more than 200 years until the timeline was corrected in 1947. Despite his fictitious record, the Pope had been praised for honorable conduct.

Creation

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Donus II was likely invented by later papal catalogues that listed him between Benedict VI and Benedict VII. Benedict VI was likely listed prior to the phrase Domnus de Sutri, as he had been the Bishop of Sutri. Later editions had added antipope Boniface VII and his years of reign into the same timeline directly after the mention of Benedict VI, which would have listed Domnus de Sutr independently alongside the year 974, which had been previously accredited to Benedict VI. Later renditions would have read the phrase as the name of a Pope, and then shortened the phrase to just Domnus, giving the impression of a Pope Domnus (also written as Domnus, Donus, or Bonus) who held the title in 974.[1] He was given the prefix of II as a Pope Donus already had held position between 676 and 678.[2]

Spread of myth

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A mosaic of Donus II (second from right) at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. His inclusion at the basilica legitimized his existence for centuries.

Fanciful illustrations of Donus II have existed since at least the 16th century.[3] In the 18th century, Giovanni Marangoni, custodian of the Roman catacombs, created an official papal roster based on the mosaic gallery of Popes at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. For more than two hundred years, Donus II was considered a legitimate Pope. Although the list was known to be flawed, it was not formally audited until 1947. In addition to confirming the nonexistence of Donus II, the audit revealed that Popes Cletus and Anacletus were actually the same person, discovered Popes Boniface VI and Leo VIII, and corrected various details concerning dozens of other Popes.[4]

False history

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Despite his accidental creation, egregious accounts of Donus II have been recorded. A book by Alexis-François Artaud de Montor states that he was Roman, elected in 972 due to involvement by the counts of Tusculum, governed for three months with, "great integrity," died on 19 December 972, and interned at the Vatican.[5] Other specifics of his alleged reign vary, such as being between 5 April 974 and October 975, or that he was, "never charged with any injustice or dishonourable action."[6][7] Regardless of the dates of his Papacy, no contemporary sources mention Donus II nor are records of any of his acts as Pope recorded.[1]

See also

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  • Pope Joan, myth of a woman Pope who reigned during the Middle Ages often reported as fact prior to the 17th century

References

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  1. ^ a b Mann, Horace K. (Horace Kinder); Hollnsteiner, Johannes (1902). The lives of the popes in the early middle ages. London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner, & co., ltd. pp. 312–313.
  2. ^ "Donus | Roman Catholic, Bishop, Italy | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2025-04-07. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  3. ^ "Pontificvm Romanorvm effigies / opera et studio Ioañis Baptistae de Cauallerijs collectae ac typis aeneis incisae". HathiTrust. p. 301. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  4. ^ TIME (1947-01-27). "Religion: Pontifices Maximi". TIME. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  5. ^ Artaud de Montor, Alexis François (1911). The lives and times of the popes : including the complete gallery of the portraits of the pontiffs reproduced from "Effigies pontificum romanorum Dominici Basae": being a series of volumes giving the history of the world during the Christian era, retranslated, rev. and written up to date from Les vies des papes. Kelly - University of Toronto. New York : The Catholic Publication Society of America.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  6. ^ Darras, Joseph Épiphane; Spalding, M. J. (Martin John); White, Charles I. (Charles Ignatius) (1865–1866). A general history of the Catholic church : from the commencement of the Christian era until the present time. Regis - University of Toronto. New York : P. O'Shea. p. 590.
  7. ^ Miles, George (1898). The bishops of Lindisfarne, Hexham, Chester-le-Street, and Durham, A.D. 635-1020. Being an introduction to the ecclesiastical history of Northumbria;. University of California Libraries. London : W. Gardner, Darton & co. p. 298.
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