Discussion Week 2 - Question 1. Discuss the impact of technology on Medieval society and culture PDF

Preview

Summary

Question 1. Discuss the impact of technology on Medieval society and culture and the impact of society and culture on the development of Medieval technology....

Description

1. Discuss the impact of technology on Medieval society and culture and the impact of society and culture on the development of Medieval technology. When we think of technology, we tend to think of fancy electronics and amazing new creations that change the world around us. However, for the Medieval society, technological advancement was just that – advancement. The Medieval society used new technology to further progress what they needed to survive, and what they already had, as well as creating new means of telling time and creating food. A lot of the focus seemed to be on improving tools for farming and gathering, and a lot of the technology revolved around that. There was also a great amount of advancement that was poured into weaponry, as the crusades and battles fought during this time were great. The culture of Medieval society was greatly impacted because of this technology, and a lot of the technology introduced during this time would revolutionize the world around them. Around the year 1000, trade networks became denser and allowed the common folk to trade their goods for items they needed. This allowed the people to specialize in their professions (such as blacksmiths, woodworkers, leatherworkers, etc.) which ultimately led to greater improvement in those fields of work (Broedel, n.d.). Around this time, furnaces were also being greatly improved to allow for a more efficient method of making iron, allowing blacksmiths to create new parts for farming plows and tools for agriculture. There was also a greater increase of other ores such as silver, copper and gold. This fueled the crafting industry and allowed for hundreds of years of raw materials for the creation of jewelry and metal objects. The mining industry would see significant advancements later on around the year 1500 with new pumps and water wheels used to access deeper mining areas (Backer, 2020). Because of the easier creation of iron ore new farming tools and plow parts were being created. In the earlier Medieval times, plows were redesigned to allow for multiple oxen to pull them and became a more efficient way for agriculture. And by the year 1000 they have nearly mastered the 3-field crop rotation, which let land become naturally regenerated and created for better food production and crop growth (Backer, 2020). While all of this agricultural advancement was great, nothing compared to the creation of more advanced mills, allowing farmers and workers to grind flour, tan hides and produce many other products. Mills were very expensive, and the miller had a monopoly on the use of mills, making farmers pay to have their products ground (Mundy, 2016). We must not forget about the advancement in time keeping, as the clock was one of the greatest advancements on society, and allowed workers to work based on a set time period and not based off of when the sun came up and went down. Because of this, clocks appeared in towns and cities, allowing people to monitor the time and base their work time on a measurement (Backer, 2020). Then there was the advancement of Medieval weaponry. Around the year 1000, the crossbow became seen as a serious weapon for battle, and was banned by many empires as being “hateful to God and unfit for Christians” because of its sheer power, and ability to train troops to use it in a very short time. But during the Crusades, after some alterations and advancements in power, the crossbow has been seen to be amazingly useful in taking down mounted units and can kill even the most powerful of attackers with little training. Later on, advancements in gunpowder and firearms, such as the musket and harquebus, replaced the crossbow and allowed for a more modern technology in battle. Other notable weapon technology in the Medieval times were the pike and English long bow. The pike was a great weapon created to fend off mounted attackers who may have lances, as the pike could easily out-length the lance. The long bow was a very powerful bow created to match the wielders height and could shoot arrows up to 500 yards, however took an extremely long time to master and properly use (Guilmartin, 2020).

As with any society, technology formed and advanced the people and time period it was created in. For the Medieval times, the weaponry created a need for black smiths, which gave mining more of a purpose and created a need for advanced furnaces and new ores. The clocks gave the people a working time management system, and mills allowed for new products to be easily created and created a source of income for many people, especially the miller. The need for products fueled technology growth, and the technology growth ended up fueling the people.

References Backer, P. (2020, March 12). History of technology. Retrieved from https://www.sjsu.edu/people/patricia.backer/history/middle.htm Broedel, H. (n.d.). The Medieval Period (500 to 1400 CE) – Europe. Retrieved from https://learn.umgc.edu/d2l/le/content/544044/viewContent/20910180/View Guilmartin, J. (2020, November 4). Military technology. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/technology/military-technology Mundy, A. (2016, October 23). The miller was a stout carl, for the none. Retrieved from https://aprilmunday.wordpress.com/tag/medieval-mill/...