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Why did Emperor Otto II appoint Gerbert of Aurillac abbot of Bobbio?
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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.
Emperor Otto II appointed Gerbert of Aurillac as the abbot of the monastery of St. Columban of Bobbio following a heated debate in Ravenna in December 980.1
The debate, which concerned the classification of knowledge, took place between Gerbert and Otric, the master of the cathedral school at Magdeburg, who had denounced Gerbert to the Emperor. The dispute was so intense that it was only resolved when Otto II intervened, after which he granted Gerbert the headship of the wealthy monastery.1