Algorithms, Monks, And Merchants

Computing In Everyday Life In The Middle Ages

Giorgio Ausiello (Sapienza University Of Rome, Italy)

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English

World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
20 March 2025

History of mathematics; Computer science

Summary
Details

This book explores the tight relationship that existed between application needs and computational problem-solving methods during the Middle Ages, particularly the period between the 9th and 15th centuries. It was a time of great cultural and economic evolution, starting with the blooming phase of Arab science and continuing with the acquisition of Hindu-Arabic computation methods (based on the decimal positional number system) in Western Europe.

The aim is to show, by means of suitable examples, how in the Middle Ages mathematics and computation were tightly related to the solution of everyday life problems. These ranges from religious problems like computing the date of Easter to land measurement and financial computations, as well as handling various volumes and managing agricultural resources.

In particular, during the late medieval centuries when the economy saw a substantial upswing, merchants' activity required strong computational skills to solve a great variety of problems. It is such need that led to the creation of the so called 'abacus schools' that the sons of merchants, primarily Italians but also from other European regions, attended during their boyhood to learn computing techniques.

By: Giorgio Ausiello (Sapienza University Of Rome Italy)
Imprint: World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
Country of Publication: Singapore
ISBN: 9789819812837
ISBN 10: 9819812836
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 20 March 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active