The Emergence of an Arithmetical Mentality in Middle English Literature

Author / Editor
Acker, Paul.

Title
The Emergence of an Arithmetical Mentality in Middle English Literature

Published
Chaucer Review 28 (1994): 293-302.

Description
Looks for evidence that certain medieval writers were aware of the newly emerging "arithmetical mentality." Because of his work at the Customs House, Chaucer was much more aware than most writers. He knew counting boards and algorisms, the ancestor of modern arithmetic. Gower seems to have known little arithmetic, and Langland seems to have considered it "euil."

Chaucer Subjects
Background and General Criticism.
Chaucer's Life.