Technology in the Renaissance
The technology in the Renaissance was distinguished from the technology in the Middle Ages mainly through significant new inventions, such as letterpress printing and clocks . Particular advances were made in the military, mining and metal production, and the emerging natural sciences were encouraged by the further development of measuring instruments.
Inventions at the turn of the Middle Ages to the modern age
Towards the end of the Middle Ages there were some important inventions in Europe that had a significant impact on modern times. These are Gutenberg's letterpress , mechanical clocks and gunpowder .
Letterpress
In the Middle Ages, books were mainly copied in monasteries, where they were copied by hand by monks. On the other hand, printing techniques had been known for some time in which negatives made of wood or metal were scratched and served as stamps. In the middle of the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg came up with the idea of producing individual letters instead of whole words. For this, Gutenberg created a patrix made of scratched steel for each letter (corresponds to the inverted letter), which was knocked into a piece of iron or steel, thus creating an impression. By pouring a lead, tin and ammonium alloy into this master mold, a replica of the male mold was created. This replica represents the individual movable letter, of which any number could be produced. The letters were placed in a so-called sentence ship and could quickly be rearranged again. At the beginning of the Renaissance, numerous books were printed in large quantities. First the Bible, soon also scientific literature by ancient authors or new books. You could also print leaflets and newspapers, which marked the beginning of mass communication.
Mechanical wheel clocks
The first mechanical clocks were made in the 14th century. Inside the clocks moved a weight or later a spring, gears and thereby the hands. This movement was periodically interrupted by the so-called escapement , which was moved by a pendulum . In the field of watch technology there was an interplay between science and technology. In science, clocks were needed in experiments, for example in the field of dynamics . On the other hand, numerous scientists also devoted themselves to clocks. Christiaan Huygens, for example, was able to show that the period of oscillation of a pendulum is independent of the deflection if it moves on a cycloid , and was also able to build a clock that implemented this.
Mining
The mining industry plunged into a deep crisis in the 14th century, after the easily accessible mining areas were exhausted and the effort to lift the deep water had become too great. Late 15th century. Then there was an upswing, which was caused on the one hand by the competition of precious metal mining in America and on the other hand by numerous technical innovations. In addition, an enormous amount of financial capital was invested in mining by nobles. In the 16th century, the innovations and processes were recorded in writing by Georgius Agricola and Biringuccio, among others , so that the state of the art at that time is very well documented. The rocks were mined using the same methods and tools as in antiquity and the Middle Ages. When setting fire , the rock was first heated by fire, quenched with water and then mined with a hammer, pick and chisel.
Mining and dewatering
New to the Renaissance was the swinging hammer, a long hammer used with both hands with a flexible shaft that reduced the risk of ricochet. A big problem in mining was the seeping in pit water, which in antiquity was solved with Archimedes' screws operated by slaves. At the end of the Middle Ages, leather buckets and bucket wheels were used that were operated by human hands, and later bucket elevators that were driven by water wheels , treadles or gappers . Alternatively, bulges were used, large leather vessels that were pulled out of the pits with winches. The sweeping wheels, water wheels, which could change their direction of rotation in order to both raise and lower loads without complicated gears , were newly introduced . Water wheels were also used in mines that were not in direct proximity to the watercourse. For this field linkage (were flatrod system ) installed between wheel and shaft, which could span several kilometers. Another new method was the use of suction pumps . While at the end of the Middle Ages some mines had to be closed because several hundred men with buckets were unable to drain the tunnels, it was now possible to put sunk mines back into operation with only a few machinists . However, this required major financial investments in the machines. As one ventured into ever greater depths, the ropes tore more often, which was one of the reasons for Da Vinci to scientifically examine them for the first time. This is how terms such as resilience and strength or the breaking length were created , which indicates the length at which a rope breaks under its own weight. In 1712, the English blacksmith Thomas Newcomen finally developed the first functioning piston steam engine , which was also used in mining. In other industries the steam engine was only used after the decisive improvement by James Watt in the second half of the 18th century.
Conveying, pounding and washing
Carriages and carts were used for conveying underground, some of which also ran on wooden and later iron rails. The movement of materials above ground was referred to as transport and was accomplished by means of horse-drawn carts. In the industrialization steam trains were used for this. Before smelting, the ores were crushed and washed to remove the deaf (non-ore-containing) rock , which primarily served to save the expensive charcoal during smelting. The crushing is known as pounding. For this medieval ore mills were used from which now stamp mills emerged. When knocking, a shaft with cams was turned with the help of a water wheel, which then raised wooden posts and released them again at a certain height. These wooden stakes were sheathed with iron on the underside and, when released, met a cup filled with ore, so that the ore was crushed.
Metal processing
The racing process was widespread until the Middle Ages, where racing ovens were heated by charcoal and the molten iron collected as lumps at the bottom of the pit. The natural slope wind (in the case of melt pits that were installed on slopes) or blowpipes or bellows were used to supply air .
The increased consumption of wood and charcoal resulted in longer and longer transport routes for the wood. In England logging was so severe that wood had to be imported and in the imperial inventor privileges for the period from 1500–1600 26 of the 78 privileges related to wood-saving technologies. The scarcity of raw materials and the further development of the ovens showed that wood as a fuel was replaced by coal and coke after the Renaissance.
Melting and pouring
The increasing demand for iron could soon no longer be met from the racing process, which resulted in the development of shaft furnaces and later blast furnaces . With the shaft furnaces it was now possible to separate iron from steel. The furnace was lined with refractory stone or mud or clay and a bellows was operated with water power to ensure a constant and sufficient supply of air. The subsequent casting of the iron marks the invention of iron casting .
Extraction of gold and silver
Most non-ferrous metals such as tin, zinc or copper were extracted by smelting. In principle, gold and silver could also be melted out of the ores, but a lot of charcoal was required and some of the precious metals were burned. The problem was that the coveted precious metals were often found in small admixtures in copper ores. Amalgation prevailed in the 16th century . A mercury-lead alloy was used, in which the precious metals dissolved while the copper remained. The solution was then squeezed out and the lead-precious metal mixture was separated by seigering . The metals were melted in vessels, the denser metal being deposited at the bottom, while the other could be skimmed off at the top. Amalgating and seizing enabled the owners of copper mines to enter the silver trade. The South American silver mines were dependent on the import of mercury from Spain, as there was neither mercury nor enough wood for smelting locally.
Wire drawing
A decisive innovation took place in the area of wire drawing . While the previous production of wire consisted of forging iron, in the Middle Ages the wire was pulled through holes of various sizes until the desired thickness was reached. However, demand could soon no longer be met with mere muscle power. By using an undershot water wheel, the power could be transferred to a crankshaft and used to pull the wire.
Military technology
The medieval battles were decided mainly by the knights , while foot troops played only a subordinate role. But already towards the end of the Middle Ages the decline of the knights became apparent: During the Hundred Years War , English longbow archers won several times against French knight armies, while Swiss pikemen prevailed against German knights. With the new firearms , the knights lost their importance, the heavy armor no longer met the requirements of the “nimble gunner”, as the new soldier was characterized. Important military conflicts of the Renaissance were the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) and the wars under Frederick the Great of Prussia.
Various polearms such as the pike or the halberd were typical for the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era . Both were held with both hands so that the soldiers could not use shields. The pike was about four meters long and had an iron point to pierce. Against attacks by knights or other cavalry, the end was pushed into the ground and the weapon was held at an angle of about 30 °. The hordes of violence formed by the pikemen formed an insurmountable obstacle for mounted warriors, as the horses shied away from them. The halberd, only two meters long, on the other hand, was considered an attack weapon. It was equipped with a point for stabbing, a hatchet and a point that could penetrate all armor. It was less suitable for defense against cavalry, so that pikemen and halberds often fought together.
An important invention was the arquebus, an early form of the musket , which gradually replaced existing long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows. Since the musketeers had to reload for a long time after shooting and were defenseless, they withdrew behind the pikemen. The muskets were forged from iron or cast bronze, the ammunition consisted of lead bullets that the shooters could cut themselves from a larger block. The late medieval firearms consisted of a simple iron pipe on a shaft made of wood. There was no trigger mechanism as with the crossbows, which is why they were very cheap to manufacture. To fire, they were held in one hand at waist height and ignited with a hot iron or a smoldering fuse. An important further development was the matchlock , in which the match was clamped in a mechanism so that the shooter had both hands free to aim and thus could fire the weapon from the shoulder, which significantly increased accuracy. At the wheel lock, a rotating piece of metal rubbed a flint, creating sparks. At the end of the 17th century, the set flintlock through and until the early 19th century in use than the needle gun was replaced. Initially, riflemen could not defend themselves against attacks by riders and were defenseless for a long time after firing their weapons once. This was remedied by the bung bayonet , a blade that was first pushed into the barrel so that it could be used like a pike, but could no longer be fired. Later bayonets, were as Tüllenbajonett fitted with a grommet around the barrel, so they still could fire.
Through the process of iron casting , cannons could be built that could withstand the strong force of the explosion. In the beginning, these were not very effective and immobile, but were further developed under Charles VIII of France in the 15th century, introducing the wheel bayette and using granular powder. Iron balls that could break through the stone walls proved their worth as projectiles. But explosive projectiles were also used, from which the hand grenade developed.
Precision mechanics, instruments and measuring devices
There were numerous innovations in the field of precision mechanics , instruments and measuring devices as well as watchmakers . They had numerous connections with the emerging sciences that flourished thanks to the scientific revolution . Among other things, the light microscope and the telescope , which were initially used in astronomy, were new . The invention of the telescope by Hans Lipperhey and the further development by Galileo Galilei made astronomical investigations possible. The profession of instrument maker became an important entity as there was an ever increasing demand for more accurate and better instruments. They manufactured instruments for the scientists, who in turn also dealt with these devices and thus created optics as a scientific discipline. Furthermore, the voyages of discovery promoted navigational instruments such as the compass and nautical charts , which soon became essential for seafaring . An early form of the sextant , the nautical astrolabe , was also developed and continuously improved. In the technical area, there was an increasing number of drawings of technical devices. These were created on the one hand in books, which processes, e.g. B. the lifting of water in mines by water wheels, described, on the other hand, but also in sketches like Leonardo da Vinci.
Other devices that were either completely new or significantly improved were Bussole , proportional compasses , gun attachments and quadrant . Added to that comes air pump of Otto von Guericke .
Construction engineering
The medieval castle , which was both residential and defensive, developed further into a fortress as an exclusive defensive structure on the one hand and a castle as a residential and representative building on the other. The walls of the castles were mainly high so that they could not be easily climbed with ladders. With the advent of the cannons, they lost their protective function. Instead, fortresses were built with lower but thicker walls that could withstand the fire of cannons. In order to protect the actual wall, the curtain wall, various masonry were placed in front of it, such as the bastion or the ravelin . In order to ensure that the defenders could shoot at every point in front of these defensive structures, unusual geometric floor plans were created. Castles were now built in the middle of the cities and served as residential buildings for the nobles and for representation purposes. Most builders were active in both the military and civil fields at the beginning of the Renaissance. Over time, however, a specialization and thus a separation took place. In France, numerous fortresses, roads and bridges were built by the state during the 17th century. By order of the minister, the fortress construction engineers were combined into the Corps des ingénieurs du génie militaire , the road and bridge construction engineers into the Corps des ingénieurs des ponts et chaussées . Special schools for their training followed in the 18th century.
transport
Horse-drawn carts have been known since ancient times. In the Middle Ages they were used almost exclusively for transport purposes, and it was not until the transition to the Renaissance that carriages appeared that were used by nobles for travel purposes. In the course of the Renaissance, trucks were given ever greater payloads. In the 17th century, the wagons could carry around three to four tons and were pulled by four to six horses. In the 18th century you could move up to 8 tons with twelve horses. As the ground pressure increased, the width of the wheels was increased to up to 18 cm. Narrower wheels could damage the paved roads, so that some fees were charged for them.
In shipbuilding , there were no major technical innovations such as the cog in the Middle Ages or the steamship in the 19th century. Nevertheless, the importance of the ships increased because they were needed for sea trade to America or Asia. As these trade relations also became more and more important economically, many European countries began to build up a navy. The ships were no longer built as merchant ships with military superstructures, as they used to be, but rather designed from the start as warships, equipped with cannons and sorted into standardized size classes. These include the ships of the line or the frigate .
See also
literature
- Günter Bayerl: Technology in the Middle Ages and early modern times . Stuttgart: Theiss 2013.
- Magdalena Bushart: Technical Innovations and Artistic Knowledge in the Early Modern Era , Böhlau, Cologne, 2015.
- Adam Max Cohen: Technology and the early modern self , NY: Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009.
- Walter Conrad (Hrsg.): History of Technology in Spotlights , Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim, 1997.
- Isa Fleischmann-Heck: metal cutting and dough printing. Technology and development at the time of early book printing , von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 1998.
- Bertrand Gille: Engineers of the Renaissance , Econ, Vienna, 1968.
- Bert S. Hall: Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics , Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, 2006.
- Thomas Heichele: The epistemological role of technology in Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei in the context of the history of ideas , Aschendorff Verlag, Münster, 2016.
- Martina Heßler: Kulturgeschichte der Technik , NY: Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt, M., New York (Historical Introductions, Vol. 13), 2012.
- Wolfgang Lefèvre (Ed.): Pictorial means in early modern engineering, 1400–1650 , Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Berlin, 2002.
- Herbert Maschat: Leonardo da Vinci and the technology of the Renaissance , Profil, Munich, 1989.
- Karl Heinz Metz: Origins of the Future. The history of technology in western civilization, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich, 2006.
- Marcus Popplow: New, useful and inventive. The idealization of technology in the early modern era , Waxmann, Münster, 1998.
- Jonathan Sawday: Engines of the Imagination. Renaissance culture and the rise of the machine , Routledge, London, 2007.
- Volker Schmidtchen : Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (Hrsg.): Metalle und Macht , Propylaen Verlag, Ulm, 1997.
- Rolf Sonnemann: Mining and metallurgy are being reshaped , in: Burchard Brentjes, Siegfried Richter, Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology , Aulis Verlag Deubner, Cologne, 1987, pp. 192–198.
- Rolf Sonnemann: The achievements of the early and high Middle Ages , in: Burchard Brentjes, Siegfried Richter, Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology , Aulis Verlag Deubner, Cologne, 1987, pp. 138–158.
- Rolf Sonnemann: The medieval weapon and war technology , in: Burchard Brentjes, Siegfried Richter, Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology , Aulis Verlag Deubner, Cologne, 1987, pp. 159-168.
- Rolf Sonnemann: Paper and book printing , in: Burchard Brentjes, Siegfried Richter, Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology , Aulis Verlag Deubner, Cologne, 1987, pp. 169–173.
- Lothar Suhling: catching up, winning and promoting. History of mining , Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg, 1983.
- Ulrich Troitzsch : Technical change in state and society between 1600 and 1750 in: Akos Paulinyi, Ulrich Troitzsch: Mechanisierung und Maschinisierung , Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Volker Schmidtchen: Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (ed.): Metals and Power, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997, pp. 573-576.
- ^ Karl Heinz Metz: Origins of the future. The history of technology in western civilization. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2006, p. 62.
- ↑ Christoph Scriba, Bertram Maurer: Technology and Mathematics. In: Armin Herrmann, Charlotte Schönbeck (Hrsg.): Technology and science. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1991, p. 52.
- ^ Karl H. Metz: Origins of technology. Schöningh, Paderborn 2006, pp. 48-52.
- ↑ Volker Schmidtchen: Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (ed.): Metals and Power, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997 pp. 218-239.
- ↑ Ulrich Troitzsch: Technical change in state and society between 1600 and 1750 in: Akos Paulinyi, Ulrich Troitzsch: Mechanisierung und Maschinisierung, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997, pp. 61–78.
- ↑ Günter Bayerl: Technology in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, Theiss, Stuttgart, 2013, p. 140
- ^ Rolf Sonnemann: Mining and metallurgy are being reshaped, in: Burchard Brentjes: History of Technology, Aulis Verlag Deubner, Cologne, 1987, pp. 192–198.
- ↑ Günter Bayerl: Technology in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, Theiss, Stuttgart, 2013, p. 146.
- ↑ Volker Schmidtchen: Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (Ed.): Metalle und Macht, Propylypen Verlag, Ulm, 1997 p. 227.
- ^ Walter Conrad (ed.): History of technology in Schlaglichtern, Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim, 1997, p. 19f.
- ↑ Günter Bayerl: Technology in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, Theiss, Stuttgart, 2013, p. 150f.
- ↑ Walter Conrad (ed.): History of technology in Schlaglichtern, Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim, 1997, p. 21.
- ↑ Herbert Maschat: Leonardo da Vinci and the technique of the Renaissance, Profil, Munich, 1989, p. 22.
- ^ Rolf Sonnemann: Mining and metallurgy are being reshaped, in: Burchard Brentjes / Siegfried Richter / Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of Technology, Aulis-Verlag, Cologne, 1987, p. 198f.
- ^ Rolf Sonnemann: The achievements of the early and high Middle Ages, in: Burchard Brentjes / Siegfried Richter / Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology, Aulis-Verlag, Cologne, 1987, p. 156.
- ↑ Günter Bayerl: Technology in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, Theiss, Stuttgart, 2013, p. 120.
- ^ Adam Max Cohen: Technology and the early modern self, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009, pp. 115f.
- ↑ Volker Schmidtchen: Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (Ed.): Metalle und Macht, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997 p. 298, 312.
- ↑ Ulrich Troitzsch: Technical change in state and society between 1600 and 1750 in: Akos Paulinyi, Ulrich Troitzsch: Mechanisierung und Maschinisierung, Propylaen Verlag, Ulm, 1997, p. 218.
- ↑ Günter Bayerl: Technology in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, Theiss, Stuttgart, 2013, pp. 155–161.
- ↑ Rolf Sonnemann: The medieval weapons and war technology, in: Burchard Brentjes / Siegfried Richter / Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology, Aulis-Verlag, Cologne, 1987, pp. 160-164.
- ^ Rolf Sonnemann: The crossing of the ocean, in: Burchard Brentjes / Siegfried Richter / Rolf Sonnemann (eds.): History of technology, Aulis-Verlag, Cologne, 1987, p. 191.
- ↑ Volker Schmidtchen: Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (Ed.): Metalle und Macht, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997 p. 549
- ↑ Ulrich Troitzsch: Technical change in state and society between 1600 and 1750 in: Akos Paulinyi, Ulrich Troitzsch: Mechanisierung und Maschinisierung, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997, p. 199.
- ↑ Volker Schmidtchen: Technology in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age between 1350 and 1600 in: Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen (Ed.): Metalle und Macht, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997 pp. 407-433.
- ↑ Ulrich Troitzsch: Technical change in state and society between 1600 and 1750. in: Akos Paulinyi, Ulrich Troitzsch: Mechanisierung und Maschinisierung, Propylänen Verlag, Ulm, 1997, pp. 114f., 124f, 140.