The mathematical contributions of francesco maurolico to the theory of music of the 16th century (The Problems of a Manuscript)

Abstract Francesco Maurolico wrote quite a number of pages about music, which were transcribed and edited by the author in Maurolico Opera Mathematica (http://www.maurolico.unipi.it). Here, in part I, his main results are presented and also their differences compared with the classical tradition of the mathematical theory of music. These results are a new proof of the number of commas in the tone, the theory of ‘ictus’, and a new notation for the composition of proportions. This is followed, in part II, by an explanation of how the original corpus of these folios was put together. Finally, part III discusses the complex puzzle of the manuscripts (one still extant, another probably lost, …) and of their possible connections with the 1575 edition of a part of the corpus. Possible scenarios of the story of the manuscripts and probable interventions of the Jesuits on this edition are described.