Gerbert of Aurillac, Pope Sylvester II

Born Gerbert of Aurillac, this bishop and scientist reigned as the first French Pope from 999-1003 AD. dying in Rome on 12 May, 1003  (c. 950-1003).

Gerbert read Boethius, Virgil, Cicero, Porphyry, and Aristotle and classified the different disciplines of philosophy. He wrote a series of works concerning the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music). While in Rheims, he constructed a hydraulic-powered organ with brass pipes that excelled all previously known instruments. He authored a description of the astrolabe that was edited by Blessed Hermannus Contractus 50 years later (see April). In 996 Gerbert constructed a weight-driven clock for the University of Magdeburg, thus becoming the first man to make a mechanical clock.

This calendar uses Hindu-Arabic numbers because of Pope Sylvester II, who introduced the use of modern numerals to the West. While he was at it, he also invented his own version of the abacus (the first- hand-held calculator). His new abacus could now represent any number, no matter how large, using only ten symbols, one of them representing zero. This enormously simplified the calculation process and was much more suitable notation for written arithmetic.  It had 1,000 characters in all, crafted out of animal horn by a shieldmaker of Rheims. According to his pupil Richer, Gerbert could perform mental calculations that were extremely difficult for people in his day to think through using only Roman numerals. Due to Gerbert’s reintroduction, the abacus became widely used in Europe once again during the 11th century. This makes Gerbert one of the first European computer scientists in history.

Gerbert’s study of astronomy was profound. He used a wooden model of the round earth to teach, and also used the model to correctly calculate the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. He also pioneered the use of the armillary sphere to teach math and astronomy, reintroducing a device which had been lost to Latin (though not Byzantine) Europe since the end of the Greco-Roman era. Never one to rest on the work of others, he added sighting tubes to his sphere that allowed the user to locate the north pole, the Tropic of Cancer, the equator, the Arctic Circle, and the Tropic of Capricorn.

But his love of Christ was also deep. While Pope, Sylvester II he wrote a dogmatic treatise, De corpore et sanguine Domini—On the Body and Blood of the Lord. When Stephen (975-1038) became King of Hungary in 997 he wanted to make Hungary a Christian nation, so he sent Abbot Astricus to Rome to petition Pope Sylvester II for royal dignity and for the power to establish episcopal sees. Sylvester acceded to his wishes, recognizing the Magyar nationality and endowing the famous kingly crown on Stephen. His crowning took place on August 17, 1001. The Crown of St. Stephen has become the proud and beloved symbol of Hungarian nationhood and is part of its Coat of Arms.