THE A D VA NCE OF

SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY DURING
THE RENA IS S ANCE
 Renaissance was a time of creativity and change in Europe. It was a rebirth of cultural
and intellectual pursuits after the stagnation of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance produced a
golden age with many achievements in art, literature and science. But most importantly it
produced a new concept of how people thought of themselves, each other, and the world aroun
them.
The renaissance was centered in Italy during the 1300’s, before spreading throughout
Europe in 1500 and 1600. Great advances occurred in geography, astronomy, chemistry, physics,
mathematics, manufacturing, anatomy and engineering.
Science and Technology Development:
• Michaelangelo is known as sculptor, painter, poet, engineer and architect. His famous works
include the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, and the sculpture of the biblical character
David.
• The most important technological innovation of the time was the invention of the printing
press. This was introduced from China in the 1300’s. By the 1400’s movable type was being
used in Europe as Johannes Gutenberg began printing the Bible in every language. Soon
millions of books were in circulation. This invention, led to higher literacy among people and
helped with the spreading of renaissance ideas.
• Some important Renaissance technologies include both innovation and improvements on
existing techniques such as:
1. Mining and metallurgy: blast furnace, finery forge, slitting mill, arquebus and musket
2. Firearms and the nautical compass- these inventions allowed modern people to
communicate, exercise power and finally travel at distance unimaginable in earlier times.
3. Parachute:Veranzio’s 1595 parachute design titled “ Flying man”
• Mariner’s astrolabe: the earliest recorded uses the astrolabe for navigational purposes
• Dry dock and floating dock
• Newspaper is an offspring of the printing press from which the press derives its name. The
16th century sees a rising demand up to date information which cannot be covered effectively
by the circulating hand-written newssheets. For gaining time from the slow copying process,
Johann Carolus of Strassburg is the first to publish his German-language Relation by using a
printing press (1605)
• Airgun- an airgun equipped with a powerful spiral spring.
• Alchemy – is the study of the transmutation of materials through obscure processes. It is
sometimes described as an early form of chemistry. One of the main aims of alchemist was to
find a method creating gold from other substances. Medieval alchemist worked with two main
elements, sulphur and mercury. Paracelsus was an alchemist and physician of the Renaissance.
The Paracelsians a third element, salt, to make a trinity of alchemical elements.
• Astronomy- Nicolaus Copernicus – founded the theory of Heliocentric, that the earth
revolved around the sun. Sun is the center of solar system.
• Medicine- with the renaissance came an increase in experimental investigation principally in the
field of dissection and body examination, thus advancing our knowledge of human anatomy.
• The development of modern neurology began in the 16th century with Andreas Vesalius who
described the anatomy of the brain and other organs. In 1543, the published one od the most
famous publications in natural philosophy his anatomical book De fabrica. It was arguably the
most important anatomical texts of the century, at once criticizing the work of the ancients,
principally Galen, offering new illustrations based on first-hand observation and fresh
dissection.
– Few effective drugs existed, beyond opium and quinine
– William Harvey provided refined and complete description of the circulatory system.
The most useful tomes in medicine, used both by students and expert physicians, were
materiae medicae and pharmacopoeiae.
– Otto brunfels (1530-1536) published portraits of living plants, a botanical work that
employed freshly drawn illustrations from living plants, undermining the practice of copying
drawings from existing accounts.