La aritmética de Boecio y la ritmomaquia: teoría y práctica del juego medieval de los sabios

Abstract

This research analyses the theoretical bases of rithmomachia, a complex numerical competition originally practiced in medieval Central European monastic schools. The initial objective of the game was the theoretical and practical acquisition of arithmetic, though this aim was surpassed with the presentation of a reduced model of the mathematical harmony which governs the universe. The game was also played by the nobility of the period who used it as a source of intellectual training. This study proposes an interpretation of the generation of the numbers that intervene in this game; the interpretation is based on the use of the Latin terminology of Boetius' text and offers an explanation that is wholly compatible with the contents and objectives of medieval mathematics. Also discussed are the variations in the game's rules and the possible reasons for the game's decline and disappearance.