Wikinventia — Atlas of discoveries and inventions · Middle Age

Hindu-Arabic numerals in the Latin West — Fibonacci

1202 AD · Transmission: Global
MathematicsMethodItalian

Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, spread Hindu-Arabic numerals and calculation methods learned in the Islamic Mediterranean throughout the Latin West. The Liber Abaci (1202) is a conscious bridge between two mathematical traditions: its author knew he was transmitting a foreign legacy. Without this transmission, European mathematics takes decades longer to absorb tools that were already mature in the Arab and Indian worlds.

Historical regionPisa
Primary sourceLeonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) — Liber Abaci (1202); revised second edition (1228)
Secondary sourceSigler, L.E. — Fibonacci's Liber Abaci: A Translation into Modern English (2002, Springer)
Original languageLatin
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