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Medieval Inventions List

The document discusses several important inventions from medieval times including the astrolabe, compass, eyeglasses, gunpowder, mechanical clock, printing press, tidal mills and stirrups. For each invention, it provides some background and context about how and when it was developed and how it impacted life during the medieval period.

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148 views

Medieval Inventions List

The document discusses several important inventions from medieval times including the astrolabe, compass, eyeglasses, gunpowder, mechanical clock, printing press, tidal mills and stirrups. For each invention, it provides some background and context about how and when it was developed and how it impacted life during the medieval period.

Uploaded by

mimi qt
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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medievalchronicles.com
Medieval Chronicles /
Medieval Times History c. 500 – c.
1500 /
Medieval Inventions List

Medieval Inventions List


A number of very important
inventions were made in
medieval times such as the
Spinning Wheel, Stirrups,
Astrolabe, Eyeglasses, Compass,
Tidal Mills, Gunpowder and
Printing Press.

A large number of inventions


came to be during the medieval
period. Given that the medieval
period was marked by perennial
warfare throughout the different
parts of Europe, most of the
significant inventions of the
period were directly or indirectly
related to warfare.

However, there were other


inventions such as the clock,
printing press and architectural
innovations which played a
critical part in shaping medieval
Europe. Here are some of the
most important of these
inventions from the medieval
period.

Astrolabe
Astrolabe was an important
Medieval invention, They were
used by navigators, astronomers
who studied the movement of
celestial bodies Read more about
the Astrolabe >>

Compass

Medieval Inventions - It was in


medieval Europe that the earliest
versions of the modern compass
as we know it were invented Read
more about the Compass >>

Eyeglasses

Important Medieval Inventions


such as Eyeglasses, were not
invented until around the 13th
Century, Early Medieval
Eyeglasses were fairly basic in
their design Read more about the
Eyeglasses >>

Gunpowder

The invention of Gunpowder had


a massive impact on Medieval
Warfare, with the invention of
Gunpowder came decline of the
legendary 'Medieval Knight'. Read
more about the Gunpowder >>

Mechanical Clock

The Medieval 'The Mechanical


Clock' was an Important
Invention in Medieval Times,
Christian monks who had
extensive knowledge of
astronomy invented Mechanic
Clocks Read more about the
Mechanical Clock >>

Printing Press

The Printing Press was a very


important invention in the
Medieval history, Invented by
Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th
Century and creating a 'printing
revolution' Read more about the
Printing Press >>

Mechanical Clock
Until the High Middle Ages, there
was no accurate and accessible
way of measuring time. People
had to rely on natural
phenomenon, such as the
movements of the Sun, or on
contraptions such as the hour
glass or calibrated candles.

It was only in the 14th century


that innovations in Church bell-
ringing mechanism evolved to
give birth to the earliest
mechanical clocks. The first of
these dates back to 1344 being
used in a cathedral in Padua. In
subsequent decades and
centuries, clocks began to
become more accurate,
sophisticated and compact. In
time, these clocks would give
birth to pocket watches and in
more recent times, to wrist
watches.

Printing Press
The basis for the modern printing
press were laid in 15th century
when Johannes Guttenberg in
Germany invented a unique
printing press of his own. By
using the prevalent printing
mechanism, he used new
methods and equipment to speed
up and automate the process of
printing.

Before his press, books which had


to be printed required a lot of
labour and took a lot of time to
make, essentially limiting the use
of books to the rich and wealthy.
The Gutenberg press became a
precursor to cheaper printing
presses which were established all
over Europe and became one of
the key inventions that made the
European Renaissance possible.

Gunpowder
Before the invention of
gunpowder, warfare in the
medieval period remained more
or less the same as the warfare in
the antique period. Although
armour’s evolved significantly
and weapons corresponded in
this evolution, warfare still
required men to ride on horses or
close in for on-foot combat, wield
different weapons, defend
themselves with armour and face
an enemy at close quarters.

All of this changed with the


invention of the gunpowder.
Gunpowder had been invented in
China as early as the 9th century
but reached widespread use in
Europe only by the 13th century,
possible due to battlefield
interactions with the Mongols. By
the 14th century, gunpowder
weapons were being used by the
European armies and by the 15th
century, these weapons had
effectively replaced most of the
conventional weaponry.

Tidal Mills
Tidal mills were an important
medieval invention dating back
to the 8th century. They were
usually employed near natural
water bodies such as rivers and
were driven by the high tides of
the water body. In the
countryside, such mills were
frequently used to accomplish
different mechanical tasks, the
force of the water itself was used
to drive the water wheel on its
own. Such early use of mechanical
energy can be seen as precursors
to the use of electricity in modern
period.

Compass
Naval warfare remained a part of
the military lifestyle of medieval
Europe since the beginning of the
medieval period. This was evident
in the naval battles between
Arabs and the Byzantines in the
8th century and the ongoing
naval conflict for supremacy in
the Mediterranean.
Navigation in the sea was
critically important for longer sea
voyages and it was only in the
13th century that the invention of
a compass made sea navigation
easy for sailors. The dry compass
was invented in Europe sometime
during the 13th century while a
compass more aptly suited for
naval use was invented by the
Arabs in the 14th century.

Eyeglasses
Eyeglasses were one of the most
important inventions of the
medieval period. The earliest
extant historical source
mentioning eyeglasses in Europe
dates back to the 14th century.
This early form of eyeglasses used
convex lenses, suitable only for
people with farsightedness.

The eyeglasses are a critically


important social invention in that
before they became available,
poor eyesight usually
deteriorated over time and there
was little the contemporary
physicians could do. The earliest
evidence for eyeglasses using
concave lens and meant to
resolve nearsightedness date
back to the 16th century.

Astrolabe
Astrolabe is a device which is used
to measure the position of the
Sun and different stars in the sky
accurately. It was invented during
the medieval ages with the
earliest astrolabes appearing in
Moorish Spain during the 12th
century. From Spain, the
astrolabe reached wider Europe
and in time, became one of the
preeminent devices used for
astronomical purposes. Given the
application of astronomy in many
related sciences, the astrolabe is
considered one of the most
important scientific inventions of
the medieval period.

Stirrups
Stirrups refer to a sort of frame
that can securely hold the feet of
a horse rider. The stirrup
essentially allows a rider to keep
both his feet securely in the
flexible frame, thereby allowing
him to wield a weapon or
otherwise ride effectively when
on the horse.

Stirrups arrived in Eastern Europe


around the 7th century and over
subsequent centuries, found
adoption in the Western Europe.
It is argued that stirrups played a
critical role in developing the
military warfare of the medieval
period.

They probably made cavalry the


supreme unit of an average
medieval army, undermining or
reducing the significance of
infantry units . It was largely
thanks to the stirrups that cavalry
riders could wield weapons, fight
on the go and even shoot arrows
while riding their horse with
minimal risk of falling off.

Spinning Wheel
The spinning wheel was
originally invented before the
medieval period but in Europe, it
came to be widely used only in
the medieval era. In contrast to
the earlier spinning methods
used in Europe, the spinning
wheel was far more efficient and
allowed a spinner to spin greater
amounts of thread in less time.
This finally made it possible for
well-spun clothes to be worn by
an increasingly greater section of
population in medieval Europe.

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