The Nobel Economist: Technology in the Middle Ages

Technology in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages[1] spread from the 5^th to the 15^th century, took place between the Roman Empire and the Renaissance and are also called the “Dark Ages”. Medieval Europe had less trade, fewer cities and less cultural output than the original Roman Empire. London and Paris did not have a sewage system and was hundreds of years behind other places like Mohenjo Daro in the Indus Valley Civilization[2] or Rome. Instead of having centralized governments Europe in the Middle Ages had Feudalism, a political system based on reciprocal relationships between lords who owned lots of land and knights who protected the land. The lords also responded to other lords, the most important being the King. Below the Knights were peasants who did the actual work on the land, in exchange for protection from bandits and other threats. Feudalism was an economic system with the peasants working the land and keeping some of the production to feed themselves while giving the rest to the land owner. There was no freedom or social mobility: a peasant could never become lord. Europe was at the time dominated by superstition and religious debates.

Meanwhile in the Islam world the Umayyad Dynasty had spread from the Middle East to Northern Africa an all the way to Spain. The Muslims eventually took over the Arabs in 750 AD. They were very open to foreigners and their ideas. Arabic replaced Greek as the language for commerce and religion and also culture, poetry and literature although Persian remained as an important language. Baghdad was the capital and center of scholarship with it’s House of Wisdom and immense libraries. The Canon of Medicine[3] became the standard textbook for medicine both for Europe and the Middle East. They developed algebra. The Muslims in Spain were fantastic architects rivalling the Romans, building aqueducts, mosques and buildings. They also increased the yields of their crops and plantations. However, in 1000 AD the Islamic Empire slowly was reduced to a series of smaller Kingdoms losing power until they were conquered by the Mongols in 1258 AD.

Let us also integrate China into this historical period. The Tong dynasty made China more of a meritocracy and ruled over 80 million people, their borders touching that of the Islamic Empire. They produced incredible art that was traded all throughout Asia, and they also saw the rise of poetry. By the 11^th century was producing so much Iron as Europe would be able to produce in the 18^th century!!! Iron was put to use to boost productivity in agriculture which led to population growth. Porcelain was such high quality that it was shipped throughout the world.

Now let us discuss the advances of the Middle Ages, both in Europe and the Islamic world.

1. Medieval Castles: they were fortified structures built in Europe during the Middle Ages by nobility. As opposed to palaces, which were used for residence purposes, castles were used for defense purposes. The nobles used them to control the area immediately surrounding them. They also served as centers of administration and symbols of power.

2. Agricultural: 3 field rotation, heavy plough, horseshoes, horse collar, artesian well and wheelbarrow.

3. Time and navigation: mechanical clock, hourglass, astronautical clock, compass, traverse board, stern mounted rudders.

4. Industrial: tidal mills, blast furnace, vertical windmill, spinning wheel, watermill, flash lock and pound locks, water wheel, cloth factory, paper mill, rolling mill, horizontal loom.

5. Weapon: cannon, longbow, counterweight tre-bucket, steel crossbow, plate armor, chain mail, flail.

6. Knowledge: Arabic numerals, universities, mechanization of printing press, algebra.

7. General: spectacles, chess, mirrors, oil paint, quarantine, weighing scales, buttons, magnets, soap.