The Medieval Machine by Jean Gimpel - 600 Words

The Medieval Machine by Jean Gimpel, shows information about the technological accomplishments of the middle Ages. The basic idea is that during the two centuries from around 1050 Western Europe went through a kind of industrial revolution that was just as important as of the nineteenth century’s. In his book Jean Gimpel goes over medieval primary industry, which includes energy sources like the creation of mills that were moved by wind power or by water. In these cases, the turning of the wheels were used to drive the shafts that were connected to the gears used to operate the entire machinery. The agriculture revolution includes the creation of the plow. The plow was considered to be very important. It had existed†¦show more content†¦The working areas in the building industry were much better in the medieval period than in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries and strikes were not rare. Also included in the book are chapters concentrating certain parts of medie val technology. One is the great architect-engineers and its construction of the cathedrals and in the development of the clock. The last chapter compares medieval science and its relationship with medieval technology. In this section Gimpel is concerned about pointing out that Renaissance humanists, including Leonardo had many of their ideas from earlier writers, who have gotten bad reviews from the past. This last chapter is also particularly controversial because Gimpel goes in deeper and argues that the medieval industrial revolution was followed by a setback in the progress of technology known as the Era of decay. It’s unclear how much fairness there may have been in the certain use of statistical analysis. This book has many graphs which show prices, wages, and were reliable sources for Gimpels ideas. Another reason these ideas are controversial is because Gimpels main idea is that the modern United States is going through the same cycle that medieval France had been through and he states that the U.S is now in their own process of decay. This is based on a theory of history and is supported by t wo fundamental properties of society technological evolution andShow MoreRelatedThe Medieval Machine : The Industrial Revolution Of The Middle Ages1377 Words   |  6 Pages The Medieval world has a certain connotation to its meaning. People throughout time have found the era synonymous with negativity. It has often been referenced to as the middle or dark ages lending people the view of a world with little to no progress along human advancement. We often paint the picture of medieval Europe with kings, queens, lords and peasants. We also immediately thing of the bubonic plague that wiped out almost a third of the European population at the time. However, there areRead MoreEssay about Rival Middle Ages1808 Words   |  8 Pagesperiod of AD 1000 to ad 1215, was climate change, the weather had begun to improve from the 8th century, the more temperate weather, warmer and drier, than in the previous three centuries had a direct effect on the predominantly agrarian societies of Medieval Europe. The temperate climate extended the growing season , and this corresponded with increased agricultural yields . The expansion in agricultural production was also a res ult of new farming techniques, the most significant of which was the threeRead MoreThe Effect of Electronic Journals on Scholarly Communication Essay10786 Words   |  44 Pagestrajectories from our past (Winston, 1986: 27). Indeed, historians began to see centuries of continuity instead of technological watersheds almost two decades ago. Gimpel (1977) for example, covers in detail the early and middle medieval periods (circa 1000 to 1300). His overview of the period is fascinating and illuminating (Gimpel, 1977: viii). There was a great increase in population, which led to massive movements of people. They emigrated; they opened up and colonized new lands; they founded