1494

Pacioli's Summa

Comprehensive summary of Renaissance mathematics

Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli published Summa in 1494. Though it contained little original mathematics, it was the most comprehensive mathematical text ever published at the time. As a result of it being not only thorough and clearly written but also the only text of its kind available at the time, it was widely purchased and read by European merchants.

Pacioli's Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita (Summary of arithmetic, geometry, proportions and proportionality), first printed in 1494 and written in vernacular Italian (instead of Latin), was a comprehensive summary of Renaissance mathematics. It contained not only practical arithmetic but also algebra, applied geometry and the first treatment of double-entry bookkeeping appearing in print.