Article ID: CBB025167369

Gerbert of Aurillac and the Transmission of Arabic Numerals to Europe (2021)

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The French clergyman Gerbert of Aurillac, later to become Pope Sylvester II, is said to have represented all numbers with only “nine symbols” on his abacus and is therefore regarded as the one who brought the Arabic numerals to Europe. In his own writings, however, he only used the Roman numerals. Early illustrations of Arabic numerals appear in Europe around the year 1000 in the Abacus treatise of Bernelinus of Paris, who was probably a pupil of Gerbert. In two manuscripts of his “Liber abaci” the number “3” is displayed in a peculiar shape, reminiscent of the sign for “three” in Roman shorthand. Since Gerbert used this shorthand, the sign in question could be an indication of his role in the introduction of the new numbers. In the further course of the study an attempt is made to retrace the possible course of the transmission of Arabic numerals from Muslim Spain to Europe.

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Authors & Contributors
Michaela Wiesinger
Ausiello, Giorgio
Ingham, Patricia Clare
Krawietz, Birgit
Wagner, Donald B.
Howie, Cary
Concepts
Diffusion of innovation; diffusion of knowledge; diffusion of technology
Arab/Islamic world, civilization and culture
Mathematics
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
Numerals
Abacus
Time Periods
Medieval
Early modern
Modern
Ancient
14th century
13th century
Places
Europe
China
Italy
Moscow (Russia)
Mediterranean region
Spain
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