990-1009 Musical Scales & Norseman Discover America

This twenty year period covers the reign of King Ethelred the 'Unready' of England and his Queen Emma. And, while Leif Ericsson continued the amazing explorations of the Norsemen by landing on the American coast c. 1000, friction and petty jealousies continued between the Roman Popes and the German Emperor.

Indeed, the only evidence of ‘civilization’ in the West was the development of the Guidonian hand (pictured) by Guido of Arezzo as a mnemonic system where note names are mapped to parts of the human hand. Guido of Arezzo also developed musical notation, the staff and the do re mi scale.

At the start of this period, Otto III was the German Holy Roman Emperor and John XV was the Roman Pope. In 991 Pope John XV negotiated a peace between Normandy and England, and in 992 he accepted Poland as a gift from its ruler.

Pope John XV performed the first ritual of canonizing a saint, and in 993/4 he resisted Gallicanism -- attempts by the Church in France to act independently of papal authority.

Pope John XV’s successor, Gregory V, came to the papacy in 996 and was a relative of Emperor Otto III and was disliked in Rome. He resided in Lombardy and had to deal with an antipope.

Pope Gregory V died in 999 and Emperor Otto III replaced him with Silvester III, the first Frenchman to become pope.

Faced with revolt in Rome in 1001 under the lead of the Crescentii family, both Emperor Otto III and Pope Silvester III were not allowed in Rome.

When Otto III died of malaria in 1002 and was replaced as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor by Henry II, Pope Silvester III was allowed to return to Rome.

Pope Silvester III died in 1003 and was replaced in quick succession by John XVII and John XVIII, both of whom owed their position to the wealthy and powerful Crescentii family.

Pope John XVIII abdicated in 1009, living his last years as a monk, and was replaced by another Crescentii appointee, Sergius IV.