Mathematical Treasure: Reckoning Book Associated with Friedrich Gerhart

Author(s):

Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University)

This 15th-century manuscript from Nuremberg is in the form of a rechenbuch, an elementary textbook or cyphering book used to convey the principles of arithmetic. It contains at least 62 exercises from Friedrich Gerhart’s Practica des Algorismus Ratisbonensis (1457/1461) and 16 exercises from Ulrich Wagner’s Bamberger Rechenbuch (1483). This volume ended up in the possession of Johann Wilhelm Hönicke (ca 1673–1729), a German canon who served in Bamberg.

Recto 1 of a 15th-century reckoning book from Nuremberg.

Verso 1 from a 15th-century reckoning book from Nuremberg.

Verso 4 from a 15th-century reckoning book from Nuremberg.

The images above are provided courtesy of Bamberg State Library. A full digitization of this manuscript is available here.

Index to Mathematical Treasures

Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University), "Mathematical Treasure: Reckoning Book Associated with Friedrich Gerhart," Convergence (April 2022)

Convergence

Tags:

History of Mathematics