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Abu al-Wafa¯ ’ Latinus? A study of method
Abstract
This article studies the legacy in the West of Abu al-Wafa¯ ’s Book on those geometric constructions which are necessary for craftsmen. Although two-thirds of the geometric constructions in the text also appear in Renaissance works, a joint analysis of original solutions, diagram lettering, and probability leads to a robust finding of independent discovery. The analysis shows that there is little chance that the similarities between the contents of Abu al-Wafa¯ ’s Book and the works of Tartaglia, Marolois, and Schwenter owe anything to historical transmission. The commentary written by Kama¯ l al-Dı¯n Ibn Yunus seems to have had no Latin legacy, either.
Abstract
This article studies the legacy in the West of Abu al-Wafa¯ ’s Book on those geometric constructions which are necessary for craftsmen. Although two-thirds of the geometric constructions in the text also appear in Renaissance works, a joint analysis of original solutions, diagram lettering, and probability leads to a robust finding of independent discovery. The analysis shows that there is little chance that the similarities between the contents of Abu al-Wafa¯ ’s Book and the works of Tartaglia, Marolois, and Schwenter owe anything to historical transmission. The commentary written by Kama¯ l al-Dı¯n Ibn Yunus seems to have had no Latin legacy, either.
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