Twenty-two quadrature figures, with memoranda and sums
Lunes and circle-portions squared; names, reminders and arithmetic in the margins
The most crowded of these quadrature sheets, filled with figures numbered first through twenty-second in which lunes ('falcate'), biangles and circular portions are transformed into equal triangles and squares. Recurring proofs divide a circular portion into four equal parts and show, for instance, that the lune o n g equals the triangle o m n. In the margins Leonardo has jotted unrelated memoranda — names such as Francesco del Morano the shoemaker and Messer Alessandro, canon of Fiesole; reminders to check whether the priest Alessandro Amadori is alive, to get blue spectacles and the plan of Pisa from Giorgio the stationer — alongside a column of arithmetical calculations.
On this page
Removing curved areas to leave a squarable remainder
Let there be removed within a circle the curved parts of various figures, so that the remainder is squarable. The sequence of numbered figures that follows works this transformation for many configurations of lunes and circular portions.
Thirteenth figure: lune o n g equals triangle o m n
The lune o n g is worth the triangle o m n, and is worth the lune o f n. This holds because m and f are equal and each is worth the lune g, so adding the portion m to the surface o n does as much as the portion f or the lune g.
Dividing a circular portion into four equal parts
The portion a b c d e f g h is a portion divided into four equal parts, like those above. In the related figure the portion a b c o is likewise divided into four equals, being a chain of portions each double the next.
Reminders jotted at the lower right
Whether the priest Alessandro Amadori is alive or not. Martino the brass-worker. Get the Peruzzo. The plan of Pisa from Giorgio the stationer. Blue spectacles.
Names noted at the upper right
Francesco del Morano, shoemaker. Messer Alessandro, canon of Fiesole.
Column of arithmetical calculations
A column of numerical workings, adding and multiplying figures such as 100, 110, 118, 236 and 2360. The sums sit among the personal memoranda at the lower right.
