The Short Guide to Catholic Church History notes one of the carnards (unfounded story or hoax) believed by Catholics is the story of a female Pope being elected by mistake; this tale was in regard to Pope Ganymede V, a "Pope of doubtful masculinity" [St. Fidgeta & Other Parodies, 62-3].
Ganymede V was elected in 1503 and was said to have had a habit of falling into the arms of Leonardo da Vinci. Ganymede running through the Boboli Gardens inspired da Vinci's unfinished painting, Saint Sebastian Dying in a Bed of Zinnias. The Anti-Catholic historian Furze later labeled the "limp-wristed" pontif Ganymede V "a raving queen." The pontificate lasted but two years: Ganymede was found dead in his bed in 1505, having been smothered by orchids "which were poured into the room through the skylight while he slept."
Ganymede is a name seen throughout history: a Trojan prince taken by Zeus to Mount Olympus; the subject of poem by Goethe; and in Shakespeare's As You Like It, Ganymede is Rosalind's name when she is disguised as a man. In mythology, Zeus fell in love with Ganymede and transported him to Mount Olympus under the guise of an eagle to be Zeus’ cup bearer and lover.
Pope Joan is an alleged female pope that supposedly reigned for less than two years between the pontificates of Leo IV and Benedict III.
Furze, or gorse, is the name of a type of evergreen shrub.
