Technology in the Middle Ages
The Middle
Ages [1] spread from the 5th to the 15th century, took place between the
Roman Empire and the Renaissance and are also called the “Dark Ages”.
Medieval Europe had less trade, fewer cities and less cultural output than the
original Roman Empire. London and Paris did not have a sewage system and was
hundreds of years behind other places like Mohenjo Daro in the Indus Valley
Civilization [2] or Rome. Instead of having centralized governments Europe in the
Middle Ages had Feudalism, a political system based on reciprocal relationships
between lords who owned lots of land and knights who protected the land. The
lords also responded to other lords, the most important being the King. Below
the Knights were peasants who did the actual work on the land, in exchange for
protection from bandits and other threats. Feudalism was an economic system
with the peasants working the land and keeping some of the production to feed
themselves while giving the rest to the land owner. There was no freedom or
social mobility: a peasant could never become lord. Europe was at the time
dominated by superstition and religious debates. Meanwhile in the Islam world
the Umayyad Dynasty had spread from the Middle East to Northern Africa and all
the way to Spain. The Muslims eventually took over the Arabs in 750 AD. They
were very open to foreigners and their ideas. Arabic replaced Greek as the
language for commerce and religion and also culture: poetry and literature
although Persian remained as an important language. Baghdad was the capital and
center of scholarship with it’s House of Wisdom and immense libraries. The
Canon of Medicine [3] became the standard textbook for medicine both for Europe and the
Middle East. They developed algebra. The Muslims in Spain were fantastic
architects rivalling the Romans, building aqueducts, mosques and buildings.
They also increased the yields of their crops and plantations. However, in 1000
AD the Islamic Empire slowly was reduced to a series of smaller Kingdoms losing
power until they were conquered by the Mongols in 1258 AD. We have also
discussed China, but let us now integrate it into this historical period. The
Tong dynasty made China more of a meritocracy and ruled over 80 million people,
their borders touching that of the Islamic Empire. They produced incredible art
that was traded all throughout Asia, and they also saw the rise of poetry. By
the 11th century it was producing so much Iron as Europe would be able to
produce in the 18th century!!! Iron was put to use to boost productivity in
agriculture which led to population growth. Porcelain was such high quality
that it was shipped throughout the world. Now let us discuss the advances of
the Middle Ages, both in Europe and the Islamic world.
1.
Medieval Castles: they
were fortified structures built in Europe during the Middle Ages by nobility.
As opposed to palaces, which were used for residence purposes, castles were
used for defense purposes. The nobles used them to control the area immediately
surrounding them. They also served as centers of administration and symbols of
power.
2.
Agricultural: 3 field rotation,
heavy plough, horseshoes, horse collar, artesian well and wheelbarrow.
3.
Time and navigation: mechanical
clock, hourglass, astronautical clock, compass, traverse board, stern mounted
rudders.
4.
Industrial: tidal mills, blast
furnace, vertical windmill, spinning wheel, watermill, flash lock and pound
locks, water wheel, cloth factory, paper mill, rolling mill, horizontal loom.
5.
Weapon: cannon, longbow, counterweight tre-bucket,
steel crossbow, plate armor, chain mail, flail.
6.
Knowledge: Arabic numerals, universities, algebra.
7.
General: spectacles, chess, mirrors,
oil paint, quarantine, weighing scales, buttons, culture, after the period of
the Dark Ages were this knowledge had been lost.
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