The year 1000 occurred during the reign of Sylvester II, yet the year didn’t mean much to Europeans because very few people used a calendar that counted years starting at the birth of Jesus. Such calendars had existed since the 500s, but this system of dating gained ground slowly, winning official acceptance by the church only in 1500. Most people referred to the year by the reign of the ruling king or pope, calling the year 1000, for example, the second year of Sylvester’s reign. Few Christians believed that Christ would return to earth in the year 1000. Various itinerant preachers and church
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