Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Tatman, Robert wrote: Yes, of course...I had forgotten "the Head" in *That Hideous Strength*. I first read the Perelandra Trilogy in seventh grade, and came back to it only a couple of years ago. June, you're absolutely right about Lewis's prescience. The book is chilling...and perhaps Lewis's best writing aside from *The Screwtape Letters*. Like Lewis, I 'much prefer bats to bureaucrats...' June ;-) |===SEASONS===GREETINGS==| | \ /| | *~o) )_ )_ )_ )_ - * - | | |`--) , ,_),_),_),_/ / \| | ``^^^`` /~\/~\/~\/~\| || | / / / | | | \ / (((((( -+- | | - * -.-#--..-#-..--#-. | | | /|\/__\ /_\ /__\ /-\ | |__//|\\| [] [] || [] [] || [] [] |___/---\___ldb__| artist -SheDragon (Laura) (ldb) *---* revcoal AT connix DOT com *---* It is UNLAWFUL to send unsolicited commercial email to this email address per United States Code Title 47 Sec. 227. I assess a fee of $500.00 US currency for reading and deleting such unsolicited commercial email. Sending such email to this address denotes acceptance of these terms. My posting messages to Usenet neither grants consent to receive unsolicited commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email. ** DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- Yes, of course...I had forgotten "the Head" in *That Hideous Strength*. I first read the Perelandra Trilogy in seventh grade, and came back to it only a couple of years ago. June, you're absolutely right about Lewis's prescience. The book is chilling...and perhaps Lewis's best writing aside from *The Screwtape Letters*. -Original Message- From: YnrChyldzWyld [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, December 11, 1999 5:19 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First "European" -Caveat Lector- On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Tatman, Robert wrote: It's related to Baphomet, and also to the talking brass head that Roger Bacon is supposed to have had. BTW, for an excellent historical fantasy based on the Gerbert story, see Judith Tarr's *Ars Magica*--a well-written, meticulously-researched novel by a trained medievalist. For another relatively modern spin on the 'talking head' and its use by evil forces, read "That Hideous Strength", the third book in C. S. Lewis' "Perelandra" trilogy... I reread it a couple of years ago (having originally read it in the early 70s), and was impressed with how prescient Lewis was in predicting what is now modern society...especially his vision of a world run by a superconglomerate, a 'new world order', as it were... June ;-) DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Tatman, Robert wrote: It's related to Baphomet, and also to the talking brass head that Roger Bacon is supposed to have had. BTW, for an excellent historical fantasy based on the Gerbert story, see Judith Tarr's *Ars Magica*--a well-written, meticulously-researched novel by a trained medievalist. For another relatively modern spin on the 'talking head' and its use by evil forces, read "That Hideous Strength", the third book in C. S. Lewis' "Perelandra" trilogy... I reread it a couple of years ago (having originally read it in the early 70s), and was impressed with how prescient Lewis was in predicting what is now modern society...especially his vision of a world run by a superconglomerate, a 'new world order', as it were... June ;-) *---* revcoal AT connix DOT com *---* It is UNLAWFUL to send unsolicited commercial email to this email address per United States Code Title 47 Sec. 227. I assess a fee of $500.00 US currency for reading and deleting such unsolicited commercial email. Sending such email to this address denotes acceptance of these terms. My posting messages to Usenet neither grants consent to receive unsolicited commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email. ** DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- In a message dated 12/11/99 5:19:35 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: For another relatively modern spin on the 'talking head' and its use by evil forces, read "That Hideous Strength", the third book in C. S. Lewis' "Perelandra" trilogy... I reread it a couple of years ago (having originally read it in the early 70s), and was impressed with how prescient Lewis was in predicting what is now modern society...especially his vision of a world run by a superconglomerate, a 'new world order', as it were... June ;-) Excelent point June, a story I'm familiar with. Lewis had all kinds of neat stuff in that book, a resurrected Merlin, a new Pendragon descendant of Arthur, the talking head which ran the show in the "NWO" collective, Templar like "blasphemies" for initiatives, secret tombs, etc. I highly recommend Lewis' "Space Trilogy" which is full of good stuff, and is just a plain good read. ** *** "Welcome to the desert of the real." Morpheus, "The Matrix". "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of seas of infinity, and it is not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." H.P.Lovecraft; "The Call of Cthulhu" DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- In a message dated 12/10/99 12:02:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It's related to Baphomet, and also to the talking brass head that Roger Bacon is supposed to have had. BTW, for an excellent historical fantasy based on the Gerbert story, see Judith Tarr's *Ars Magica*--a well-written, meticulously-researched novel by a trained medievalist. Thanks for the tip. Incidentally what is with all of these talking heads?!?! Is their some alchemical or Kabbalic underpinning or other occultic significance? Is the head "possessed" by something or someone? Or is it a piece of technology just responding to input like a computer or some such. I was just curious if anyone has any input on this topic, where did all the talking heads come from and what is the "magical" significance to them? (Besides the fact that they ARE heads and that they DO talk which is "magical" in itself). ** *** "Welcome to the desert of the real." Morpheus, "The Matrix". "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of seas of infinity, and it is not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." H.P.Lovecraft; "The Call of Cthulhu" DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
Forwarded from Robert who is out of posts for the day. ** *** "Welcome to the desert of the real." Morpheus, "The Matrix". "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of seas of infinity, and it is not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." H.P.Lovecraft; "The Call of Cthulhu" I'm replying offlist because I've hit my limit for the day. I don't think anybody's every really figured out just what all those heads were. All of the possibilities you've listed have been seriously suggested. Judith Tarr's version of the Gerbert story has a demon imprisoned in the head by a Moorish sorceror to whom Gerbert is apprenticed and from whom he steals the head. "Baphomet" seems to have been a badly scrambled rendering of an Arabic name; what the original was and what its significance to the Templars, if any, was are anybody's guess. It's entirely possible that the Inquisitors made the name up out of whole cloth. Bacon's head may indeed have been a mechanical device of some kind--he was the kind of man who could have experimented along those lines--but was more likely a "magical calculator" for divining, like the "Lull Engine" of Ramon Lull. If you want a *really* scholarly take on all of this, hunt up Thorndike's *History of Magic and Experimental Science*; it's old but still extremely valuable. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 6:19 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First "European" -Caveat Lector- In a message dated 12/10/99 12:02:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It's related to Baphomet, and also to the talking brass head that Roger Bacon is supposed to have had. BTW, for an excellent historical fantasy based on the Gerbert story, see Judith Tarr's *Ars Magica*--a well-written, meticulously-researched novel by a trained medievalist. Thanks for the tip. Incidentally what is with all of these talking heads?!?! Is their some alchemical or Kabbalic underpinning or other occultic significance? Is the head "possessed" by something or someone? Or is it a piece of technology just responding to input like a computer or some such. I was just curious if anyone has any input on this topic, where did all the talking heads come from and what is the "magical" significance to them? (Besides the fact that they ARE heads and that they DO talk which is "magical" in itself).
Re: [CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- In a message dated 12/8/99 6:29:11 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: "Some say that he prayed to Satan to save him from the magician, and that Satan wafted him away beyond the sea. In order to get home, Gerbert agreed to give his soul to Satan, and Satan, in turn, promised to give him powers even greater than those contained in the book of spells. The proof that this story is the correct one is found in the fact that Gerbert kept a human head with him and would put the head on his desk and converse with it through the night, learning many secrets and about the future from it." Sounds suspiciously like the Baphomet head of the Templars. ** *** "Welcome to the desert of the real." Morpheus, "The Matrix". "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of seas of infinity, and it is not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." H.P.Lovecraft; "The Call of Cthulhu" DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Y1K and GERBERT, the First European
-Caveat Lector- GERBERT OF AURILLAC (ca. 955-1003) by Lynn Nelson, University of Kansas, Dept. of History Gerbert was born somewhere in the mountainous region of Auvergne, in central France. Since neither his place of birth nor his parents were recorded, it seems likely that he was of low birth. Sometime about 963, he entered the monastery of St. Gerald at Aurillac. This is the monastery that Gerald the Good had established near his castle just before his death some sixty years earlier, and where he was buried. It was, like Cluny, a rather strict Benedictine monastery and was independent of any local control, being subject only to the pope. Here he studied his Latin grammar under a teacher by the name of Raymond, for whom he held a special affection for the rest of his life. Of course, by this time, "grammar" had come to stand for the verbal skills included in the "trivium" -- grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In 967, Count Borrell of Barcelona visited the monastery, and the abbot asked the count to take Gerbert back to Spain with him so the lad could study mathematics there. It would seem that Gerbert had proven to be an apt pupil, and his abbot wanted to see him go on to study the "quadrivium" -- arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Borrell agreed and put the lad in the care of the bishop of Vic, where there was a cathedral school. Catalunya, in which both Barcelona and Vic were located, was a frontier territory, and there was considerable communication between Catalunya and the Muslims of al-Andalus to the south. Al-Andalus was much more advanced that Christian Europe. While the greatest library in Christian Europe boasted less than a thousand volumes, the library in the Muslim capital of Cordoba held over four hundred thousand. Catalunya benefitted from the proximity of the cultured Muslims, and the libraries of the cathedral of Vic and the nearby monastery of Ripoll were among the largest and best equipped in Europe. The proximity of the Muslims meant more than that in the matter of the subjects of the quadrivium, however. The Muslims had fallen heir to both Greek and Persian science in their initial expansion and had translated many classics into Arabic. At the same time, Arabic traders and travelers were in contact with India and China and had absorbed many of their advances. Muslim "scientists" were highly regarded, and perhaps nowhere in Islam as much as in al-Andalus. Muslim astronomy was the most advanced in the world, and Muslim astronomers proficient in using the astrolabe had done much to map the skies. Although the names of modern planets and constellations are Latin, the names of most major stars --Altair, Deneb, Rigel, Sirius, Fomalhaut, Aldeberan, Betelgeuse-- are Arabic as are many of the other terms of astronomy, such as azimuth, almagest, almanac, and the Zodiac. The Arabs were even further advanced in the realm of arithmetic. They had adopted the concept of zero from the Indians and used a positional numeric system much like the modern system -- in fact, our numerals are based on the Arabic notation. They had also borrowed the abacus from the Chinese and were proficient in its use. They had gone beyond arithmetic and had established algebra, were investigating prime numbers and coordinate equations. Their study of proportions made it possible for them to approach music in a quite precise manner, distinguishing accurately between notes, developing theories of harmonies and discords, and constructing musical instruments with quite accurate tuning. The cathedral school of Vic was able to offer Gerbert much of this knowledge, and Gerbert took full advantage of the opportunity. As a matter of fact, his knowledge and abilities were so great that some of his contemporaries could not explain them except by assuming he was ether a magician or had made a pact with the devil. In this fashion arose the Gerbert of legend: "Gerbert had travelled to Spain, where he became the apprentice of a Muslim magician of wondrous powers. Gerbert came to realize that all of the magician's powers came from the spells that were contained in a book that he kept under lock and key. At the same time, the magician began to suspect that Gerbert wanted to steal his secrets and take them away with him, and so began to watch him very closely and to hide the key to the chest in which he kept his book. The magician had a beautiful daughter, and Gerbert seduced her with the promise of taking her away with him and marrying her. The duped girl helped Gerbert put a drug in her father's evening wine and, when he had fallen into a stupor, got the key from where he had hidden it, opened the chest, and gave Gerbert the book. "Gerbert immediately fled, leaving the girl behind. When the magician awoke and saw what had happened, he got his horse, which could run faster than the wind, and his dog, which could track anything or anyone over or under both ground and
