Numerals and Arithmetic in the Middle Ages
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:28th Dec '10
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This volume, the third by Charles Burnett in the Variorum series, brings together articles on the different numeral forms used in the Middle Ages, and their use in mathematical and other contexts. Some pieces study the introduction of Hindu-Arabic numerals into Western Europe, documenting, in more detail than anywhere else, the different forms in which they are found, before they acquired the standard shapes with which we are familiar today. Others deal with experiments with other forms of numeration within Latin script: e.g., using the first nine Roman numerals as symbols with place value, abbreviating the Roman numerals, and using the Latin letters as numerals. The author discusses how different types of numerals are used for different purposes, and the application of numerals to the abacus, and to calculation with pen and ink. The studies include the critical edition of several Latin texts.
'The research represented by these papers is meticulous and insightful; the book should be a first point of contact for any scholar interested in the introduction of Hindu-Arabic numerals to medieval Europe. It does not provide a comprehensive narrative, but that is not the point of a Variorum volume. Rather, it gathers the scholarship together, making it more accessible than it would have been otherwise. That is a contribution for which we should be grateful.' Mathematical Reviews '... this collection of articles is immensely rich in insights... The book can be recommended to anybody working on matters which it deals with...' Aestimatio '... a wealth of information, enriched with bibliography, diagrams, a huge number of photographs of manuscript folia and relevant footnotes, as well as useful indexes on names, manuscripts and mathematical terms. The work bears witness to Burnett's mastery of manuscripts, the Latin Language and palaeography, and of the historical scientific medieval context... an impressive and exhaustive treatment of the subject from many different perspectives, which makes this volume a rigorous and invaluable instrument for scholars dealing with medieval scientific manuscripts.' Suhayl
ISBN: 9781409403685
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 793g
382 pages