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The world was quite a grim place at the Middle Ages’ beginning. The once vast Roman Empire collapsed, causing the splintering of its vast empire. Barbarian warlords and kings delved into centuries of bitter famine, warfare, diseases and conflicts.
Though there was a constant fear of death during this period, the Middle Ages took great leaps in science and technology. It’s a myth that the Middle Ages were intellectually dark. And that is what historian Seb Falk writes in this book, The Light Ages. He says “The medieval reality, however, is a Light Age of scientific interest and inquiry.” This book takes you on a journey through a 14th century English monk, John Westwyck, a path-breaking astronomer.
Westwyk has produced two crucial manuscripts, both about scientific manuscripts. You will learn about the accomplishments of scientists in the medieval era such as Roger Bacon, Nicole Oresme, Albert the Great and Robert Grosseteste. Falk has mentioned four major scientific inventions that shaped Europe in the Middle Era and even after that. Let’s take a look at those four interesting inventions.
Astrolabe
The astrolabe is one of the most amazing instruments invented in the Medieval Era by astronomers. It was used to measure the positions of astronomical objects. Astronomy was exceptionally important because it was the first mathematical science that was susceptible to careful measurements and observations. Astronomy was where people wanted to do complex measurements and that led to the invention of the astrolabe.
Why was the astrolabe such a great deal?
- An astrolabe has a clock to tell the time.
- It consists of an inclinometer for measuring altitudes above the sea horizon.
- People could do trigonometry-related calculations using this instrument.
Craftsmen could show off their creativity and intelligence in upgrading astrolabes. Thus, these devices reached their peak in sophistication by 5th century AD. As per expert college application essay help providers, astrolabes laid the foundation for early computers.
Mechanical clock
The development of the verge escapement led to the creation of the first mechanical clocks around 1300 AD during the Medieval Ages. These clocks gained immense popularity in the 15th century all over Europe. They replaced hourglasses and became the standard timekeeping device till the invention of the pendulum clock in 1656.
What was unique about the first mechanical clocks?
- The ancient world had seen the emergence of several timekeeping devices. But, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the mechanical clock was finally invented to keep track of time accurately.
- These clocks not only showed what hour it was but also what minute and second. It changed the way people scheduled their work patterns and days, especially in urban areas.
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Eyeglasses
The latter years of the 13th century witnessed one of the major scientific inventions in Western Europe- eyeglasses. Needless to say, this invention corrected vision problems and proved to be a great benefit to millions of people today. Sir Roger Bacon, an English monk, made the first definitive reference to eyeglasses. He also outlined the scientific principles that were used for the use of corrective lenses in his Opus Majus.
As someone with poor eyesight, I am very thankful to the Middle Ages because of the invention of eyeglasses. The early models were to be held up by hand or pinched on the nose. The modern design that features bending arms became popular in the 1700s.
Armillary spheres
These were invented to show or study the apparent movement of the Sun, the Moon and the planets around our Earth. An armillary is a celestial globe with circles that are cut open to represent the orbits of celestial bodies. It let observers read off the positions of the planets at any time. Armillary gained momentum in Europe, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries. It helped astronomers demonstrate the difference between the Copernican and the Ptolemaic celestial systems.
How the sphere does looks like?
- It consists of three rings.
- The wideband represents the Equator. The numbers inscribed on it indicates the hours of the day when used as a sundial.
- The elliptical plane is situated perpendicular to the wideband.
- The meridian circle is situated along the north and south plane. It was used to articulate latitude and longitude.
This simple invention demonstrates the sophisticated understanding related to astronomy people have had since Antiquity. In fact, this sphere is associated with human wisdom since it represents the intelligence of people capable of questioning what had been deemed the universal truth.
Wrapping Up,
Though Europe was in haywire during the Medieval Ages, things started to perk up a bit in the High Middle Ages which began around 1000 AD. This age was significantly marked by advances made in the worlds of science, business, technology and architecture. Stone castles sprung up across the land. Astronomical equipment proved the scientific intellectuality of the astronomers present during that era.
Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you are doing fine. Tell yourself you are doing better, and your subconscious will adapt to it and function accordingly.
Another fantastic thing you can do is train your brain to give a neutral spin to all your negative thoughts. For example, if you feel depressed about being turned down after a job interview, tell yourself that better opportunities await you. Now, building a positive mindset isn’t an easy task to do. But the neutral thoughts will help you keep the negativity at bay and aid you in paving your path towards positivity.
Learn to turn down offers politely and instead indulge in some quality Me-time. Bake your favourite cake for yourself, shop the dress you had been eyeing for quite some time now. Get a spa and appreciate the daily efforts that you make. Cut yourself some slack and learn to be you, unabashedly and unapologetically. You need to remember that it is only you who can give yourself the love that you deserve.
When I say keep yourself busy, I do not mean your exhausting 9 to 5 job. Well, if you love your job, then consider yourself lucky to be.
