FACTOID # 167: Like living in cities? Guadeloupe, Nauru, Monaco, Singapore, Gibraltar and Bermuda are only nations that are 100% urbanised.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

FACTS & STATISTICS    Simple view

  1. Select countries to view: (hold down Control key and click to select several)

     

     

    Compare:

     

     
  1. Select fact or statistic: (* = graphable)

     

     

     

  2. (OPTIONAL) Compare to statistic: (both need to be graphable)

     

     

     

  3. View result as:

     

       
(OR) SEARCH ALL encyclopedia, stats & forums:   

Encyclopedia > Medieval technology
Medieval treadwheel crane
Reading Saint Peter with eyeglasses (1466)
Reading Saint Peter with eyeglasses (1466)

During the 12th and 13th centuries, medieval Europe saw a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth.[1] The period saw major technological advances, including the invention or adoption of gunpowder, the astrolabe, spectacles, and greatly improved water mills, building techniques, agriculture in general, clocks, and ships. The latter advances made possible the dawn of the Age of Exploration. Tower of Babel in the Maciejowski Bible (fol 3r) http://www1. ... Tower of Babel in the Maciejowski Bible (fol 3r) http://www1. ... A modern crawler type derrick crane with outriggers. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Apostle Peter, also known as Saint Peter, Shimon Keipha Ben-Yonah/Bar-Yonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Keipha—original name Shimon or Simeon (Acts 15:14)—was one of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose as his original disciples. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... Smokeless powder Gunpowder is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot gas which can be used as a propellant in firearms and fireworks. ... A 16th century astrolabe. ... Glasses, spectacles, or eyeglasses are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes, sometimes for purely aesthetic reasons but normally for vision correction or eye protection. ... A watermill is a machine constructed by connecting a water wheel to a pair of millstones. ... The massive clock on the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, London (commonly known as Big Ben, although Big Ben is the bell inside - the picture is St Stephens Tower). ... Italian Full rigged ship Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large watercraft capable of offshore navigation. ... The so-called Age of Exploration was a period from the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century, during which European ships were traveled around the world to search for new trading routes and partners to feed burgeoning capitalism in Europe. ...


European technical advancements in the 12th to 14th centuries were usually either native to Europe or adapted from cross-cultural exchanges through trading networks with the Islamic world, China, and India. Often, the revolutionary aspect lay not in the inventions themselves, but in their application to political and economic power. Though gunpowder had long been known to the Chinese, it was the Europeans who fully realized its military potential, precipitating European expansion and eventual imperialism in the Modern Era. Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ... Smokeless powder Gunpowder is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot gas which can be used as a propellant in firearms and fireworks. ...


Also significant in this respect were advances within the fields of navigation. The compass and astrolabe along with advances in shipbuilding, enabled the navigation of the World Oceans and thus domination of the worlds economic trade. Gutenberg’s printing press made possible a dissemination of knowledge to a wider population, that would not only lead to a gradually more egalitarian society, but one more able to dominate other cultures, drawing from a vast reserve of knowledge and experience. Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Compass in a wooden box A compass (or mariners compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the Earth. ... A 16th century astrolabe. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ...

Contents

Medieval technologies

For technologies in Medieval Islamic Spain, see Inventions in the Muslim world.

A list of some important medieval technology. Circa is the approximate date or first mention of a technology in Medieval Europe. Technologies were often a matter of cultural exchange and date and place of first inventions are not listed here (see main links for a more complete history of each). Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... A significant number of inventions were produced in the Muslim world, many of them with direct implications for Fiqh related issues. ...


Civil technologies

Technology Circa Notes
Arabic Numerals 13th First recorded mention in Europe 976, first widely published in 1202 by Fibonacci with his Liber Abaci.
Artesian well 1126 A thin rod with a hard iron cutting edge is placed in the bore hole and repeatedly struck with a hammer, underground water pressure forces the water up the hole without pumping. Artesian wells are named after the town of Artois in France, where the first one was drilled by Carthusian monks in 1126.
Blast furnace 1150-1350 European cast iron first appears in Middle Europe (for instance Lapphyttan in Sweden, Dürstel in Switzerland and the Märkische Sauerland in Germany) around 1150,[2] in some places according to recent research even before 1100.[3] Technique considered to be an independent European development.[4]
Compass 12th The first mention of the directional compass is in Alexander Neckam's On the Natures of Things, written in Paris around 1190.[5] Either transmitted from China or the Arabs or an independent European innovation. Dry compass invented in the Mediterranean around 1300.[6]
Functional button 13th Buttons with buttonholes used to fasten or close garment, being the most convenient method before the introduction of the zipper, appear in the 13th century Germany as indigenous innovation.[7] Became soon widespread with the rise of snug-fitting clothing.
Grindstones 834 Rough stone, usually sandstone, used to sharpen Iron. A long and difficult process, the first rotary grindstone (turned with a leveraged handle) in Medieval Europe occurs in the Utrecht Psalter.
Heavy plough 5th->8th The heavy wheeled plow with a moldboard first appears in the 5th century in Slavic lands, is then introduced into Northern Italy (the Po valley) and by the 8th century it was used in the Rhineland. Essential in the efficient use of the rich, heavy, often wet soils of Northern Europe, its use allowed the area's forests and swamps to be brought under cultivation.
Hops 11th Added to beer, importance lay primarily in its ability to preserve beer and improve transportability for trade.
Horizontal loom 11th Horizontal and operated by foot-treadles, faster and more efficient.
Horse collar 6th->9th Multiple evolutions from Classical Harness (Antiquity), to Breast Strap Harness (6th) to Horse collar (9th). Allowed more horse pulling power, such as with heavy ploughs.
Horseshoes 9th Allowed horse to adapt to non-grassland terrains in Europe (rocky terrain, mountains) and carry heavier loads. Possibly known to the Romans and Celts as early as 50 BC.
Hourglass 1338 Reasonably dependable, affordable and accurate measure of time. Unlike water in a clepsydra, the rate of flow of sand is independent of the depth in the upper reservoir, and the instrument is not liable to freeze. Hourglasses are a medieval innovation (first documented in Siena, Italy).
Liquor 12th Alcohol distillation by way of Islamic alchemists, initially used as medicinal elixir. Popular remedy for the Black Death during the 14th century; "national" drinks like vodka, gin, brandy come into form.
Magnets 12th First reference in the Roman d'Enéas, composed between 1155 and 1160.
Mechanical clocks 13th->14th Weight-driven clock a European innovation. Used in clock towers.
Mirrors 1180 First mention of "glass" mirror in 1180 by Alexander Neckham who said "Take away the lead which is behind the glass and there will be no image of the one looking in."
Oil paint ca. 1410 As early as the 13th century, oil was used to add details to tempera paintings. Major breakthrough by Flemish painter Jan van Eyck around 1410 who is credited with introducing a stable oil mixture.
Paper 13th Invented in China, transmitted through Islamic Spain to Europe in the 13th century. Practically from the start processed by water-powered mills.
Quarantine 1377 Initially a 30-day-period, the Quarantine was introduced by the Republic of Ragusa as measure of disease prevention related to the Black Death. Later adopted by Venice from where the practice spread all around in Europe.
Rat traps 1170s First mention of a rat trap in the medieval romance Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes.
Rib vault 12th Essential element for the rise of Gothic architecture. Allowed vaults to be built for the first time over rectangles of unequal lengthes. Also greatly facilitated scaffolding. Largely replaced older groin vault.
Stern-mounted rudders 1180s First depiction of a pintle-and gudgeon rudder on church carvings dating to around 1180. First appeared with cogs in the North and Baltic Sea, quickly spread to Mediterranean.[8]
Segmental arch bridge 1345 The Ponte Vecchio in Florence is considered medieval Europe's first stone segmental arch bridge.
Silk 6th Manufacture of silk began in Eastern Europe in the 6th, in Western Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries. Imported over the Silk Road since Antiquity. Technnology of "silk throwing" mastered in Tuscany in the 13th century. The silk works used waterpower and some regard these as the first mechanized textile mills.
Soap 9th Soap came into widespread European use in the 9th century in semi-liquid form, with hard soap perfected by Arabs in the 12th century.
Spectacles 1280s European innovation. Florence, Italy. Convex lenses, of help only to the far-sighted. Concave lenses were not developed prior to the 15th century.
Spinning wheel 13th Brought to Europe probably from India.
Tidal Mills 7th Medieval invention, harnessed power of tides to turn grain mills.[9]
Treadwheel crane 1220s Earliest reference to a treadwheel (magna rota) in archival literature in France about 1225,[10] followed by an illuminated depiction in a manuscript of probably also French origin dating to 1240.[11] Earliest uses of harbor cranes are documented for Utrecht in 1244.[12]
Watermark 1282 Medieval innovation to mark paper products and to discourage counterfeiting. First introduced in Bologna, Italy.
Vertical windmills 1180s Invented in Europe as pivotable post mill, first surviving mention of one comes from Yorkshire in England in 1185. Efficient at grinding grain or draining water. Later also as stationary tower mill.
Wheelbarrow 1170s Proved useful in building construction, mining operations, and agriculture. Literary evidence for the use of wheelbarrows appeared between 1170 and 1250 in North-western Europe. First depiction in a drawing by Matthew Paris in the middle of the 13th century.

Numerals sans-serif Arabic numerals, known formally as Hindu-Arabic numerals, and also as Indian numerals, Hindu numerals, Western Arabic numerals, European numerals, or Western numerals, are the most common symbolic representation of numbers around the world. ... Drawing of Leonardo Pisano Leonardo of Pisa or Leonardo Pisano (Pisa, c. ... Geological strata giving rise to an Artesian well An artesian aquifer is an aquifer whose water is overpressurized. ... Artois is a former province of northern France. ... Blast furnace in Sestao, Spain. ... Lapphyttan in Sweden may be regarded as the type site for the Medieval Blast Furnace. ... Compass in a wooden box A compass (or mariners compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the Earth. ... Alexander Neckam (sometimes spelled Nequam) (September 8, 1157–1217), was an English scientist and teacher. ... Compass in a wooden box A compass (or mariners compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the Earth. ... Compass in a wooden box A compass (or mariners compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the Earth. ... For other uses, see Button (disambiguation). ... Zipper slider brings together the two sides A zipper (British English: zip fastener or zip) is a popular device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric. ... Sandstone grinding wheel A grindstone is a tool used for grinding or sharpening tools. ... The Utrecht Psalter The Utrecht Psalter is a ninth century illuminated psalter and an important product of Carolingian art. ... The traditional way: a German farmer works the land with a horse and plough. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... PO may stand for: Pareto optimality Parole Officer Per os, Latin for by mouth or orally Perfect Orange a third wave ska based in Knoxville, TN from 2002-2005 Petty Officer, a Non-Commissioned Officer Rank in many Navies Pilkington Optronics, now Thales Optronics Pilot Officer, a junior commissioned rank... The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. ... Hop umbel (branched floral structure resembling nested-inverted umbrellas) in a Hallertau hop yard Hops are a flower used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer, as well as in herbal medicine. ... A Turkish woman in Konya works at a traditional loom. ... Two horse collars A horse collar is a device used to distribute load around a horses neck, for pulling a wagon or plow. ... Modern horseshoes are most commonly made of steel and nailed into the hoof wall. ... Hourglass in 3-legged wooden stand. ... Clepsydra may refer to An ancient type of clock: see Clepsydra (clock) An invertebrate: see Clepsydra (animal) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Piazza del Campo Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. ... Spirits redirects here. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... Gin and tonic. ... A bottle of calvados Pays DAuge Brandy (short for brandywine, from Dutch brandewijn—burnt wine[1]) is a general term for distilled wine, usually 40–60% ethyl alcohol by volume. ... Iron filings in a magnetic field generated by a bar magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. ... The Roman dEnéas is a roman of Medieval French literature, dating to ca. ... Time measuring instrument A clock (from the Latin cloca, bell) is an instrument for measuring time. ... A mirror, reflecting a vase. ... Alexander Neckam (September 8, 1157 _ 1217), was an English scientist and teacher. ... View of Delft in oil paint, by Johannes Vermeer. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A blank sheet of paper Paper is a commodity of thin material produced by the amalgamation of fibers, typically vegetable fibers composed of cellulose, which are subsequently held together by hydrogen bonding. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Borders of the Republic of Ragusa, 1426-1808 Capital Ragusa Language(s) Latin, Italian since 1492 Religion Roman Catholic Government Republic Duke  - 1808 Auguste Marmont Historical era Renaissance  - Treaty of Zara June 27, 1358  - Invasion by France January 31, 1808  - Annexed October 14, 1808 Area  - 1808? 1,500 km2 579... It has been suggested that Plague doctor be merged into this article or section. ... Mouse Trap is a 1981 arcade game released by Exidy similar to Pac-Man. ... Yvain rescues the lion Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (French: Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion) is a romance by Chrétien de Troyes. ... Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. ... The Lierne vault of the Liebfrauenkirche, Mühlacker 1482. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ... GÃ¥rdslösa Church, Öland, Sweden A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is a vault produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. ... Stern-mounted steering oar of an Egyptian riverboat depicted in the Tomb of Menna (c. ... Cog is a term with several meanings: A part of a gear system cog (ship), a small sailing vessel A tenon that extends all the way through another piece of wood, in joinery Cynically Ochlocratic Governments The evil robots in Toontown Online The evil robot drones of the Machine Empire... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ponte Vecchio Ponte Vecchio at night View of the Ponte Vecchio from above The Ponte Vecchio (IPA pronunciation: ) (Italian for Old Bridge)[1] is a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for having shops (mainly jewellers) built along it. ... Silk dresses Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. ... The Silk Road Silk Route redirects here. ... SOAP (see below for name and origins) is a protocol for exchanging XML-based messages over computer networks, normally using HTTP/HTTPS. SOAP forms the foundation layer of the Web services stack, providing a basic messaging framework that more abstract layers can build on. ... Glasses, spectacles, or eyeglasses are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes, sometimes for purely aesthetic reasons but normally for vision correction or eye protection. ... A spinning wheel is a device for making thread or yarn from fibrous material such as wool or cotton. ... A tide mill is a specialist type of water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. ... A modern crawler type derrick crane with outriggers. ... Utrecht ( (help· info)) is a municipality and the capital city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. ... This Crown & CA (for Crown Agent) watermark was standard for postage stamps of the British colonies from the 1880s to the 1920s. ... Bologna (IPA , from Latin Bononia, BulÃ¥ggna in Emiliano-Romagnolo) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Pianura Padana, between the Po River and the Apennines, exactly between the Reno River and the Sàvena River. ... A Dutch tower windmill, sporting sails, surrounded by tulips A windmill is an engine powered by the wind to produce energy, often contained in a large building as in traditional post mills, smock mills and tower mills. ... A common wheelbarrow Older wheelbarrow Wheelbarrows on the Belomorkanal A wheelbarrow is a small one-wheeled, hand-propelled vehicle, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear. ... Self portrait of Matthew Paris from the original manuscript of his Historia Anglorum (London, British Library, MS Royal 14. ...

Military technologies

Technology Circa Notes
Cannon 1324 Introduced via the Arabs or Mongols, cannons are first recorded in Europe at the siege of Metz in 1324. In 1350 Petrarch wrote "these instruments which discharge balls of metal with most tremendous noise and flashes of fire...were a few years ago very rare and were viewed with greatest astonishment and admiration, but now they are become as common and familiar as any other kinds of arms."
Corned gunpowder 14th, late First practiced in Western Europe, corning the black powder allowed for more powerful and faster ignition of cannon. Also facilitated storage and transportation to operational area, thus constituting a crucial step in the evolution of gunpowder warfare.
Counterweight trebuchet 12th Powered solely by the force of gravity, these catapults revolutionized medieval siege warfare and construction of fortifications by hurling huge stones unprecedented distances. Originating somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean basin, counterweight trebuchets were introduced in the Crusader states by the 1120s, Byzantium by the 1130s and in the Latin West by the second half of the century.[13]
Longbow 13th Having a high rate of fire and penetration power, the longbow contributed to the eventual demise of the medieval knight class. Used particularly by the English to great effect against the French cavalry during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).
Plate armour 14th, late Apex of pre-industrial personal armour in terms of body protection and metallurgical skills involved. Large and complete full plates of armour appear by the end of the 14th century.
Steel crossbow 14th, late European innovation. Came with several different cocking aids to enhance draw power.
Stirrup 6th Invented by the steppe nomads in what is today Mongolia and northern China in the 4th century and transmitted west. Appeared in Byzantium in the 6th, in the Carolingian Empire in the 8th century. Allowed mounted knight to wield and strike from a distance with a lance, leading to a great advantage for mounted cavalry.

Not to be confused with Canon. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Si paix dedans, paix dehors (French: If peace inside, peace outside) Cathedral St. ... From the c. ... Smokeless powder Gunpowder is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot gas which can be used as a propellant in firearms and fireworks. ... Trebuchet at Château des Baux, France. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... The Crusader states, c. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... Self-yew English longbow, 6 ft 6 in long, 105 lbf draw force. ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... Combatants France Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Crown of Aragon Brittany England Burgundy Brittany Portugal Navarre Flanders Hainaut Aquitaine Luxembourg Holy Roman Empire Hundred Years War Edwardian â€“ Breton Succession â€“ Castilian â€“ Two Peters â€“ Caroline â€“ Lancastrian The Hundred Years War was a conflict between France and England, lasting 116 years from 1337... Gothic armour Plate armour is personal armour made from large metal plates, worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body. ... An arbalest. ... Haniwa horse statuette, complete with saddle and stirrups, 6th century, Kofun period, Japan. ...

Renaissance technology

Main article: Renaissance technology

In the 15th century, the pace of technical advancements quickens with such diverse innovations like the printing press, linear perspectivity, patent law, double shell domes or bastions. Renaissance technology is the set of European artifacts and customs, spanning roughly the 14th through the 16th century. ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ... A cube in two-point perspective. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or applicant for a limited amount of time (normally maximum 20 years from the filing date, depending on extension). ... The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church, or Duomo, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, noted for its distinctive dome. ... The point of a bastion on a reconstructed French fort in Illinois. ...


Footnotes

  1. ^ Alfred Crosby described some of this technological revolution in his The Measure of Reality : Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 and other major historians of technology have also noted it.
  2. ^ Archaeological Investigations on the Beginning of Blast Furnace-Technology in Central Europe
  3. ^ Radomir Pleiner: Vom Rennfeuer zum Hochofen. "Die Entwicklung der Eisenverhüttung", 9.-14. Jh., in: Uta Lindgren (ed.): Europäische Technik im Mittelalter. 800-1400, Berlin 2001 (4th ed.), pp. 249-256 (255) ISBN 3-7861-1748-9
  4. ^ Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen: Propyläen Technikgeschichte. Metalle und Macht 1000-1600, Berlin 1997, p.389f. ISBN 3-549-05633-8
  5. ^ Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” Technology and Culture, Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.368
  6. ^ Frederic C. Lane, “The Economic Meaning of the Invention of the Compass,” The American Historical Review, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Apr., 1963), p.615ff.
  7. ^ Lynn White: "The Act of Invention: Causes, Contexts, Continuities and Consequences", Technology and Culture, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Autumn, 1962), pp. 486-500 (497f. & 500)
  8. ^ * Lawrence V. Mott, The Development of the Rudder, A.D. 100-1600: A Technological Tale, Thesis May 1991, Texas A&M University
  9. ^ Colin Rynne: Milling in the 7th Century – Europe’s earliest tide mills, in: Archaeology Ireland 6, 1992
  10. ^ Andrea Matthies: Medieval Treadwheels. Artists' Views of Building Construction, Technology and Culture, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul., 1992), p.515
  11. ^ Andrea Matthies: Medieval Treadwheels. Artists' Views of Building Construction, Technology and Culture, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul., 1992), p.526
  12. ^ Michael Matheus: "Mittelalterliche Hafenkräne," in: Uta Lindgren (ed.): Europäische Technik im Mittelalter. 800-1400, Berlin 2001 (4th ed.), pp. 345 ISBN 3-7861-1748-9
  13. ^ Paul E. Chevedden, "The Invention of the Counterweight Trebuchet: A Study in Cultural Diffusion", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, No. 54 (2000), pp.71-116 (104f.)

See also

New technological discoveries allowed the development of the gothic style. ... The 12th century saw a major search by European scholars for new learning, which led them to the Arabic fringes of Europe, especially to Spain and Sicily. ... A method of making astronomical observation instruments at the time of Qing Dynasty. ... Science and technology in ancient India covered all the major branches of human knowledge and activities, including mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, medical science and surgery, fine arts, mechanical and production technology, civil engineering and architecture, shipbuilding and navigation, sports and games. ... The wheel was invented circa 4000 BC, and has become one of the worlds most famous, and most useful technologies. ...

References

  • Andrews, Francis B. The Medieval Builder and His Methods. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973. Medieval construction technique, with a brief chapter on tools.
  • Blair, John, and Nigel Ramsay, editors. English Medieval Industries: Craftsmen, Techniques, Products London: Hambledon Press. 1991. ISBN 1-85285-326-3
  • Crosby, Alfred. The Measure of Reality : Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
  • Gies, Frances and Joseph. Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages. New York: Harper Collins, 1994. ISBN 0-06-092581-7
  • Gimpel, Jean. The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages. London: Pimlico, (2nd ed. 1992) ISBN 0-14-004514-7
  • Long, Pamela O.,editor. Science and Technology in Medieval Society. in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol 441 New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1985 ISBN 0-89766-277-6 A series of papers on highly specific topics.
  • Singer, Charles, editor. History of Technology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954. Volumes II and III cover the Middle Ages with great scope and detail. This is the standard work.
  • White, Lynn, Jr. Medieval technology and social change. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962.
  • White, Lynn, Jr., "The Study of Medieval Technology, 1924-1974: Personal Reflections" Technology and Culture 16.4 (October 1975), pp. 519-530. A chronology and basic bibliography of landmark studies.

New York Academy of Sciences is a society of some 20,000 scientists of all disciplines from 150 countries. ...

External links

 v • d • e Middle Ages

Architecture | Art | Cuisine | Demography | Literature | Poetry | Medicine | Music | Philosophy | Science | Technology | Warfare The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Church of the Intercession on the Nerl(1165) - an archetypal example of early Russian architecture. ... Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are a crowning glory of Medieval Art. ... Peasants threshing siligo, a type of wheat. ... Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. ... Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. ... Because most of what we have was written down by clerics, much of extant medieval poetry is religious, helping to preserve it. ... Astrology played an important part in Medieval medicine; most educated physicians were trained in at least the basics of astrology to use in their practice. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Philosophy seated between the seven liberal arts – Picture from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad von Landsberg (12th century) Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of Europe and the Middle East in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Roman... The history of science in the Middle Ages refers to the discoveries in the field of natural philosophy throughout the Middle Ages - the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history. ... Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. ...


  Results from FactBites:
 
Technology - Printer-friendly - MSN Encarta (1078 words)
Technology, general term for the processes by which human beings fashion tools and machines to increase their control and understanding of the material environment.
Many historians of science argue not only that technology is an essential condition of advanced, industrial civilization but also that the rate of technological change has developed its own momentum in recent centuries.
Both science and technology imply a thinking process, both are concerned with causal relationships in the material world, and both employ an experimental methodology that results in empirical demonstrations that can be verified by repetition (see Scientific Method).
Technology in the Medieval Age (4348 words)
In addition to the redesign of the plow, the way the crops were grown changed in Medieval Europe when farmers changed from a two-field crop rotation to a three-field crop rotation beginning in the 8th century.
As we can see from the stories of the various technologies, the development and diffusion of a technology depends not only on its invention but also on the social and cultural climate in which it was invented.
The impact of a technology on society is always unexpected because technologies are rarely "the end of the story." They lead to new technologies--or new uses--or new social modes.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:
 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.