In January eight ninety-seven, Pope Stephen VI ordered the body of his predecessor Formosus to be dug up from its tomb, dressed in full papal vestments, and carried into the Basilica of Saint John Lateran for trial. A deacon was appointed to speak for the corpse. Stephen VI presided over the proceedings personally. Formosus was accused of perjury, of violating church law, and of having held the papacy improperly. He was found guilty. His vestments were stripped from his body. The fingers he had used for blessings were cut off. He was thrown into the Tiber River.

In this episode of 5 Minute Strange, we cover the full story of the Cadaver Synod — the political enemies that followed Formosus beyond death, the public outrage the trial provoked, and the speed with which events turned against Stephen VI himself. Later in eight ninety-seven he was overthrown, imprisoned, and strangled. Formosus's body was recovered from the river and reburied with honour. The next pope annulled the Cadaver Synod and banned the trial of dead persons. A later pope overturned that annulment. The fight over one corpse disturbed the papacy for years.

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