Famous Hoaxes Throughout History

Before 1700 | 1700-1799 | 1800-1868| 1869-1913| 1914-1949| 1950-1976| 1977-1989| 1990-1999| After 2000


BEFORE 1700:
FEMALE POPES AND VEGETABLE LAMBS


Maybe it's historically inaccurate to talk about hoaxes before 1700. After all, the word 'hoax' only came into use during the 1700s. But if we take hoaxes to be any form of outrageous deception, then there was certainly plenty of that going on during the middle ages. The curious thing about hoaxes from this period is that they were often never exposed... until centuries later. Probably because there was little desire to challenge deceptions that supported the status quo.