Scientists in the Middle Ages or natural philosophers as they were then called radically employed the authority of older traditions, including religious and scientific ideologies dating back to Plato, Aristotle, and Ptolemy. They were driven to utilize these traditions by their zeal for inquiry as well as reasoning.
Religious faith, instead of weakening scientific and technological innovations, actually strengthened their efforts to know better the natural world as it was, by and large, acknowledged that knowledge attained by way of reason would harmonize with religious beliefs. Whereas medieval science and technology did not seek to defeat the existing world views of the time, their activities did lay the ground for the scientific revolution as well as European global expansion of the early modem age.
Religion, medieval science, and technology, which were firmly based on Aristotelian explanations of the physical world, were able to be promulgated by the ancient Greeks. These technological innovations were later preserved and commented y the Middle Ages Muslim scholar.
Later they were able to be transmitted into Western Europe as that region began to experience growth and expansion around1100 CE. Medieval inquiries (Aristotle’s natural philosophy) were then given extended treatment since they provided an intellectual jumping-off point employed by everyone dealing with the character of the physical world during that period. From these medieval inquiries leading to innovations, specific disciplines of modern days sprouted such as Astronomy and Astrology, optics, chemistry and alchemy, zoology, geography as well as medicine.
Medieval technological innovations, such as mechanical clocks, firearms, and the blast furnace, profoundly altered the course of European and world history at large. Innovations harnessed during the medieval era helped to increase agricultural productivity. For instance development of the plow facilitated the clearing of forests of fertile northwest Europe. The plow could plow heavier and wetter soils, thus increasing not only agricultural production but also the population of certain areas where it was in the use of instance northwest Europe.
Middle ages innovations such as the clock (the Middle East and North Africa) led people to organize their time more efficiently. Mechanical clocks were first used in China. They were for astrological and astronomical purposes rather than for indicating time. As commended elsewhere about religion, Chinese clock building was influenced by Muslim How? After the Mongol conquest of China by Kublai Khan, the Chinese Mongol rulers employed Muslim astronomers who, in turn, improved astronomical instruments. During the modern ages, with the wide use of the clock, abstract time developed to be the medium of existence.
The use of iron and mining in the Middle Ages helped to improve agriculture as well as shaping modern technological advancements. Weaving and textile industry innovation saw the development of cloth making. This marked the occurrence of the first industrialization during the medieval age. The textile industry was dominated by wool, with linen lagging behind it.
Cotton manufacture was technology transferred from the Muslims after they conquered Spain and Sicily.
The development and diffusion of an innovation relied not only on its invention but also on the social, cultural climate in which it was invented. The impact of technology on society is interesting as technology always led to new technology.
However, in summary, the foundations of the present modern world owe their base on the innovations of the medieval age, for instance, universities, i.e., institutions for learning, industrial revolution, as well as capitalistic system.
Reference
Author(s): Unknown. History of World Societies. 7th Edition (2006): Houghton Mifflin ISBN 0618610944.
Philip F. Riley (2005) The Global Experience: Readings in World History to 1550, Volume 1 (5th Edition) (Global Experience) ISBN 0131178172.