Editing Pope Sylvester II

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 999 to 1003}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]]
| name = Sylvester II
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| image = Meister der Reichenauer Schule 002 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Sylvester, in blue, as depicted in the [[Gospels of Otto III]]
| birth_name = Gerbertus (Gerbert)
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| term_start = 2 April 999
| term_end = 12 May 1003
| predecessor = [[Pope Gregory V|Gregory V]]
| successor = [[John XVII]]
| consecration = 991
| birth_date = {{circa|lk=no| 946}}
| birth_place = [[Belliac]] (?), [[Duchy of Aquitaine]], [[France in the Middle Ages|France]]
| death_date = 12 May 1003 (aged c. 57)
| death_place = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
| other = Sylvester
}}

'''Pope Sylvester II''' ({{langx|la|Silvester II}}; {{circa|lk=no|946}} – 12 May 1003), originally known as '''Gerbert of Aurillac''',{{refn|group=n|Other names include '''Gerbert of Reims''' or '''Ravenna''' or '''Auvergne''' and '''Gibert'''.<ref>"[http://thesaurus.cerl.org/record/cnp00918291 Silvester <Papa, II.>]," ''CERL Thesaurus''.</ref>}} was a scholar and teacher who served as the [[bishop of Rome]] and ruled the [[Papal States]] from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of [[Science in the medieval Islamic world|Moorish]] and [[Greco-Roman]] [[Science in classical antiquity|arithmetic, mathematics and astronomy]], reintroducing to [[Western Christianity|Western Christendom]] the [[abacus]], [[armillary sphere]], and [[water organ]], which had been lost to [[Greek East and Latin West|Latin Europe]] since [[fall of the Western Roman Empire|the fall]] of the [[Western Roman Empire]]. He is said to be the first in Christian Europe (outside of [[Al-Andalus]]) to introduce the [[decimal]] numeral system using the [[Hindu-Arabic numeral system]].

{{anchor|Biography|History}}

==Early life==
Gerbert was born about 946,<ref name="Darlington"/> or at any rate between 945 and 950.<ref>{{harvtxt|Riché|1987|p=18}}</ref> His exact birthplace is unknown, but it must have been in what was then the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]], part of the [[France in the Middle Ages|Kingdom of France]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Riché|1987|p=19}}</ref> More precise proposals include the town of Belliac, near the present-day commune of [[Saint-Simon, Cantal]],<ref name="Darlington">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=456, footnote 2}}</ref> or [[Aurillac]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kitchin |first=William P.H. |title=A Pope-Philosopher of the Tenth Century: Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac) |publisher=The Catholic Historical Review |year=1992 |edition=Volume 8 No. 1 |pages=46}}</ref> Another speculated location is the province of Auvergne.<ref name="Kitchin 1922 46">{{Cite journal |last=Kitchin |first=William P. H. |date=1922 |title=A Pope-Philosopher of the Tenth Century: Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25006263 |journal=The Catholic Historical Review |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=46 |jstor=25006263 |issn=0008-8080 }}</ref> Gerbert's parents, wanting him to have a quality education, took him to receive instruction at the nearby Benedictine Abbey.<ref name="Kitchin 1922 46"/> Here, Gerbert became a pupil of a monk named Raimund, who admired his desire of knowledge and assisted him in his studies.<ref name="Kitchin 1922 46"/>

Around 963, he entered the [[Monastery of St. Gerald of Aurillac]]. In 967, Count [[Borrell II of Barcelona]] (947–992) visited the monastery, and the abbot asked the count to take Gerbert with him so that the lad could study mathematics in [[Catalonia]] and acquire there some knowledge of Arabic learning. While away from the monastery, Gerbert pursued studies in Barcelona, and also received Arabic instruction at [[Seville]] and [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]].<ref name="Kitchin 1922 46"/>

==Scholarly work==
Gerbert studied under the direction of Bishop [[Atto of Vich]], some 60&nbsp;km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby [[Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mayfield|first1=Betty|title=Gerbert d'Aurillac and the March of Spain: A Convergence of Cultures|url=http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/gerbert-daurillac-and-the-march-of-spain-a-convergence-of-cultures|publisher=[[Mathematical Association of America]]|date=August 2010}}</ref> Like all Catalan monasteries, it contained manuscripts from [[Muslim Spain]] and especially from [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Cordoba]], one of the intellectual centres of Europe at that time: the library of [[al-Hakam II]], for example, had thousands of books (from science to Greek philosophy). This is where Gerbert was introduced to [[mathematics]] and [[astronomy]].<ref>[http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Gerbert.html Gerbert biography<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Borrell II was facing major defeat from the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] powers so he sent a delegation to [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] to request a truce. Bishop Atto was part of the delegation that met with al-Ḥakam II, who received him with honour. Gerbert was fascinated by the stories of the [[Mozarab]] Christian bishops and judges who dressed and talked like the Moors, well-versed in mathematics and natural sciences like the great teachers of the Islamic [[madrasah]]s. This sparked Gerbert's veneration for the Moors and his passion for mathematics and astronomy.

===Abacus and numerals===
[[File:Àbac de Gerbert.png|thumb|Model of the addition 908+95 on part of Gerbert's abacus (with modern numerals, not Gerbert's ones)]]

Gerbert learned of [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system|Hindu–Arabic digits]] and applied this knowledge to the [[abacus]], but probably without the numeral [[zero]].{{refn|group=n|[[Charles Seife]]: "He probably learned about the numerals during a visit to Spain and brought them back with him when he returned to Italy. But the version he learned did not have a zero."{{sfnp|Seife|2000|p=77}}}} According to the 12th-century historian [[William of Malmesbury]], Gerbert got the idea of the computing device of the abacus from a [[Moors|Moorish]] scholar<ref>{{Cite book|title=Medieval robots : mechanism, magic, nature, and art|last=Truitt|first=E. R.|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=2015|isbn=9780812291407|location=Philadelphia|pages=77|oclc=907964739}}</ref> from [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|University of Al-Qarawiyyin]].<ref>[https://www.herodote.net/2_avril_999-evenement-9990402.php herodote.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301212427/https://www.herodote.net/2_avril_999-evenement-9990402.php |date=1 March 2017}}</ref> The [[abacus]] that Gerbert reintroduced into Europe had its length divided into 27 parts with 9 number symbols (this would exclude zero, which was represented by an empty column) and 1,000 characters in all, crafted out of [[Horn (anatomy)|animal horn]] by a shieldmaker of Rheims.<ref name="darlington 472">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=472}}.</ref>{{sfnp |Tester|1987| pp=131–132}}{{sfnp |Buddhue|1941| p=266}} According to his pupil Richer, Gerbert could perform speedy calculations with his abacus that were extremely difficult for people in his day to think through using only [[Roman numerals]].<ref name="darlington 472"/> Due to Gerbert's reintroduction, the abacus became widely used in Europe once again during the 11th century.{{sfnp |Buddhue|1941| p=266}}

Bernelinus of Paris, who was probably a pupil of Gerbert, wrote a book called the ''Liber Abaci'' (not to be confused with [[Fibonacci]]'s ''[[Liber Abaci]]'') where he discussed the abacus' design.<ref name=":02"/> In this book, he individually introduced the "Hindu-Arabic" symbols the abacus used and related them to the more common Latin numerical nouns.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Freudenhammer |first=Thomas |date=2021 |title=Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48636817 |journal=Sudhoffs Archiv |volume=105 |issue=1 |pages=5 |doi=10.25162/sar-2021-0001 |jstor=48636817 }}</ref> Bernelinus' ''Liber Abaci'' has survived in 11 manuscripts from the 11th and 12th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freudenhammer |first=Thomas |date=2021 |title=Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48636817 |journal=Sudhoffs Archiv |volume=105 |issue=1 |pages=6 |doi=10.25162/sar-2021-0001 |jstor=48636817 }}</ref> In two of them, probably the oldest ones, the number 3 is reproduced in a form that differs from the other manuscripts. This symbol is reminiscent of the "Tironian note" for the Latin word "ter" from the Roman shorthand.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freudenhammer |first=Thomas |date=2021 |title=Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48636817 |journal=Sudhoffs Archiv |volume=105 |issue=1 |pages=6–7|doi=10.25162/sar-2021-0001 |jstor=48636817 }}</ref> The reason for this is not known, but it is speculated that Bernelinus did not want to use an "unbeliever" symbol to indicate the number that represents the Holy Trinity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freudenhammer |first=Thomas |date=2021 |title=Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48636817 |journal=Sudhoffs Archiv |volume=105 |issue=1 |pages=8 |doi=10.25162/sar-2021-0001 |jstor=48636817 }}</ref>

===Armillary sphere and sighting tube===
Although lost to Europe since the terminus of the [[Greco-Roman]] era, Gerbert reintroduced the astronomical [[armillary sphere]] to Latin Europe via the Islamic civilization of Al-Andalus, which was at that time at the "cutting edge" of civilization.{{sfnp |Tester|1987| pp=130–131}}<ref>{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|pp=467–472}}.</ref> The details of Gerbert's armillary sphere are revealed in letters from Gerbert to his former student and monk Remi of [[Trier|Trèves]] and to his colleague Constantine, the [[abbot]] of [[Micy Abbey|Micy]], as well as the accounts of his former student and French nobleman Richer, who served as a monk in [[Rheims]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|pp=464, 467–472}}.</ref> Richer stated that Gerbert discovered that stars coursed in an oblique direction across the night sky.<ref name="darlington 467">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=467}}.</ref> Richer described Gerbert's use of the armillary sphere as a visual aid for teaching mathematics and astronomy in the classroom.

[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 052.jpg|thumb|right|upright|An [[armillary sphere]] in [[Saint Augustine in His Study (Botticelli, Ognissanti)|a painting]] by [[Sandro Botticelli]], {{Circa|1480}}]]

Historian Oscar G. Darlington asserts that Gerbert's division by 60 degrees instead of 360 allowed the lateral lines of his sphere to equal to six degrees.<ref name="darlington 468">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=468}}.</ref> By this account, the [[polar circle]] on Gerbert's sphere was located at 54 degrees,  several degrees off from the actual 66° 33'.<ref name="darlington 468"/> His positioning of the [[Tropic of Cancer]] at 24 degree was nearly exact, while his positioning of the [[equator]] was correct by definition.<ref name="darlington 468"/> Richer also revealed how Gerbert made the planets more easily observable in his armillary sphere:

{{Blockquote|He succeeded equally in showing the paths of the planets when they come near or withdraw from the earth. He fashioned first an armillary sphere. He joined the two circles called by the Greeks ''coluri'' and by the Latins ''incidentes'' because they fell upon each other, and at their extremities he placed the poles. He drew with great art and accuracy, across the ''colures'', five other circles called parallels, which, from one pole to the other, divided the half of the sphere into thirty parts. He put six of these thirty parts of the half-sphere between the pole and the first circle; five between the first and the second; from the second to the third, four; from the third to the fourth, four again; five from the fourth to the fifth; and from the fifth to the pole, six. On these five circles he placed obliquely the circles that the Greeks call ''loxos'' or ''zoe'', the Latins ''obliques'' or ''vitalis'' (the zodiac) because it contained the figures of the animals ascribed to the planets. On the inside of this oblique circle he figured with an extraordinary art the orbits traversed by the planets, whose paths and heights he demonstrated perfectly to his pupils, as well as their respective distances.{{sfnp |Darlington|1947| pp=468–469}}}}

Richer wrote about another of Gerbert's last armillary spheres, which had sighting tubes fixed on the axis of the hollow sphere that could observe the constellations, the forms of which he hung on iron and copper wires.<ref name="darlington 469">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=469}}.</ref> This armillary sphere was also described by Gerbert in a letter to his colleague Constantine.<ref name="darlington 469 470">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|pp=469–470}}.</ref> Gerbert instructed Constantine that, if doubtful of the position of the [[pole star]], he should fix the sighting tube of the armillary sphere into position to view the star he suspected was it, and if the star did not move out of sight, it was thus the pole star.<ref name="darlington 470">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=470}}.</ref> Furthermore, Gerbert instructed Constantine that the north pole could be measured with the upper and lower sighting tubes, the Arctic Circle through another tube, the Tropic of Cancer through another tube, the equator through another tube, and the [[Tropic of Capricorn]] through another tube.<ref name="darlington 470"/>

=== Scientific library ===
In late 984, Gerbert sent a letter to abbot Eberhard of Tours concerning the foundation of a large scientific library.<ref name="Freudenhammer 2020 142">{{Cite journal |last=Freudenhammer |first=Thomas |date=2020 |title=Lupitus of Barcelona - Lupitus von Barcelona: On the identity of a tenth century scientific translator |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48616035 |journal=Sudhoffs Archiv |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=142 |doi=10.25162/sar-2020-0005 |jstor=48616035 |issn=0039-4564 }}</ref> He dedicated immense sums of money to establishing the library and purchasing texts from a wide variety of western European authors.<ref name="Freudenhammer 2020 142"/>  He wrote to many monks and abbots in Europe requesting classical literature from their monasteries.<ref name="Freudenhammer 2020 142"/> Gerbert was also able to acquire some work from earlier era authors such as [[Cicero]] and [[Statius]].<ref name="Freudenhammer 2020 142"/> Two specific requests Gerbert made that documentation exists for are letters sent to Lupitus of Barcelona and Bishop Miró Bonfill of Girona, asking the former for an astrology book and the latter for an arithmetic book.<ref name="Freudenhammer 2020 142"/> It can be inferred from this that the library contained many volumes of books covering a wide variety of topics, but the exact size and influence the library had is seemingly unknown.

==Ecclesiastical career==
In 969, Borrell II made a pilgrimage to [[Rome]], taking Gerbert with him. There Gerbert met [[Pope John XIII]] and [[Emperor Otto I]]. The pope persuaded Otto I to employ Gerbert as a tutor for his young son, [[Otto II]]. Some years later, Otto I gave Gerbert leave to study at the [[cathedral school of Rheims]] where he was soon appointed a teacher by Archbishop [[Adalberon (archbishop of Reims)|Adalberon]] in 973. He remained in this position until 989, with the only gap being his time as the head of the monastery of Bobbio from 981 to 983.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freudenhammer |first=Thomas |date=2021 |title=Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe - Gerbert von Aurillac und die Übermittlung der arabischen Ziffern nach Europa |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48636817 |journal=Sudhoffs Archiv |volume=105 |issue=1 |pages=3–19 |doi=10.25162/sar-2021-0001 |jstor=48636817 |issn=0039-4564}}</ref> When Otto II became sole [[Holy Roman Emperor|emperor]] in 973, he appointed Gerbert the abbot of the [[Bobbio Abbey|monastery of Bobbio]] and also appointed him as count of the district, but the abbey had been ruined by previous abbots, and Gerbert soon returned to Rheims. After the death of Otto II in 983, Gerbert became involved in the politics of his time. In 985, with the support of his archbishop, he opposed King [[Lothair of France]]'s attempt to take [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]] from Emperor [[Otto III]] by supporting [[Hugh Capet]]. Hugh became [[king of France]], ending the [[Carolingian]] line of kings in 987.

Adalberon died on 23 January 989.<ref name="darlington 471">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=471}}.</ref> Gerbert was a natural candidate for his succession,<ref name="darlington 472"/> but King Hugh appointed [[Arnulf (archbishop of Reims)|Arnulf]], an illegitimate son of King Lothair, instead. Arnulf was deposed in 991 for alleged treason against Hugh, and Gerbert was elected his successor. There was so much opposition to Gerbert's elevation to the See of Rheims, however, that [[Pope John XV]] (985–996) sent a legate to France who temporarily suspended Gerbert from his episcopal office. Gerbert sought to show that this decree was unlawful, but a further synod in 995 declared Arnulf's deposition invalid. Gerbert then became the teacher of [[Otto III]], and [[Pope Gregory V]] (996–999), Otto III's cousin, appointed him [[archbishop of Ravenna]] in 998.
[[File:Silvestr2.jpg|thumb|Seal of Sylvester II]]
With imperial support, Gerbert was elected to succeed Gregory V as [[pope]] in 999. Gerbert took the name of Sylvester II, alluding to [[Sylvester I]] (314–335),{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} the advisor to Emperor [[Constantine I]] (324–337). Soon after he became pope, Sylvester II confirmed the position of his former rival Arnulf as archbishop of Rheims. As pope, he took energetic measures against the widespread practices of [[simony]] and concubinage among the clergy, maintaining that only capable men of spotless lives should be allowed to become bishops. In 1001, the Roman populace revolted, forcing Otto III and Sylvester II to flee to [[Ravenna]]. Otto III led two unsuccessful expeditions to regain control of the city and died on a third expedition in 1002. Sylvester II returned to Rome soon after the emperor's death, although the rebellious nobility remained in power, and he died a little later. Sylvester is buried in [[St. John Lateran]].

==Legacy==
[[Image:SylvestreII aurilac.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Statue of Pope Sylvester II in Aurillac, France]]
Gerbert of Aurillac was a noted humanist. He read [[Virgil]], [[Cicero]] and [[Boethius]]; he studied Latin translations of [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] and [[Aristotle]]. He had a very accurate classification of the different disciplines of philosophy. He was the first [[French pope]].

Gerbert was said to be one of the most noted scientists of his time. Gerbert wrote a series of works dealing with matters of the [[quadrivium]] ([[arithmetic]], [[geometry]], [[astronomy]], [[music]]), which he taught using the basis of the [[trivium (education)|trivium]] ([[grammar]], [[logic]], and [[rhetoric]]). In Rheims, he constructed a [[hydraulic]]-powered [[Organ (music)|organ]] with brass pipes that excelled all previously known instruments,<ref name="darlington 473">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=473}}.</ref> where the air had to be pumped manually. In a letter of 984, Gerbert asks [[Lupitus of Barcelona]] for a book on [[astrology]] and [[astronomy]], two terms historian S. Jim Tester says Gerbert used synonymously.{{sfnp |Tester|1987| p=132}} Gerbert is sometimes credited with the invention of the first [[mechanical clock]] in 996, though it was perhaps only an elaborate [[water clock]], as the [[verge and foliot]] does not appear to have been invented until the 13th century.<ref>Becker, Barbara J. "[https://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/bjbecker/spinningweb/lecture6.html Lecture 6.  Measuring Time]." [[University of California, Irvine]]. Accessed 6 February 2024.</ref> Gerbert may have been the author of a description of the [[astrolabe]] that was edited by [[Hermannus Contractus]] some 50 years later. Besides these, as Sylvester II he wrote a dogmatic treatise, ''De corpore et sanguine Domini''—On the Body and Blood of the Lord.

===Legends===
[[File:Silvester II. and the Devil Cod. Pal. germ. 137 f216v (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Pope Sylvester II and the Devil in an illustration of {{Circa|1460}}]]

The legend of Gerbert grows from the work of the English monk William of Malmesbury in ''[[De Rebus Gestis Regum Anglorum]]'' and a polemical pamphlet, ''Gesta Romanae Ecclesiae contra Hildebrandum'', by [[Beno of Santi Martino e Silvestro|Cardinal Beno]], a partisan of [[Emperor Henry IV]] who opposed [[Pope Gregory VII]] in the [[Investiture Controversy]].{{Citation needed|reason=Lacks citations of secondary sources||date=April 2017}} According to the legend, Gerbert traveled to Spain in order to further his knowledge of the lawful arts, as defined by the quadrivium. Gerbert quickly became more knowledgeable than anyone around him in mathematics, astronomy, and astrology. This is the point in William of Malmesbury's testimony where Gerbert is said to have begun learning the dark arts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=of Malmesbury |first=William |title=William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England |publisher=J. A. Giles |date=December 2015 |edition=[eBook #50778] |pages=173}}</ref> During Gerberts time in Spain, he was said to live with a Saracen philosopher, who was responsible for giving this knowledge to Sylvester. This knowledge was first obtained through using money and promises as bartering chips for the philosoper's books, which Gerbert translated and learned from.<ref name=":0" /> Despite his efforts, there was one book that Gerbert was not able to coax from the philosopher.<ref name=":0" /> This book was said to contain all of the knowledge the Saracen philosopher had on the dark arts. After resorting to using wine, and intimacy with his daughter, Gerbert was able to steal the book from under the philosopher's pillow while he slept.<ref name=":0" /> Gerbert fled, pursued by the victim, who could trace the thief by the stars, but Gerbert was aware of the pursuit, and hid hanging from a wooden bridge, where, suspended between heaven and earth, he was invisible to the magician.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shmarakov |first1=Roman |author-link1=Roman Shmarakov |title=Книжица наших забав |date=2019 |publisher=ОГИ |isbn=978-5-94282-868-4 |language=ru}}</ref>

[[File:II Szilveszter pápa a Szent Gellért templom előtt.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Statue of Pope Sylvester II in [[Budapest]], Hungary]]

Gerbert was supposed to have built a [[brazen head]]. This "robotic" head would answer his questions with "yes" or "no".  He was also reputed to have had a [[pact with the devil|pact]] with a female demon called Meridiana, who had appeared after he had been rejected by his earthly love, and with whose help he managed to ascend to the papal throne (another legend tells that he won the papacy playing dice with the Devil).<ref>{{cite book |author-link=E. M. Butler |first=E. M. |last=Butler |title=The Myth of the Magus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1948 |page=157 }}</ref>

According to the legend, Meridiana (or the bronze head) told Gerbert that if he should ever read a [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in Jerusalem, the Devil would come for him. Gerbert then cancelled a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but when he read Mass in the church [[Santa Croce in Gerusalemme]] ("Holy Cross of Jerusalem") in Rome, he became sick soon afterwards and, dying, he asked his cardinals to cut up his body and scatter it across the city.  In another version, he was even attacked by the Devil while he was reading the Mass, and the Devil mutilated him and gave his gouged-out eyes to demons to play with in the Church. Repenting, Sylvester II then cut off his hand and his tongue.

The inscription on Gerbert's tomb reads in part {{lang|la|Iste locus Silvestris membra sepulti venturo Domino conferet ad sonitum}} ("This place will yield to the sound [of the last trumpet] the limbs of buried Sylvester II, at the advent of the Lord", mis-read as "will make a sound") and has given rise to the curious legend that his bones will rattle in that tomb just before the death of a pope.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/5*.html#sec21 |chapter=Papal Tombs |title=Pagan and Christian Rome |first=Rodolfo |last=Lanciani |publisher=Houghton, Mifflin |location=Boston |year=1892 }}</ref>

The story of the crown and [[papal legate]] authority allegedly given to [[Stephen I of Hungary]] by Sylvester in the year 1000 (hence the title '[[apostolic king]]') is noted by the 19th-century historian Lewis L. Kropf as a possible forgery of the 17th century.{{sfnp |Kropf|1898| p=290}} Likewise, the 20th-century historian Zoltan J. Kosztolnyik states that "it seems more than unlikely that Rome would have acted in fulfilling Stephen's request for a crown without the support and approval of the [[Holy Roman Emperor|emperor]]."{{sfnp |Kosztolnyik|1977| p=35}}

Though the testimony of William of Malmesbury did much to discredit and defame Gerbert, there were many important intellectual distinctions made from it.<ref name="Celestial Divination">{{Cite journal |last=Truitt |first=E.R. |date=April 2012 |title=Celestial Divination and Arabic Science in Twelfth-Century England: The History of Gerbert of Aurillac's Talking Head |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23253761 |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=201–222 |doi=10.1353/jhi.2012.0016 |jstor=23253761 }}</ref> For example, the legend of Gerbert of Aurilac's talking head helped to describe the line between prohibited and permitted knowledge. Gerbert did work in music theory, mathematics, geometry, and several other fields accepted and taught in the quadrivium.<ref name="Celestial Divination" /> All of the works he did related to these subjects were not brought into question and were accepted as well as appreciated. But works done outside of the accepted liberal arts was condemned, including things learned from bird's songs and flight patterns, as well as the necromancy he was rumored to have taken part in.<ref name="Celestial Divination" />

===Honours===
Hungary issued a commemorative stamp honouring Pope Sylvester II on 1 January 1938,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1938|title = Hungary : Stamps &#91;Year: 1938&#93; &#91;1/5&#93;}}</ref> and France honoured him in 1964 by issuing a postage stamp.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/2626-France/year/1964/page/4|title = France : Stamps &#91;Year: 1964&#93; &#91;4/6&#93;}}</ref>

==Works==
[[File:Pope Sylvester II (Gerbert d'Aurillac) - De geometria.jpg|thumb|12th century copy of ''De geometria'']]
Gerbert's writings were printed in volume 139 of the ''[[Patrologia Latina]]''. Darlington notes that Gerbert's preservation of his letters might have been an effort of his to compile them into a textbook for his pupils that would illustrate proper letter writing.<ref name="darlington 468"/> His books on mathematics and astronomy were not research-oriented; his texts were primarily educational guides for his students.<ref name="darlington 468"/>

;Mathematical writings
* ''Libellus de numerorum divisione''<ref name="darlington 468 footnote">{{harvtxt|Darlington|1947|p=468, footnote 43}}</ref>
* ''De geometria''<ref name="darlington 468 footnote"/>
* ''Regula de abaco computi''<ref name="darlington 468 footnote"/>
* ''Liber abaci''<ref name="darlington 468 footnote"/>
* ''Libellus de rationali et ratione uti''<ref name="darlington 468 footnote"/>
;Ecclesiastical writings
* ''Sermo de informatione episcoporum''
* ''De corpore et sanguine Domini''
* ''Selecta e concil. Basol., Remens., Masom., etc.''
;Letters
* ''Epistolae ante summum pontificatum scriptae'' (218 letters, including letters to the emperor, the pope, and various bishops)
* ''Epistolae et decreta pontificia'' (15 letters to various abbots and bishops, including Arnulf)
** a dubious letter to Otto III
** five short poems
;Other writings
* ''Acta concilii Remensis ad S. Basolum''
* ''Leonis legati epistola ad Hugonem et Robertum reges''
* ''Celebacy for the guarantee of our future''

== In popular culture ==
* Gerbert D'Aurillac appears as an adversary in [[Deborah Harkness]]' novel series called the ''[[All Souls Trilogy]]''. He is portrayed by [[Trevor Eve]] in the trilogy's [[A Discovery of Witches (TV series)|television adaptation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Discovery of Witches (cast section) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177461/ |website=IMDb |date=7 April 2019 |access-date=11 May 2021}}</ref>
* Gerbert d'Aurillac is the protagonist of [[Judith Tarr]]'s 1989 novel ''Ars Magica''.
* Gerbert d'Aurillac is referred to in the first chapter of [[Mikhail Bulgakov]]'s novel ''The Master and Margarita''.
* Legends about Gerbert D'Aurillac as Pope Sylvester II inspired the short story "The Demon Pope" by [[Richard Garnett (writer)|Richard Garnett]], first published in the original, 1888 edition of ''[[The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales]]''.
* In [[Anatole France]]'s ''[[The Revolt of the Angels]]'', Nectaire (a fallen angel) speaks of this Gerbert: "We taught them letters and sciences. A mouthpiece of their god, one Gerbert, took lessons in physics, arithmetic, and music with us, and it was said that he had sold us his soul." Then "The successors of the studious Gerbert, not content with the possession of souls (the profits one gains thereby are lighter than air), wished to possess bodies also."

==See also==
* [[List of Catholic clergy scientists|List of Roman Catholic scientist–clerics]]
* [[Barcelona astrolabe]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite journal |last=Buddhue |first=John Davis |title=The Origin of Our Numbers |journal=The Scientific Monthly |volume=52 |issue=3 |year=1941 |pages=265–267 |bibcode=1941SciMo..52..265D |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.232254/page/n275/mode/2up }}
* {{cite journal |last=Darlington |first=Oscar G. |title=Gerbert, the Teacher |journal=[[American Historical Review]] |volume=52 |issue=3 |year=1947 |pages=456–476 |jstor=1859882 |doi=10.2307/1859882 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Kosztolnyik |first=Zoltan J. |title=The Relations of Four Eleventh-Century Hungarian Kings with Rome in the Light of Papal Letters |journal=Church History |volume=46 |issue=1 |year=1977 |pages=33–47 |doi=10.2307/3165157 |jstor=3165157 |s2cid=154633530 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Kropf |first=Lewis L. |title=Pope Sylvester II and Stephen I of Hungary |journal=[[English Historical Review]] |volume=13 |issue=50 |year=1898 |pages=290–295 |jstor=547228 |doi=10.1093/ehr/XIII.L.290 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1590059 }}
* {{cite book|language=fr |last=Riché |first=Pierre |author-link=Pierre Riché |title=Gerbert d'Aurillac, le pape de l'an Mil|location=Paris|publisher=[[Librairie Arthème Fayard|Fayard]]|year=1987|isbn=978-2-213-01958-1}}.
* {{cite book |last=Seife |first=Charles |year=2000 |title=Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-670-88457-5 |title-link=Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea |bibcode=2000zbdi.book.....S }}
* {{cite book |last=Tester |first=S. Jim |year=1987 |title=A History of Western Astrology |location=Rochester |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-0-85115-446-6 }}
* Freudenhammer, Thomas (2021). "Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe - Gerbert von Aurillac Und Die Übermittlung Der Arabischen Ziffern Nach Europa." ''Sudhoffs Archiv'', vol. 105, no. 1, 2021, pp.&nbsp;3–19., {{JSTOR|48636817}}

==Further reading==
* Brown, Nancy Marie. ''The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages'' (Basic Books; 2010) 310 pages, {{isbn|9780465009503}}
* {{cite book|last=Carrara|first=Bellino |title=L'opera sicentifica di Gerberto o Papa Silvestro II novellamente discussa ed illustrata|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwI_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA5|year=1908|publisher=Tipografia pontificia dell' Istituto Pio IX|location=Rome|language=it}}
* Navari, Joseph V. (1975). "The leitmotiv in the mathematical thought of Gerbert of Aurillac". ''Journal of Medieval History''. '''1''' (2): 139–150.
* {{cite book|last= Pladevall i Font|first=Antoni|title=Silvestre II (Gerbert d'Orlhac)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioxtAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Columna|location=Barcelona|language=fr|isbn=978-84-8300-514-9}}
* ''A translation of the letters of Gerbert (982–987) with introduction and notes,'' Harriet Pratt Lattin, tr., Columbus, OH, H. L. Hedrick, 1932.
* ''Letters of Gerbert, with His Papal Privileges as Sylvester II, Translated with an introduction by Harriet Pratt Lattin,'' Columbia University Press (1961), {{isbn|0-231-02201-8}} {{isbn|9780231022019}}
* ''The Peasant Boy who Became Pope: Story of Gerbert,'' Harriet Pratt Lattin, Henry Schuman, 1951.
* ''The Policy of Gerbert in the Election of Hugh Capet, 987: Based on a Study of His Letters,'' Harriet Pratt Lattin, Ohio State University, 1926.
* {{cite book|last=Montecchio|first=Luca|title=Gerberto d'Aurillac. Silvestro II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qptTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT66|year=2011|publisher=Graphe.it Edizioni|language=it|isbn=978-88-97010-05-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Lindgren|first=Uta|author-link= Uta Lindgren |title=Gerbert von Aurillac und das Quadrivium: Unters. zur Bildung im Zeitalter d. Ottonen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0mOIAAAAMAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|location= Wiesbaden|language=de|isbn=978-3-515-02449-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Olleris|first=Alexandre|title=Oeuvres de Gerbert pape sous le nom de Sylvestre II...: collationnées sur les manuscrits|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3FbFGV5noYC|year=1867|publisher=Dumoulin|location=Paris|language=fr, la}}
* {{cite book|last=Schärlig|first=Alain|title=Un portrait de Gerbert d'Aurillac: inventeur d'un abaque, utilisateur précoce des chiffres arabes, et pape de l'an mil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yL1s5vNbTpUC|year=2012|publisher=PPUR Presses polytechniques|location=Lausanne|language=fr|isbn=978-2-88074-944-6}}
* {{cite journal |first=E. R. |last=Truitt |title=Celestial Divination and Arabic Science in Twelfth-Century England: The History of Gerbert of Aurillac's Talking Head |journal=[[Journal of the History of Ideas]] |volume=73 |issue=2 |year=2012 |pages=201–222 |doi=10.1353/jhi.2012.0016 |s2cid=170116054 |url=https://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=history_pubs }}

==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{Commons category|Sylvester II}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14371a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070922021941/http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1187&bodyId=1323  Betty Mayfield, "Gerbert d'Aurillac and the March of Spain: A Convergence of Cultures"]
* [http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/gerbert.html Gerbert of Aurillac (ca.&nbsp;955–1003)], lecture by Lynn H. Nelson.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141030073006/http://epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/woman/19.html ''Women's Biography: Adelaide of Burgundy, Ottonian empress''], includes four of his letters to [[Adelaide of Italy]].

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