# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/pope-leo-viii
# Generated: 2026-09-02T00:26:58.447Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/pope-leo-viii"
name: "Pope Leo VIII"
slug: "pope-leo-viii"
description: "A Roman prelate installed by an emperor, declared antipope by his own church for part of his reign, then retroactively validated for the rest — Leo VIII's legitimacy depends entirely on which year you're asking about."
tagline: "Pope"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Pope_Leo_VIII.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Italy"
  isoCode: "IT"
category:
  name: "Writers"
  slug: "writers"
profileType:
  name: "Writer / Author"
  slug: "writer"
birthDate: "915"
deathDate: "965"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           59.36
  momentum:             0
  historical:           22.92752266666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Religious Figures"
    slug: "religious-figures"
  - name: "Writer / Author"
    slug: "writer-author"
  - name: "Literature"
    slug: "literature"
  - name: "Religion"
    slug: "religion"
  - name: "Medieval Era"
    slug: "medieval-era"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q227965"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_VIII"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Pope%20Leo%20VIII"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86"
    title: "لاون الثامن"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86"
    title: "ليو التامن"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Leon_VIII"
    title: "Papa Leon VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%9E_VIII"
    title: "Леў VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%9E_VIII"
    title: "Леў VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D1%8A%D0%B2_VIII_(%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0)"
    title: "Лъв VIII (папа)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_VIII"
    title: "Leon VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Lle%C3%B3_VIII"
    title: "Papa Lleó VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cdo.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A1u-hu%C3%B2ng_Leo_8-si%C3%A9"
    title: "Gáu-huòng Leo 8-sié"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_VIII."
    title: "Lev VIII."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_VIII."
    title: "Leo VIII."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://diq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_VIII"
    title: "Leo VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A0%CE%AC%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%82_%CE%9B%CE%AD%CF%89%CE%BD_%CE%97%CE%84"
    title: "Πάπας Λέων Η΄"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leono_la_8-a"
    title: "Leono la 8-a"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n_VIII"
    title: "León VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_VIII"
    title: "Leo VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_VIII.a"
    title: "Leon VIII.a"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%BE_%D9%84%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%86_%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%85"
    title: "پاپ لئون هشتم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_VIII"
    title: "Leo VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_VIII"
    title: "Léon VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A1pa_Leon_VIII"
    title: "Pápa Leon VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n_VIII%2C_papa"
    title: "León VIII, papa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ru.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%B2_VIII"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pous_Leo_VIII"
    title: "Pous Leo VIII"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_VIII."
    title: "Leo VIII."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born around 915, Leo VIII was a Roman church official whose path to the papacy came not through clerical ambition but imperial decree. In 963, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I appointed him pope in opposition to the sitting John XII, launching a claim that pitted him against both John and his successor Benedict V through 964. The Church today considers that first stretch illegitimate — an antipope's tenure. But on 23 June 964, something shifted: Leo's claim became recognized, and he held the Holy See as legitimate pope until his death on 1 March 965. His pontificate unfolded in the wake of the saeculum obscurum, that dark century when Rome's papal throne changed hands through violence and political intrigue as much as sacred process.