Author Nancy Marie Brown will give a presentation on her new
book, The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Who
Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages, in the Villa
Library on Monday, November 19 at 7 pm.
In The Abacus and the Cross, Nancy Marie Brown draws
from 25 years of experience as a science writer and medievalist to
defy conventional wisdom, showing that the church not only
tolerated but embraced scientific inquiry during the so-called Dark
Ages. Brown brilliantly portrays this unexpected union of religion
and science through the story of Gerbert of Aurillac, born an
impoverished peasant, who lived as a monk, a teacher, a spy, a
kingmaker, a visionary, and at last, “The Scientist Pope.”
Nancy Marie
Brown is the author of The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking
Woman and Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist Looks at
Genetically Modified Food, which was named one of the Best
Sci-Tech Books for General Readers for 2004 by Library Journal.
This event is sponsored by the Catholic and
Dominican Institute.
Space for this event is limited. Large parties should
RSVP to cdi@msmc.edu.