Peden, A.M., ed., Abbo of Fleury and Ramsey: Commentary on the Calculus of Victorius of Aquitaine (Oxford: Oxford UP (British Academy Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi XV), 2003).

Text name(s): Calculus; Commentary on the Calculus of Victorius of Aquitaine

Number of pages of primary source text: 126

Medieval Author(s): Abbo of Fleury Victorius, Aquitanus

Dates: 450 - 1000

Archival Reference: Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin--Preussicher Kulturbesitz, MS. Phill. 1833

Original Language(s): Latin;

Translation: Original language included.

Translation Comments:

Geopolitical Region(s): France;

County/Region: Aquitaine; Fleury; Ramsey

Apparatus: Index Glossary Appendices Bibliography Introduction

Comments:

Abbo of Fleury’s Commentary on the Calculus of Victorius of Aquitaine is an example of the types of investigation of the physical world which took place in the earlier Middle Ages. Victorius of Aquitaine’s Calculus, composed in the mid 5th century AD, was a series of multiplication tables, showing the numbers from 1000 to 1/144 multiplied by the numbers 2 through 50, and also contains a consideration of the indivisibility of unity and the composite nature of the world. Abbo’s commentary on this work expands upon the ideas of multiplication and division used for determining weights and measurements, and includes often quasi-theological discussions of the unity and plurality of creation. This edition includes the Latin text of both the Calculus and the Commentary, as well as an appendix of additional texts included in some manuscripts of Abbo’s Commentary, and a useful glossary of unfamiliar terms.

Introduction Summary:

The editor’s 53 pp introduction provides biographical information on Abbo of Fleury, and briefly lists his works, especially noting his works on computus and astronomy. She then gives a brief overview of the Calculus, and briefly summarizes the contents of the Commentary. She notes Abbo’s sources, including Isidore of Seville, Macrobius, and Calcidius’ Commentary on the Timaeus, among others. The editor then provides a thorough discussion of the manuscripts in which the text survives, including a more detailed discussion of the particular manuscript from which she produces her edition of the text.

Cataloger: MCB