Wage Accounts for Benedetto and Ioditti; a Stone-Saw
A dated reckoning of two assistants' pay in ducats and lire, amid dense arithmetic
Dated the 3rd of January, this sheet reckons the wages owed to two of Leonardo's assistants at four ducats a month. Benedetto, hired 17 October, has served two months and thirteen days and earned 38 lire 18 soldi 8 denari, of which he has had 26 lire 8 soldi, leaving 12 lire 10 soldi still due; Ioditti, hired 8 September, has served three months and twenty-four days, earning 59 lire 14 soldi 8 denari, of which he has had 43 lire 4 soldi, leaving 16 lire 10 soldi 8 denari due. Dense columns of multiplication and subtraction work through the sums, with the notes 'Benedetto grossoni 24' and 'ducati 79.' At lower right a small mechanical frame is drawn among the figures; further untranscribed numerals and diagram fragments cover much of the sheet.
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Wages owed to Benedetto and Ioditti
Benedetto, come on 17 October at 4 ducats a month, has served two months and 13 days, earning 38 lire 18 soldi 8 denari; having had 26 lire 8 soldi, he is still owed 12 lire 10 soldi. Ioditti, come on 8 September at the same rate, has served 3 months 24 days, earning 59 lire 14 soldi 8 denari; having had 43 lire 4 soldi, he is owed 16 lire 10 soldi 8 denari.
Columns of reckoning in lire, soldi, and denari
Dense columns of multiplication and subtraction carry out the wage calculations, converting months and days at 4 ducats into lire, soldi, and denari. Marginal totals such as 'ducati 79' and 'Benedetto grossoni 24' record intermediate sums.
A framed mechanism sketched among the figures
At the lower right of the sheet, amid the columns of arithmetic, Leonardo has drawn a small framed mechanism with an inclined member. The bundle transcribes no caption for it, and the scholarly tag for the sheet identifies such a device as a stone-saw.
