How did Gerbert of Aurillac use Hindu-Arabic numerals with the abacus?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Sylvester II Sylvester II, detail from the ivory vessel used at the consecration of Otto III, 996; in the Domschatzkammer des Aachener Domes, Aachen, Ger.

Around 1000 CE, Gerbert of Aurillac, who later became Pope Sylvester II, introduced a specialized version of the abacus to the West. In this system, he represented numbers by using stones, or counters, that were marked with Hindu-Arabic numerals.12

While traditional monastic arithmetic relied on Roman numerals, Gerbert’s innovation integrated the Hindu-Arabic numeral system he had encountered during his studies in Spain. His writings on this abacus became the foundational work on the subject, though these novel methods were known to very few scholars at the time.12