Philippine Christian University

Dasmarinas Campus
Sampaloc 1, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

Science, Technology and

Society
“Medieval Period/Middle
Age”
Submitted by:
Dalusong, Joan
Egana, Jona Marie
Gallos, Quinnie Marci
Millondaga, Rea Mae
Timola, Mhark Meynard
Valeza, Ahliesa P.

Submitted to:
Mrs. Cosio

Date:
February 11, 2020
 Philippine Christian University
Dasmarinas Campus
Sampaloc 1, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

Introduction (GALLOS)

HISTORY BRIEF BACKGROUND OF MEDIEVAL PERIOD/MIDDLE AGES

The Middle Ages, or medieval time, is generally believed to have started with the fall of
the Roman Empire in 476 and to have lasted about 1,000 years until about 1450. The beginning of
the Middle Ages are sometimes referred to as the "Dark Ages.", because the great civilizations of
Rome and Greece had been conquered. Middle Ages, Medieval Times, Dark Ages: What's the
Difference? When people use the terms Medieval Times, Middle Ages, and Dark Ages they are
generally referring to the same period of time. The Dark Ages is usually referring to the first half
of the Middle Ages from 500 to 1000 AD. After the fall of the Roman Empire, a lot of the Roman
culture and knowledge was lost. This included art, technology, engineering, and history. Historians
know a lot about Europe during the Roman Empire because the Romans kept excellent records of
all that happened. However, the time after the Romans is "dark" to historians because there was
no central government recording events. This is why historians call this time the Dark Ages.

Life/Facts (MILLONDAGA)

Interesting Facts about Daily Life in the Middle Ages The bread eaten by people of the Middle
Ages was gritty from the millstones used to grind the grain. This caused the people's teeth to wear
down quickly. Peasants were not allowed to hunt on the lord's land. Punishment for killing a deer
was sometimes death. Medicine was very primitive at the time. Sometimes doctors would "bleed"
people by putting leeches on their skin. People mostly drank ale or wine. The water was bad and
would make them sick. Marriages were often arranged, especially for nobles. Noble girls often
married at 12 years old and boys at 14.
1. Eels were sometimes used as currency
A record survives showing someone once rented land in the fenlands for 26,275 eels.
2. Shoes were ridiculous
Long-toed shoes were a sign of high fashion. Credit: Ziko / Commons. From about the
1330s onwards people began wearing shoes with ridiculously long toes. The longer they
could be, the better. They were called Cracow shoes, named after where they originated
from: Krakow in Poland.
 Philippine Christian University
Dasmarinas Campus
Sampaloc 1, Dasmarinas City, Cavite
Science Technology of Medieval Ages (DALUSONG)
MEDIEVAL PERIOD AND INSTITUTIONS
 During the Medieval period, the Catholic Church became the most dominant and powerful
institution in Europe influencing the monarchs. One of the examples was when Pope Leo
III named Charlemagne as the Holy Roman Emperor in 800 CE. Moreover, it was the
Catholic Church that maneuvered military expeditions to Jerusalem, commonly known as
the Crusades, during the late 11th century.
 In 1095, Pope Urban II called every Christian in Europe to expel the Muslims (infidels)
from the Holy Land. The on and off crusades lasted until the end of the 15th century which
brought European culture to Jerusalem and Muslim culture to Europe.
 The Middle Ages was defined by a Feudal system in much of Europe. This system
consisted of kings, lords, knights, vassals, and peasants. The people who were part of the
church played an important part too. When a person was born into a certain group, they
rarely moved to another level.
 During the Middle Ages, feudal society worked as the king granted vast lands called fiefs
to noblemen and bishops. These landowners needed peasants to plant and harvest their
lands. In exchange, peasants were allowed to live on the land with protection from local
lords in case of invasion.
 Manors were composed of large castles surrounded by small villages and a local church.
During this period, about 90% of the population worked on lands as peasants or serfs. Lords
and Barons swore their oath of fealty to the king.
 Groups of craftsmen called guilds also emerged during this period. Each guild had
specialties and was able to move up the social ladder through hard work. Some examples
were guild for weavers, dyers, armorers, painters, masons, bookkeepers, bakers, and
candlemakers. They had well-defined positions including apprentices, journeyman, and
masters. Despite being skilled workers during this period, women were not allowed to join
or form their own guild.

Printing Press & Microscope (TIMOLA &VALEZA)

PRINTING PRESS
 Machine by which text and images are transferred to paper or other media by means of ink.
Although movable type, as well as paper, first appeared in China, it was in Europe
that printing first became mechanized. The earliest mention of a printing press is in a
lawsuit in Strasbourg in 1439 revealing construction of a press for Johannes Gutenberg and
his associates.
 Philippine Christian University
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 The printing press was first just a simple adaptation of the binding press, with a fixed, level
lower surface (the bed) and a movable, level upper surface (the platen), moved vertically
by means of a small bar on a worm screw. The composed type, after being locked by
ligatures or screwed tight into a right metal frame (the form), was inked, covered with a
sheet of paper to be printed, and then the whole pressed in the vise formed by the two
surfaces.
 This process was superior to the brushing technique used in wood-block printing in Europe
and China because it was possible to obtain a sharp impression and to print both sides of a
sheet. Nevertheless, there were deficiencies: it was difficult to pass the leather pad used for
inking between the platen and the form; and, since several turns of the screw were
necessary to exert the required pressure, the bar had to be removed and replaced several
times to raise the platen sufficiently to insert the sheet of paper.

(https://www.britannica.com/topic/printing-publishing/The-Gutenberg-press)

MICROSCOPE
 In the late 16th century several Dutch lens makers designed devices that magnified objects,
but in 1609 Galileo Galilei perfected the first device known as a microscope.
 Dutch spectacle makers Zaccharias Janssen and Hans Lipperhey are noted as the first men
to develop the concept of the compound microscope.
 Light microscopes date at least to 1595, when Zacharias Jansen (1580–1638) of Holland
invented a compound light microscope, one that used two lenses, with the second lens
further magnifying the image produced by the first.
 The Evolution of the Microscope. The first compound microscopes date to 1590, but it was
the Dutch Antony Van Leeuwenhoek in the mid-seventeenth century who first used them
to make discoveries. When the microscope was first invented, it was a novelty item.
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is widely considered to be father of microbiology.
 Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a Dutch draper and scientist, and one of the
pioneers of microscopy who in the late 17th century became the first man to make and use
a real microscope. He made his own simple microscopes, which had a single lens and were
hand-held.
 There are several different types of microscopes used in light microscopy, and the four
most popular types are Compound, Stereo, Digital and the Pocket or handheld microscopes.
 Scientists use three types of microscopes, each with their own purposes: OPTICAL,
ELECTRON and SCANNING PROBE.
 A microscope is an instrument that makes use of lenses to make smaller objects appear
larger. It is also known as a compound microscope. The different parts of a microscope are
shown in figure. The object to be viewed under the microscope is generally referred to as
the specimen.
 Philippine Christian University
Dasmarinas Campus
Sampaloc 1, Dasmarinas City, Cavite
Eyeglasses & Old Wine Press (TIMOLA & VALEZA)
EYEGLASSES
 In the Middle Ages, eyeglasses were made from two convex lenses confined by rims made
of bone or metal. These rims were secured by a rivet at the central point. Additionally, the
lenses were either positioned before the wearer's eyes or secured on either side of the
wearer's nose.
 The first known depiction of a person wearing glasses dates from the end of the thirteenth
century. The invention of eyeglasses is believed to be between 1268 and 1289 in Italy.
 Salvino D'Armate is most often credited with the invention of the first wearable eye glasses
around 1284. The earliest glasses was prescribed for hyperopia and perched on the bridge
of nose.
 Every frame is hand-assembled and polished.
 After raw material is cut into face fronts using a high-tech CNC machine, it's tumbled with
wood chips and hand-polished with a German wax compound. The frames are then
carefully assembled and sent through a series of quality checks.
 Then the first eyeglasses were made with round biconvex lenses, to improve farsighted
vision. They consisted of two lenses; each assembled with a rim of metal or of wrought
leather, riveted together at the end of each handle.

OLD WINE PRESS

 In the Middle Ages, most winemaking technology advances were made by religious
orders (particularly in France and Germany) who owned vast amounts of vineyard land
and produced large quantities of wines in their abbeys and bishoprics. It was here that the
basket press became popular. The press included large cylindrical basket made of wood
staves bound together by wood or metal rings with a heavy horizontal disc fitted at the top.
After the grapes were loaded into the basket, the disc would depress towards the bottom
with juice seeping out between the staves into a waiting basin or tray. In some presses,
added pressure would come from a giant lever or manual hand crank.
 The most important function of secular wine during the early Middle Ages (400-900
A.C.E.) was to provide nourishment to those who drank it, due to its calories and its ability
to quench thirst. The alcohol content of this beverage also killed bacteria and made it one
of the safest beverages to consume, far safer than ordinary water.

Major Events (EGANA)

1. The Fall of Western Roman Empire (476 AD) The fall of Western Roman Empire is considered
as the beginning of the Middle Ages. The last Roman emperor was Julius Nepos who was
nominated by Eastern Emperor Zeno. Nepo’s rebellion magister militum Orestes dethroned Julius
 Philippine Christian University
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Nepos and declared his own son Romulus Augustus as the new Emperor of the Western Roman
Empire. However, Odoacer invaded Italy and defeated Orestes and deposed Romulus Augustus on
September 4, 476. He then invited Zeno to be the emperor of both Eastern and Western Empire.
Zeno accepted the invitation while Julius Nepo was killed by his own soldiers in 480.
2. Charles the Hammer and the Battle of Tours (732 AD) Charles Martel, also known as Charles
the Hammer was a Frankish political and military leader who worked under the Merovingian Kings
as the Mayor of the Palace. In 732 AD, he defeated Moorish invaders in the Battle of Tours which
permanently ended the Islamic invaders and their expansion in Western Europe. Charles Martel is
considered as one of the founding fathers of feudalism and knighthood of Europe. He prepared the
grounds for the establishment of Carolingian Empire. He was the grandfather of Charlemagne.
3. Charlemagne, the Emperor of Romans (800 AD) Charlemagne or Charles the Great was a
Frankish king who expanded the Frankish kingdom and covered almost all of the Western and
Central Europe. He was declared as the Emperor of Romans in 800 AD and he enjoyed the empire
successfully till his death. He associated his political steps with the Church and encouraged a
revival of art, religion and culture with the help of the Church.
4. Treaty of Verdun (843 AD) after his death, Louis the Pious was declared his successor who
ruled as the Emperor of Romans. However, after his death, the Carolingian empire faced a Civil
War because of the internal tussle between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious who
struggled for the emperorship. At last, the Carolingian empire was divided in three parts in August
843 AD through the Treaty of Verdun which ended the three years long Civil War.
5. The Ottonian Holy Roman Empire of Germany (962 AD) Otto I was the successor of Henry the
Fowler, the duke of Saxony who became the first Saxon Emperor. Just like his father, Otto I
succeeded in protecting Germans against Magyar invaders. He chose to create a German
monastery and this natural allegiance of German Church and Kingdom helped him to gain control
over the rebellion dukes and establish his Ottonian Empire. In 962 AD, the papacy of Italy invited
him and declared him as the Emperor of Italy and he established his Holy Roman Empire.
6. The Battle of Hastings (1066 AD) On 14th October 1066, William the Conqueror, the Duke of
Normandy defeated the last Anglo-Saxon king Harold II. William the Conqueror established the
Norman Empire and to protect his empire, he rewarded all his Norman supporters who fought for
him in the war with large piece of land of England. He divided all land of England in manors and
established the feudal system and manoralism.
7. Declaration of Magna Carta (1215 AD) The Magna Carta Libertatum, or the Great Charter of
Liberties of England was originally issued in 1215 AD. This charter is considered to be the first
step towards the constitutional government of England. The Charter of Magna Carta restricted the
power of the Emperor and proved the importance of a Constitution.
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8. The Great Famine (1315-1317 AD) Whole northern Europe suffered the Great Famine in 1315
which prolonged itself till 1317. During these two years of famine, a big portion of the population
died of hunger and diseases. During those days of famine, crime rate increased to extreme and
there were too many incidences of cannibalism, rapes, and infanticides. The Great Famine brought
unrest in peasants and the members of nobility also suffered a setback and as a result, they became
more bloodthirsty and gave up the oath of chivalry.
9. The Hundred Years’ War (1337 AD) The Hundred Years’ War began in 1337 when the
Kingdom of England waged war against the Kingdom of France. While there were many periods
of peace and ceasefire between England and France during the period, however, this war was
continued again and again in different conflicts till 1453.
10. The Black Death (1348-1350 AD) The Black Death or the Black Plague proved to be the most
threatening epidemic of the European Middle Ages that significantly weakened the feudal system
and the Church of Europe. Huge masses of people met untimely death because of this plague and
it significantly reduced the economic and political power of the kingdoms of Europe. In order to
take advantages of the situations, peasants revolted against their manors and asked for better
treatment. People got angry against the Church because no volumes of prayers could save them;
while they also got angry against the government because the government was unable to help them
either.