Herbert Avrilaksky’s personality aroused great interest among his contemporaries and gave rise to a large number of legends even during the life of this extraordinary public figure. Even now it’s hard to imagine that it was possible to apply such different epithets to one person as the “warlock”, “scholar” and “pope”. However, all this and much more coexisted perfectly in one person. Who is the real warlock Herbert of Avrilak, whom Mikhail Bulgakov mentioned in his immortal work The Master and Margarita? Let's try to find out the truth about this extraordinary man who lived at the end of the tenth century.
Russian literature about the most famous warlock
Most of our compatriots have never heard of Herbert of Avrilak. And, of course, they don’t even have any idea about his activities and his contribution to the development of European science. The only place where modern people could hear the name of the person we mentioned was from the lips of Bulgakov’s Woland, who talked about the original manuscripts of the warlock Herbert of Avrilak of the tenth century. The literary character claimed that he had specially arrived in Moscow to disassemble these mysterious manuscripts, which in an unknown way appeared in the cellars of the state library.
But did Woland hurry to call Herbert Reims (this is another of his many names) a "warlock"? Could a person with such a reputation ascend to the Holy See and head the Catholic Church of Europe? All this does not fit in any way with the image of a dedicated scientist, whom this person appears in his works on computing and astronomy. Who was Herbert of Avrilak actually? And which of the stories about him borders on fiction, and what information can be considered reliable? We will deal with all these issues in the following sections of our article.
Childhood and youth of the future pope
Herbert of Avrilak was born in the 10th century, approximately in the forties in France in a quiet place of Auvergne. His family was characterized by extreme poverty, therefore, in early childhood, the boy was sent to the monastery of St. Herald. There, a curious child received his first education, the monks immediately noticed in him a penchant for science, an inquiring mind and incredible curiosity.
After several years of training, they realized that they could not give the boy the great knowledge that he craved. To the joy of the monks, Count Borrel from Barcelona drove them for some business, they begged him to take an excessively curious young man with them. The monastery suggested that in Spain Herbert would be able to touch the scientific knowledge of the Arab world and get what he so longed for. The count took the young man to Catalonia, where a new stage in his life began.
The last outpost of the Christian world
Once in Spain, the young man was transferred to the municipality of Vic, where he was sent to the training of Bishop Ato. In the tenth century, Catalonia was practically a fragment of the Christian world, surrounded by an Arab caliphate. She bordered on Andalusia, which allowed the young man to be in Cordoba - the main city of the caliphate.
Interestingly, at that time Europe did not possess a bit of knowledge of the Arab world. The largest library of the caliphate totaled up to five hundred thousand manuscripts and treatises on various scientific topics. All of them were available for study to a young scientist who literally absorbed new knowledge from the source.
It is worth noting that the information contained in the library manuscripts, Herbert Avrilaksky almost bewitched. He could not tear himself away from them, sitting for hours reading. It was these facts from the biography of the young man that later became the basis for calling him the “warlock”. After all, he mastered the Arabic numerals, which he easily operated in his mind, which astounded his contemporaries. They attributed such skills only to the magical abilities of the young man. Here, in Spain, the young man got the opportunity to work with an abacus, which can be considered the first computer in the world. It is thanks to her that scores and many other tools appeared in the future, allowing quickly to make the most complex calculations.
At the same time, Herbert Avrilaksky began writing scientific treatises on various topics, from geometry to music. All of them later became the basis for European scientists.
Pilgrimage to Rome and life in Reims
In the seventies of the tenth century, the young man, together with his patron, went to France, where he was to meet the head of the Catholic Church and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Otton I was delighted with the mind and knowledge of the young man, so he set out to make him the mentor of his son. Herbert spent several years in this occupation, he worked diligently in his duty, teaching the future emperor everything he knew. However, after some time, he realized that he needed to continue his studies and asked the emperor for help in Reims, where the best schools in France at that time were located.
Here, the warlock Herbert of Avrilak, whose manuscripts became basic in the teaching of certain subjects, spent many years. He was involved in the construction of the organ, the first abacus in Europe, taught rhetoric, dialectics and collected the rarest scientific treatises for the library.
Numerous legends circulate about this period of his life, but historians believe that most of them are true. For example, it is known that for a whole day he was discussing with the most famous dialectician from Germany, finally wearying the emperor, who, by his command, stopped the dispute of two scientists. It was also Herbert of Reims who managed to lay the foundations of the European scholasticism, which later was famous not only for France, but also for other countries. Students from all over Europe flocked to this unique person, but he suddenly chose the path of a clergyman.
Tiara of the pope
It is interesting and almost unbelievable for that time that the scientist, to whom accusations of witchcraft and connection with the devil were periodically sounded, confidently made a church career, receiving one appointment after another. At the turn of the millennium, Herbert was elected Pope and began to call himself Sylvester II. For the first time the head of the Catholic Church was a Frenchman from a poor family who did not have a special education.
In this position, Herbert lasted four years, constantly confronted with the unrest, which forced the Pope, in the end, to flee from Rome. His pupil tried several times to regain the imperial throne, but failed to achieve this and passed away. However, a talented scientist and public figure after his death again regained the title of head of the Catholic Church and soon died under the name of Sylvester II.
The Black Legend: Herbert of Avrilak
From all that we have told you about, perhaps, the most mysterious person of the tenth century, it is difficult to understand why he was often accused of being a warlock. But in fact, there were numerous legends about him, according to which he was associated with the devil himself and his minions.
The most incredible rumors were generated by the election of Herbert of Reims as pope. Many of his contemporaries said that he received his appointment after he defeated the devil in the dice. In this game, the scientist had no equal, so he managed to outwit the messenger of hell. He, in turn, promised the winner to fulfill any desire. As a result, Sylvester II became the head of the Catholic Church.
Another legend tells how Herbert of Avrilak received his knowledge. Some French claimed that in Cordoba he studied with the famous magician, who owned a unique book. It collected all the spells known to sorcerers and sorcerers of antiquity. The cunning Frenchman decided to steal this treasure and seduced the magician's daughter. Blinded by love, she herself handed the magic book to her father’s pupil at night, after which Herbert disappeared. The next morning the sorcerer rushed in pursuit, he could feel everything that was on the ground, underground and in the air, so he easily caught up with the fugitive. However, he managed to hide under the bridge, clinging to its protruding parts. Thus, he was sheltered from the all-seeing gaze of the sorcerer. In the future, as people said, the magic book more than once helped Herbert in his work.
Talking head
Supported rumors about the relationship of the newly-made pope with the warlocks and the story of the talking head. According to legend, it was inherited by Herbert of Avrilak from adherents of a secret magical society, which, according to some rumors, still exists today. This amazing mechanism could answer the simplest questions requiring monosyllabic yes or no answers.
It is believed that this particular head predicted the pope's death after the celebrated Mass on the promised land. After such a prediction, Sylvester II refused to go to Israel, but death was trickier than him.
The posthumous fate of the first Frenchman on the Holy See
Even the death of Herbert of Reims is shrouded in legends and secrets. Some of his contemporaries claimed that he died just after he served in a small church. Surprisingly, the pope did not know that the people called her "Jerusalem." Thus the prediction of the magic head came true. Dying, Sylvester II ordered to cut his body into pieces and scatter it on different sides. Many said that he was trying to deceive the devil, to whom he sold his soul.
Interestingly, on the tombstone of the great scientist, not quite ordinary words are written. They can be translated in such a way that a definite prediction develops. According to him, before the death of the next pope in the tomb, a roar of the bones of Herbert of Avrilak, who cannot find peace in his grave, can be heard for several nights.
Manuscripts of the great scientist
What about manuscripts? After all, it was with them that we began our story about this extraordinary man. Unfortunately, after his death, no one ever found any treatises that would contain mystical knowledge. However, historians claim that Prince Vladimir, who baptized Russia, personally met with Sylvester II. Therefore, it is quite possible that Bulgakov in his work wrote about real manuscripts that have been stored for many years on the territory of our country.
Despite the fact that magical texts were never found, European scholars actively used scientific treatises once written by Herbert Reims. During his lifetime, he worked on texts on astronomy, geometry and developed his own system of calculations based on the Arabic abacus. The scientist also managed to lay the foundations of acoustics, creating musical instruments in the Pythagorean style. Interestingly, the organ built by the future pope in Reims can be attributed to the first hydraulic musical instruments in Europe.
Of course, those who are looking for genuine manuscripts of Herbert of Avrilak with magical formulas and knowledge may be disappointed with this article. However, most scholars of our time consider the scientific treatises that the most mysterious warlock of the tenth century inherited from his descendants a real treasure.