Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel

Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel
Author: Joseph Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1995-01-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0060925817

An illuminating look at the monumental inventions of the Middle Ages, by the authors of Life in a Medieval Castle.

The Knight in History

The Knight in History
Author: Frances Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2010-08-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062016652

A magisterial history of the origins, reality, and legend of the knight “A carefully researched, concise, readable, and entertaining account of an institution that remains a part of the Western imagination.” —Los Angeles Times Born out of the chaos of the early Middle Ages, the armored and highly mobile knight revolutionized warfare and quickly became a mythic figure in history. From the Knights Templars and English knighthood to the crusades and chivalry, The Knight in History, by acclaimed medievalist Frances Gies, bestselling coauthor of Life in a Medieval Castle, paints a remarkable true picture of knighthood—exploring the knight’s earliest appearance as an agent of lawless violence, his reemergence as a dynamic social entity, his eventual disappearance from the European stage, and his transformation into Western culture’s most iconic hero.

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel
Author: Frances Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2010-09-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062016601

“A mine of information” on the surprising technological advances made in the Middle Ages, from the authors of Life in a Medieval City (Kirkus Reviews). “In their latest medieval study, the Gieses explode the myth that the Middle Ages were unconcerned with the empirical and demonstrate that the Renaissance itself was the outcome of gradual progress made over the previous thousand years . . . They describe the above-ground reduction furnace that was feeding iron to local forges where smiths shaped it into parts for the new heavy ploughs, spades, and shoes for horses now beginning to pull with the aid of the padded collar; the triangular lateen sail that could drive Viking ships to trading posts on the Volga; and the considerable extension of the use of the waterwheel. The Gieses work century by century through the Middle Ages (from 500 to 1500), listing new tools and methods, each page full of attractive detail and anecdote. An important chapter is devoted to the influence of China, via the Silk Road, and Islam. We also learn how cities developed from fortresses into centers of commerce and watch the growth of handicrafts, gothic architecture, universities, mass production, the printing press and more.” —Kirkus Reviews “The flame of human ingenuity burned with surprising intensity during the medieval centuries . . . the Gieses here explode the myth of the Dark Ages, showing that the Fall of Rome did not plunge Europe into stagnation and lethargy.” —Booklist Includes photographs

Life in a Medieval Village

Life in a Medieval Village
Author: Frances Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2010-09-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062016687

The reissue of Joseph and Frances Gies’s classic bestseller on life in medieval villages. This new reissue of Life in a Medieval Village, by respected historians Joseph and Frances Gies, paints a lively, convincing portrait of rural people at work and at play in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the village of Elton, in the English East Midlands, the Gieses detail the agricultural advances that made communal living possible, explain what domestic life was like for serf and lord alike, and describe the central role of the church in maintaining social harmony. Though the main focus is on Elton, c. 1300, the Gieses supply enlightening historical context on the origin, development, and decline of the European village, itself an invention of the Middle Ages. Meticulously researched, Life in a Medieval Village is a remarkable account that illustrates the captivating world of the Middle Ages and demonstrates what it was like to live during a fascinating—and often misunderstood—era.

Merchants and Moneymen

Merchants and Moneymen
Author: Joseph Gies
Publisher: New York : Crowell
Total Pages: 360
Release: 1972
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Examines the achievements of leading businessmen who shaped the development of commerce in Medieval Europe.

Life in a Medieval City

Life in a Medieval City
Author: Frances Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2010-08-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062016679

From acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies comes the reissue of their classic book on day-to-day life in medieval cities, which was a source for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. Evoking every aspect of city life in the Middle Ages, Life in a Medieval City depicts in detail what it was like to live in a prosperous city of Northwest Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The year is 1250 CE and the city is Troyes, capital of the county of Champagne and site of two of the cycle Champagne Fairs—the “Hot Fair” in August and the “Cold Fair” in December. European civilization has emerged from the Dark Ages and is in the midst of a commercial revolution. Merchants and money men from all over Europe gather at Troyes to buy, sell, borrow, and lend, creating a bustling market center typical of the feudal era. As the Gieses take us through the day-to-day life of burghers, we learn the customs and habits of lords and serfs, how financial transactions were conducted, how medieval cities were governed, and what life was really like for a wide range of people. For serious students of the medieval era and anyone wishing to learn more about this fascinating period, Life in a Medieval City remains a timeless work of popular medieval scholarship.

The Medieval Machine

The Medieval Machine
Author: Jean Gimpel
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre: Economic history
ISBN: 9780760735824

"The common, simplistic view of the Middle Ages as religion-centered and materially backward is challenged by Jean Gimpel in this milestone study, originally published in 1976. The Medieval Machine tells how, between the years 900 and 1300, Europeans created their first industrial revolution, which set Western civilization on the road to global dominance. Gimpel describes the main features of this early machine age: the pervasive use of waterpower (the oil of the medieval era); the agricultural innovations that energized the population through better nourishment; the spread of mining along with mechanized iron mills; and the appearance of modern industrial problems such as labor unrest and pollution. This is a story of technology triumphant: architect-engineers were adulated; there were tallest-building contests like those of the twentieth century. The climax comes with the invention of the key modern device - the mechanical clock. The subsequent technological decline, Gimpel explains, was due to a plague, famine, and a reversion to mysticism. In the epilogue, Gimpel asserts that the West in his time faced another technological decline; he did not forsee the digital boom of the 1980s and 90s and the development of post-industrial economies. Nevertheless, his predictions may provide valuable material for historians of the recent past"--Page 4 of cover.

Day the Universe Changed

Day the Universe Changed
Author: James Burke
Publisher: Hachette+ORM
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2009-11-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 031609191X

The companion volume for the award-winning PBS and BBC series from “one of the most intriguing minds in the western world” (The Washington Post). The Day the Universe Changed presents a sweeping view of the history of science, technology, and human civilization and examines the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man’s understanding of himself and the world around him. James Burke examines eight periods in history when our view of the world shifted dramatically: In the eleventh century, when extraordinary discoveries were made by Spanish crusaders In fourteenth-century Florence, where perspective in painting emerged In the fifteenth century, when the advent of the printing press shook the foundations of an oral society In the sixteenth century, when gunnery developments triggered the birth of modern science In the early eighteenth century, when hot English summers brought on the Industrial Revolution In the battlefield surgery stations of the French revolutionary armies, where people first became statistics In the nineteenth century, when the discovery of dinosaur fossils led to the theory of evolution In the 1820s, when electrical experiments heralded the end of scientific certainty Based on the popular television documentary series, The Day the Universe Changed is a bestselling history that challenges the reader to decide whether there is absolute knowledge to discover—or whether the universe is “ultimately what we say it is.” “A masterful job. The result is a fascinating, focused view that boggles the mind.” —Charleston Evening Post

Life in a Medieval Castle

Life in a Medieval Castle
Author: Joseph Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2010-07-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062016504

From acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies comes the reissue of this definitive classic on medieval castles, which was a source for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. “Castles are crumbly and romantic. They still hint at an age more colorful and gallant than our own, but are often debunked by boring people who like to run on about drafts and grumble that the latrines did not work. Joseph and Frances Gies offer a book that helps set the record straight—and keeps the romance too.”—Time A widely respected academic work and a source for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Joseph and Frances Gies’s bestselling Life in a Medieval Castle remains a timeless work of popular medieval scholarship. Focusing on Chepstow, an English castle that survived the turbulent Middle Ages with a relative lack of violence, the book offers an exquisite portrait of what day-to-day life was actually like during the era, and of the key role the castle played. The Gieses take us through the full cycle of a medieval year, dictated by the rhythms of the harvest. We learn what lords and serfs alike would have worn, eaten, and done for leisure, and of the outside threats the castle always hoped to keep at bay. For medieval buffs and anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating era, Life in a Medieval Castle is as timely today as when it was first published.

The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science

The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science
Author: Seb Falk
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2020-11-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1324002948

Named a Best Book of 2020 by The Telegraph, The Times, and BBC History Magazine An illuminating guide to the scientific and technological achievements of the Middle Ages through the life of a crusading astronomer-monk. "Falk’s bubbling curiosity and strong sense of storytelling always swept me along. By the end, The Light Ages didn’t just broaden my conception of science; even as I scrolled away on my Kindle, it felt like I was sitting alongside Westwyk at St. Albans abbey, leafing through dusty manuscripts by candlelight." —Alex Orlando, Discover Soaring Gothic cathedrals, violent crusades, the Black Death: these are the dramatic forces that shaped the medieval era. But the so-called Dark Ages also gave us the first universities, eyeglasses, and mechanical clocks. As medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons to the stars in the sky, they came to develop a vibrant scientific culture. In The Light Ages, Cambridge science historian Seb Falk takes us on a tour of medieval science through the eyes of one fourteenth-century monk, John of Westwyk. Born in a rural manor, educated in England’s grandest monastery, and then exiled to a clifftop priory, Westwyk was an intrepid crusader, inventor, and astrologer. From multiplying Roman numerals to navigating by the stars, curing disease, and telling time with an ancient astrolabe, we learn emerging science alongside Westwyk and travel with him through the length and breadth of England and beyond its shores. On our way, we encounter a remarkable cast of characters: the clock-building English abbot with leprosy, the French craftsman-turned-spy, and the Persian polymath who founded the world’s most advanced observatory. The Light Ages offers a gripping story of the struggles and successes of an ordinary man in a precarious world and conjures a vivid picture of medieval life as we have never seen it before. An enlightening history that argues that these times weren’t so dark after all, The Light Ages shows how medieval ideas continue to color how we see the world today.