Underground Mathematics
Craft Culture and Knowledge Production in Early Modern Europe

History of the development of practical mathematics in early modern Europe through the practice of mining.

Thomas Morel (Author)

9781009267304, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 December 2022

258 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.59 kg

'This is an innovative and thought-provoking book on a rather abstruse topic. Dismissing the geometry of mines as described by humanist scholars, the author delves into the rich and diverse archives of mining offices, and offers a rare glimpse on how a specific mathematical culture developed underground, standardized and circulated.' Jeanne Peiffer, CNRS, Centre Alexandre Koyré, Paris

Thomas Morel tells the story of subterranean geometry, a forgotten discipline that developed in the silver mines of early modern Europe. Mining and metallurgy were of great significance to the rulers of early modern Europe, required for the silver bullion that fuelled warfare and numerous other uses. Through seven lively case studies, he illustrates how geometry was used in metallic mines by practitioners using esoteric manuscripts. He describes how an original culture of accuracy and measurement paved the way for technical and scientific innovations, and fruitfully brought together the world of artisans, scholars and courts. Based on a variety of original manuscripts, maps and archive material, Morel recounts how knowledge was crafted and circulated among practitioners in the Holy Roman Empire and beyond. Specific chapters deal with the material culture of surveying, map-making, expertise and the political uses of quantification. By carefully reconstructing the religious, economic and cultural context of mining cities, Underground Mathematics contextualizes the rise of numbered information, practical mathematics and quantification in the early modern period.

Introduction
1. Of scholars and miners
2. A mathematical culture: the art of setting limits
3. The mines and the court
4. Writing it down: innovation, secrecy, and print
5. 'So fair a subterraneous city': mapping the underground
6. How to teach it?: finding the right direction
7. 'One of geometry's nicest applications': crafting the Deep-George tunnel (1771–1799)
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], History of mathematics [PBX], European history [HBJD]