The Abacus and the Cross: The Story Of the Pope Who Brought the Light Of Science to the Dark Ages [Hardcover]

For decades, students have been taught that the Middle Ages were a dark and backward time, the Dark Ages. But this is a myth brought on by later "scholars" who had an ax to grind against the Christian influence on western civilization. Thinking scholars have been now been asking, "Did all of the advances of Rome disappear at once? Did they all reappear overnight and people suddenly woke to the Renaissance? The answer to both is no. This book is the latest to wipe away these myths and the myths that science and intellect are at odds with religion. The fact is that Christianity's history has been intertwined with these things more than it has been at odds. The "science hates religion" or the two don't mix myths are also the products of those who don't like religion or don't test what they hear. The author does well in debunking the belief that the people of the Middle Ages believed the world was flat (another myth).

There is a wealth of detail here that will appeal to students of Christian history, history of math and science, Middle Ages life and history and so on. Sure, your eyes may glaze over with the detail of paper making or the intrigue of pope politics of the era, but it depends where your interests lie. The fact is the Middle Ages were no more dark then other eras. All have their turmoil. The Twentieth Century was far more dark. The author tries hard to show the lesson of tolerance in the early Middle Ages, but fails to realize that those dark forces were always there even in the stories she writes. Perhaps too many of the corrupt would come into power, but her comment on the Crusades being born out of intolerance is not entirely correct (see God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades). Her book, however, is a giant step in dispelling the myths of our days and reveals to us the roots of our civilization, which has more bright spots than we were led to believe. See also The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success. More on the history of science and religion, see The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist and The Fingerprint of God: Recent Scientific Discoveries Reveal the Unmistakable Identity of the Creator.

Positives and Accomplishments
Actually I give the book 5 stars for Brown's treatment of Gerbert and his immediate environment, and for her scholarship in this regard. She paints an accurate, vivid, thorough, fair, and compelling picture of the man, his work and his direct circumstances (monastery, cathedral school, journeys, and royal court, papacy). In doing this she expressly eschews standard myths and ideological mischaracterizations of the Middle Ages or Gerbert himself basing it on current scholarship.
For these reasons I highly recommend the book.

Deficiencies
I give her four stars over all is because she deserves only three stars for her treatment of many major currents and movements in the broader Medieval world. Actually it's rather weird how she often has no problem pandering to standard myths and mischaracterizations and ignoring current scholarship when it comes the Crusades, Medieval Inquisition, history of Medieval science in general, and medieval religious life even though she explicitly seeks to avoid these for Gerbert himself!

A glaring example. She wonders wide-eyed at how the peaceful coexistence of Christian and Muslim scholars pursuing science shoulder to shoulder in 10th century Islamic Spain could degenerate into the "intolerance" of the Reconquista. Gee, does she wonder at how the peaceful media images of Iraqi children playing with American soldiers while parents smile benignly could degenerate into them wanting us out of their country?

Remedies
Crusades - The New Concise History of the Crusades (Critical Issues in History), Thomas F. Madden, The Crusades: The Essential Readings, The Crusades: A History

Inquisition - Inquisition

History of Medieval Science - The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory to A.D. 1450; Science in the Middle Ages (Chicago History of Science and Medicine); The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages: Their Religious, Institutional and Intellectual Contexts (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science); Science and Religion, 400 B.C. to A.D. 1550: From Aristotle to Copernicus; Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition (Yale Intellectual History of the West Se)

Medieval Religious Life - The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000, 2nd Edition (The Making of Europe); The Oxford History of Medieval Europe; Patricia Ranft, Women and Spiritual Equality In Christian Tradition

I didn't know much about Gerbert of Aurillac before I started reading this book. But what I learned about him has led me to believe that he is one of the most intriguing people that lived during the Middle Ages. Born into a non-noble family, he attracted the attention of his social betters as a youth to eventually become the tutor of emperors and Pope (as Sylvester II).

Nancy Marie Brown has written an interesting biography for the layman that tries to give her reader a window on the personality, the political mileau, and religious thought behind the surviving documents about Gerbert's life. At times, she is highly successful as she explains, for example, the political upheaval and turmoil that led to the ascent of the Capetian dynasty--or the chaotic local politics of Italy that would frustrate visionaries for over a millennium. At other times, however, he job is much more difficult, such as when she tries to illuminate Gerbert's rivalries or his early training. (This is not Brown's fault, but rather the fault of the paucity of documentation about those aspects of Gerbert's life.)

Along the way, Brown uses Gerbert's life as a tool to examine the high Middle Ages--not only how the people at the time lived and though, (No, they did not think the earth was flat.) but also in how we view the period today (which is sometimes at odds with the reality). Brown is very successful in this aspect of her writing and for this reason alone, I recommend the book to anyone. The entertaining writing and the gobs of knowledge you'll gain about a fascinating man are just icing on the cake.

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