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9th out of 320 books
—
87 voters
Cathedral, Forge & Waterwheel: Technology & Invention in the Middle Ages
An illuminating look at the monumental inventions of the Middle Ages, by the authors "of Life in a Medieval Castle.""The Gieses here explode the myth of the Dark Ages, showing that the Fall of Rome did not plunge Europe into stagnation and lethargy." "--Booklist"
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
January 6th 1995
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1994)
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The Middle Ages are often considered a time of stagnation in human cultural and scientific development. In Cathedral, Forge & Waterwheel: Technology & Invention in the Middle Ages, author Frances Gies proposes that quite to the contrary, the period of history between 500 AD and 1500 AD led to the development of several key technologies that subsequently allowed the scientific and industrial revolutions to occur.
The development of the pointed and segmented arch permitted wider bridges to...more
The development of the pointed and segmented arch permitted wider bridges to...more
This is a wonderful discussion of a generally ignored topic: the actual result of "the fall of the Roman Empire" was an explosion of steadily advancing technology across northern Europe. The Romans, and Greeks, had ignored new technologies (the horizontal loom in place of the clumsy vertical loom, the Chinese blast furnance to make steel, the Indian spinning wheel in place of the "woman's work" of spinning on a distaff, etc., etc., etc.) because they based their economies on slaves and had so no...more
Simply an outstanding treatise on how the "Dark Ages" lead to our modern world. If you are at all interested in the history of technology and innovation this is the book for you.
It is not a dry account, but a lucid, well-paced and thoughtful analysis of how we got here. The rate of technological change today is enormous, but what we "know" today was built on the shoulders of medieval giants and synthesized by Western Civilization.
This knowledge came from a variety of sources - Muslim, Chinese,...more
It is not a dry account, but a lucid, well-paced and thoughtful analysis of how we got here. The rate of technological change today is enormous, but what we "know" today was built on the shoulders of medieval giants and synthesized by Western Civilization.
This knowledge came from a variety of sources - Muslim, Chinese,...more
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I must confess, I'm not sure how to review a non-fiction book, I've read plenty but never reviewed. I'll try my best though.
This book is about inventions and technology and its advancement during the Middle ages. The general belief is that during that time not much happened technology-wise until daVinci showed up, but this book busts that myth.
Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel is full of information on all manner of technology, not just the invention and its applications but often how it came to b...more
This book is about inventions and technology and its advancement during the Middle ages. The general belief is that during that time not much happened technology-wise until daVinci showed up, but this book busts that myth.
Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel is full of information on all manner of technology, not just the invention and its applications but often how it came to b...more
Mostly excellent.
My only real criticism of this title is that it should contain a glossary of technological and mechanical terms.
Since it does not, it may pay to either be a really well-read mechanical engineer or to have a reference close to hand.
For example, I know that an "adze" is a hand tool but I always forget what the head looks like, and what it's for. It's not an axe or a hammer, and when was the last time you went to a hardware store for an "adze"? Probably never if you're not a carpen...more
My only real criticism of this title is that it should contain a glossary of technological and mechanical terms.
Since it does not, it may pay to either be a really well-read mechanical engineer or to have a reference close to hand.
For example, I know that an "adze" is a hand tool but I always forget what the head looks like, and what it's for. It's not an axe or a hammer, and when was the last time you went to a hardware store for an "adze"? Probably never if you're not a carpen...more
To be fair, I should preface this review by saying that this book has been my bathroom reading for the better part of a year.
Since I'm guessing that's not how this book was intended to be read, it probably had a somewhat deleterious effect on my perception of the book.
And now that I've over-shared to an alarming degree, on to the review.
This book was a little academic for my taste. A little dry. And the information density isn't quite what I'd hoped for either.
That said, the book does do a g...more
Husband and wife team of (amateur?) scholars, synthesize recent scholarship (from mid 60's on) on the middle ages for your reading pleasure.
As the title hints at and the subtitle: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages, spells out, the focus is the manner in which technology and invention transformed society in the area soon to be known as "the West".
The broadest service this book provides is to cue the reader in to the massive scholarship on the subject that exists outside the English sp...more
As the title hints at and the subtitle: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages, spells out, the focus is the manner in which technology and invention transformed society in the area soon to be known as "the West".
The broadest service this book provides is to cue the reader in to the massive scholarship on the subject that exists outside the English sp...more
It is rare that we read a book about the things that came out of what is often called the Dark ages of Europe as it concerns technology and invention. Cathedral, Forge & Waterwheel talks about many of the advances that were made during that time as being piecemeal improvements, instead of the advances that would come about during the industrial age. Unlike the industrial age, advances such as the waterwheel do not have a single inventor that can be pointed at, because each invention was one...more
For those who still think the Middle Ages is a period of "dark ages" this book would be a good place to start to dispell that myth. It is a fascinating account of the development of technology in the middle ages.
Much of the technology in the Middle Ages arose from borrowing and adapting technology from China and the Arabs but this is not to discredit the Middle Ages.
This fascinating book covers just about all areas in breadth and scope of technological advancement in the Middle Ages from cloth...more
Much of the technology in the Middle Ages arose from borrowing and adapting technology from China and the Arabs but this is not to discredit the Middle Ages.
This fascinating book covers just about all areas in breadth and scope of technological advancement in the Middle Ages from cloth...more
If you are really interested in the subject, this is a tremendous source book. If you just want to learn something about the subject and the themes, this is a very hard book to read.
I gave it only 3 stars, given that it is basically just a listing of examples grouped by century through the middle ages. There is little interpretation, and the summary conclusion is a very simply theme: those medievals had it goin' on. Even for non-fiction, it is pretty dry.
Nevertheless, before I had even finished...more
I gave it only 3 stars, given that it is basically just a listing of examples grouped by century through the middle ages. There is little interpretation, and the summary conclusion is a very simply theme: those medievals had it goin' on. Even for non-fiction, it is pretty dry.
Nevertheless, before I had even finished...more
Aug 25, 2010
Michael Barnette
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in medieval studies
Shelves:
research-favorites
Another great offering from this husband and wife team of authors. I cannot recommend their books highly enough for people interested in medieval history or those planning to write historic fiction. These two authors convey their love of history with every written word. Their style is wonderful and accessible rather than being a cut and dried listing of dates and facts.
A real must read!
A real must read!
Incredible detail and depth are in this Gies volume, which begins far before the middle ages, spans continents, and ends with Christopher Columbus. It is a more scholarly volume than many of their others, and is more suited to post-high school readers. Black and white illustrations.
I was looking forward to this book. It's synthetic rather than swimming in some tiny historical pool, it understands the true dynamism of the Middle Ages rather than the ahistorical "dark ages" crap, and it contains some of the new work of the new global history on technology diffusion. But, it turned into a hard slog. The book just has no inner spark or drive, alas.
Very interesting. This book provides an overview of the technological aspects of the Middle Ages, just like the title says. It shows how the advances made affected societal change and gives an opportunity to understand more fully the happenings of modern society.
A good comprehensive book on the Middle Ages. Touches lightly on most facets of the technology. I read with the intent on learning more about cathedral construction and forges/ medieval ironwork. It only briefly describes these topics. Good starter book for people intent on a broad based understanding of the time.
A pretty basic but comprehensive history of medieval technology, Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel is best used as an introduction for the interested layperson to other scholarship in the field. The Gies have produced a good overview of various kinds of technologies, but I would disagree quite a bit with the conclusions they draw and the contextualisation they provide. Though written in 1994, it feels curiously old-fashioned at points. To be honest, I'm still a little confused as to why it was ass...more
Inventions during the Middle Ages, or how they weren't that dark after all. Fairly interesting, and a good discussion of how many of the not-too-well-known inventions made a deep impact. I would have liked a bit more discussion of the maths though (such as the adoption of the arabic numerals).
Great insight into the evolution of technology in the Middle Ages.
As an engineer, I was intrigued.
As a fantasy writer, I read about a lot of interesting inventions for the first time that I may have to include in future stories.
My only complaint is that the beginning of the book was a bit slow, and didn't really talk about any inventions at all. But once I got through that, it was a very interesting book.
As an engineer, I was intrigued.
As a fantasy writer, I read about a lot of interesting inventions for the first time that I may have to include in future stories.
My only complaint is that the beginning of the book was a bit slow, and didn't really talk about any inventions at all. But once I got through that, it was a very interesting book.
Good history read, discussing the technological innovations of the Middle Ages which led to the technological revolution later.
I had to read this for class by the professor that wrote this book, but it was actually not as boring as i expected
Showing that there was still some scientific innovation in the supposedly 'dark' ages.
Far less interesting than I though it would be and I think the authors had some odd thoughs. For example they seem to think its necessary to defend the idea that a lot of great advancements were made during the dark ages. OK some advances were made. Man didnt move backwards, but it clearly took hundreds of years to move a very small distance speaking of technology and what was invented took hundreds of years to become common place. The book even bares this out, but the authors seem like its impo...more
Overview of technological advances in the middle ages.
Basic knowledge of medieval history (high school/intro college history class level) makes the book easier to understand, since the authors do not provide a lot of context for the people, places, and events they reference.
Basic knowledge of medieval history (high school/intro college history class level) makes the book easier to understand, since the authors do not provide a lot of context for the people, places, and events they reference.
Technology in the not-so-Dark Ages.
I was somewhat disappointed with this book. The authors cover a lot of high level details, but never get detailed enough.
Jan 28, 2010
A. Non
marked it as to-read
Library
The thesis of this book is that there was a lot of technological innovation going on during the so-called "dark ages." Who cares? I just liked reading about interesting inventions and how they lead to other discoveries. I had to read it in a night, though, so it was a bit rushed, and I didn't really get to enjoy it. But I doubt I would have given it more than three stars anyway.
Investigates construction technology of the Middle Ages. Has some good drawings.
Not enough depth, although it was interesting.
How things were built in the middle ages.
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Frances and and her husband Joseph Gies were historians and writers who have collaborated on a number of books about the Middle Ages, and have also written individual works.
More about Frances Gies...
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