Medieval Europe

An Interest From the 4th to 12th centuries, the only indication of European interest in science and mathematics was the work of very few translators In the 11th and 12th centuries, a couple Europeans took notice of the work the Arabs were doing and began to collect Arabic manuscripts to start learning

Medieval Mathematicians Fibonacci Jordanus de Nemore On the Elements of Arithmetic Arts First European to use rhetorical algebra Rabbi Levi ben Gershon The Art of the Calculator Contained description of the use of mathematical induction Nicholas Oresme Best medieval European mathematician

Nicholas Oresme Proved the harmonic series diverges Introduced the sign “+” Led a European trend toward a syncopated algebra Controversial for a long time because he used complete infinities

Nicholas Oresme Aristotle said time was determined by motion; Oresme said time was independent and motion was change over time. Oresme also rejected Aristotle’s assertion that the earth was stationary

European Mathematics Nicolas Chuquet (1450-1490) Wrote the first algebra text with European style. Single letter abbreviations for unknowns Triparty en la science des nombres unpublished in his lifetime Robert Recorde (1512- 1558) Introduced algebra to English mathematics Wrote Whetstone of Witte Gave us the equal sign!! ===========================================

Works Cited University of Arizona History of Math course