108. John VIII:
December 14, 872 - December 16, 882 (10 years)
Pope John VIII's reign was characterized by political intrigue and many believe that he was murdered by conspirators involved in a plot of local politics.
109. Marinus I:
December 16, 882 - May 15, 884 (1 year)
Marinus I was a long time servant of the papal throne, having been employed by his three predecessors as an envoy to Constantinople in order to ease relations which had been strained over the controversy surrounding Photius, patriarch of Constantinople.
110. St. Adrian III:
May 17, 884 - September, 885 (1 year)
Not much is know about Pope Adrian III except that his pontificate was apparently characterized by violence and that he himself may have been murdered. Curiously, he was apparently a strong supporter of Pope John VIII, one of the few other popes to have been assassinated as well.
111. Stephen VI (V):
September, 885 - September 14, 891 (c. 6 years)
Stephen was elected unanimously but emperor Charles had not been consulted; as a result, Stephen faced the very real possibility of being deposed. Fortunately for him, Charlemagne's empire was falling apart and Charles was in no position to do anything about Stephen.
112. Formosus:
October 6, 891 - April 4, 896 (4 years)
Pope Formosus (whose name means "good looking") was unusually controversial - although many of the problems occurred after his death. Six months after he had died, his successor Stephen VI had his body dug up and put on trial; found guilty, it was stripped of the papal vestments and the fingers used by Formosus to bless others were removed.
113. Boniface VI:
April, 896 (15 days)
To call Pope Bonfiace VI "unsavory" would be an understatement. He was defrocked twice by Pope John VIII (himself rather unsavory) for immorality, the first and only pope to have gone through that. He was elected quickly after Formosus and died almost as quickly.
114. Stephen VII (VI):
May, 896 - August, 897 (1 year)
Stephen is among the more infamous popes. He is perhaps best known for having had the corpse of Pope Formosus exhumed and put on trial for alleged offenses committed during his reign.
115. Romanus:
August, 897 - November, 897 (c. 4 months)
Almost nothing is known of Pope Romanus. Unlike Pope Stephen VII, he was a supporter of Pope Formosus but Romanus doesn't seem to have done much of anything in defense of him.
116. Theodore II:
November, 897 (c. 20 days)
The exact length of the reign of Pope Theodore II is uncertain, but we know that he didn't last out the month of November, 897. Although he wasn't in office long, he did manage to convene a synod to condemn the Cadaver Synod held earlier in the year.
117. John IX:
January, 898 - January, 900 (2 years)
John was the older brother of the man he succeeded, Pope Benedict. This was the first and only time something like this occurred.
