29. Hugh of St. Victor. Practical Geometry. Translated by Frederick A. Homann, S.J. ISBN 0-87462-232-8 92 pp. (Translation No. 29) 1991 $10
Practical Geometry, a work attributed to Hugh of St. Victor, “stands as a midpoint on a trajectory that started from technical concerns of the Graeco-Roman world and passed through an early period all but ignorant of Euclid. The trajectory intersected with Arabic scholarship in the latter half of the twelfth century and matured to enrich Renaissance learning and æsthetics.” In his introduction, Fr. Homann, a professor of mathematics at St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, places the work attributed to Hugh of St. Victor in its mediæval context. He argues for a position that sees “Hugh of St. Victor’s Practica geometriae as a center point in a trajectory that linked imperial Rome and Federal America.” The translation “is intended to provide accessible source reading in mediæval Latin mathematics, education and scholastic thought.”
The introduction examines the mathematical content and quality of Hugh’s work, while various appendices evaluate and illustrate methods and instrumentation described by Hugh.
Marquette University Press
