The Abacus And The Cross Part 10

Then there is the magical talking head William says Gerbert made in Rome "after close inspection of the heavenly bodies." Strangely, a very similar talking statue that answered yes-or-no questions appears in that "wonderful Roman book of history" by Orosius, which Bishop Racemundo brought back to Cordoba in 949 as a gift from the emperor of Constantinople. Ibn Juljul mentions it; he was the one who told how the Jew Hasdai arranged for Dioscorides' On Medicine On Medicine to be translated from Greek to Arabic. "The pagans of Rome," wrote Ibn Juljul, "pretended that the statue was erected according to the movements of the stars and that it contained the spirit of one of the seven planets." How such a thing got linked to Gerbert, we will never know; perhaps he had heard the tale in Spain and told it himself. Or Gerbert's talking head might have been mixed up with the majesty of Count Gerald the Good in Aurillac, "an image made with such precision to the face of the human form that it seemed to see with its attentive, observant gaze." to be translated from Greek to Arabic. "The pagans of Rome," wrote Ibn Juljul, "pretended that the statue was erected according to the movements of the stars and that it contained the spirit of one of the seven planets." How such a thing got linked to Gerbert, we will never know; perhaps he had heard the tale in Spain and told it himself. Or Gerbert's talking head might have been mixed up with the majesty of Count Gerald the Good in Aurillac, "an image made with such precision to the face of the human form that it seemed to see with its attentive, observant gaze."

Regardless, the magical statue, the pact with the devil, and the gruesome death in "Jerusalem" proved more potent than the abacus, Arabic numerals, experimental geometry, the celestial spheres, or the astrolabe in making Gerbert's name. From the thirteenth century on, Gerbert would be the Magician Pope, Gerbert the Wizard, "the best necromancer in France, whom the demons of the air readily obeyed in all that he required of them by day and night."

Martin the Pole, a Dominican friar and the pope's confessor in the thirteenth century, codified what has come to be known as the Dark Legend of Gerbert. Martin wrote a Lives of the Popes Lives of the Popes that lasted for hundreds of years as the official version. A copy made in the mid-1400s says of Gerbert, "He quitted the monastery and made homage to the devil so that he could obtain all his desires." According to Martin, Gerbert studied, not in Cordoba, but in Seville, "where he made such progress that his wisdom impressed even the highest dignitaries." He taught Emperor Otto III and King Robert of France-but all of these great honors Gerbert received only through the wiles of the devil, who promised him that he would not die before he sang Ma.s.s in Jerusalem. Gerbert, writes Martin, was pleased: He had not the slightest intention of taking a pilgrimage. Then, celebrating Ma.s.s in the church called "Jerusalem," he heard "the strident cries of the devils": that lasted for hundreds of years as the official version. A copy made in the mid-1400s says of Gerbert, "He quitted the monastery and made homage to the devil so that he could obtain all his desires." According to Martin, Gerbert studied, not in Cordoba, but in Seville, "where he made such progress that his wisdom impressed even the highest dignitaries." He taught Emperor Otto III and King Robert of France-but all of these great honors Gerbert received only through the wiles of the devil, who promised him that he would not die before he sang Ma.s.s in Jerusalem. Gerbert, writes Martin, was pleased: He had not the slightest intention of taking a pilgrimage. Then, celebrating Ma.s.s in the church called "Jerusalem," he heard "the strident cries of the devils": He began to groan and sigh. But even though he had been the worst of sinners, he did not despair of the mercy of G.o.d. Confessing his sins in public, he ordered that they cut off his limbs, with which he had made homage to the devil, and that they place his dead trunk in a cart. They should bury him wherever the beasts who hauled the cart stopped. This was done. He was buried in the Lateran, as a sign that he had received G.o.d's mercy. By the sound of knocking bones and the sweating of the marble, his tomb presages the death of any pope.

Martin brought all the elements together: Gerbert's hubris and sin, the exulting devils, the confession, the mutilation, the mercy of G.o.d, and the sweating tomb-to which he adds the knocking bones. In these accounts, "Pride goeth before a fall" is the sole moral of Pope Sylvester II's life.

The Dark Legend survived unchallenged until 1570, when one of Luther's disciples discovered The Acts of Saint-Basle The Acts of Saint-Basle in a German archive. Bishop Arnulf of Orlean's diatribe against the popes-"Deplorable Rome! ... What spectacles have we not witnessed in our days!"-became a weapon in the war between Protestants and Catholics, and Gerbert was named its author. Suddenly his life was seen in a new light. That "pact with the devil" was nothing but a Catholic slur on a great man of science who saw through the rigamarole and hypocrisy of the medieval Church. in a German archive. Bishop Arnulf of Orlean's diatribe against the popes-"Deplorable Rome! ... What spectacles have we not witnessed in our days!"-became a weapon in the war between Protestants and Catholics, and Gerbert was named its author. Suddenly his life was seen in a new light. That "pact with the devil" was nothing but a Catholic slur on a great man of science who saw through the rigamarole and hypocrisy of the medieval Church.

Protestant intellectuals went looking for more of this kind of ammunition against Rome. Soon Constantine's copy of Gerbert's letter collection was rediscovered in a private library-no mention of Gerbert's letters had been made in any text since the twelfth century. In 1587, twelve of the most stridently anti-papal ones were printed by Nicolas Vignier, a staunch Calvinist who was physician and historian to the king of France. One of the letters Vignier chose was Gerbert's attack on Peter of Pavia (soon to become Pope John XIV): "You do not cease from thefts from our church.... Steal, pillage, arouse the forces of Italy against us!" Another decries the "deceit and changeableness" of the church in Italy and ends, "Bewail the future ruin not so much of buildings as of souls; and do not despair of G.o.d's mercy."

At the same time, another set of Gerbert's letters surfaced in France-containing some not found in Constantine's collection; it is thought that Gerbert had originally made it for a friend in Germany. This ma.n.u.script was lent to Cardinal Baronius, the Vatican librarian. Baronius made the copy that now resides in the Vatican. He returned it to France, where the letters were printed in an edition of 1611; the original ma.n.u.script disappeared soon afterward.

Baronius completed his immense Annals of the Church Annals of the Church in 1602-a few years before Galileo invented the telescope. The in 1602-a few years before Galileo invented the telescope. The Annals Annals introduced the Terrors of the Year 1000 to the modern world-ironically, by poohpoohing them. The idea that the world would end in A.D. 1000, Baronius said, was "first announced in Gaul, first preached about in Paris, then proclaimed by the vulgar throughout the world, believed by many, certainly accepted by the simpler minded people in fear, but it seemed improbable to the learned." He cites Abbo of Fleury's letter to the king, claiming to have heard in his youth a preacher in Paris announce that the End of the World would occur at the year 1000. He cites Ralph the Bald, whose signs and wonders included rains of blood, wolves in churches, and unusually large whales. Ralph's work had been ignored for five centuries; Baronius gave it new life. introduced the Terrors of the Year 1000 to the modern world-ironically, by poohpoohing them. The idea that the world would end in A.D. 1000, Baronius said, was "first announced in Gaul, first preached about in Paris, then proclaimed by the vulgar throughout the world, believed by many, certainly accepted by the simpler minded people in fear, but it seemed improbable to the learned." He cites Abbo of Fleury's letter to the king, claiming to have heard in his youth a preacher in Paris announce that the End of the World would occur at the year 1000. He cites Ralph the Bald, whose signs and wonders included rains of blood, wolves in churches, and unusually large whales. Ralph's work had been ignored for five centuries; Baronius gave it new life.

Of the Magician Pope, the Vatican librarian had the same opinion as the Protestants: "Gerbert was nothing but a learned man who was ahead of his time. Those who want to efface his name from the catalogue of popes are ignorant fools perverted by the schismatic Beno. Who can give credence to that fable of the Fields of Mars, of the servant and the pretty knife? There is between this story and that of the lady pope, Joan, one difference: that is, the latter one was imagined to give joy, the other to denigrate."

Another Catholic scholar, Geraud Vigier, added a note about Gerbert to his history of Saint Gerald of Aurillac in 1635. Those old stories of magic and the devil, he wrote, reflected "the beliefs of a simple people in a barbaric century, who believed that anyone who could, following the rules of arithmetic, count how many tiles there were on a roof, was a magician."

With Catholic and Protestant scholars in agreement, the Magician Pope should have been forgotten and only the Scientist Pope bequeathed to posterity. But by putting the Dark Legend into print, Baronius and Vigier unintentionally lengthened its life. Like the idea of the Terrors of the Year 1000, the story of Pope Gerbert the Wizard was too good to rationalize away.

Jules Michelet, in his History of France History of France of 1831, increased the appeal of both by linking them. Michelet created an indelible picture of the Year 1000: "This horrifying hope of the Last Judgment rose throughout the calamities that preceded the Year 1000 or followed right after it. It seemed that the order of the seasons had been overturned, that the elements followed new laws. A terrible plague devastated Aquitaine, the flesh of the diseased burned with fire, came away from their bones, and rotted away." Famine ravaged all the world, followed by cannibalism. Peasants fled their farms, donating their lands and goods to the Church in hopes of being spared. of 1831, increased the appeal of both by linking them. Michelet created an indelible picture of the Year 1000: "This horrifying hope of the Last Judgment rose throughout the calamities that preceded the Year 1000 or followed right after it. It seemed that the order of the seasons had been overturned, that the elements followed new laws. A terrible plague devastated Aquitaine, the flesh of the diseased burned with fire, came away from their bones, and rotted away." Famine ravaged all the world, followed by cannibalism. Peasants fled their farms, donating their lands and goods to the Church in hopes of being spared.

If there had been a real pope in Saint Peter's chair in 999, Michelet implied, people's fears might have been calmed. But "this Gerbert," Michelet said, "was nothing less than a magician. A monk of Aurillac, he was expelled and found refuge in Barcelona, where he defrocked himself to study rhetoric and algebra in Cordoba." He taught Otto II and Otto III, established his famous school at Reims, and became pope. "One day, as he was celebrating ma.s.s at Rome in a chapel known as Jerusalem, the devil appeared and reclaimed the pope. It was a bargain that they had made in Spain, among the Muslims."

In spite of modern scholars' efforts to defeat it-including the publication of all of Gerbert's known works in Latin between 1867 and 1899, and the translation of his letters into English in 1961 and French in 1993-the Dark Legend persists. It appeals to the same mindset that sees science "at war with" religion, or that accepts Washington Irving's fiction about Columbus facing down a council of benighted churchmen who were insisting the earth was flat.

As late as 1988, a writer could present as history a dramatic scene that would have made Irving proud. Citing "an ancient chronicle," he describes Saint Peter's on the eve of the Year 1000, "thronged with a ma.s.s of weeping and trembling worshipers." For many of them, Gerbert, celebrating midnight Ma.s.s, "fulfilled the dark prophecy." He was the Antichrist.

Did he not voice disbelief in the imminent end of the world? Had he not introduced evil wisdom gotten from Jews and Moors? Did he not practice black arts such as astronomy? It was rumored that, in Spain, Sylvester had taken a Mahometan witch for his mistress who had taught him to fly through the air and foresee the future. He was said to have made an artificial man who could speak and answer questions put to him with a yes or a no. He was making spheres depicting the world as an orb. Surely this was blasphemy. It was thought that he had sold his soul to the devil in order to obtain knowledge and honor. And so the worshipers trembled in fear.

There is, unfortunately, no "ancient chronicle" in which Gerbert says Ma.s.s on New Year's Eve 999, in Saint Peter's or anywhere else. No one in Gerbert's lifetime saw him, seriously, as Antichrist (though it was a common insult). Gerbert never voiced "disbelief at the imminent end of the world"; he never mentioned it at all. No one thought Jews or Muslims or wisdom were evil. Astronomy was a central part of the curriculum at all cathedral schools. The witch and the artificial man were inventions of the late eleventh century. Everyone knew the world was an orb. No matter. The Magician Pope sells books.

As the year 2000 approached and scholars looked back to the first millennium, historians held conferences on "The Apocalyptic Year 1000," leaving it up to scientists to rediscover the Scientist Pope. The keynote speaker at the Thirteenth Annual microCAD International Computer Science Conference, held in Hungary in 1999, called Gerbert "the Y1K person most representative of the group gathered here today" and "the Bill Gates of the end of the first millennium." The Millennium Issue of the magazine Searcher Searcher gave him credit for developing Europe's "Computer Number One." In 2000, gave him credit for developing Europe's "Computer Number One." In 2000, Sky & Telescope Sky & Telescope printed an article about "Y1K's Science Guy," which brought Gerbert's story to the attention of an astrophysicist in Rome. With the a.s.sistance of the Vatican, he subsequently organized a series of lectures and events to commemorate the millennium of Gerbert's pontificate, including a grand Requiem Ma.s.s held in the cathedral of Saint John Lateran in 2003. A 1999 letter from Pope John Paul II summed up the official church position: Gerbert was "remarkable" for "the breadth of his knowledge." He was "a learned humanist and wise philosopher, a true promoter of culture, [who] put his intelligence at the service of the human person.... He reminds us that intelligence is a marvellous gift from the Creator." printed an article about "Y1K's Science Guy," which brought Gerbert's story to the attention of an astrophysicist in Rome. With the a.s.sistance of the Vatican, he subsequently organized a series of lectures and events to commemorate the millennium of Gerbert's pontificate, including a grand Requiem Ma.s.s held in the cathedral of Saint John Lateran in 2003. A 1999 letter from Pope John Paul II summed up the official church position: Gerbert was "remarkable" for "the breadth of his knowledge." He was "a learned humanist and wise philosopher, a true promoter of culture, [who] put his intelligence at the service of the human person.... He reminds us that intelligence is a marvellous gift from the Creator."

Gerbert made news again after 9/11. With stricken Americans tending to see all Muslims as terrorists, the Mathematical a.s.sociation of America's newsletter took the occasion to remind its readers that "as mathematicians, we are all children of Islam." Gerbert's cathedral school, the essay continued, was proof that Islam played "a crucial role ... in the development of the West's scientific tradition."

A professor at Nehru University in New Delhi told Gerbert's story once again in October 2006. Her editorial in the Pakistan Daily Times Daily Times responded to Pope Benedict XVI's now-infamous speech in Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted from a medieval text saying, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman." The pope should have searched a little harder in the Vatican Library, wrote the professor, and he might have come upon the story of Gerbert of Aurillac and learned how Islam brought the West the science on which our modern lives depend. responded to Pope Benedict XVI's now-infamous speech in Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted from a medieval text saying, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman." The pope should have searched a little harder in the Vatican Library, wrote the professor, and he might have come upon the story of Gerbert of Aurillac and learned how Islam brought the West the science on which our modern lives depend.

By December 2008, Pope Benedict had learned of Gerbert. In a message on the World Year of Astronomy, 2009, he mentioned that "among my predecessors of venerable memory there were some who studied this science, such as Sylvester II. ... If the heavens, according to the Psalmist's beautiful words, 'are telling the glory of G.o.d' ... the laws of nature which over the course of centuries many men and women of science have enabled us to understand better are a great incentive to contemplate the works of the Lord with grat.i.tude."

Still the Dark Legend remains. In 1843, annoyed by the portrayal of their townsman in Michelet's History of France History of France, the citizens of Aurillac raised funds to have a statue erected in the town square. In 1851, a crowned and dignified twelve-foot-tall bronze pope, sculpted by the artist David d'Angers, was set on top of a granite plinth. His hand is not raised in blessing, but gesturing, as if lecturing on a scientific point. Three bas-reliefs on the faces of the plinth portray him as the shepherd lad discovered by the monks of Saint-Gerald's while studying the stars with an anachronistic telescope; as the inventor presenting his pipe organ, celestial sphere, and (anachronistic) mechanical clock to the emperor; and as the pope carried in grand procession through the crowded streets of Rome.

Yet in 2005, a small community on the outskirts of Aurillac commissioned Hungarian artist Szinte Gabor to cover the walls and ceiling of their church with frescoes depicting scenes from Gerbert's life. Gabor drew the shepherd boy. He drew the pope crowning King Stephen, the first Christian ruler of Hungary. And he drew the studious young monk in Spain, a ma.n.u.script in his lap, scientific instruments scattered all about, a chart of Arabic numerals leaning up against his lectern, and a squat little devil at his feet.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I was introduced to Gerbert of Aurillac through an act of grace. Writing a previous book, about an adventurous Viking woman, I found myself making an imaginary pilgrimage to Rome just after the year 1000. Wondering which pope (if any) Gudrid the Far-Traveler had met, I discovered the Scientist Pope. Gudrid, unfortunately, had arrived twenty years too late; in 1003 she was still in the New World. How might history be different if Gerbert had heard, firsthand, about the new land and people across the sea to the west?

In pursuing Gerbert's story, I am indebted to the many scholars, from Nicolai Bubnov in 1899 to Marco Zuccato, whose dissertation is unpublished as of this writing, who have worked to bring Gerbert's Dark Ages to light. I am especially grateful to Harriet Pratt Lattin for translating Gerbert's letters into English: I would not otherwise have heard his voice so clearly.

A special thanks to the people I interviewed as I traveled in Gerbert's footsteps and tried to understand his science: Sabina Bertozzi (Archivum Bobbiense series, Bobbio), Charles Burnett (Warburg Inst.i.tute, London), Menso Folkerts (University of Munich), Paul Freedman (Yale University), David Juste (University of Sydney), David King (University of Frankfurt, emeritus), Paul Kunitzsch (University of Munich, emeritus), Christian Lauranson-Rosaz (University of Lyon), Jessica Lavelli (CoolTour, Bobbio), Maria Rosa Menocal (Yale University), Flavio Nuvolone (University of Fribourg), Romain Pageaud (Elne Cathedral), Julio Samso (University of Barcelona), and Costantino Sigismondi (University of Rome). Some went well beyond the role of "source," meeting my train, taking me to dinner, finding me a place to stay, introducing me to their colleagues, inviting me on a country hike or a tour of the city, sending me articles and books and photographs, commenting on rough drafts, and just checking in as my writing progressed. I would like to particularly single out Professor Nuvolone. He is said by his peers to be able to talk about Gerbert "as if he were still alive and in the next room," an observation I found to be true. I also give my best wishes to Professor Sigismondi, who hopes to see Gerbert sainted. Finally, though I was unable to meet him in person, I would like to thank Marco Zuccato, who did his best to keep me up-to-date with the latest scholarship through email. I consider all of these scholars-as well as the many others whose books and articles I consulted-to be my teachers. I could not have written this book without their contributions. I hope they will forgive me where my interpretation of Gerbert and his times does not match theirs, or where my book diverges from what they had expected.

Thanks also to Linda Wooster, Loralee Tester, Giovanna Peebles, Peter Travis and Monica Otter (both of Dartmouth University), Susan Bianconi (Yale University), Ginger McCleskey, William Fergus, James Collins, and Jeffery Mathison for their help with translations, travel, library access, and ill.u.s.trations; to my editors, Lara Heimert, whose vision shaped the book, Brandon Proia, whose diligent editing brought it to completion, and Katherine Streckfus, who caught my mistakes; to my agent, Mich.e.l.le Tessler, who guided me through the process of creation; and above all to my husband, Charles Fergus, who gave me confidence.

ILl.u.s.tRATION CREDITS.

Color Ill.u.s.trations (center section) Plate 1 Majesty of Saint Foy Majesty of Saint Foy. Abbey Sainte Foy, Conques. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, New York.

Plate 2 Dedicatory page from Saint Bernward's evangelary Dedicatory page from Saint Bernward's evangelary. Hildesheim DS 18, fol. 16v. Dom Museum Hildesheim.

Plate 3 Aristotle teaching on the astrolabe Aristotle teaching on the astrolabe. Ms. Ahmet III, 3206, Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul. Bridgeman-Giraudon / Art Resource, New York.

Plate 4 Arqueta Arqueta. Girona cathedral. Akg-images / Bildarchiv Steffens.

Plate 5 Gerbert's abacus board Gerbert's abacus board. BnL Reserve precieuse Ms 770r. Bibliotheque nationale de Luxembourge.

Plate 6 Model of the universe, Model of the universe, from from The Phenomenon of Aratus The Phenomenon of Aratus, Ms. 188, fol. 30r, Bibliotheque munic.i.p.ale, Boulogne-sur-Mer. Giraudon / Art Resource, New York.

Plate 7 Map of the world Map of the world. Preussicher Kulturbesitz Phill. 1833 (Rose 138), fol. 39v. Staatsbibliothek Berlin / Art Resource, New York.

Plate 8 The coronation of Otto III The coronation of Otto III. Munich, Bayrischen Staatsbibliothek Cod. lat. 4453, fol. 24r. Bpk / Lutz Braun / Art Resource, New York.

Black and White Ill.u.s.trations viii Map by Jeffery Mathison Map by Jeffery Mathison.

19 The Church of Saint-Michael-of-the-Needle, Le Puy The Church of Saint-Michael-of-the-Needle, Le Puy. By the author.

34 Saint Luke, from Saint Bernward's evangelary Saint Luke, from Saint Bernward's evangelary. Hildesheim DS 18, fol. 118v. (detail). Dom Museum Hildesheim.

55 Keyhole arch at Cuxa Keyhole arch at Cuxa. By the author.

62 Graffiti at the cathedral of Elne Graffiti at the cathedral of Elne. By Romain Pageaud. Retouched by James Collins.

71 Incipit to Gerbert's letter collection Incipit to Gerbert's letter collection. Leiden Voss, Q54, fol. 52v. Leiden University Special Collections.

85 Arabic numerals from a mnemonic poem Arabic numerals from a mnemonic poem. MS Trier 1093/1694 fol. 198r. Anja Runkel, Stadtbibliothek / Stadtarchiv, Trier.

107 Page from Gerbert's geometry textbook Page from Gerbert's geometry textbook. University of Pennsylvania Lawrence J. Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Images ma.n.u.script #ljs 194, folio 10r.

110 Gerbert's letter to Adalbold Gerbert's letter to Adalbold. University of Pennsylvania Lawrence J. Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Images ma.n.u.script #ljs 194, folio 51v.

117 Ptolemy Ptolemy. Ulm Cathedral. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, New York.

141 The Des...o...b..s astrolabe The Des...o...b..s astrolabe. IMA AI 86-31. Inst.i.tut du Monde Arabe, Paris.

164 Gerbert's Gerbert's Carmen Figuratum. Paris, BnF Lat. 776, f. 1v. Bibliotheque nationale de France. Carmen Figuratum. Paris, BnF Lat. 776, f. 1v. Bibliotheque nationale de France.

167 Arabic numerals hidden inside Gerbert's Arabic numerals hidden inside Gerbert's Carmen Figuratum. By Flavio Nuvolone. Carmen Figuratum. By Flavio Nuvolone.

180 Ivory carving of Otto II and Theophanu Ivory carving of Otto II and Theophanu. Reunion des Musees Nationaux / Art Resource, New York.

200 Processional cross Processional cross. Cathedral Treasury, Palatine Chapel, Aachen. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, New York.

225 The Last Judgment from the Bamberg Apocalypse. The Last Judgment from the Bamberg Apocalypse. Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Snark / Art Resource, New York. Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Snark / Art Resource, New York.

235 The Fourth Trumpet The Fourth Trumpet. Apocalypse of Saint-Sever. Bibliotheque nationale de France. Snark / Art Resource, New York.

NOTES.

Introduction: The Dark Ages 1 the world would end: the world would end: On the Terrors of the Year 1000, see Michael Fra.s.setto, ed., On the Terrors of the Year 1000, see Michael Fra.s.setto, ed., The Year 1000 The Year 1000, and Richard Landes, Andrew Gox, and David C. Van Meter, eds., The Apocalyptic Year 1000 The Apocalyptic Year 1000. Signs and wonders found throughout The Five Books of the Histories The Five Books of the Histories of Ralph the Bald, aka Rodulfus Glaber, were translated by John France, Neithard Bulst, and Paul Reynolds in a 1989 edition (hereafter cited as "Ralph the Bald"). Gerbert refers to the "falling away" of churches in his of Ralph the Bald, aka Rodulfus Glaber, were translated by John France, Neithard Bulst, and Paul Reynolds in a 1989 edition (hereafter cited as "Ralph the Bald"). Gerbert refers to the "falling away" of churches in his Acts of Saint-Basle Acts of Saint-Basle, though he doesn't link it to the Apocalypse; see Pierre Riche, Gerbert d'Aurillac Gerbert d'Aurillac, 134. For Saint Augustine and Adso of Montier-en-der, see Benjamin Arnold, "Eschatological Imagination and the Program of Roman Imperial and Ecclesiastical Renewal at the End of the Tenth Century," in Landes et al., 247; for Adso's complete letter, see Adso of Montier-en-Der, "Book of the Antichrist," translated by Bernard McGinn, in Apocalyptic Spirituality Apocalyptic Spirituality, 89- 96. Landes cites Abbo of Fleury and the annals of Anjou, 965 ("Fire from heaven ... "), in "The Fear of an Apocalyptic Year 1000," in Landes et al., 250. "Greed ... " is found in a 997 ma.n.u.script from Saint-Hilaire in Poitiers; see Richard Newhauser, "Avarice and the Apocalypse," in Landes et al., 113. For "Satan ... " a comment by Ralph the Bald, see Henri Focillon, The Year 1000 The Year 1000, 64. Jane Schulenburg traces "Clear signs ... " in charters from 1025-1033 to a standard formula from the seventh century; see "Early Medieval Women, Prophecy, and Millennial Expectations," in Fra.s.setto, 246.

3 "geometrical figures": "geometrical figures": Gerbert of Aurillac, Gerbert of Aurillac, The Letters of Gerbert The Letters of Gerbert, translated by Harriet Pratt Lattin, 299 (hereafter cited as "Gerbert"). I have used Lattin's translations, except where noted. Most of Gerbert's letters are undated; Lattin has attempted to date them more precisely than other editors, considering, as she says in her introduction (30), "all the circ.u.mstances surrounding the letter, namely, its position in the ma.n.u.scripts, the reference to future time in a few of the letters, the speed of transportation of persons, letters, and news, pertinent facts concerning the addressees and persons mentioned in the letters, and events mentioned in the letters as checked by other sources." Where her dating disagrees with the more recent edition, Gerbert d'Aurillac: Correspondance Gerbert d'Aurillac: Correspondance, edited and translated (into French) by Pierre Riche and J.-P. Callu, I have followed Lattin; Riche and Callu date this letter to Adalbold as "997 to 999." Neither edition translates Adalbold's query about the volume of a sphere; it can be found in Nicolai Bubnov, ed., Gerbert d'Aurillac: Opera mathematica (972-1003) Gerbert d'Aurillac: Opera mathematica (972-1003), 302-309 (hereafter cited as "Gerbert, Opera mathematica Opera mathematica").

3 "The Scientist Pope": "The Scientist Pope": Ademar of Chabannes, c. 1030, calls Gerbert Ademar of Chabannes, c. 1030, calls Gerbert philosophus papa philosophus papa and noted his "scientific talent"; see his and noted his "scientific talent"; see his Chronique Chronique, edited by J. Chavanon, 154, and Richard Landes, Relics, Apocalypse, and the Deceits of History Relics, Apocalypse, and the Deceits of History. Landes and others call Gerbert "The Philosopher Pope" and translate the phrase as "philosophical talent," but since Ademar's time the word "philosophy" has been reduced from "all of learning" to refer to a specific discipline. In the tenth century, the seven liberal arts were a subset of philosophy; now philosophy is a subset of the liberal arts, and science is the larger term. "Great genius" is from Richer of Saint-Remy, Histoire de France (888-995) Histoire de France (888-995), edited and translated (into French) by Robert Latouche, vol. 2, 51 (hereafter cited as "Richer of Saint-Remy"). Helgaud of Fleury's a.s.sessment, c. 1041, is quoted by Riche, Gerbert d'Aurillac Gerbert d'Aurillac , 202, as , 202, as son incomparable science philosophique son incomparable science philosophique; I have again translated philosophique philosophique as "scientific" and s as "scientific" and science as "knowledge." "Surpa.s.sed his contemporaries," is from Thietmar of Merseburg, as "knowledge." "Surpa.s.sed his contemporaries," is from Thietmar of Merseburg, Chronicon Chronicon (1013- 1018), translated by David Warner in (1013- 1018), translated by David Warner in Ottonian Germany, Ottonian Germany, 303 (hereafter cited as "Thietmar of Merseburg"). "Acutely intelligent" and "deeply learned" are from Ralph the Bald in Book I of his 303 (hereafter cited as "Thietmar of Merseburg"). "Acutely intelligent" and "deeply learned" are from Ralph the Bald in Book I of his Histories Histories (written before 1030), 27. (written before 1030), 27.

5 first computer: first computer: See "Y1K: Web-Only Supplement to See "Y1K: Web-Only Supplement to The Millennium Issue The Millennium Issue," Searcher Magazine Searcher Magazine, http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jan00/y1k.htm. Function "digitally" is the wording of Arno Borst, The Ordering of Time The Ordering of Time, 58. For a sample chronology, see http://www.cyberstreet.com/hcs/museum/chron.htm.

6 Holy Roman Empire: Holy Roman Empire: The term was not used until the twelfth century, when it was "back-dated" to include Otto the Great as the first Holy Roman Emperor. Otto III would have thought of himself as the Roman Emperor or the Emperor of the West, but for clarity I have retained the modern term. See Henry Mayr-Harting, The term was not used until the twelfth century, when it was "back-dated" to include Otto the Great as the first Holy Roman Emperor. Otto III would have thought of himself as the Roman Emperor or the Emperor of the West, but for clarity I have retained the modern term. See Henry Mayr-Harting, Church and Cosmos in Early Ottonian Germany Church and Cosmos in Early Ottonian Germany, 4-5.

Chapter I: A Monk of Aurillac.

11 "occupied in administering": "occupied in administering": Quotations from Odo of Cluny's "Life of Saint Gerald of Aurillac" in Quotations from Odo of Cluny's "Life of Saint Gerald of Aurillac" in St Odo of Cluny St Odo of Cluny, translated by Gerard Sitwell (hereafter cited as "Odo of Cluny").

13 Celibacy: Celibacy: Kathleen G. Cushing describes the problem of "s.e.xually-active clergy" in Kathleen G. Cushing describes the problem of "s.e.xually-active clergy" in Reform and the Papacy in the Eleventh Century Reform and the Papacy in the Eleventh Century, 98-149.

14 some pray: some pray: Ascelin of Laon, aka Adalberon de Laon, Ascelin of Laon, aka Adalberon de Laon, Poeme au roi Robert Poeme au roi Robert, edited and translated (into French) by Claude Carozzi, 23. I have consistently used his nickname, Ascelin, to distinguish him from his uncle, Adalbero of Reims.

14 "I do not know": "I do not know": Gerbert, 236. "Happy day" is Gerbert, 92; translated by Darlington, "Gerbert the Teacher," 457. Gerbert, 236. "Happy day" is Gerbert, 92; translated by Darlington, "Gerbert the Teacher," 457.

15 Rule of Saint Benedict: Rule of Saint Benedict: The Rule was modified by Benedict of Aniane in the early 800s from the original of Benedict of Nursia. See Leonard J. Doyle's translation at The Rule was modified by Benedict of Aniane in the early 800s from the original of Benedict of Nursia. See Leonard J. Doyle's translation at http://www.osb.org/rb/text/toc.html#toc.

15 poorest and worst: poorest and worst: Details come from the Rule; Scott G. Bruce, Details come from the Rule; Scott G. Bruce, Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism, 177-181; Joan Evans, Monastic Life at Cluny Monastic Life at Cluny, 78-88; and C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism Medieval Monasticism, 112- 115. Since Aurillac was "reformed" by Cluny before Gerbert's time, customs at both monasteries were similar; in general, says Evans, life at a Cluniac monastery was "a moderate interpretation of the Benedictine rule, warmed by charity and illumined by beauty in buildings, services, and music; setting psalmody in place of manual labor, cultivating the arts as well as theology; governed by tradition and custom in every detail of the day, yet saved from deadness alike by religious fervor and charitable deeds" (126).

16 "language of the fingers": "language of the fingers": Odo of Cluny, 33. Lawrence describes the monk's sign language, 118-119; Evans supplies "pancakes," Odo of Cluny, 33. Lawrence describes the monk's sign language, 118-119; Evans supplies "pancakes," Monastic Life at Cluny Monastic Life at Cluny, 88; the signs for "pillow" and the various ideas come from Bruce, 177-181.

17 alone with his thoughts: alone with his thoughts: Lawrence, 119-120. Lawrence, 119-120.

18 pay compensation: pay compensation: Lawrence, 69-70. Lawrence, 69-70.

20 "he stole them": "he stole them": Quotations from Bernard of Angers's Quotations from Bernard of Angers's Book of Miracles of Saint Foy Book of Miracles of Saint Foy in in The Book of Sainte Foy The Book of Sainte Foy, translated by Pamela Sheinborn. For saints as fund-raisers, see Patrick Geary, Furta Sacra Furta Sacra, 24, 71-74.

21 "by trickery or theft": "by trickery or theft": The tenth-century The tenth-century translatio translatio of Saint Biba.n.u.s, as quoted by Geary, 74. of Saint Biba.n.u.s, as quoted by Geary, 74.

22 Gerald's original church: Gerald's original church: Nicole Charbonnel, "La Ville de Gerbert, Aurillac," in Nicole Charbonnel, "La Ville de Gerbert, Aurillac," in Gerbert l'Europeen Gerbert l'Europeen, edited by Nicole Charbonnel and Jean-Eric Iung, 65-70.

23 list of 63 books: list of 63 books: Lawrence describes the books read at Farfa, 115; Evans those at Cluny in 1042, 101. The 415 books at Reichenau are listed by Rosamund McKitterick, Lawrence describes the books read at Farfa, 115; Evans those at Cluny in 1042, 101. The 415 books at Reichenau are listed by Rosamund McKitterick, The Carolingians and the Written Word The Carolingians and the Written Word, 179-182. For Bobbio, see Jean-Francois Genest, "Inventaire de la bibliotheque de Bobbio," in Olivier Guyotjeannin and Emmanuel Poulle, eds., Autour de Gerbert d'Aurillac Autour de Gerbert d'Aurillac, 250-260.

24 Martia.n.u.s Capella: Martia.n.u.s Capella: Henry Mayr-Harting, Henry Mayr-Harting, Church and Cosmos in Early Ottonian Germany Church and Cosmos in Early Ottonian Germany, 21, 197-200, 217-218.

Chapter II: Of the Making of Books There Is No End.

25 "To tell the truth": "To tell the truth": Ulrich of Cluny, in Lawrence, Ulrich of Cluny, in Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism Medieval Monasticism, 115.

26 "place it in limewater": "place it in limewater": Leandro Gottscher, "Ancient Methods of Parchment-Making," in Marilena Maniaci and Paola F. Munafo, eds., Leandro Gottscher, "Ancient Methods of Parchment-Making," in Marilena Maniaci and Paola F. Munafo, eds., Ancient and Medieval Book Materials and Techniques Ancient and Medieval Book Materials and Techniques, vol. 1, 47; and the recipe from Bologna, 52.

29 forty strokes: forty strokes: Michael Gullick, "How Fast Did Scribes Write?" in Linda L. Brownrigg, ed., Michael Gullick, "How Fast Did Scribes Write?" in Linda L. Brownrigg, ed., Making the Medieval Book Making the Medieval Book, 39-58. Another calculation can be found in Philippe Wolff, The Awakening of Europe The Awakening of Europe, 59. The number of scribes and artists needed was calculated by William Noel, "The Division of Work in the Harley Psalter," in Brownrigg, 1-16.

30 bought a lawbook: bought a lawbook: McKitterick, McKitterick, The Carolingians and the Written Word The Carolingians and the Written Word, 136.

30 greatest book collectors: greatest book collectors: Twelve of Gerbert's extant letters contain requests for books. Citations here are from Gerbert, 53, 54, 168, 50. Twelve of Gerbert's extant letters contain requests for books. Citations here are from Gerbert, 53, 54, 168, 50.

32 "shone with the double light": "shone with the double light": Gerbert, 136; translated by Darlington, "Gerbert the Teacher," 458. Eleanor Duckett cites Thangmar's Gerbert, 136; translated by Darlington, "Gerbert the Teacher," 458. Eleanor Duckett cites Thangmar's Life of Bernward Life of Bernward in in Death and Life in the Tenth Century Death and Life in the Tenth Century, 181. Gerbert thanks Raymond twice more; see Gerbert, 140, 230.

34 "He who cannot write": "He who cannot write": Sylvie Fournier, Sylvie Fournier, A Brief History of Parchment and Illumination A Brief History of Parchment and Illumination, 12; "excessive drudgery," Reviel Netz and William Noel, The Archimedes Codex The Archimedes Codex, 220; "Learn to write, boy," John J. Contreni, "The Pursuit of Knowledge in Carolingian Europe," in Richard E. Sullivan, ed., "The Gentle Voices of Teachers "The Gentle Voices of Teachers," 115. See also Wolff, 55. 115. See also Wolff, 55.

35 "In the name of the fatherland": "In the name of the fatherland": From From Life of Saint Boniface; Life of Saint Boniface; "male and female mules," from the "male and female mules," from the Life of Bishop Meinwerk Life of Bishop Meinwerk. Both are cited by G. Tellenbach, The Church in Western Europe from the Tenth to the Early Twelfth Century The Church in Western Europe from the Tenth to the Early Twelfth Century, 25. "Dangling, leaping" is from the notes to Aelfric's Colloquy Aelfric's Colloquy, edited by G. N. Garmonsway, 11n.

35 "sea without a sh.o.r.e": "sea without a sh.o.r.e": Contreni, "The Pursuit of Knowledge in Carolingian Europe," in Sullivan, 121. Contreni is also my source for the outdated textbooks. Contreni, "The Pursuit of Knowledge in Carolingian Europe," in Sullivan, 121. Contreni is also my source for the outdated textbooks.