Did European geometers access Abu al-Wafa's Book on geometric constructions?

What is it about?

This article studies the legacy in the West of Abu al-Wafa’s Book on those Geometric Constructions which are Necessary for Craftsmen. Although two-thirds of the geometric constructions in the text also appear in Renaissance works, a joint analysis of original solutions, diagram lettering and probability leads to a robust finding of independent discovery.

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Why is it important?

The analysis shows that there is little chance that the similarities between the contents of Abu al-Wafa’s Book and the works of Tartaglia, Marolois and Schwenter owe anything to historical transmission. The commentary written by Kamal al-Din Ibn Yunus seems to have had no Latin legacy either.