The accused was dead... we still organized his trial

A trial usually involves an accused who is able to hear the charges. That of Formosus defies this image: in 897, the body of the former pope, who died the previous year, is exhumed and installed for a procedure against his memory and pontificate.

The episode, known as the Cadaver Council, takes place in a context of political and religious rivalries. Étienne VI impeached his predecessor. The corpse thus becomes the visible support of a struggle between the living and their alliances.

Condemnation is not even the last act in history. Formosa was rehabilitated later in the same year, and his remains were re-buried. This reversal makes the scene even more striking: after summoning a dead man, the power goes back on what he decided against him. The grave was not enough to end the conflict.