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La Révolution industrielle au Moyen Âge (PTS HISTOIRE t. 19)
Pour nos contemporains, la révolution industrielle est située en Angleterre au XVIIIe siècle. Jean Gimpel nous démontre qu'elle plonge ses racines au Moyen Âge, qui avait déjà révolutionné le monde du travail par le renouvellement des sources d'énergie et par l'invention technologique.
C'est un autre Moyen Âge qui nous est ici conté – ni celui des croisades ni celui des troubadours – un Moyen Âge inattendu et longtemps inconnu.
Une époque que Jean Gimpel n'hésite pas à comparer à la nôtre. Audacieux parallèle ou surprenante actualité ?
Jean Gimpel (1918-1996)
Historien des techniques, il est l'auteur de nombreux ouvrages consacrés en particulier au Moyen Âge.
Préface de Nicolas Reveyron, professeur d'histoire de l'art et d'archéologie du Moyen Âge à l'université Lumière Lyon 2
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1975
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1002 people want to read
About the author
Jean Gimpel
16 books14 followersJean Gimpel was a man of great physical and intellectual energy, with a big heart and strong sense of justice. A profound and very practical interest in technology, and especially that of the Middle Ages, was the thread that ran through his working life. It yielded two classic studies, The Cathedral Builders (1958) and The Medieval Machine: the Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages (1976), underpinned two further books, The Cult of Art: against art and artists (1968) and The End of the Future (1995), and helped make him an effective saboteur in the French Resistance. For his services during the Second World War he was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Medaille de Resistance and the Legion d'Honneur.
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February 24, 2021
I was surprised how good this book was. I had picked it up to get more information after reading Fernand Braudel’s The Structures of Everyday Life: Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century, which included a discussion on the development of industry. Medieval Machine is written clearly, makes good use of illustrations, charts, and tables as appropriate, and does a fine job illuminating the spread of technology in medieval times.
While rarely called the Dark Ages anymore, the medieval centuries are still largely thought of as just an interlude between the Roman Empire and modern civilization. “While the Renaissance viewed medieval society as scholastic and static, the Reformation saw it as hierarchical and corrupt, and the Age of Enlightenment considered it to have been irrational and superstitious.” (p. 237-238) This book concentrates on the period between the 11th and 13th centuries, which saw great advances in agricultural, building, and metallurgical technologies.
The Romans are remembered as master engineers, and some of their developments were very impressive.
However, Rome was heavily invested in slave labor and for the most part saw little need for more efficient mechanical devices. There was also an intellectual limitation: the Romans, like the other ancients, had no concept of societal progress. Occasional changes and inventions made some differences, but the world was seen as a static place, now and forever, so there was no great impetus for change.
Recognizably modern nations began to form from Charlemagne’s heirs, and by the eleventh century stable societies had started to come into existence. The climate at the time was mild and population growth began to strain the existing food resources. One of the first changes was to replace the Roman system of crop rotation from 50 percent active/50 percent fallow to a system in which only 1/3 of the land lay fallow at one time, significantly improving productivity.
If you look at the horses depicted in ancient sculpture, such as those from the Parthenon, they are often shown throwing their heads back, which appears to be a dramatic detail added by the artist, but is not. The ancient harnesses cut across their windpipe, choking them, and they threw up their heads in order to breath. With the arrival of a new form of harness from the east in the early Middle Ages, which moved the load to the horse’s sides, they were able to pull far heavier loads and started to replace oxen as the principle farm animal. “The horse and ox exert roughly the same pull, but as the horse moves 50 percent faster – 3.6 feet per second to the 2.4 feet per second of the ox – it produces 50 percent more foot-pounds per second, 432 as compared to 288. Horses also have greater endurance and can work two hours longer per day in the fields.” (p. 35-36)
The invention of the heavy wheeled plow allowed soil to be turned more deeply, giving access to more nutrients and increasing crop yields. “The new technique of medieval plowing brought about a substantial increase in grain yield. It has been calculated that between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries the average yield increased from 2.5 to 4. That is, for every measure of grain sown, the harvest yielded four measures. This meant that the portion of the harvest to be disposed of by the producer doubled – from 1.5 to 3.” (p. 43)
Animal husbandry also improved, with new breeds developed to improve their usefulness. Cows, goats, and pigs were commonly raised, but “For the medieval farmer, sheep were more useful than any other animal. Their ‘golden hooves’ were a great asset; the farmers could drink their milk, make butter and cheese, eat mutton, and with the skin they could make parchment….But the prime value of sheep was their wool.” (p. 61)
It was also a time of great buildings, of magnificent churches, palaces, castles, and monasteries. Mining was very valuable to the rulers, becoming a significant source of revenue, and the miners were given extraordinary rights and privileges not extended to the common people, such as concessions on taxes and the right to go onto anyone’s private land to divert streams or harvest timber. Lead and silver mines were the most profitable, but stone quarries for building sprang up all over Europe. “France was richer in building stone than was any other country in Europe, and during her age of expansion from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries more stone was quarried in France than had been mined throughout the whole history of ancient Egypt (where the Great Pyramid alone was build to a volume of 40,500,000 cubic feet).” (p. 75)
Water power was extensively developed during this time, and not just for grinding grain. Engineering developments turned the rotary motion of waterwheels into reciprocal motion to power saws, and cams were used to raise and drop hammers for tempering metal and fulling cloth. Away from sources of water wood was used, and the great forests of Europe were rapidly reduced. “By 1300, forests in France covered only about 32 million acres – 2 million acres less than they do today.” (p. 76) It took time, but eventually the loss of forests led to the adoption of coal for industry and home use, but this brought its own problems, since much of the coal was poor quality and covered the cities in a choking brown haze.
The book has an interesting discussion about hygiene. The Middle Ages continued the Roman tradition of bath houses, which were plentiful in large cities. They were originally not just for bathing, but for eating, drinking, and socializing. Catering to both sexes, inevitable problems arose when mixing naked bodies with alcohol. The English word “stew” has clear origins in the bath houses, where people sat in tubs of hot water, but it came to have its present meaning of brothel from the licentiousness the bath houses were famous for. Eventually, pressure from the Church closed them down, but since there were no alternatives for most people, personal hygiene declined sharply, which increased susceptibility to vermin and disease. Personal cleanliness would not be a factor in people’s lives for half a millennium more. Remember that Louis XIV’s great palace at Versailles has very few bathrooms, and the lords and ladies were expected to use buckets or squat in the bushes, and to mask their body odors with copious quantities of perfume.
The technological advances of the High Middle Ages were matched by the intellectual climate of the time. The University of Paris was the leading center for scholars in Europe, and it embraced Aristotle and the commentaries on him written by the Muslim scholar known in the West as Averroes (Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd). The attempt to blend Aristotle with Christian theology resulted in a number of propositions that the Church would not accept, and pagan philosophy was seen as encouraging scholars to question accepted dogma. The great scholar Peter Abelard tried to to avoid condemnation by the Church through intellectual evasion, in that he “laid down the principles by which the arguments should be weighed, but he did not venture to offer any solutions himself. His aim was not to invite skepticism, but to sharpen the tool of inquiry, ‘for by doubting we are led to questions, by questions we arrive at the truth.’” (p. 188-189)
Finally, in 1277 the Bishop of Paris, with the backing of the Pope, published a list of 219 “execrable errors,” some of which were propositions that Thomas Aquinas had himself held. “The condemnation of 1277 had two long-term results. On the one hand, by separating philosophy from theology it served to establish the intellectual climate in which science developed almost independent of liberal humanism; and on the other, it caused Christianity to revert to mysticism.” (p 200)
The 1300s would bring terrible shocks to Western civilization.
Barbara Tuchman’s 1978 book A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century provides an in-depth look at this time, when western civilization seemed to be teetering on the brink of collapse.
Society retreated from the exuberance of the high Middle Ages, where every form of intellectual activity had been encouraged, from philosophy to bridge building. It was now to be an age traumatized by plague and collapsing economies.
In the wake of the Black Death censuses showed that up to 20 percent of English villages had simply disappeared, and in other parts of Europe up to 40 percent. Plague mortality was a major component in these disappearances, but the author points out that it was not the only one. “The Black Death and its demographic and economic consequences were not entirely responsible for all these deserted villages. Another crucial factor was the falling productivity of the land. Land clearing no longer produced the rich soils it had originally opened up to the plow. Very soon the fertility of these new marginal lands was exhausted, and they had to be abandoned. (p. 213)
In time Europe began to recover recovered, as did intellectual development, clearly seen in the sudden interest in mechanical clocks to divide the day into equal hours. This itself was something of a revolutionary idea, because mankind had always accepted the idea that hours were longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. The Roman Catholic church agreed to the new idea of standardized time, which had long term beneficial consequences for economic development, but the Orthodox Church did not. “Until the twentieth century Orthodox priests never allowed a mechanical clock to be installed in an Orthodox church. For them it would have been blasphemy; for them the mathematical division of time into hours, minutes, and seconds had no relationship with the eternity of time.” (p. 185)
Eventually, “it was from a twofold medieval legacy – the innovations relating to navigational techniques and printing, both recognized landmarks in the history of mankind – that the Renaissance blossomed forth.” (p. 236) And from that point the world becomes recognizably modern.
The book ends on a strange and downcast note. It was published in 1975, when the West was still dealing with the effects of the oil embargo, along with inflation and economic stagnation. According to the author these are not just signs of a temporary slump, but the start of the long term decline of Western civilization. “The economic depression that struck Europe in the fourteenth century was followed ultimately by economic and technological recovery. But the depression we have moved into will have no end. We can anticipate centuries of decline and exhaustion. There will be no further industrial revolution in the cycles of our Western civilization.” (p. xi)
His analysis of the factors that lead to the rise and fall of civilizations is now decades out of date, but still worth considering. He breaks down the historical, psychological, and scientific factors that show when a civilization is rising or declining, and uses examples of political and social trends from the 1970s to back up his arguments. Of course, it did not turn out like that, at least not in the short term, but the arc of history is long, and given the existential crises society faces in the 21st century, he may not have been wrong at all, only premature.
While rarely called the Dark Ages anymore, the medieval centuries are still largely thought of as just an interlude between the Roman Empire and modern civilization. “While the Renaissance viewed medieval society as scholastic and static, the Reformation saw it as hierarchical and corrupt, and the Age of Enlightenment considered it to have been irrational and superstitious.” (p. 237-238) This book concentrates on the period between the 11th and 13th centuries, which saw great advances in agricultural, building, and metallurgical technologies.
The Romans are remembered as master engineers, and some of their developments were very impressive.
East of Monte Cassino, at Venafro on the Volturno, a Roman water mill has been unearthed with a wheel 7 feel in diameter. If the millstones made 46 revolutions per minute, they could grind 150 kilograms (roughly 1 ½ tons) in 10 hours. To see the extraordinary economy in manpower achieved by such a mill, it is only necessary to compare these figures with the quantity of corn ground by two slaves with a rotary hand-mill in one hour: 7 kilograms, or 70 kilograms in 10 hours. So over 40 slaves would have to work 10 hours to grind the same 1500 kilograms. (p. 8-9)
However, Rome was heavily invested in slave labor and for the most part saw little need for more efficient mechanical devices. There was also an intellectual limitation: the Romans, like the other ancients, had no concept of societal progress. Occasional changes and inventions made some differences, but the world was seen as a static place, now and forever, so there was no great impetus for change.
Recognizably modern nations began to form from Charlemagne’s heirs, and by the eleventh century stable societies had started to come into existence. The climate at the time was mild and population growth began to strain the existing food resources. One of the first changes was to replace the Roman system of crop rotation from 50 percent active/50 percent fallow to a system in which only 1/3 of the land lay fallow at one time, significantly improving productivity.
If you look at the horses depicted in ancient sculpture, such as those from the Parthenon, they are often shown throwing their heads back, which appears to be a dramatic detail added by the artist, but is not. The ancient harnesses cut across their windpipe, choking them, and they threw up their heads in order to breath. With the arrival of a new form of harness from the east in the early Middle Ages, which moved the load to the horse’s sides, they were able to pull far heavier loads and started to replace oxen as the principle farm animal. “The horse and ox exert roughly the same pull, but as the horse moves 50 percent faster – 3.6 feet per second to the 2.4 feet per second of the ox – it produces 50 percent more foot-pounds per second, 432 as compared to 288. Horses also have greater endurance and can work two hours longer per day in the fields.” (p. 35-36)
The invention of the heavy wheeled plow allowed soil to be turned more deeply, giving access to more nutrients and increasing crop yields. “The new technique of medieval plowing brought about a substantial increase in grain yield. It has been calculated that between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries the average yield increased from 2.5 to 4. That is, for every measure of grain sown, the harvest yielded four measures. This meant that the portion of the harvest to be disposed of by the producer doubled – from 1.5 to 3.” (p. 43)
Animal husbandry also improved, with new breeds developed to improve their usefulness. Cows, goats, and pigs were commonly raised, but “For the medieval farmer, sheep were more useful than any other animal. Their ‘golden hooves’ were a great asset; the farmers could drink their milk, make butter and cheese, eat mutton, and with the skin they could make parchment….But the prime value of sheep was their wool.” (p. 61)
It was also a time of great buildings, of magnificent churches, palaces, castles, and monasteries. Mining was very valuable to the rulers, becoming a significant source of revenue, and the miners were given extraordinary rights and privileges not extended to the common people, such as concessions on taxes and the right to go onto anyone’s private land to divert streams or harvest timber. Lead and silver mines were the most profitable, but stone quarries for building sprang up all over Europe. “France was richer in building stone than was any other country in Europe, and during her age of expansion from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries more stone was quarried in France than had been mined throughout the whole history of ancient Egypt (where the Great Pyramid alone was build to a volume of 40,500,000 cubic feet).” (p. 75)
Water power was extensively developed during this time, and not just for grinding grain. Engineering developments turned the rotary motion of waterwheels into reciprocal motion to power saws, and cams were used to raise and drop hammers for tempering metal and fulling cloth. Away from sources of water wood was used, and the great forests of Europe were rapidly reduced. “By 1300, forests in France covered only about 32 million acres – 2 million acres less than they do today.” (p. 76) It took time, but eventually the loss of forests led to the adoption of coal for industry and home use, but this brought its own problems, since much of the coal was poor quality and covered the cities in a choking brown haze.
The book has an interesting discussion about hygiene. The Middle Ages continued the Roman tradition of bath houses, which were plentiful in large cities. They were originally not just for bathing, but for eating, drinking, and socializing. Catering to both sexes, inevitable problems arose when mixing naked bodies with alcohol. The English word “stew” has clear origins in the bath houses, where people sat in tubs of hot water, but it came to have its present meaning of brothel from the licentiousness the bath houses were famous for. Eventually, pressure from the Church closed them down, but since there were no alternatives for most people, personal hygiene declined sharply, which increased susceptibility to vermin and disease. Personal cleanliness would not be a factor in people’s lives for half a millennium more. Remember that Louis XIV’s great palace at Versailles has very few bathrooms, and the lords and ladies were expected to use buckets or squat in the bushes, and to mask their body odors with copious quantities of perfume.
The technological advances of the High Middle Ages were matched by the intellectual climate of the time. The University of Paris was the leading center for scholars in Europe, and it embraced Aristotle and the commentaries on him written by the Muslim scholar known in the West as Averroes (Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd). The attempt to blend Aristotle with Christian theology resulted in a number of propositions that the Church would not accept, and pagan philosophy was seen as encouraging scholars to question accepted dogma. The great scholar Peter Abelard tried to to avoid condemnation by the Church through intellectual evasion, in that he “laid down the principles by which the arguments should be weighed, but he did not venture to offer any solutions himself. His aim was not to invite skepticism, but to sharpen the tool of inquiry, ‘for by doubting we are led to questions, by questions we arrive at the truth.’” (p. 188-189)
Finally, in 1277 the Bishop of Paris, with the backing of the Pope, published a list of 219 “execrable errors,” some of which were propositions that Thomas Aquinas had himself held. “The condemnation of 1277 had two long-term results. On the one hand, by separating philosophy from theology it served to establish the intellectual climate in which science developed almost independent of liberal humanism; and on the other, it caused Christianity to revert to mysticism.” (p 200)
The 1300s would bring terrible shocks to Western civilization.
In the years 1315-17 Europe was devastated by a hideous famine; in 1337 the Hundred Years’ War began, and in the same year occurred the first bankruptcy that shook the European economy. Some ten years later, in 1347-50, Europe was decimated by the worst catastrophe Western civilization has suffered, the Black Death, and before the end of the century, in the years 1378-82, conditions led to a series of revolutionary uprisings throughout the continent. (p. 199)
Barbara Tuchman’s 1978 book A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century provides an in-depth look at this time, when western civilization seemed to be teetering on the brink of collapse.
Society retreated from the exuberance of the high Middle Ages, where every form of intellectual activity had been encouraged, from philosophy to bridge building. It was now to be an age traumatized by plague and collapsing economies.
In the wake of the Black Death censuses showed that up to 20 percent of English villages had simply disappeared, and in other parts of Europe up to 40 percent. Plague mortality was a major component in these disappearances, but the author points out that it was not the only one. “The Black Death and its demographic and economic consequences were not entirely responsible for all these deserted villages. Another crucial factor was the falling productivity of the land. Land clearing no longer produced the rich soils it had originally opened up to the plow. Very soon the fertility of these new marginal lands was exhausted, and they had to be abandoned. (p. 213)
In time Europe began to recover recovered, as did intellectual development, clearly seen in the sudden interest in mechanical clocks to divide the day into equal hours. This itself was something of a revolutionary idea, because mankind had always accepted the idea that hours were longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. The Roman Catholic church agreed to the new idea of standardized time, which had long term beneficial consequences for economic development, but the Orthodox Church did not. “Until the twentieth century Orthodox priests never allowed a mechanical clock to be installed in an Orthodox church. For them it would have been blasphemy; for them the mathematical division of time into hours, minutes, and seconds had no relationship with the eternity of time.” (p. 185)
Eventually, “it was from a twofold medieval legacy – the innovations relating to navigational techniques and printing, both recognized landmarks in the history of mankind – that the Renaissance blossomed forth.” (p. 236) And from that point the world becomes recognizably modern.
The book ends on a strange and downcast note. It was published in 1975, when the West was still dealing with the effects of the oil embargo, along with inflation and economic stagnation. According to the author these are not just signs of a temporary slump, but the start of the long term decline of Western civilization. “The economic depression that struck Europe in the fourteenth century was followed ultimately by economic and technological recovery. But the depression we have moved into will have no end. We can anticipate centuries of decline and exhaustion. There will be no further industrial revolution in the cycles of our Western civilization.” (p. xi)
His analysis of the factors that lead to the rise and fall of civilizations is now decades out of date, but still worth considering. He breaks down the historical, psychological, and scientific factors that show when a civilization is rising or declining, and uses examples of political and social trends from the 1970s to back up his arguments. Of course, it did not turn out like that, at least not in the short term, but the arc of history is long, and given the existential crises society faces in the 21st century, he may not have been wrong at all, only premature.
August 24, 2017
The Medieval Machine is very much a book of two unequal parts.
The first is an account of the dynamism and inventiveness of the Medieval economy and technology. It’s intended as a corrective to the view of the Middle Ages as one of stasis between the classical era and the renaissance. Even though this revised view of the period is well established in the historiography, it’s still an interesting and valuable read.
The second is an account of the end of this era, which sets up an epilogue drawing parallels with the contemporary world situation. This is much much weaker. The chapter on the end of the age of progress is very shallow in explaining the causes, and even raises points that make you question the previous section. The epilogue is barely coherent. Fortunately, this is just two chapters of the book.
Gimpel views the period from, very roughly, the 11th to the 13th centuries as being a happy confluence of factors promoting economic and technical development. Christianity played an important role, both in learning – particularly from Greek and Islamic texts – and practical implementation – Cistercian abbeys, church clocks, cathedrals, etc.. A long period of mild weather led to good harvests and population growth. War was – *perhaps*, although Gimpel doesn’t really argue this case – more directed outwards than inwards.
There’s some loose and deliberately provocative use of terminology like “capitalism” and “socialism” to describe the modernity of a society which Gimpel perceives as fluid and open. There are enough examples of people from humble backgrounds rising to prominence in the church/academia to make this persuasive. I would have liked more detail on society, though, and who did and didn’t benefit from this flexibility.
The chapters on the spread of water and wind power and on pollution were perhaps the most interesting. Water and wind power were used in Roman times, and in the Islamic world, but Western Europe made major technical improvements, and made massively more extensive use of these sources of power. More intensive use of natural resources ran up against their limits, while the density of industry and habitation causes localised pollution problems.
This period of progress came to a close with an intellectual closing, the devastation of the black death, bank collapses, cooler temperatures, poor harvests and war. However Gimpel doesn’t really draw out the causal links between these, or explain their relative importance. This chapter also inadvertently highlights some of the weaknesses in the previous chapters.
For example, following the black death, there was a shortage of labour. Incomes for the poorer sections of society improved considerably, and the powerful complained bitterly. Basic economics would suggest this should be a stimulus for labour-saving mechanisation. Why didn’t this happen? One possible reason was the distribution of income had changed and “capitalists” were no longer making such large profits to invest (and financial systems to mobilise the savings of lower classes did not exist).
On top of this, if the lot of the poor – ie. most people – improved most in the period of “decline”, who was all this progress really for? One of the tales of technological progress is of an abbot of St Albans, who spent a considerable sum of money repairing mills, and then forbade the people in his demesne from grinding their own corn, to their great anger. You can see from this that the aim of the mill isn't to make corn *cheaper* but to centralise economic power in the hands of the abbot, and generate a profit for him, at the expense of the common people.
This is a poor setting-off point for the epilogue (originally written in 1976, revised in 1988), which argues that "the West" - or perhaps specifically the United States - is in the early phases of decline, likely to be overtaken by Pacific nations. We should maybe give Gimpel some allowances here, firstly because making predictions is hard, especially about the future, and secondly because his arguments are heavily compressed here. However, while there are certainly signs of "decline", Gimpel's diagnosis of their causes and prediction that the process will continue are not very persuasive. The logic in the chapter fails to hang together. To give one example, at one point Gimpel complains that Americans no longer like to show off the latest gadgets, while at another he highlights a love of gadgets as a sign of decline. Even where you can see a parallel, the lack of any weighting attached to different factors makes it impossible to know how significant they are.
In the short term, at least, the predictions miss just as much as they hit. Japan is highlighted as a dynamic economy, despite being on the brink of its "lost decade" (now stretching into a third decade of relative underperformance). Equally, Gimpel suggests that computerisation may be starting to retreat, when it was about to begin an extraordinary expansion. When it comes to the US, it's also notable that while the 80s and 90s were decades of reasonable growth by historic standards, they also saw stagnant or declining incomes for most people - the benefits were being going to the wealthy and to corporations.
In conclusion, most of the book is an interesting read, even if it has its flaws. The last chapter is weaker, and the epilogue is something to skim through or skip entirely.
The first is an account of the dynamism and inventiveness of the Medieval economy and technology. It’s intended as a corrective to the view of the Middle Ages as one of stasis between the classical era and the renaissance. Even though this revised view of the period is well established in the historiography, it’s still an interesting and valuable read.
The second is an account of the end of this era, which sets up an epilogue drawing parallels with the contemporary world situation. This is much much weaker. The chapter on the end of the age of progress is very shallow in explaining the causes, and even raises points that make you question the previous section. The epilogue is barely coherent. Fortunately, this is just two chapters of the book.
Gimpel views the period from, very roughly, the 11th to the 13th centuries as being a happy confluence of factors promoting economic and technical development. Christianity played an important role, both in learning – particularly from Greek and Islamic texts – and practical implementation – Cistercian abbeys, church clocks, cathedrals, etc.. A long period of mild weather led to good harvests and population growth. War was – *perhaps*, although Gimpel doesn’t really argue this case – more directed outwards than inwards.
There’s some loose and deliberately provocative use of terminology like “capitalism” and “socialism” to describe the modernity of a society which Gimpel perceives as fluid and open. There are enough examples of people from humble backgrounds rising to prominence in the church/academia to make this persuasive. I would have liked more detail on society, though, and who did and didn’t benefit from this flexibility.
The chapters on the spread of water and wind power and on pollution were perhaps the most interesting. Water and wind power were used in Roman times, and in the Islamic world, but Western Europe made major technical improvements, and made massively more extensive use of these sources of power. More intensive use of natural resources ran up against their limits, while the density of industry and habitation causes localised pollution problems.
This period of progress came to a close with an intellectual closing, the devastation of the black death, bank collapses, cooler temperatures, poor harvests and war. However Gimpel doesn’t really draw out the causal links between these, or explain their relative importance. This chapter also inadvertently highlights some of the weaknesses in the previous chapters.
For example, following the black death, there was a shortage of labour. Incomes for the poorer sections of society improved considerably, and the powerful complained bitterly. Basic economics would suggest this should be a stimulus for labour-saving mechanisation. Why didn’t this happen? One possible reason was the distribution of income had changed and “capitalists” were no longer making such large profits to invest (and financial systems to mobilise the savings of lower classes did not exist).
On top of this, if the lot of the poor – ie. most people – improved most in the period of “decline”, who was all this progress really for? One of the tales of technological progress is of an abbot of St Albans, who spent a considerable sum of money repairing mills, and then forbade the people in his demesne from grinding their own corn, to their great anger. You can see from this that the aim of the mill isn't to make corn *cheaper* but to centralise economic power in the hands of the abbot, and generate a profit for him, at the expense of the common people.
This is a poor setting-off point for the epilogue (originally written in 1976, revised in 1988), which argues that "the West" - or perhaps specifically the United States - is in the early phases of decline, likely to be overtaken by Pacific nations. We should maybe give Gimpel some allowances here, firstly because making predictions is hard, especially about the future, and secondly because his arguments are heavily compressed here. However, while there are certainly signs of "decline", Gimpel's diagnosis of their causes and prediction that the process will continue are not very persuasive. The logic in the chapter fails to hang together. To give one example, at one point Gimpel complains that Americans no longer like to show off the latest gadgets, while at another he highlights a love of gadgets as a sign of decline. Even where you can see a parallel, the lack of any weighting attached to different factors makes it impossible to know how significant they are.
In the short term, at least, the predictions miss just as much as they hit. Japan is highlighted as a dynamic economy, despite being on the brink of its "lost decade" (now stretching into a third decade of relative underperformance). Equally, Gimpel suggests that computerisation may be starting to retreat, when it was about to begin an extraordinary expansion. When it comes to the US, it's also notable that while the 80s and 90s were decades of reasonable growth by historic standards, they also saw stagnant or declining incomes for most people - the benefits were being going to the wealthy and to corporations.
In conclusion, most of the book is an interesting read, even if it has its flaws. The last chapter is weaker, and the epilogue is something to skim through or skip entirely.
March 20, 2008
This is an amazing book. It shows that technological progress did not end with the Roman Empire. If anything, it increased. I love any book that opens up new perspectives, especially if it also shows the world to be more complex, active, and varied than previously assumed.
It introduced me to an idea that i'd never encountered before: That Christianity, with its view of history as something progressing towards a goal (the Kingdom of God), and doctrine of continuing perfection, encouraged people to think of ways to improve the here and now. I.e., if history is going somewhere, and if God can help people improve themselves, then our temporal lives can also be improved. So better ways of doing things were sought. Whereas in the ancient world, stability and continuity were paramount, and any "golden age" was resigned to the fabled past.
This book tells of the technological, scholarly, industrial and financial advances of the Middle Ages. From the fall of the Empire in the West to around the 14th century. If you're working with the conventional idea of these times (barbarism, ignorance, fanaticism, etc.), you'll be surprised.
I loved this one. Highly recommended.
It introduced me to an idea that i'd never encountered before: That Christianity, with its view of history as something progressing towards a goal (the Kingdom of God), and doctrine of continuing perfection, encouraged people to think of ways to improve the here and now. I.e., if history is going somewhere, and if God can help people improve themselves, then our temporal lives can also be improved. So better ways of doing things were sought. Whereas in the ancient world, stability and continuity were paramount, and any "golden age" was resigned to the fabled past.
This book tells of the technological, scholarly, industrial and financial advances of the Middle Ages. From the fall of the Empire in the West to around the 14th century. If you're working with the conventional idea of these times (barbarism, ignorance, fanaticism, etc.), you'll be surprised.
I loved this one. Highly recommended.
January 4, 2014
The medieval ages were far more like our modern age than we often think. The only thing that came to my mind prior to reading this book was knights and castles. Hardly a dark age as often portrayed, the period was full of industrial innovation, and Jean Gimpel makes an interesting survey of some of the inventions that came out of the period, discussing the engineering and architectural feats of the age.
The book was written in the 1970s, so it's a little dated, but it was a fast and insightful read, shedding light to a beginning learner on a period of history that generally escapes notice but for as backdrop period films and sword and sorcery fantasies. I read it for a history class during my undergrad degree, but I have kept it and occasionally reviewed it since.
The book was written in the 1970s, so it's a little dated, but it was a fast and insightful read, shedding light to a beginning learner on a period of history that generally escapes notice but for as backdrop period films and sword and sorcery fantasies. I read it for a history class during my undergrad degree, but I have kept it and occasionally reviewed it since.
January 18, 2018
Filled with interesting factoids
August 21, 2013
Being an intensive look at the intensive work done in that era.
It opens with watermills, which were perhaps the biggest change. They were known in Roman times, but not implemented, sometimes explicitly to keep labor laboring. In medieval times, they were put to use. Grinding grain of course, but also for fulling cloths, tanning, and many other things, and then there were floating mills and tidal mills and eventually even wind mills that could turn to catch the wind. And how the mills came to be the first corporation, where you own a share in the mill and its profits. Often the miller was an employee. And the great rivalry over
The agricultural revolution with the horse collar. In ancient times, you were forbidden by law to weigh down your horse with more than a fraction of what they pulled in medieval times. This is because the ancient horse collar was just an ox's yoke. They rear back their heads in ancient depictions because they are trying to avoid choking to death. Medievals invented a serious horse collar, and got much more use from it. Especially as they also introduce nailing on iron horse shoes. Plus new plows, which made many parts of Europe arable for the first time.
To be sure this lead to environmental issues. Builders have plans that highlight how you can build them with short timber.
Clocks were also innovated widely. Weight-driven ones were devised. Many Catholic churches installed them, though the Orthodox rejected them.
It also goes into mining, labor conditions, architecture, and mathematics with other pure intellectual procedures.
The epilogue is not about the era at all, but about the claim that the United States has had it, and the whole thing is a bit flat in style -- the facts are interesting but rather dryly presented. Still, those who want to know about medieval machinery will find a lot here.
It opens with watermills, which were perhaps the biggest change. They were known in Roman times, but not implemented, sometimes explicitly to keep labor laboring. In medieval times, they were put to use. Grinding grain of course, but also for fulling cloths, tanning, and many other things, and then there were floating mills and tidal mills and eventually even wind mills that could turn to catch the wind. And how the mills came to be the first corporation, where you own a share in the mill and its profits. Often the miller was an employee. And the great rivalry over
The agricultural revolution with the horse collar. In ancient times, you were forbidden by law to weigh down your horse with more than a fraction of what they pulled in medieval times. This is because the ancient horse collar was just an ox's yoke. They rear back their heads in ancient depictions because they are trying to avoid choking to death. Medievals invented a serious horse collar, and got much more use from it. Especially as they also introduce nailing on iron horse shoes. Plus new plows, which made many parts of Europe arable for the first time.
To be sure this lead to environmental issues. Builders have plans that highlight how you can build them with short timber.
Clocks were also innovated widely. Weight-driven ones were devised. Many Catholic churches installed them, though the Orthodox rejected them.
It also goes into mining, labor conditions, architecture, and mathematics with other pure intellectual procedures.
The epilogue is not about the era at all, but about the claim that the United States has had it, and the whole thing is a bit flat in style -- the facts are interesting but rather dryly presented. Still, those who want to know about medieval machinery will find a lot here.
March 26, 2015
He aquí un libro prometedor. Que no cumple casi ninguna de las promesas que formula. La tésis del libro es que en torno a los siglos XII y XIII se produce una primera Revolución Industrial (quizá huebiera sido mejor que hubiera hablado de revolución tecnológica) que producirá avances que Occidente no volvera a alcanzar hasta la revolución industrial manchesteriana. Una tésis sugestiva que, desgraciadamente el autor no logra demostrar. Lo que hace es acumular ejemplos heteróclitos en la esperanza de que la acumulación de los mismos produzca tal vez el convencimiento del lector. En mi opinión molinos de agua y relojes mecánicos no dan para una Revolución Industrial. Esto no quiere decir que el libro no sea interesante ni que el análisis que hace de la causa de lo que el llama Revolución (fundamentalmente el óptimo climático de la época al que, de haber existido ecologistas en aquella época se hubieran referido sin duda como "calentamiento global") ni de su final (enfriamiento, hambrunas y peste) no sea interesante.
En cualquier caos el autor decide dar un cierre estrafalario a la obra añadiendo una coda final en la que anuncia imperterrito (en 1971) el declinar tecnológico de Estados Unidos citando como ejemplo que la mayoría de los "magnetofones" que compra se producen en el extranjero.
En cualquier caos el autor decide dar un cierre estrafalario a la obra añadiendo una coda final en la que anuncia imperterrito (en 1971) el declinar tecnológico de Estados Unidos citando como ejemplo que la mayoría de los "magnetofones" que compra se producen en el extranjero.
May 31, 2016
A bit dry, but has fantastic information on various levels of technology of the Middle Ages and how it impacted those that used it.
August 31, 2014
* Preface
* Intent: To show that the foundations of our technologically oriented society were not the Industrial Revolution, the Italian Renaissance, but the Middle Ages [viii]. The main purpose is to examine the industrial life and institutions of the Middle Ages [xi]
* The period to be studied: 10th -13th A.D. [viii]
* Population increased, energy consumption increased, capitalism grew
* Eventually there was a decline, population ceased to grow, industrial centers cut back [ix]
* "No more fundamental innovations are likely to be introduced to change the structure of our society" Maybe the computer I say? [xi]
* The Energy Resources of Europe and Their Development
* Monasteries built throughout Europe by Cistercians (Saint Benedict rule) all used the same water powered factory systems [5]
* Medieval society completely gave itself to mechanization while the classical world did not. The reason was because of massive number of slaves and few rivers in the Mediterranean countries [7]
* The Domesday book ordered by William the Conqueror (11th century) detailed the number and types of mills throughout England [11]. They found 5,624 watermills [12]
* The introduction of the cam into Medieval industry allowed for the mechanization of many human labors [14] paper mills, fulling industry (thickening the cloth by beating it in water)
* Tidal mills were characteristic of the Medieval mind seeking new forms of energy [23] These were difficult to use because the tide changed every day so the miller would have to work different hours [24]
* Wind power was also used. The difficulty here was that the wind always blew in different directions so they developed the post-mill. A rotating base of the wind mill
* The Agricultural Revolution
* The first impact on the new sources of energy was on agriculture [29]
* This was strongly influenced by good climate conditions around 1000 [30]
* The exploitation of the horse as a source of energy also helped the agricultural revolution [32]. This was dependent on the development of the horse collar, 800 AD, the horseshoe[33], and hitching one horse behind another [34]. The horse gradually replaced the ox. [37]
* Change from 2 field to 3 field where you rotate wheat, oats, & fallow [39]. Only 33% of the land is fallow, compared with 50% in the 2 field system [40]
* Greatest agricultural change was the heavy wheeled plow. This changed the shape of a field from squarish to longitudinal. Enhanced the cooperation among communities as farmers shared this equipment.[41]
* Much importance was placed on fertilizer. The sheep was the most prized [45] Manure, wool, milk, parchment.
* Wool became a major export for England [46]
* These agricultural developments led to a healthier, more plentiful diet, which in turn caused the population to grow. [56]
* Mining the Mineral Wealth of Europe
* Stone quarrying was the most important mining industry in Medieval Europe [59] This is comparable to mining of coal in the 19th and oil in the 20th. France had the greatest number of stone quarries [60]
* The iron industry was also fundamental to Europe's prosperity. [63] This was important for the horseshoes, armor, support in buildings, iron tools [65]
* Environment and Pollution
* This industrialization adversely affected the environment [75]
* Forests were destroyed. This made building difficult and costly. [78]
* The main cause was the furnaces and energy necessary to forge iron. Charcoal (residue of burnt wood) was used for the forge [79]
* Forest laws were enacted to help preserve the forests [80]
* This led to finding a substitute for wood; coal. [81]
* However, the burning of coal led to atmospheric pollution [82]. By the 13th London began to suffer from the coal smoke.
* Slaughtering and tanning industries caused water pollution [85]
* Tanning polluted the river because it subjected hides to various chemical processes [86]
* Labor Conditions in 3 Medieval Industries (mining, textiles, construction)
* Miners
* The most privileged of the groups because of the value of their work [93]
* They were allowed to divert streams, take wood from anywhere, and prospect anywhere [94]
* They were exempted from taxes, tolls, and military service, and were often granted the status of freemen [95]
* Textile workers
* Great contrast from the miners [99]
* They were a real proletariat, bound to a capitalistic system
* Strikes were a frequent occurrence by the workers [100]
* To hold the worker in check the capitalist introduced the truck system. Goods would be given to the workers who would pay with work. These goods were usually highly overvalued [105]
* The only way a manufacturer could increase his profit was to lower wages, thus the textile workers suffered
* Construction workers (the masons)
* Had more freedom than textile workers because they could move from one job site to another, and were free to decline any wage offer [106]
* There was a great disparity in wages. This was due in part to the refusal to the employers to let the workers unite into a labor organization [109]
* Nevertheless, the masons were well paid because they were highly skilled. [110]
* Villard de Honnecourt: Architect and Engineer
* At the higher end of the wage scale was the architect-engineer [114]
* These architects were given the greatest of honors. Their names were engraved into their buildings [118]
* Villard was born at the turn of the 13th [120]
* His fame is due to the chance survival of his sketchbook.
* He first performed work on the choir of the Cistercian monastery
* He was later sent to Hungary in 1235 [126]
* He strove, like many 13th century architects to devise perpetual motion machines [129]
* He also made technological drawings that used other sources of energy. Ex. water powered saw.
* He was also a military engineer who made engines of war [133]
* The Mechanical Clock: The Key Machine
* Lewis Mumford's theory of the origin of the clock in a Benedictine monastery is disputed today [149]
* His explanation of the role of the clock in the evolution of western civilization is relevant. It has been the foremost machine to which other machines aspire
* Giovanni di Dondi (14th Italian) & Su Sung (11th Chinese) built magnificent clocks [150]
* di Dondi used a weight powered clock as opposed to a water powered so it would not freeze [152]
* Reason, Mathematics and Experimental Science
* From 1125-1277 there was an attempt to marry reason and faith [171]
* This lay the basis of modern science [172]
* Peter Abelard began to partake in formal and philosophical logic. He collected contradictory statements about the Bible in Sic et Non
* The importance of this 12th century texts was that it demythologized xianity [180]
* The difficulty was in trying to reconcile xianity and Aristotelianism [182]
* The Pope considered this a real danger and the condemnations of 1270 and 1277 ensued. This resulted in the mysticism of the 14th and 15th [198]
* Grosseteste' importance lay in his insistence on basing natural philosophy upon mathematics and experimentation [185]
* Roger Bacon was Grosseteste's successor [186]. Helped to reform the calendar, and was committed to experimental science [193]
* The End of an Era
* In 1277 the medieval machine (the progress of technology) was checked and a "dark & decadent" age followed [199]
* The condemnation caused 2 things. Separated philosophy from theology and caused xianity to revert to mysticism (understand the universe through intuition) [200]
* Changing European climates also reduced growth [205]
* Famine and the Black Death also stopped growth [208]
* The plague brought a higher standard of living for those who survived because there was a shortage of manpower [213]
* Summary of this period: mysticism, witchcraft, torture; a decline in agricultural yields due to decreasing fertility; increase in famine and epidemics; fall in population and a rise in peasant uprisings; economic depression; and worst of all was war. [226]
* Epilogue
* This picture of the Middle Ages as a dynamic and progressive period when inventions were at a premium differs markedly from the generally accepted view of this era [237]
* The truth is that medieval man was often less religious than is widely believed and the humanists faith in xianity was often deep and sincere.
* A brief history of the history of medieval technology is presented [238]
* Gimpel claims that our civilization is at a technological plateau because there is no young country to continue the momentum [240]
* Pirenne thesis: Gimpel uses this to compare the U.S. & the Middle Ages. We reach maturity in 1947 with the Truman Doctrine (responsibility for the world) and we begin to decline in 1971
* Gimpel claims that "the whole of Western civilization is approaching the end of its historical cycle." [252]
* Intent: To show that the foundations of our technologically oriented society were not the Industrial Revolution, the Italian Renaissance, but the Middle Ages [viii]. The main purpose is to examine the industrial life and institutions of the Middle Ages [xi]
* The period to be studied: 10th -13th A.D. [viii]
* Population increased, energy consumption increased, capitalism grew
* Eventually there was a decline, population ceased to grow, industrial centers cut back [ix]
* "No more fundamental innovations are likely to be introduced to change the structure of our society" Maybe the computer I say? [xi]
* The Energy Resources of Europe and Their Development
* Monasteries built throughout Europe by Cistercians (Saint Benedict rule) all used the same water powered factory systems [5]
* Medieval society completely gave itself to mechanization while the classical world did not. The reason was because of massive number of slaves and few rivers in the Mediterranean countries [7]
* The Domesday book ordered by William the Conqueror (11th century) detailed the number and types of mills throughout England [11]. They found 5,624 watermills [12]
* The introduction of the cam into Medieval industry allowed for the mechanization of many human labors [14] paper mills, fulling industry (thickening the cloth by beating it in water)
* Tidal mills were characteristic of the Medieval mind seeking new forms of energy [23] These were difficult to use because the tide changed every day so the miller would have to work different hours [24]
* Wind power was also used. The difficulty here was that the wind always blew in different directions so they developed the post-mill. A rotating base of the wind mill
* The Agricultural Revolution
* The first impact on the new sources of energy was on agriculture [29]
* This was strongly influenced by good climate conditions around 1000 [30]
* The exploitation of the horse as a source of energy also helped the agricultural revolution [32]. This was dependent on the development of the horse collar, 800 AD, the horseshoe[33], and hitching one horse behind another [34]. The horse gradually replaced the ox. [37]
* Change from 2 field to 3 field where you rotate wheat, oats, & fallow [39]. Only 33% of the land is fallow, compared with 50% in the 2 field system [40]
* Greatest agricultural change was the heavy wheeled plow. This changed the shape of a field from squarish to longitudinal. Enhanced the cooperation among communities as farmers shared this equipment.[41]
* Much importance was placed on fertilizer. The sheep was the most prized [45] Manure, wool, milk, parchment.
* Wool became a major export for England [46]
* These agricultural developments led to a healthier, more plentiful diet, which in turn caused the population to grow. [56]
* Mining the Mineral Wealth of Europe
* Stone quarrying was the most important mining industry in Medieval Europe [59] This is comparable to mining of coal in the 19th and oil in the 20th. France had the greatest number of stone quarries [60]
* The iron industry was also fundamental to Europe's prosperity. [63] This was important for the horseshoes, armor, support in buildings, iron tools [65]
* Environment and Pollution
* This industrialization adversely affected the environment [75]
* Forests were destroyed. This made building difficult and costly. [78]
* The main cause was the furnaces and energy necessary to forge iron. Charcoal (residue of burnt wood) was used for the forge [79]
* Forest laws were enacted to help preserve the forests [80]
* This led to finding a substitute for wood; coal. [81]
* However, the burning of coal led to atmospheric pollution [82]. By the 13th London began to suffer from the coal smoke.
* Slaughtering and tanning industries caused water pollution [85]
* Tanning polluted the river because it subjected hides to various chemical processes [86]
* Labor Conditions in 3 Medieval Industries (mining, textiles, construction)
* Miners
* The most privileged of the groups because of the value of their work [93]
* They were allowed to divert streams, take wood from anywhere, and prospect anywhere [94]
* They were exempted from taxes, tolls, and military service, and were often granted the status of freemen [95]
* Textile workers
* Great contrast from the miners [99]
* They were a real proletariat, bound to a capitalistic system
* Strikes were a frequent occurrence by the workers [100]
* To hold the worker in check the capitalist introduced the truck system. Goods would be given to the workers who would pay with work. These goods were usually highly overvalued [105]
* The only way a manufacturer could increase his profit was to lower wages, thus the textile workers suffered
* Construction workers (the masons)
* Had more freedom than textile workers because they could move from one job site to another, and were free to decline any wage offer [106]
* There was a great disparity in wages. This was due in part to the refusal to the employers to let the workers unite into a labor organization [109]
* Nevertheless, the masons were well paid because they were highly skilled. [110]
* Villard de Honnecourt: Architect and Engineer
* At the higher end of the wage scale was the architect-engineer [114]
* These architects were given the greatest of honors. Their names were engraved into their buildings [118]
* Villard was born at the turn of the 13th [120]
* His fame is due to the chance survival of his sketchbook.
* He first performed work on the choir of the Cistercian monastery
* He was later sent to Hungary in 1235 [126]
* He strove, like many 13th century architects to devise perpetual motion machines [129]
* He also made technological drawings that used other sources of energy. Ex. water powered saw.
* He was also a military engineer who made engines of war [133]
* The Mechanical Clock: The Key Machine
* Lewis Mumford's theory of the origin of the clock in a Benedictine monastery is disputed today [149]
* His explanation of the role of the clock in the evolution of western civilization is relevant. It has been the foremost machine to which other machines aspire
* Giovanni di Dondi (14th Italian) & Su Sung (11th Chinese) built magnificent clocks [150]
* di Dondi used a weight powered clock as opposed to a water powered so it would not freeze [152]
* Reason, Mathematics and Experimental Science
* From 1125-1277 there was an attempt to marry reason and faith [171]
* This lay the basis of modern science [172]
* Peter Abelard began to partake in formal and philosophical logic. He collected contradictory statements about the Bible in Sic et Non
* The importance of this 12th century texts was that it demythologized xianity [180]
* The difficulty was in trying to reconcile xianity and Aristotelianism [182]
* The Pope considered this a real danger and the condemnations of 1270 and 1277 ensued. This resulted in the mysticism of the 14th and 15th [198]
* Grosseteste' importance lay in his insistence on basing natural philosophy upon mathematics and experimentation [185]
* Roger Bacon was Grosseteste's successor [186]. Helped to reform the calendar, and was committed to experimental science [193]
* The End of an Era
* In 1277 the medieval machine (the progress of technology) was checked and a "dark & decadent" age followed [199]
* The condemnation caused 2 things. Separated philosophy from theology and caused xianity to revert to mysticism (understand the universe through intuition) [200]
* Changing European climates also reduced growth [205]
* Famine and the Black Death also stopped growth [208]
* The plague brought a higher standard of living for those who survived because there was a shortage of manpower [213]
* Summary of this period: mysticism, witchcraft, torture; a decline in agricultural yields due to decreasing fertility; increase in famine and epidemics; fall in population and a rise in peasant uprisings; economic depression; and worst of all was war. [226]
* Epilogue
* This picture of the Middle Ages as a dynamic and progressive period when inventions were at a premium differs markedly from the generally accepted view of this era [237]
* The truth is that medieval man was often less religious than is widely believed and the humanists faith in xianity was often deep and sincere.
* A brief history of the history of medieval technology is presented [238]
* Gimpel claims that our civilization is at a technological plateau because there is no young country to continue the momentum [240]
* Pirenne thesis: Gimpel uses this to compare the U.S. & the Middle Ages. We reach maturity in 1947 with the Truman Doctrine (responsibility for the world) and we begin to decline in 1971
* Gimpel claims that "the whole of Western civilization is approaching the end of its historical cycle." [252]
September 30, 2019
A fascinating read about the 1000's to 1200's.
First four chapters were my favorite and talk about:
*Energy harvesting (water mills, windmills, dams, tidal energy mills) and one of the first and longest lasting corporations developed around water mills on a dam.
*How farmers developed a better way to harness horses (so they don't strangle), which vastly increased the amount of farmland that could be plowed.
*The 1000's to 1200's also saw an increase in coal and iron mining.
*And that this increase led to deforestation, and air pollution near iron furnaces.
The next two chapters talk about how skilled laborers were treated (textiles, miners, building construction, architects).
Chapter 7 talks about the development of the mechanical clock.
Chapter 8 talks about the extensive translation work done in the 1100's on works describing mathematics, science, and technology and begins talking about specific people. I found this part a little weaker, because the argument put forth kept getting lost in admiration of great men of the period.
Chapter 9 and the Epilogue talk about how this period of technological advance ended and begins drawing parallels between the industrial revolution of the Middle Ages and the current industrial revolution. Considering that this was written in the 1970's partially based on work done in the 1950's, the author is extremely pessimistic. He tries to predict the future based on history repeating itself (and predicts that it's all downhill from here). Unlike the decline of the Middle Ages, however, we haven't been hit with the Black Death. And though the US rejected supporting supersonic transportation in 1971, we hit another period of technological advance with computers. Also, it's hard to believe that caring about the environment we live in is somehow a bad sign, or that restrained population growth is bad.
First four chapters were my favorite and talk about:
*Energy harvesting (water mills, windmills, dams, tidal energy mills) and one of the first and longest lasting corporations developed around water mills on a dam.
*How farmers developed a better way to harness horses (so they don't strangle), which vastly increased the amount of farmland that could be plowed.
*The 1000's to 1200's also saw an increase in coal and iron mining.
*And that this increase led to deforestation, and air pollution near iron furnaces.
The next two chapters talk about how skilled laborers were treated (textiles, miners, building construction, architects).
Chapter 7 talks about the development of the mechanical clock.
Chapter 8 talks about the extensive translation work done in the 1100's on works describing mathematics, science, and technology and begins talking about specific people. I found this part a little weaker, because the argument put forth kept getting lost in admiration of great men of the period.
Chapter 9 and the Epilogue talk about how this period of technological advance ended and begins drawing parallels between the industrial revolution of the Middle Ages and the current industrial revolution. Considering that this was written in the 1970's partially based on work done in the 1950's, the author is extremely pessimistic. He tries to predict the future based on history repeating itself (and predicts that it's all downhill from here). Unlike the decline of the Middle Ages, however, we haven't been hit with the Black Death. And though the US rejected supporting supersonic transportation in 1971, we hit another period of technological advance with computers. Also, it's hard to believe that caring about the environment we live in is somehow a bad sign, or that restrained population growth is bad.
September 19, 2020
This is a rather old book at this point, but one that hasn't really been superseded in the forty-some-odd years since its publication. (I looked at a University syllabus and found only one more recent general book, by the Gies, that I've also read and doesn't expand much on what you find here.) It's specifically about the rash of technological advances that took place in the Middle Ages, and it aimed to counter the view the the Medieval era was one of utter stagnation. And it is, in fact, chockablock full of interesting tidbits of information. It doesn't go into great depth about any of them, but it touches on a lot of interesting things. It starts with a discussion of the spread of water power from the eleventh through the thirteenth century, and how that wildly improved industrial output. Indeed, in many ways it created the mechanized factory. Agriculture become more efficient (they learned to harness horses without strangling them, which led to far greater productivity than the old oxen-drawn plows), architecture made huge strides (the Romans never came up with anything like the Gothic cathedral), and the modern concept of time was essentially invented (an hour is the same year-round, rather than changing with the seasons and the varying length of the day). There's even a chapter on social history and the treatment of workers. All good stuff, and pretty convincing in terms of making 1000-1277 look less like the Dark Ages. The end, where Gimpel talks about how the decline of Medieval technological progress relates to the post-oil-crisis West, seems far more dated, but before that this is a dandy (and readable) little book.
September 7, 2014
”Jean Gimpel, Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu, Editura Meridiane, București, 1983, 246 p.
Ne-am putea imagina că Evul Mediu a avut o cultură tehnică mai dezvoltată decât se crede de obicei? De obicei, vorbim despre o societate definită ca o lume săracă și ignorantă, dominate de agricultură și religie. Jean Gimpel și-a propus să ne convingă că lucrurile nu au stat așa, ci că a existat o revoluție a tehnologiei între secolele XI-XIII, bazată pe morărit, cariere de piatră, construcția castelelor și catedralelor și metalurgia fierului, pe care o putem observa și în celebrul serial The Pillars of the Earth[1].
Argumentația este interesantă, deși stilul devine confuz mai ales în a doua parte a cărții, unde autorul oscilează între narațiune și o filozofie ciclică a istoriei și nu este clar dacă vorbim despre o transformare sau despre un proces oprit înainte de a-și realiza deplinul potențial. Pentru Gimpel, demografia, agricultura și uneltele a angrenat un flux al dezvoltării în societatea medievală, cu punctul culminant în secolul XIII. În acel moment, declinul a rezultat dintr-o creștere a interesului față de misticism, scăderea demografică, recolte proaste și războaie, care au modificat interesele grupurilor sociale al cărui sprijin era necesar pentru continuitatea procesului respectiv[2].
Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu conține studii dedicate energiei, mineritului, construcțiilor, agriculturii, dar și a unor actori sociali importanți în epocă. Este interesant de observat că lucrarea este preocupată de poluare și de relațiile de muncă. Scopul lui Jean Gimpel este de a evidenția impactul tehnologiei, subestimat pentru el din cauza prestigiului disciplinelor umaniste în spațiul academic occidental[3].
”În Europa, Evul Mediu a dezvoltat folosirea mașinilor în toate domeniile… Este unul dintre factorii hotărâtori ai preponderenței emisferei occidentale”, considera autorul[4]. Dintre domeniile studiate, cele mai convingătoare argumente se regăsesc în capitolele dedicate energiei, morilor, carierelor și catedralelor, dar lipsește o privire de ansamblu asupra dimensiunilor, intensității și impactului tehnologiilor tratate. Ca metodă, Jean Gimpel îmbină argumentația generală cu exemple bine alese, dar cade deseori victimă propriilor excese retorice.
”În Evul Mediu, energia hidraulică avea importanța pe care o are petrolul în secolul al XX-lea”[5], afirmă autorul, într-o lucrarea ilustrată de numeroase astfel de comparații, bine alese, dar care implică riscul anacronismului, cum vorbim despre două societăți diferite ca valori, structuri sau instituții. Eroii săi sunt îndeosebi abațiile cisterciene, care au contribuit la răspândirea a numeroase tehnologii, la definirea unui cult al muncii și la forme de organizare a acesteia, abații privite aproape ca niște companii multinaționale moderne. Întâlnim chiar adevărate monopoluri private locale ce-și disputau controlul râurilor și al barajelor, cum a fost cazul societății din Bazacle[6].
Morilor li se asociază minele, carierele și prelucrarea fierului în grupa sectoarelor avansate ale epocii. ”În timpul celor trei secole de expansiune economică, din secolul al XI-lea până în secolul al XIII-lea, Franța a transportat mai multă piatră decât Egiptul în oricare perioadă a istoriei sale”[7], precizeză Gimpel, piatră destinată catedralelor și castelelor. Din nou îi întâlnim pe cistercieni, acum în calitatea de ”căpitani” ai ”siderurgiei”[8].
Cum se îmbină această imagine cu reprezentarea unei societăți religioase, nobiliare și dominate covârșitor de agricultură? Atitudinea autorului față de religie este ambiguă, când stimula procesul dezvoltării tehnologice, când îl frâna. Argumentul material decisiv este cel legat de agricultură, activitatea definitorie pentru modul de viață al acestei lumi.
Gimpel a argumentat că agricultura a beneficiat de un avânt, domeniu unde din nou îi întâlnim pe călugării săi favoriți. Plugul cu roată, noi metode de înhămare, asolamentul trienal au condus la creșterea productivității, urmată de un aflux demografic[9]. Schimbările nu s-au limitat doar la culturi, ci s-au extins și la sectoare apropiate, modificând unele relații sociale; pentru autor, industria lânii fiind deja o activitatea ”capitalistă”[10].
Publicată în anii `70, Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu este influențată și de preocupările timpului său, poluarea, epuizarea resurselor, rolul energiei, conflictele sociale și de schimbarea climatică, menționată și de Fernand Braudel[11]. O combinație de factori a condus la declinul ritmului schimbărilor tehnologice: modificarea mentalităților, a relațiile sociale și de putere, o serie de crize, epidemii și războaie. Lucrarea a fost gândită de autor și ca un avertisment pentru modernitate, dar conține și un mesaj optimist, cum că putem evita repetarea ciclului prin inteligență și perseverență.
Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu oferă o lectură interesantă, mai ales acum când tehnologia se află peste tot, iar preocuparea față de mediu influențează dezbaterea publică și deciziile. Uneltele sunt, pentru autor, dependente de contextul social, structurile puterii și mentalitățile epocii, evitând un determinism simplist. În ciuda unor scăderi ca tentația anacronică, exagerarea impactului transformărilor tehnologice și subestimarea trăsăturilor specifice lumii medievale, lucrarea a reprezentat o provocare intelectuală, care poate completa demersurile intelectuale dedicate impactului politicului, feudalismului sau conștiinței religioase.
________________________________________
[1] Serial bazat pe romanul lui Ken Follet, Stâlpii pământului, vezi Ken Follet, Stâlpii pământului, RAO, București, 2009.
[2] Jean Gimpel, Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu, Editura Meridiane, București, 1983, pp. 183, 211.
[3] Idem, p. 133-134.
[4] Idem, p. 9.
[5] Idem, p. 10.
[6] Idem, pp. 23-27.
[7] Idem, p. 33.
[8] Idem, p. 42-43.
[9] Idem, p. 59.
[10] Idem, p. 63.
[11] Fernand Braudel, Structurile cotidianului, vol. 1, Editura Meridiane, pp. 42-44.”
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Ne-am putea imagina că Evul Mediu a avut o cultură tehnică mai dezvoltată decât se crede de obicei? De obicei, vorbim despre o societate definită ca o lume săracă și ignorantă, dominate de agricultură și religie. Jean Gimpel și-a propus să ne convingă că lucrurile nu au stat așa, ci că a existat o revoluție a tehnologiei între secolele XI-XIII, bazată pe morărit, cariere de piatră, construcția castelelor și catedralelor și metalurgia fierului, pe care o putem observa și în celebrul serial The Pillars of the Earth[1].
Argumentația este interesantă, deși stilul devine confuz mai ales în a doua parte a cărții, unde autorul oscilează între narațiune și o filozofie ciclică a istoriei și nu este clar dacă vorbim despre o transformare sau despre un proces oprit înainte de a-și realiza deplinul potențial. Pentru Gimpel, demografia, agricultura și uneltele a angrenat un flux al dezvoltării în societatea medievală, cu punctul culminant în secolul XIII. În acel moment, declinul a rezultat dintr-o creștere a interesului față de misticism, scăderea demografică, recolte proaste și războaie, care au modificat interesele grupurilor sociale al cărui sprijin era necesar pentru continuitatea procesului respectiv[2].
Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu conține studii dedicate energiei, mineritului, construcțiilor, agriculturii, dar și a unor actori sociali importanți în epocă. Este interesant de observat că lucrarea este preocupată de poluare și de relațiile de muncă. Scopul lui Jean Gimpel este de a evidenția impactul tehnologiei, subestimat pentru el din cauza prestigiului disciplinelor umaniste în spațiul academic occidental[3].
”În Europa, Evul Mediu a dezvoltat folosirea mașinilor în toate domeniile… Este unul dintre factorii hotărâtori ai preponderenței emisferei occidentale”, considera autorul[4]. Dintre domeniile studiate, cele mai convingătoare argumente se regăsesc în capitolele dedicate energiei, morilor, carierelor și catedralelor, dar lipsește o privire de ansamblu asupra dimensiunilor, intensității și impactului tehnologiilor tratate. Ca metodă, Jean Gimpel îmbină argumentația generală cu exemple bine alese, dar cade deseori victimă propriilor excese retorice.
”În Evul Mediu, energia hidraulică avea importanța pe care o are petrolul în secolul al XX-lea”[5], afirmă autorul, într-o lucrarea ilustrată de numeroase astfel de comparații, bine alese, dar care implică riscul anacronismului, cum vorbim despre două societăți diferite ca valori, structuri sau instituții. Eroii săi sunt îndeosebi abațiile cisterciene, care au contribuit la răspândirea a numeroase tehnologii, la definirea unui cult al muncii și la forme de organizare a acesteia, abații privite aproape ca niște companii multinaționale moderne. Întâlnim chiar adevărate monopoluri private locale ce-și disputau controlul râurilor și al barajelor, cum a fost cazul societății din Bazacle[6].
Morilor li se asociază minele, carierele și prelucrarea fierului în grupa sectoarelor avansate ale epocii. ”În timpul celor trei secole de expansiune economică, din secolul al XI-lea până în secolul al XIII-lea, Franța a transportat mai multă piatră decât Egiptul în oricare perioadă a istoriei sale”[7], precizeză Gimpel, piatră destinată catedralelor și castelelor. Din nou îi întâlnim pe cistercieni, acum în calitatea de ”căpitani” ai ”siderurgiei”[8].
Cum se îmbină această imagine cu reprezentarea unei societăți religioase, nobiliare și dominate covârșitor de agricultură? Atitudinea autorului față de religie este ambiguă, când stimula procesul dezvoltării tehnologice, când îl frâna. Argumentul material decisiv este cel legat de agricultură, activitatea definitorie pentru modul de viață al acestei lumi.
Gimpel a argumentat că agricultura a beneficiat de un avânt, domeniu unde din nou îi întâlnim pe călugării săi favoriți. Plugul cu roată, noi metode de înhămare, asolamentul trienal au condus la creșterea productivității, urmată de un aflux demografic[9]. Schimbările nu s-au limitat doar la culturi, ci s-au extins și la sectoare apropiate, modificând unele relații sociale; pentru autor, industria lânii fiind deja o activitatea ”capitalistă”[10].
Publicată în anii `70, Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu este influențată și de preocupările timpului său, poluarea, epuizarea resurselor, rolul energiei, conflictele sociale și de schimbarea climatică, menționată și de Fernand Braudel[11]. O combinație de factori a condus la declinul ritmului schimbărilor tehnologice: modificarea mentalităților, a relațiile sociale și de putere, o serie de crize, epidemii și războaie. Lucrarea a fost gândită de autor și ca un avertisment pentru modernitate, dar conține și un mesaj optimist, cum că putem evita repetarea ciclului prin inteligență și perseverență.
Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu oferă o lectură interesantă, mai ales acum când tehnologia se află peste tot, iar preocuparea față de mediu influențează dezbaterea publică și deciziile. Uneltele sunt, pentru autor, dependente de contextul social, structurile puterii și mentalitățile epocii, evitând un determinism simplist. În ciuda unor scăderi ca tentația anacronică, exagerarea impactului transformărilor tehnologice și subestimarea trăsăturilor specifice lumii medievale, lucrarea a reprezentat o provocare intelectuală, care poate completa demersurile intelectuale dedicate impactului politicului, feudalismului sau conștiinței religioase.
________________________________________
[1] Serial bazat pe romanul lui Ken Follet, Stâlpii pământului, vezi Ken Follet, Stâlpii pământului, RAO, București, 2009.
[2] Jean Gimpel, Revoluția industrială în Evul Mediu, Editura Meridiane, București, 1983, pp. 183, 211.
[3] Idem, p. 133-134.
[4] Idem, p. 9.
[5] Idem, p. 10.
[6] Idem, pp. 23-27.
[7] Idem, p. 33.
[8] Idem, p. 42-43.
[9] Idem, p. 59.
[10] Idem, p. 63.
[11] Fernand Braudel, Structurile cotidianului, vol. 1, Editura Meridiane, pp. 42-44.”
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February 26, 2020
Overall, this book was very interesting, and I learned a lot. The first half or so was an extremely interesting description of medieval technology such as water power and horse power, and how medieval technology had changed compared with that of antiquity. The second half of the book was ok, but the author started to get bogged down with way too many names and dates and other economic and historical details, and began to lose track of describing the actual technology involved. The description of mechanical clocks was little more than a year-by-year history of all the people who developed early clocks and where they were located. The epilogue was a very interesting comparison between medieval and modern times. I would recommend this book to other people for sure, but I'm giving 4 stars because I think it could have used a little more editing to make it a more clean presentation that didn't read in parts like a history textbook.
March 20, 2025
I thoroughly enjoy reading books that challenge the accepted narrative. This one, written in 1976, just plain smashes the belief that the Middle Ages were backward and just a span of worthless time between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. Gimpel proves that “Between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries, Western Europe experienced a technological boom”. Further, the author shows how “The Middle Ages was one of the great inventive eras of mankind”.
Covered are advances in agriculture, engineering, mining, architecture, construction methods, among others. This technological boom had effects on the environment; a topic Gimpel addresses.
Thumbing through the Index one finds such diverse topics as: ale manufacturers, public baths, Black Death, architect-engineers, currency, mechanical clocks, population increase and decline, standard of living of construction workers, mysticism, famine, and more.
Covered are advances in agriculture, engineering, mining, architecture, construction methods, among others. This technological boom had effects on the environment; a topic Gimpel addresses.
Thumbing through the Index one finds such diverse topics as: ale manufacturers, public baths, Black Death, architect-engineers, currency, mechanical clocks, population increase and decline, standard of living of construction workers, mysticism, famine, and more.
February 9, 2021
Overall it's pretty interesting. It makes a convincing case that the medieval period was far more technologically driven than we typically give credit for. Blame the Renaissance luminaries for pretending they discovered Roman technical writings the same way they discovered a continent where millions of people already lived.
The book is at times hilariously dated - in the foreword alone Gimpel argues we will never fully recover from the 1970s energy crisis and that all the society-changing technologies have already been discovered. That said, once he gets down to the medieval period he specializes in, it's an interesting and well-researched book. I only wish it had a better title - I picked it up thinking it was about catapults and human-powered cranes.
The book is at times hilariously dated - in the foreword alone Gimpel argues we will never fully recover from the 1970s energy crisis and that all the society-changing technologies have already been discovered. That said, once he gets down to the medieval period he specializes in, it's an interesting and well-researched book. I only wish it had a better title - I picked it up thinking it was about catapults and human-powered cranes.
March 24, 2023
A very interesting work in the early criticism of the concept of the Renaissance and how the "medieval" period was not as technologically or technically backwards as popularly believed. This could be read as preface to the first volume of Wallerstein's Modern World-System, in terms of detailing the development of the means of production and the European system up to the mid-1300s or so. The greatest drawback of the book is in the epilogue, where Gimpel creates a strange little graph, "Cycles of Psychological Drive and Technological Evolution," and starts drawing absurd parallels of medieval ages of "growth," "maturity," and "decline" to the modern American context. Gimpel must have been quite disappointed when digital technology essentially reverse his contention.
May 6, 2025
library hardbound - I was tempted to abandon it after reading the author's prediction, in the preface written in 1975, that ". . . we are witnessing a sharp arrest in technological impetus. No more fundamental innovations are likely to be introduced. . ."
That was followed by a couple of more or less pedestrian chapters that actually described and made some reasonable comments on technological changes in the medieval period, but most of the book was a waste, although it must be said that the epilogue which predicted an American decline vis a vis France was somewhat of a hoot when read 50 years on.
That was followed by a couple of more or less pedestrian chapters that actually described and made some reasonable comments on technological changes in the medieval period, but most of the book was a waste, although it must be said that the epilogue which predicted an American decline vis a vis France was somewhat of a hoot when read 50 years on.
September 9, 2021
I picked up this book by a recommendation of a historian who stated that Jean Gimpel predicted the decline of the USA in this work. History is not the usual reading topic for me, but I really enjoyed reading this book. From details of the daily lives to monumental construction projects, everything about Middle Ages was described to keep the reader interested. The epilog is the most important part of the book, but it can't be understood without reading all the other chapters.
I am looking forward to reading Gimpel's other books.
I am looking forward to reading Gimpel's other books.
October 15, 2023
Certainly very interesting and he was quite right to remind us of the remarkable blossoming in Europe of technical and commercial advances from perhaps 950-1277. In particular, the rediscovery of classical ideas prefigured the Renaissance until the radicalisation of the University of Paris led to a royal and papal shutdown. However, his tendentious and ultimately wildly inaccurate judgement that America and Europe had peaked in 1971 and were in
permanent decline undermines this slender and otherwise valuable little book.
permanent decline undermines this slender and otherwise valuable little book.
August 20, 2025
Good big-ideas history of medieval technology, made more interesting by the mid-70's framing and how it doesn't (or sometimes does) anticipate how the 50 years between then and now actually played out. Sort of a mini-Braudel with a less comprehensive scope, but similar style. The abundance of historical anecdote and primary sources is fun (the abbot with the millstones has gotten a lot of mileage in conversations with friends). Ultimately a bit breezy and limited, outside of some more in-depth research on historical watermills and food prices.
January 9, 2021
A very solid look into the social and technological progress of the Middle Ages.
This book was seemingly designed with two purposes in mind. Firstly, to dispel the myth that the Middle Ages were a stagnant and technologically and socially backwards period due to the "otherworldliness" of Medieval Christianity. The second purpose seems to have been to draw parallels with modern (1970s) American entrepreneurialism.
In the first case, Professor Gimple is wildly successful. The entire book is a veritable goldmine of quotes dispelling the general public's view of the middle ages.
From the Preface: "the foundation of our present technologically oriented society were laid not in the Italian Renaissance or in the English Industrial Revolution, but in the Middle Ages." (p. viii)
The first chapter: The Energy Sources of Europe and Their Development details the depth of the development of, and reliance on, energy sources. An image of a highly dynamic society emerges utilizing everything at its disposal.
"medieval society gave itself wholeheartedly to mechanization, while the classical world adopted it to only a limited extent...The availability of slaves and, in the Mediterranean countries, the scarcity of streams flowing all year round restricted the use of watermills in antiquity." (p. 7)
"the shares of the mills on the Garonne were subject to annual fluctuations in value. The mill shares were bought and sold freely like shares on a contemporary stock exchange." (p. 13)
The second chapter, The Agricultural Revolution, chronicles various revolutionary practices such as the development of draft horses (over oxen) and the three field rotation system which allowed European agricultural production to boom and along with it came an increase in population (allowing cities to grow). But most interestingly Gimpel discusses the Cistercians "running the most modern factories in Europe...an important force in the Medieval economy" (p. 46-47).
The discussion of the role of wine in the medieval economy (for Cistercians and schoolboys) "The boys have a daily allowance of 0.62 litres of wine." (p. 55) is interesting, fun, funny and gives a flavour of the culture which likely shares more similarity with the hard working modern French farmer than the New England puritans.
The third chapter on Mining the Mineral Wealth of Europe represents the third area of advance. Like the previous two areas, much of the advances in mining were a result of the lower population and the absence of slavery in the Middle Ages which necessitated labour saving techniques and improvements.
Environment and Pollution and Labour Conditions in Three Medieval Industries form a brief interlude in the book detailing two aspect of Medieval life oft maligned. Allow two quotations to suffice, "The standards of hygiene in the twelfth and thirteenth century were relatively high...there were no less than thirty two public baths in Paris, for men and women." (p. 91) and "The English workman in the thirteenth century had more official days off in the year than the English workman of the 1970s" (p. 109)
The book then returns to theme with chapters on Villard de Honnecourt: Architect and Engineer and The Mechanical Clock: the Key Machine. These chapters are good but I felt the subject of Medieval architecture was very much rushed. How can a book on medieval machinery lack mentioning the construction of the great Cathedrals, Abbeys and Universities and the techniques used in their construction.
The subsequent chapter on Reason, Mathematics and Experimental Science is brief and has been dealt with better by others. Gimpel does give a good summary of the progressiveness of the age (Peter Abelard "for by doubting we are led to questions, and by questioning we arrive at the truth."(p. 173) or Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon) but fails to fully grasp the complexity of the age and the diversity of views regarding science and religion. The claim "this intellectual freedom helped lay the foundation of modern science" (p. 172) is left only partially proven.
The End of an Era does a good job explaining the numerous causes for the slide from the 13th century plateau, but fails to come up with any concrete or solid underlying reasons and leans too heavily on war as an excuse. The concluding chapter Epilogue attempts to draw from these non-lessons conclusions to support his pessimism over the American economy in the 1970s.
Which brings me back full circle to the second purpose of the book, drawing parallels with the modern (1970s) American situation. The claim that, "the Frenchman... has reverted to a more dynamic outlook and has become more American than the Americans" (p. 247) is patently false and reveals a general ignorance and nostalgia for old Europe. I have no idea how he came to such a conclusion and in hindsight he must regret publishing it. Likewise the claim in the prologue "There will be no further industrial revolution in the cycles of our Western civilization." (p. xi) was needlessly hopeless. Like the death of the book, philosophy or Mark Twain, the rumours have been greatly exaggerated.
As a history book and apologetic for the Middle Ages this is a wonderful book. But as far as drawing parallels with contemporary (1970s) America...stick with the Medieval history.
This book was seemingly designed with two purposes in mind. Firstly, to dispel the myth that the Middle Ages were a stagnant and technologically and socially backwards period due to the "otherworldliness" of Medieval Christianity. The second purpose seems to have been to draw parallels with modern (1970s) American entrepreneurialism.
In the first case, Professor Gimple is wildly successful. The entire book is a veritable goldmine of quotes dispelling the general public's view of the middle ages.
From the Preface: "the foundation of our present technologically oriented society were laid not in the Italian Renaissance or in the English Industrial Revolution, but in the Middle Ages." (p. viii)
The first chapter: The Energy Sources of Europe and Their Development details the depth of the development of, and reliance on, energy sources. An image of a highly dynamic society emerges utilizing everything at its disposal.
"medieval society gave itself wholeheartedly to mechanization, while the classical world adopted it to only a limited extent...The availability of slaves and, in the Mediterranean countries, the scarcity of streams flowing all year round restricted the use of watermills in antiquity." (p. 7)
"the shares of the mills on the Garonne were subject to annual fluctuations in value. The mill shares were bought and sold freely like shares on a contemporary stock exchange." (p. 13)
The second chapter, The Agricultural Revolution, chronicles various revolutionary practices such as the development of draft horses (over oxen) and the three field rotation system which allowed European agricultural production to boom and along with it came an increase in population (allowing cities to grow). But most interestingly Gimpel discusses the Cistercians "running the most modern factories in Europe...an important force in the Medieval economy" (p. 46-47).
The discussion of the role of wine in the medieval economy (for Cistercians and schoolboys) "The boys have a daily allowance of 0.62 litres of wine." (p. 55) is interesting, fun, funny and gives a flavour of the culture which likely shares more similarity with the hard working modern French farmer than the New England puritans.
The third chapter on Mining the Mineral Wealth of Europe represents the third area of advance. Like the previous two areas, much of the advances in mining were a result of the lower population and the absence of slavery in the Middle Ages which necessitated labour saving techniques and improvements.
Environment and Pollution and Labour Conditions in Three Medieval Industries form a brief interlude in the book detailing two aspect of Medieval life oft maligned. Allow two quotations to suffice, "The standards of hygiene in the twelfth and thirteenth century were relatively high...there were no less than thirty two public baths in Paris, for men and women." (p. 91) and "The English workman in the thirteenth century had more official days off in the year than the English workman of the 1970s" (p. 109)
The book then returns to theme with chapters on Villard de Honnecourt: Architect and Engineer and The Mechanical Clock: the Key Machine. These chapters are good but I felt the subject of Medieval architecture was very much rushed. How can a book on medieval machinery lack mentioning the construction of the great Cathedrals, Abbeys and Universities and the techniques used in their construction.
The subsequent chapter on Reason, Mathematics and Experimental Science is brief and has been dealt with better by others. Gimpel does give a good summary of the progressiveness of the age (Peter Abelard "for by doubting we are led to questions, and by questioning we arrive at the truth."(p. 173) or Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon) but fails to fully grasp the complexity of the age and the diversity of views regarding science and religion. The claim "this intellectual freedom helped lay the foundation of modern science" (p. 172) is left only partially proven.
The End of an Era does a good job explaining the numerous causes for the slide from the 13th century plateau, but fails to come up with any concrete or solid underlying reasons and leans too heavily on war as an excuse. The concluding chapter Epilogue attempts to draw from these non-lessons conclusions to support his pessimism over the American economy in the 1970s.
Which brings me back full circle to the second purpose of the book, drawing parallels with the modern (1970s) American situation. The claim that, "the Frenchman... has reverted to a more dynamic outlook and has become more American than the Americans" (p. 247) is patently false and reveals a general ignorance and nostalgia for old Europe. I have no idea how he came to such a conclusion and in hindsight he must regret publishing it. Likewise the claim in the prologue "There will be no further industrial revolution in the cycles of our Western civilization." (p. xi) was needlessly hopeless. Like the death of the book, philosophy or Mark Twain, the rumours have been greatly exaggerated.
As a history book and apologetic for the Middle Ages this is a wonderful book. But as far as drawing parallels with contemporary (1970s) America...stick with the Medieval history.
July 2, 2023
A lot of history on the medieval ages. The author rids the reader of common misconceptions and makes him look at these ages in a completely different and more respectful view.
- Energy
- Production
- Diseases
- ...
He adds to it his own view on the repeating aspects of history and that on that account the west currently shows a similar pattern of societal decay like the middle ages had.
This made me really respect the people of the medieval ages and their ingenuity.
- Energy
- Production
- Diseases
- ...
He adds to it his own view on the repeating aspects of history and that on that account the west currently shows a similar pattern of societal decay like the middle ages had.
This made me really respect the people of the medieval ages and their ingenuity.
July 6, 2020
Good, if dated, intro to medieval tech. You can find this book all over the place, for cheap. I got this one for a dollar at a library book sale years ago, thus 2020 book expenses now at $351.37.
For Dewey Decimal challenge, this is 330.9.
For Dewey Decimal challenge, this is 330.9.
February 22, 2021
I have waited long for this book. Finally managed to locate a used copy on Amazon India. It has been well worth the wait. Just finished reading it and letting it sink in. It will require at least one more reading, after which I hope to post a detailed review.
November 13, 2021
A data-filled look into the Middle Ages which dispels the (at the time of writing) widely-held myth of the backwards, anti-tech "Dark Ages." Gimpel makes some interesting parallels to modern Western civilization, some of which seem to hold up 50 years later.
July 19, 2023
Un bon livre d'histoire, avec beaucoup d'informations importantes sur l'évolution et l'utilisation de la technologie au Moyen Age. Il est aussi important pour nous faire voir que cette période de l'Histoire n'est pas un âge sombre.
November 3, 2019
Nice book. You learn a lot of things that aren't taught in school. It is a little boring when it focus on life of specific people around the end of the book.
March 21, 2024
Simply incredible little book. Really flips the script on understanding the origins of the industrial revolution and the realities of life in the Middle Ages.
January 16, 2025
Those Cistercian monks were lowkey onto something. All workers really do need is god and wine.
April 10, 2025
Really cool and interesting
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews