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SUMMARY:The adoption of Hindu-Arabic numerals in England and Italy\, a com
 parative perspective (13th–16th centuries) - Raffaele Danna (Faculty of 
 History)
DTSTART:20191107T153000Z
DTEND:20191107T170000Z
UID:TALK129844@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Agnes Bolinska
DESCRIPTION:While the first introduction in Europe of Hindu-Arabic numeral
 s has been investigated among scholars\, the history of their diffusion ac
 ross the continent is not well known. On the background of the most detail
 ed reconstruction available of the European tradition of practical arithme
 tic\, the paper offers a comparative perspective on the adoption and socia
 l circulation of Hindu-Arabic numerals in England and Italy. The comparati
 ve approach is justified by the observation that these two societies adopt
 ed Arabic mathematics in strikingly different ways. While in England Arabi
 c mathematics was used in scholarly contexts starting from the 12th centur
 y\, its practical application was still limited at the end of the 16th cen
 tury. Despite being an early mover\, English society proved rather relucta
 nt in adopting the new numeral system. Italian urban societies\, on the co
 ntrary\, introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals in practical contexts from the l
 ate 13th century\, and started a progressive adoption which made the new s
 ymbols widespread across urban social strata from the 15th century. What w
 ere the reasons underlying these different patterns? Relying on a vast set
  of accounting\, practical as well as theoretical sources and studying the
  wider practices and social contexts in which mathematics was used\, the c
 omparative analysis allows to identify a complex convergence of factors th
 at allowed for the appropriation of Arabic mathematics in late medieval It
 alian society as well as for its recombination within a new framework. The
  novel possibilities opened up by their adoption made the use of Hindu-Ara
 bic numerals a necessary tool for economic activity\, triggering their con
 solidated spread in practical mathematics. It was a contingent\, but not r
 andom\, appropriation of a foreign form of mathematical knowledge. The spr
 ead of Hindu-Arabic numerals in England from the 15th century is understoo
 d as a reception of the developments that had started on the other end of 
 the continent\, opening a perspective on the varying social roles of mathe
 matics across time and space.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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