Pedro Nunes (1502-1578): His Lost Algebra and Other Discoveries

Pedro Nunes played a major part in the discovery of the world by Portuguese mariners. In this book, his mathematical and scientific achievements are described, together with evidence on his life and friends arising from a collection of his Greek and Latin poems, and from religious notes he composed during his later years. An English version of his long-lost Portuguese algebra is included, as well as poems and letters by his friends translated into English for the first time. These discoveries came from a manuscript recently found in the municipal library of Evora, the perfectly preserved Renaissance city that in Nunes' day was the home of King John III."

The Author: John Martyn, a Cambridge graduate and lecturer in the Department of Classics at Melbourne University since 1958, has published over 100 articles and books, including the ＂Epigrammata＂ of John Owen (2 volumes), the ＂Satirae＂ of Juvenal and ＂Tria Itinera＂ of Janus Secundus, the ＂Tragedy of Ines de Castro＂ and ＂Bristo＂ by Antonio Ferreira, and recently ＂Andre de Resende: On Court Life＂ (Peter Lang, 1990), and ＂The Siege of Mazagao: A Perilous Moment in the Defence of Christendom against Islam＂ (Peter Lang, 1994). He is now editing the ＂Poemata omnia＂ of Resende.＂