Pope Sylvester II ( or Silvester II ) ( c. 946 – 12 May 1003 ), born Gerbert d ' Aurillac ( Gerbert of Aurillac ), was a prolific scholar, teacher, and Pope.

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.

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 ).

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 now became the teacher of Otto III, and Pope Gregory V ( 996 – 999 ), Otto III's cousin, appointed him Archbishop of Ravenna in 998.

Gerbert took the name of Sylvester II, alluding to Pope Sylvester I ( 314 – 335 ), the advisor to Emperor Constantine I ( 324 – 337 ).

* Darlington, Oscar G. " Gerbert, the Teacher ," The American Historical Review ( Volume 52, Number 3, 1947 ): 456 – 476.

* E. R. Truitt, " Celestial Divination and Arabic Science in Twelfth-Century England: The History of Gerbert of Aurillac ’ s Talking Head ," Journal of the History of Ideas, 73, 2 ( 2012 ), 201 – 222.

* A translation of the letters of Gerbert ( 982 – 987 ) with introduction and notes, Harriet Pratt Lattin, tr., Columbus, OH, H. L. Hedrick, 1932.

* 1003 – Pope Sylvester II, born Gerbert d ' Aurillac, dies ; however, his teaching continued to influence those of the 11th century ; his works included a book on arithmetic, a study of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, a hydraulic-powered organ, the reintroduction of the abacus to Europe, and a possible treatise on the astrolabe that was edited by Hermann of Reichenau five decades later.

* Darlington, Oscar G. " Gerbert, the Teacher ", The American Historical Review ( Volume 52, Number 3, 1947 ): 456 – 476.

* May 3 – Martin Gerbert, German theologian and historian ( b. 1720 )

* April 2 – Gerbert of Aurillac becomes Pope Silvester II and succeeds Pope Gregory V as the 139th pope.

Some early legends of the existence of " speaking heads " involved Gerbert of Aurillac ( d. 1003 AD ), Albertus Magnus ( 1198 – 1280 ), and Roger Bacon ( 1214 – 1294 ).

The armillary sphere was introduced to Western Europe via Al-Andalus in the late 10th century with the efforts of Gerbert d ' Aurillac, the later Pope Sylvester II ( r. 999 – 1003 ).

* Darlington, Oscar G. " Gerbert, the Teacher ," The American Historical Review ( Volume 52, Number 3, 1947 ): 456 – 476.

* Martin Gerbert – De cantu et musica sacra

* May 3 – Martin Gerbert, music writer ( b. 1720 )

* 991 – 998: Gerbert d ' Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II

Gerbert insisted that Atto teach him more about these Arabic princes who seemed to him more interested in the sciences and literature than warfare.

Intellectual influences from the Arabic world ( including works of classical authors preserved by Islamic scholars ) percolated into the Christian West via Spain, influencing such theologians as Gerbert of Aurillac, who went on to become Pope Sylvester II and mentor to Otto III.

From the 980s, Gerbert of Aurillac ( later, Pope Sylvester II ) used his position to spread knowledge of the numerals in Europe.

1143 ), Gerbert got the idea of the computing device of the abacus from a Spanish Arab.

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 animal horn by a shieldmaker of Rheims.

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 turn of events outran the messages, when Hugh captured both Charles and Arnulf and convoked a synod at Reims in June 991 which obediently deposed Arnulf and chose as his successor Gerbert of Aurillac.

The turn of events outran the messages, when Hugh Capet captured both Charles and Archbishop Arnulf and convoked a synod at Reims in June 991, which obediently deposed Arnulf and chose as his successor Abbot Gerbert of Aurillac, afterwards Pope Silvester II.

In reply to this the French sovereign dispatched Andrew as his ambassador to Güyük Khan ; with Longjumeau went his brother William ( also a Dominican ) and several others — John Goderiche, John of Carcassonne, Herbert " Le Sommelier ," Gerbert of Sens, Robert ( a clerk ), a certain William, and an unnamed clerk of Poissy.

Gerbert studied in Barcelona in his youth.

Together, they held a synod a few days after the coronation in which Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, was ordered to be restored to his See of Reims, and Gerbert of Aurillac, the future Pope Silvester II, was condemned as an intruder.

His successor was Gerbert, who took the name Silvester II.

Gerbert was born about 946 in the town of Belliac, near the present-day commune of Saint-Simon, Cantal, France.

In the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of Atto, Bishop of Vic, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll.

Gerbert was fascinated by the stories of the Christian Bishops and judges who dressed and talked like the Arabs, well-versed in mathematics and natural sciences like the great teachers of the Islamic madrasahs.

In 969, Count Borrell II made a pilgrimage to Rome, taking Gerbert with him.

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.

Gerbert was a natural candidate for his succession, but Hugh Capet appointed Arnulf, an illegitimate son of Lothair instead.

Arnulf was deposed in 991 for alleged treason against the King, and Gerbert was elected his successor.

Gerbert sought to show that this decree was unlawful, but a further synod in 995 declared Arnulf's deposition invalid.

Gerbert, as a scientist, was said to be far ahead of his time.