10 Maddest People Ever To Be In Charge Of A Country
7. Pope Stephen VI Put A Corpse On Trial
A pope is not exactly a head of state, but close enough. Stephen VI was certainly one of the most powerful men in the world in the late 9th Century when he rose to that exalted position. His short reign was mostly taken up with acts of creative malice against former Pope, Formosus, including one lengthy instance that can only be explained by being a few crumbs short of the communion bread.
Formosus was dead, but that didn't stop Crazy Steve. He convened the 'Synodus Horrenda', or Cadavar Synod, which is pretty much what it sounds like as the manky remains of Formosus were dug up and put on trial.
The corpse was propped up and an unfortunate deacon was ordered to represent the dead plaintiff. History does not recall if he had to work the corpse's mouth like a puppet.
Formosus was found, inevitably, guilty. Pope Stephen cut off the fingers Formosus used for blessings, had the decaying corpse dumped in the river Tiber, and decreed that Formosus wasn't pope and never had been.
The people of Rome thought all this was so mad they rose up against Stephen. After his imprisonment he was strangled by someone or other and the whole sorry affair came to an end.