Middle Ages

By Paola.Lopez
  • Period: Oct 5, 1000 to Oct 5, 1300

    techonology and inventions

  • Oct 17, 1000

    Forest Glass

    Forest Glass
    Type of glass which uses wood ash and sand as the main raw materials and is characterised by a variety of greenish-yellow colours
  • Oct 17, 1050

    Arched Saddle

    Arched Saddle
    Enabled mounted knights to wield lance underarm and prevent the charge turning into an unintentional pole-vault. This innovation gave birth to true shock cavalry, enabling the knights to charge on full gallop, thus exceeding the shock value of the cataphracts.
  • Oct 17, 1126

    Artesian Well

    Artesian Well
    A artesian well is basically a thin rod with a hard iron cutting edge is placed in the bore hole and repeatedly struck with a hammer, underground water pressure forces the water up the hole without pumping.
  • Oct 17, 1170

    Wheelbarrow

    Wheelbarrow
    Proved useful in building construction, mining operations, and agriculture. Literary evidence for the use of wheelbarrows appeared between 1170 and 1250 in North-western Europe.
  • Oct 17, 1180

    Vertical Windmills

    Vertical Windmills
    Invented in Europe as the pivotable post mill, first surviving mention of one comes from Yorkshire in England in 1185. Efficient at grinding grain or draining water. Later also as the stationary tower mill.
  • Oct 17, 1200

    Liquor

    Liquor
    Alcohol distillation by way of Islamic alchemists, initially used as medicinal elixir. Popular remedy for the Black Death during the 14th century; "national" drinks like vodka, gin, brandy come into form.
  • Oct 17, 1220

    Treadwheel Crane

    Treadwheel Crane
    Earliest reference to a treadwheel in archival literature in France.
  • Oct 17, 1244

    Stationary Harbor Crane

    Stationary Harbor Crane
    Stationary harbor cranes are considered a new development of the Middle Ages, its earliest use being documented for Utrecht in 1244
  • Oct 17, 1269

    Astronomical Compass

    Astronomical Compass
    The French scholar Pierre de Maricourt describes in his experimental study Epistola de magnete (1269) three different compass designs he has devised for the purpose of astronomical observation.
  • Oct 17, 1280

    Spectacles

    Spectacles
    European innovation. Florence, Italy. Convex lenses, of help only to the far-sighted. Concave lenses were not developed prior to the 15th century.