Medieval & Renaissance Inventions by Poppy Whiteheart

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

A lot of Inventions and knowledge was suppressed in the early part of the Medieval age by the Christians as work of the devil or later as Witchcraft, most Inventions came out of China and other non-Christian countries. though a few did get past the Church laws, some by monks others by a good standing with the relationship with Royalty

Historians differ in their opinions of when the Middle Ages began and ended, most sources define the Middle Ages as an historical period from 500 AD to 1450 AD. While there was a suppression of knowledge and learning, the Middle Ages was a period full of discovery and inventing.

One of the greatest inventions of the medieval world was the mechanical clock. The difficulty in inventing a mechanical clock was to figure out a way in which a wheel no bigger than a room could turn at the same speed as the Earth, but still be turning more or less continuously. If this could be accomplished, then the wheel became a mini Earth and could tell the time.
It was Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk and mathematician, who made the first model of a mechanical clock in 725 AD. It was an astronomical clock, the clock operated by dripping water that powered a wheel which made one full revolution in 24 hours. An iron and bronze system of wheels and gears made the clock turn. This system caused the chiming of a bell on the hour. 

Su Sung's great 'Cosmic Engine' of 1092 was 35 feet high. At the top was a power driven sphere for observing the positions of the stars. The power for turning it was transmitted from the dripping water by a chain drive.

A celestial globe inside the tower turned in synchronization with the sphere above. It was two more centuries before the first mechanical clock was developed in Europe.

Some scholars believe the first record of a mechanical escapement (the part of the clock that stops and releases the gear movement at regular intervals) is illustrated in an album of sketches from c. 1250, but this was not used in a timepiece as such. Several references to iron clocks appear during the first half of the 14th century.

The first detailed description of a mechanical clock movement comes from an  Italian, Giovani da Dondi, in 1364 The oldest extant mechanical clock is from 1389 and can be found in Rouen, France

 

 

 

 

 

The origin of the all-mechanical escapement clock is unknown; the first such devices may have been invented and used in monasteries to toll a bell that called the monks to prayers. The first mechanical clocks to which clear references exist were large, weight-driven machines fitted into towers and known today as turret clocks. These early devices struck only the hours and did not have hands or a dial. The oldest surviving clock in England is that at Salisbury Cathedral, which dates from 1386. A clock erected at Rouen, France, in 1389 is still extant and one built for Wells Cathedral in England is preserved in the Science Museum in London

Gunpowder was first invented by Chinese alchemists around 9th century. It was an accidental discovery and it wasn’t long before gunpowder found its place in the Chinese army. 

A Chinese text named Zhenyuan Miaodao Yaolue, which dates back to the mid-8th century, gives a reference to gunpowder, indirectly suggesting that gun powder had already been invented when that text was being written 

Gunpowder was used as an incendiary substance in the beginning but soon other uses were found. By the 14th century, gunpowder was providing fuel for early military rockets; it was being used in the artillery. From China it found its way to Arabia and from there it spread to the whole world.

1023 First paper money printed in China.

1045

Movable type printing by Bi Sheng in China

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circa 1050

Crossbow invented in France.

1202

The Hindu-Arabic numbering system introduced to the west by Italian mathematician, Fibonacci.
1249

Rodger Bacon invented his gunpowder formula.
Circa 1250

Gun invented in China.
Circa 1268 - 1289

Invention of eyeglasses.
Circa 1280

Mechanical clocks invented.
Circa 1285 - 1290

Windmills invented.
1295

Modern glassmaking begins in Italy.
1328

First sawmill.
1326

First mention of a handgun.
1366

Scales for weighing invented.

The 15th century gave birth to three major events: the beginning of the Renaissance Era (circa 1453)
with a return to research and learning after the Dark Ages; the birth of the Age of Discovery with
increased exploration and improved naval ships and navigation methods that created new trade routes
and trade partners; and the birth of modern printing marked by 15th century master printer Johann
Gutenberg's invention of movable type presses (1440) that made the inexpensive mass-printing of
books possible.

1400

First golf balls invented.
The first piano called the Spinet invented.
1411

Trigger invented.
1420

Oil painting invented.
1421

In Florence, hoisting gear invented.
1450

Nicholas of Cusa creates spectacles of polished lenses for nearsighted persons.
1455

Johannes Gutenberg invents printing press with metal movable type.
1465
The earliest dated printed book known is the "Diamond Sutra", printed in China in 868 CE. However, it is suspected that book printing may have occurred long before this date.
In 1041, movable clay type was first invented in China. Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and
businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany, borrowed money to invent a
technology that changed the world of printing. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/moveable wooden or metal letters in 1436 (completed by 1440). This method of printing can be credited not only for a revolution in the production of books, but also for fostering rapid development in the sciences, arts and religion through the transmission of texts.

Gutenberg Press

The Gutenberg press with its wooden and later metal movable type printing brought down the price of printed materials and made such materials available for the masses. It remained the standard until the 20th century. The Gutenberg printing press developed from the technology of the screw-type wine presses of the Rhine Valley. It was there in 1440 that Johannes Gutenberg created his printing press, a hand press, in which ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of moveable hand-set block letters held within a wooden form and the form was then pressed against a sheet of paper.

In Germany, drypoint engravings invented.
1475

Muzzle-loaded rifles invented in Italy and Germany.
1486

In Venice, the first known copyright granted.
1485

Leonardo DaVinci designed the first parachute.
1487

Bell chimes invented.
1492

Leonardo da Vinci first to seriously theorize about flying machines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Behaim invented the first map globe.
1494

Whiskey invented in Scotland.

[Harobed Fidnuc]

Awesome read!