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Problems to sharpen the young

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

John Hadley  and
David Singmaster
John Hadley
Affiliation:
Department of Computing and Mathematics, South Bank Polytechnic, London, SE1 0AA
David Singmaster
Affiliation:
Department of Computing and Mathematics, South Bank Polytechnic, London, SE1 0AA
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Extract

An annotated translation of Propositiones ad acuendos juvenes, the oldest mathematical problem collection in Latin, attributed to Alcuin of York

In researching the history of recreational mathematics, one finds that the Propositiones ad acuendos juvenes of Alcuin of York is frequently cited as the earliest problem collection in Latin. The text contains 56 problems, including 7 major types of problem which appear for the first time, and 2 major types which appear for me first time in the West. By any standard such a collection is of major historical interest, so it is surprising that a critical edition was not prepared until Folkerts' edition of 1978, and yet more surprising that no English translation has ever been produced.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 76 , Issue 475 , March 1992 , pp. 102 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1992

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References

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