Abacus school is a term applied to any Italian school or tutorial after the 13th century, whose commerce-directed curriculum placed special emphasis on mathematics, such as algebra, among other subjects.[1] These schools sprang up after the publication of Fibonacci's Book of the Abacus and his introduction of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. In Fibonacci's viewpoint, this system, originating in India around 400 BCE, and later adopted by the Arabs, was simpler and more practical than using the existing Roman numeric tradition. Italian merchants and traders quickly adopted the structure as a means of producing accountants, clerks, and so on, and subsequently abacus schools for students were established.[2] These were done in many ways: communes could appeal to patrons to support the institution and find masters; religious institutions could finance and oversee the curriculum; independent masters could teach pupils. Unless they were selected for teaching occupations that were salaried, most masters taught students who could pay as this was their main source of income.[3]
The words abacus or abaco refers to calculations, especially the subject of direct calculations, and does not imply the use of an abacus.[4]