At the time of Pope Benedict VII, Radulfus was archbishop of Reims. A handsome and energetic man, he was descended from Charlemagne. King Hugo, who then reigned in France and belonged to another royal house, hated Radulfus. He reduced him to a bishop synod while calling up a monk, Guibert, knowledgeable in magical arts19, to take his place.
Pope Benedict learned of this, traveled to France and called a synod in Reims where he removed Guibert from office and reseated Radulfus. Guibert went to Emperor Otto, whom he had earlier taught. Otto first named him to Archbishop of Ravenna and later, with help of the devil, to pope. He named himself Sylvester II (999-1003).
Originally, Guibert was a monk in the Fluery Monastery near Orleans, but left the monastery and entered a bond with the devil who promised Guibert to fulfill all of his wishes. He was later in Spain and achieved great learning, after which he taught many students including Emperor Otto (I) and the French king Robert.
After becoming pope, he once asked the devil how long he would live in this worthy office. He received the answer that he would live just as long as he avoided singing the mass in Jerusalem. For this, he was happy since he had no intention of making a pilgrimage to the holy land.
Soon thereafter Pope Sylvester went to the Lateran to celebrate a mass in a nearby church there — the name of which was Jerusalem20. As soon as he entered, he began to tremble and he noticed from the noise that the devil was making all around him, that his last hour had come. He started to gasp loudly from regret and fear, but he never doubted on God’s mercy. He then confessed his sins to all who were present and commanded that he should be cut to pieces while still alive and then his limbless body should be tied between two wild beasts of burden. Wherever they then came to rest is where he should be buried21.
This was done. The animals led the body to the main church of the Lateran, and there Sylvester was buried. As proof that God had pardoned him, it is also told that before the death of a pope the sound of breaking bones can be heard coming from Sylvester’s tomb; also, before a pope’s death, Sylvester’s bones sweat. This is stated on an inscription on the stone crypt.
19This tale confuses a historical “antipope” Guibert, who lived and reigned as pope from ca. 1080 – 1100 as Clement III, with Gerbert d’Aurillac who became Pope Sylvester II. The latter was sent by the church to Spain to study science and intellectualism favored in the Arab world. As a result, in some circles this made him suspect of being a sorcerer and in league with Satan.
20Likely referring to the church known as the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, which exists today.
21The requirement of the dying that their body be buried where it is taken by draft animals without human guidance is shown often. One similar tale is of the Wurmlinger chapel in Gustav Schwab’s poem of the same name: “die Wurmlinger Kapelle” or the Wurmlinger Chapel.It tells of a dying Count Anselm of Calw in the northern Black Forest area in Swabia, southwest Germany, who orders that his coffin be borne on a black wagon pulled by two unguided black draft oxen up on a mountain. He asks that he be buried wherever they stop, and that a chapel be built. I have included a loose translation of the poem in Appendix B.)