Everything about Pope Sylvester Ii totally explained
Pope Sylvester II, or
Silvester II (c. 946–
May 12,
1003), born
Gerbert d'Aurillac, was a prolific scholar, teacher, and
pope. He introduced
Arabic knowledge of
arithmetic,
mathematics, and
astronomy to
Europe, reintroducing the
abacus and
armillary sphere which had been lost to Europe since the end of the
Greco-Roman era. He was the first
French Pope (see
list), reigning from
999 until his death. Due to his connection with science and intellectualism of the Islamic world, there were many rumors and legends in Europe of Sylvester II being a
sorcerer in league with the
devil. There is also speculation that he'd
Sephardic-Jewish ancestry.
Life
Gerbert was born about 946 in the town of Aurillac,
Auvergne region,
France. Around
963, he entered the monastery of
St. Gerald of Aurillac. In
967,
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
Spain and acquire there some knowledge of Arabic learning, but probably only through Latin translations. In the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of
Atto, Bishop of
Vich, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby
Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll.
Borrell II of Barcelona was facing major defeat from the
Andalusian power so he sent a delegation to
Cordoba to request a cease fire. Part of the delegation was Atto who met with
Al-Hakam II of
Cordoba who received him with an honorable ceremony. Atto was mesmerized by the
Arabic palaces in
Cordoba and returned with great respect for the Arabs. Gerbert insisted that Atto teach him more about these Arabic princes who are more taken by sciences and literature than warfare. Gerbert was fascinated by the stories of the Christian Bishops and judges who dress and talk like the Arabs, they're well-versed in mathematics and natural sciences like the great teachers of the
Islamic universities. This sparked Gerbert's veneration for the Arabs and his passion for mathematics and astronomy. Gerbert learned from the Arab teachers in Spain subjects that no one in
Europe had even heard of, the most important being the
Arabic numbers. It used to be rumored that he'd sneak out from the monastery at night to study under the Arabs.
In
969, Count Borrell II made a pilgrimage to
Rome, taking Gerbert with him. There Gerbert met
Pope John XIII (965–972) and the Emperor
Otto I, surnamed the Great (936–973). The Pope persuaded Otto I to employ Gerbert as tutor for his young son, the future Emperor
Otto II (973–983). 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.
When Otto II became
Holy Roman Emperor in
973 (he was co-emperor with Otto I from 967), he appointed Gerbert the abbot of the 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
Lothair of France's (954–986) attempt to take the
Lorraine from Emperor
Otto III (983–1002) by supporting
Hugh Capet (987–996). Capet became King of France, ending the
Carolingian line of Kings in 987.
Adalbero died on
January 23,
989. Gerbert was a natural candidate for his succession, In Rheims, he constructed a
hydraulic-powered organ with brass pipes that excelled all previously known instruments, 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 which historian S. Jim Tester states were used synonymously by Gerbert. 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.
Abacus and Hindu-Arabic numerals
Gerbert learned of
Hindu-Arabic digits and applied this knowledge to the
abacus, but according to
Charles Seife without the numeral of
zero. According to
William of Malmesbury (c. 1080–c. 1143), Gerbert stole the idea of the computing device of the abacus from a Spanish Arab, but historian John Davis Buddhue states "this theory is usually regarded as mere fable." 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 in using only
Roman numerals. The details of Gerbert's armillary sphere are revealed in letters from Gerbert to his former student and monk Remi of
Trèves, his colleague Constantine, the
abbot of
Micy, as well as the accounts of his former student and French nobleman Richer, who served as a monk in
Rheims. Richer stated that Gerbert discovered that stars coursed in an oblique direction across the night sky.
Given this account, 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. By this account, the
polar circle on Gerbert's sphere was located at 26 degrees, just several degrees off from the actual 23° 28'.
Richer wrote about another of Gerbert's last armillary sphere that featured sighting tubes fixed on the axis of the hollow sphere which could observe the constellations, the forms of which he hung on iron and copper wires. This armillary sphere was also described by Gerbert in a letter to his colleague Constantine. 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 didn't move out of sight, it was thus the pole star. 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. This gave rise to legends that portray him as a sorcerer in league with the
Devil. There have been other Popes who were suspected of sorcery, for example
John XXI (1276–77) and
Benedict XII (1334–42).
Pope Gregory XII (1406–15) was questioned about magical practices in
1409 at the
Council of Pisa.
Gerbert was supposed to be in possession of a book of spells stolen from an Arab philosopher in Spain. 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.
Gerbert was supposed to have built a
brazen head, or to have acquired it from the Buddhist secret society of the
Nine Unknown Men. This "robotic" head would answer his questions with "yes" or "no". He was also reputed to have had a pact with a female demon called
Meridiana, who had appeared after he'd 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).
According to the legend, Meridiana (or the bronze head) told Gerbert that if he should ever read a
mass in
Jerusalem, the Devil would come for him. Gerbert then cancelled a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but when he read mass in the church of Saint Mary of Jerusalem (also called "Jerusalem church") 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
Iste locus Silvestris membra sepulti venturo Domino conferet ad sonitum ("This place, at the advent of the Lord, will yield to the sound [ofthe last trumpet] the buried members of Sylvester II", mis-read as "will make a sound") has given rise to the curious legend that his bones will rattle in that tomb just before the death of a Pope.
This is a curious reflection of the Jewish practice of bowing/moving during prayer, in order to fulfill the commandment of praising God with every bone in the body. It is yet another possible clue identifying Sylvester as Jewish. In fact, Sylvester was said to be petrified at the thought of the new millennium: on the last night of the year A.D. 999, Sylvester nervously celebrated mass, thinking the world might end even as he consecrated the bread and wine.
The alleged story of the crown and
papal legate authority given to
Stephen I of Hungary by Sylvester in the year 1000 (hence the reign title '
Apostolic King') is noted by the 19th century historian Lewis L. Kropf as a possible forgery of the 17th century. 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 emperor."
Bibliography
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.
De geometria- 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 bishops, including Arnulf, and abbots
- one dubious letter to Otto III.
- five short poems
- Other
- Acta concilii Remensis ad S. Basolum
- Leonis legati epistola ad Hugonem et Robertum reges
Further Information
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