Wonders and Rarities with Travis Zadeh
One of the favourite activities of medieval scholars was to write massive encyclopedias, distilling every last detail of the known world into book form to share with an insatiably curious public. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Travis Zadeh about a thirteenth-century bestseller written by a scholar named Qazwini, who brought together natural philosophy and what we might now call supernatural philosophy to reveal the workings of the world and the universe.
10 Medieval Inventions that Changed the World
Many inventions from the Middle Ages have had lasting importance, even to the present day. Some are physical objects, while others are more of a place – our list looks at ten inventions that made a big impact on our daily lives.
Forensic Sciences in the Middle Ages
This article looks at the state of forensic sciences in the Middle Ages and unveils the role of medical practitioners and coroners in the tedious process of crime-solving.
13 Magic Tricks from the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages are thought to be an age of wizards and magic. While stories about Merlin might just be literature, medieval people did know magic tricks – many of which are very similar to modern ones.
New Medieval Books: The Other Renaissance
A work that straddles that Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, The Other Renaissance aims to give readers introductions to many important figures and their importance to the modern world.
New Medieval Books: Wonders and Rarities
This book introduces us to the life and works of Zakariyyāʾ Qazwīnī, a 13th-century scholar from Iran. He wrote about the cosmos and the geography of the world, producing an influential book known as Wonders and Rarities.
The Emerald Tablet and the Origins of Chemistry
A look at a mysterious medieval text and how it became an important text in the history of science.
Noel Swerdlow, one of the ‘greatest scholars’ of the history of science, passes away
Noel M. Swerdlow, a distinguished historian of science and the world’s foremost expert on Ptolemy and Copernicus, died July 24. He was 79.
Astronomical Instruments in the Middle Ages: More than just a timepiece
While astronomical instruments could be as useful to the medieval person as Google Maps is to us today, you pretty much needed a whole degree in mathematics to figure out how to use them properly.
Science in the Middle Ages – Rediscovering its Latent Genius
Did “science” exist as we commonly refer to it today in the Middle Ages, or was research and study treated as a mere curiosity?
Medieval Science with Seb Falk
One of the most persistent myths about the Middle Ages is that this was a time when science slept, deliberately suppressed by the medieval church. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. This week, Danièle speaks with Seb Falk about the amazing story of medieval science.
Medieval Inventions
Many people seem to have the misguided idea that the medieval era was a time in which science and technology were all but forgotten. For the 75th episode of the podcast, Danièle talks with Peter Konieczny about ten medieval inventions that changed the world.
Creative Geometries: Hooking Up Data in the Middle Ages
In this lecture I will explore the close relationships in medieval creative practices among geometric shapes and the human ability to craft original works.
Medieval Manuscripts: Splendor Solis
If you ever wondered how to transform metals into gold, this is the manuscript for you. Splendor Solis takes us into the world of 16th-century alchemy, and does so with a series of magnificent full-page miniatures abounding with mysterious symbols.
Astronomical and Atmospheric Observations in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and in Bede
Chronicles and narrative histories of the Early Middle Ages contain a number of entries relating to astronomical events and atmospheric phenomena.
Science and the Future of the Human Past
Michael McCormick discusses how we can discover our ancestors and their lived experience, their successes and failures, and invent a new discipline, the Science of the Human Past.
The role of the mechanical clock in medieval science
What is a mechanical clock? The answer to this question depends on whom you ask. Today, most people consider it a time-telling instrument.
The Light of Nature? No ‘Experience’ in the Middle Ages!
When we think of the concept of experience, we would most likely not be thinking of the Middle Ages.
Six Science Questions – Answers from the Sixth Century
Even in the Early Middle Ages people were asking scientific questions about their world. Here are six of these questions, and the answers that were provided by a Byzantine philosopher in the year 531.
Medieval Big Bang Theory: An Interdisciplinary Tale
In his De luce (on light) he extends it to the origin of the Universe in what has been referred to as the ‘Medieval Big Bang’.
What is a Volcano? A Medieval Answer
Volcanoes have long fascinated people. They have know how dangerous they can be, but throughout history many have tried to figure what causes them. Here is the explanation given by the medieval scholar Albert the Great.
Science and Nature in the Medieval Ecological Imagination
This dissertation explores the intersections between nature and culture in medieval literature and art with particular focus on Geoffrey Chaucer’s House of Fame, the thirteenth-century French Bible Moralisée, and William Langland’s Piers Plowman.
BOOK REVIEW: Medieval Medicine: Its Mysteries and Science by Toni Mount
Our review of Toni Mount’s fascinating look at medicine in the Middle Ages in – Medieval Medicine: Its Mysteries and Science by Toni Mount.