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Selected Essays on Pre- and Early Modern Mathematical Practice pp 823–876Cite as

(Article II.13.) Hesitating Progress–The Slow Development Toward Algebraic Symbolization in Abbacus - and Related Manuscripts, C. 1300 to C. 1550

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Abstract

From the early 14th century onward, some Italian abbacus manuscripts begin to use particular abbreviations for algebraic operations and objects and, to be distinguished from that, examples of symbolic operation. The algebraic abbreviations and symbolic operations we find in German Rechenmeister writings can further be seen to have antecedents in Italian manuscripts. This might suggest a continuous trend or perhaps even an inherent logic in the process. Without negating the possibility of such a trend or logic, the paper will show that it becomes invisible in a close-up picture, and that it was thus not understood - nor intended - by the participants in the process.

Originally published in Albrecht Heeffer & Maarten Van Dyck (eds), Philosophical Aspects of Symbolic Reasoning in Early Modern Mathematics, pp. 3–56. London: College Publications, 2010 Initially presented at the conference Philosophical Aspects of Symbolic Reasoning in Early Modern Science and Mathematics”

Small corrections of style made tacitly A few additions touching the substance in 〚…〛 Manuscript extracts are redrawn for clarity

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Acknowledgement

I started work on several of the manuscripts used in what precedes during a stay at the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin, in October 2008. It is a pleasant duty to express my gratitude for the hospitality I enjoyed.

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    Jens Høyrup

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Høyrup, J. (2019). (Article II.13.) Hesitating Progress–The Slow Development Toward Algebraic Symbolization in Abbacus - and Related Manuscripts, C. 1300 to C. 1550. In: Selected Essays on Pre- and Early Modern Mathematical Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19258-7_30

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