[ethanhein]

I know that pure five-limit just wasn't ever a prevalent tuning system, but all the temperament systems are based on it, so it seems reasonable to present it as a kind of baseline, the "ground truth" from which the meantone and well temperaments are departing to a greater and lesser degree. As to the dates, I have read a bunch of histories of tuning, and the main conclusion they present is that there was no uniform (or even predominant) tuning standard until 12-TET, so simplification is necessary. I am definitely open to the idea that 1500 isn't close enough to the "real" widespread advent of temperament to use as an approximation and that I should instead be saying 1400 or whenever.