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Catherine of Siena
Article focusing on Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila, two women mystics and writers who were declared doctors of the (Roman Catholic) church.

Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi, a saint of the Roman Catholic church, founded the Poor Clares, a Franciscan order for women.

Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena
From "Joan of Arc" by Francis C. Lowell, published 1896 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

Popess Joan
A story in the 13th century about a Pope who turned out to be a woman is not believed by most scholars, though the story still has its defenders.

Marozia
Marozia was trained by her mother Theodora to be a major player in papal politics. Marozia was allegedly the mistress of one Pope, mother of another and grandmother of yet another.

Theodora
Theodora wielded power in a period of notable corruption in Rome. Allegedly the lover of Pope John X, Theodora was more certainly the grandmother of Pope John XI and great-grandmother of Pope John XII.