Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages News & Views Book Review

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages, by Frances and Joseph Gies. HarperCollins 1994. 368 pages, $25. Also Harperperennial Library, ISBN: 0060925817, $14.50 (paperback) by Al Brown Senior editor at Okidata Originally published in News & Views September 1998 issue. Copyright © 1998 STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter. For permission to reprint this article, contact the Managing Editor.

Why should we be interested in a history of technology in the Middle Ages? In the millennium between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance, technological changes took place that were every bit as profound as the Industrial Revolution and our Information Age. They could be as simple as the triangular lateen sail, which allowed a ship to sail close to the wind, or as complex as the vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses of a cathedral. This book traces the path of technological innovation between 500 A.D. and 1500 A.D. The period from 500 to 900 was marked by such simple but far-reaching innovations as the padded horse collar, which allowed horses to pull heavier loads. It was part of a revolution in agriculture organized around estates and tenant farmers instead of market-centered plantations and mass slavery. The stirrup is another example: it allowed mounted soldiers to use lances and battle axes, changing the shape of warfare. East to west Both of these innovations originated in the East and found their way to Europe where they were developed and improved. This pattern recurs throughout the book, and the authors examine it in some detail. The older, more centralized governments of Asia could support superior technology through most of the period covered in this book. The trade in silk formed the basis for both direct and indirect transmission of ideas to Europe. The Arab world also played an important role in invention and communication. Because of our current awareness of the interaction among cultures, this is a very controversial issue, and the authors provide an even-handed introduction to its complexity. Commerce was the driving force behind technology between 900 and 1200. The Crusades opened the eastern Mediterranean to trade, largely from the Italian port cities. Advances in ship design and the construction of port facilities, roads, and bridges, all made commercial transportation faster and safer. And, of course, commerce caused industry to flourish, even though articles were still primarily made individually, and by hand. Toward the modern era In spite of the political turmoil of the Hundred Years War and catastrophes like the Plague, Europe continued to develop. The commercial revolution proceeded, with innovations in banking, bookkeeping, and the organization of commercial enterprises. Clocks arrived to give artificial structure to the working day. The practical arts finally joined the liberal arts as accomplishments suitable to a gentleman. The introduction of Arabic numerals fueled a renewal of interest in mathematics and science. Investigations in the practical arts were recorded and communicated, leading to the "transmission of technology by document in place of the age-old oral-and-manual tradition," very soon to be replaced by print. The book concludes with a look toward the future of the Renaissance, when modern society emerges, Europe rivals Asia, and technology comes into its own as an intellectual pursuit. But it is also a future indelibly marked by two technologies: firearms and printing. This fascinating book emphasizes an important lesson for technical communicators: technology does not exist in a vacuum, but grows out of a context and, in turn, can have a profound impact on society. In the clarity of its description of technical and historical processes, the book also serves as a model of the technical communicator's craft.

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Posted: September 10, 1998 (dls)