Algorithms, Monks, And Merchants: Computing In Everyday Life In The Middle Ages

This book explores the tight relationship that existed between application needs and computational problem-solving methods during the Middle Ages, particularly the period between the 9th and 15th centuries. It was a time of great cultural and economic evolution, starting with the blooming phase of Arab science and continuing with the acquisition of Hindu-Arabic computation methods (based on the decimal positional number system) in Western Europe.The aim is to show, by means of suitable examples,