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    Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages
    Unavailable
    Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages
    Unavailable
    Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages
    Ebook486 pages7 hours

    Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages

    By Frances Gies and Joseph Gies

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    An illuminating look at the monumental inventions of the Middle Ages, by the authors of Life in a Medieval Castle.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 21, 2010
    ISBN9780062016607
    Unavailable
    Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages
    Author

    Frances Gies

    Frances (1915–2013) and Joseph (1916–2006) Gies were the world’s bestselling historians of medieval Europe. Together and separately, they wrote more than twenty books, which col-lectively have sold more than a million copies. They lived in Michigan.

    Read more from Frances Gies

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    Reviews for Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel

    3.5/5

    96 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I have read countless books on history and this has been one of the better ones in terms of explaining not just what inventions there were, but what they did and how that affected other fields/lands. Recommended heartily!
    • 5/5
      I truly enjoyed reading Frances and Joseph Gies’ Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages. When I first picked the book up I was primarily interested in learning about the evolution of the workplace. That was one of many things I learned reading the book. The Gies’ explain that Rome’s gynaeceums (woman’s quarters?) were not just where woman congregated but were filled with looms and material for cloth making. They explain the ‘putting out’ system that developed and spread virtual factories across entire towns. They even illustrate an assembly line system developed in Venice to load ships. I would have been happy with those bits of knowledge but they also illustrated, vividly, the small steps that advanced technology throughout the Middle Ages. Incremental improvements like those that took the waterwheel from producing a mere fraction of one horsepower when it was first developed to yielding nearly sixty horsepower by the 1500s. I also learned some amazing trivia. The barrel is the only pure European invention. Clothing sewn from pieces of cloth developed in Northern Europe where people were accustomed to piecing together clothing from hides. Leonardo DeVinci devised mitered edges for the Chinese style doors on canal locks that allowed them to better seal. There were many other little revelations but for me the biggest discovery was how historians learned these things. A sixth century Chinese scholar wrote that he dare not use the writings of the sages for toilet paper is proof that toilet paper was used in China at that time. Because written history has to a great extent focused on the rich and powerful learning about the common folk, the work they do, and the way they live is often difficult. Seeing how the authors pulled this information from paintings, statues, drawings, and writings on unrelated topics was truly educational. If your idea of history is memorizing names of kings, popes and generals this is not the book for you. If you are interested in how things work and how technology progresses I cannot recommend this book more highly.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Gies and Gies do a great job, once again. This time they present us with the technology of the middle ages and show how it was incorporated into and influential upon the Medieval West. Many a thesis topic lurks undiscovered in the paragraphs, rendering this general work of great relevance to scholars as well.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      For those who think that the middle ages were dark and devoid of serious learning and achievement this book provides the antidote. Filled with interesting detail about the technological progress and prowess of civilization in the middle ages Frances and Jospeh Gies make the case that the dark ages were not so very dark. They argue that there were continuing achievements in science and other areas that provided the foundation that led directly into the Renaissance. The lines between eras cannot be drawn so very neatly.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Fascinating exploration of science and technology in the Middle Ages, touching on---and shedding some light on---almost every aspect of medieval live imaginable: architecture, astronomy, agriculture, clothing, religion, shipbuilding, timekeeping, travel, and much more. It flows fairly smoothly and should be accessible to laypeople as well as to specialists. Notes and a bibliography provide options for further research.

      1 person found this helpful