The Profane Pope

A number of popes have been accused of being unholy and of committing various sins; one of them was even charged with striking a deal with the devil. Pope Sylvester II, once known as Gerbert of Aurillac, has that distinction. Gerbert was a committed student and educator who had a passion for astronomy and mathematics. So when he was elected pope in 999, he utilized his new position of power to advance his agenda. He is credited with spreading the use of the abacus as well as Hindu-Arabic numbers throughout Western Europe. He produced a treatise on Euclidean geometry, had an astrolabe, and collected manuscripts.

But even so, this was well than a thousand years ago, and not everyone appreciated Pope Sylvester's interest in science, particularly when it came to the Arabic-derived mathematical understanding. Rumors spread that Gerbert was a necromancer and sorcerer working for the devil, who not only gave him magical abilities but also assisted him in obtaining the papal throne.

Such rumors were first spread by his adversaries, especially a cardinal by the name of Beno who claimed that Pope Sylvester "died a horrid and miserable death, and in between those dying breaths, he begged his hands and tongue (with which, by offering them to demons, he had dishonored God) to be cut to pieces."