MEDIEVAL PERIOD

- The word Medieval is derived from the word “medius” meaning “middle”.
- The Medieval Period in western history is also known as Middle Ages or Dark Ages. It was a period in
the history of western civilization when civilization broke down in a various ways and became quite
primitive. The cultural advances of ancient Greece and Rome were essentially lost with the fall of the
Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D.
4 major causes were the results of the Fall of Rome:
1. Political Instability and Corruption: Rome became too big to rule effectively in the last 200 years of
the Western Roman Empire, many emperors were assassinated or built up their own wealth.
2. Social Problems: With so many people and trade, diseases spread easily wiping out the large
portions of the population allowing non-Romans to move into the Empire.
3. Economic Problems: Overspending on wars increased debt in Rome. High taxes and slavery led
to unemployment and revolts.
4. Military Problems: with its military weakened from diseases and civil wars Germanic groups
invaded and conquered Rome in 476 A.D.
As a result, western civilization had to begin again during the Medieval Period.
PRINTING PRESS

- It is a moveable type was arranged over a flat wooden plate called the Lower Platen. Ink was applied
to the type, and a sheet of paper was laid on top. An upper platen was brought down to meet the lower
platen. The two plates pressed the paper and type together, creating sharp images on the paper.
- The Printing Press was invented by the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg in 1448 and has been
called one of the most important inventions in the history of humankind. The invention of the moveable
type printing press in the 15th century enabled people to share knowledge more quickly and widely,
leading to the modern age.
MICROSCOPE
- instrument that is used to magnify small objects. Some may even be used to observe an object at
the cellular level, allowing scientists to see the shape of a cell, its nucleus, mitochondria, and other
organelles.
Etymology
- Latin “microscopium,” which is derived from the Greek words “mikros,” meaning “small,” and
“skopein,” meaning “to look at.”
Zacharias Janssen (1580-1638)
- credited with making the first compound microscopes (ones that used two lenses) in 1595.
- His father, Hans Janssen, is sometimes claimed to have largely contributed in creating the
microscope
Why was it invented?
 The medieval period was a period of invasion and migration. There was a population decline at the
beginning of the period due to the wars, but during the latter part of the period, there was a significant rise
in population. As the economic conditions began improving, people started to migrate to urban areas. They
were made susceptible to the diseases as people continuously migrated, thereby increasing pollution in
such areas. Many people became sick and in order to develop proper medicines for the various diseases,
the experts must understand them first through investigation. Thus, they needed a device that could
magnify things invisible to the eye. Fortunately, eyeglasses were already invented in the 13 th century which
provided them with sufficient knowledge regarding lenses and optics. The invention of eyeglasses became
the principal guide in creating the first microscope.
Relevance in the past
- 1595: First compound microscope (magnification: 3x – 9x) by Zacharias Janssen. The microscope
became popular only after more than half a century, which means that the microscope was not
very relevant in the medieval period (476 BC to 16th century).
- 1661: The first observations using the microscope was established by Marcello Malphigi, which is
all about the discovery of capillary vessels in the lungs of a frog.
- 1675: ‘Real discoveries’ beyond merely magnifying tiny things began with Anton van
Leeuwenhoek. He was the first to observe bacteria using his own version of microscope
(magnification: 275x).
- 18th century: As technology improved, microscopy became more popular among scientists.
Relevance in the present
- The microscope acted as a pioneering guide for the microscopes being used in the present.
- The microscopes in the present constantly contributes to the scientific knowledge regarding
different sciences such as biology, botany, anatomy, microbiology, etc.
- Light microscope magnification: 1,500x
- Electron microscope magnification: 200,000x

WAR WEAPONS

- A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict
physical damage, harm, or kill.

CROSSBOW

- Known as arbalest, it had a greater force than a typical crossbow.

- The strongest arbalests could have up to 5,000 pounds of force and be accurate up to 300 meters.
- Steel crossbows, however, were a European innovation, and typically came with different cocking
aids to upgrade draw power.
- Crossbows were used as hunting weapons, and in warfare - which is evident from the Battle of
Hastings.

GUNPOWDER (Circa 9th Century)

 - An explosive mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur used in gunnery and blasting.
- It was invented in China by Taoists people.
- One of its first European sightings was between the Mongols and European forces at the Battle of
Mohi.

CHAIN MAIL

- The chain mail is a type of armour made of small rings liked together in a mesh
- Chain mail came into fashion during the Middle Ages (13th century) as battlefield armour
- Chain mail armour was effective against slashing blows made by edged weapons and some
thrusting and piercing ones. Generally speaking, they couldn’t be pierced by conventional medieval
weapons.

PLATE ARMOUR

- Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates,
culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer.
- Plate armour evolved from chain mail with various intermediary styles of armour being worn from
the mid-13th century
- From the second quarter of the 15th century CE, the typical knight was covered from head to foot in
steel or iron plate armour.
Public Library
The Malatestiana Library (Italian: Biblioteca Malatestiana), also known as the Malatesta Novello
Library, is a public library in the city of Cesena in northern Italy.
 The Library of Malatesta Novello is considered to be first ever public library in the world.
 Opened in 1452, the building was owned by the city commune and allowed for readers to freely
make use of its collection.
Purpose-built from 1447 to 1452, and named after the local aristocrat Malatesta Novello,
 it is significant for being the first civic library in Europe, i.e. belonging to the commune rather than
the church or a noble family, and open to the general public.
Construction was directed by Matteo Nuti from Fano (a pupil of Leon Battista Alberti). At Novello's
direction, the books were owned by the commune of Cesena. Because of this governing structure,
the collection was not dispersed. Book chained to the lecterns
 The library has over 400,000 books, including over 340 codices covering various fields such as
religion, Greek and Latin classics, sciences and medicine, and about 3,200 manuscripts from the
16th century.
 Today, public libraries are common throughout much of the world.

The Role of Medieval Libraries

As Christianity became more and more widespread, monastic communities and monastery libraries started
to develop in the early Middle Ages. These were religious institutions that also functioned as learning
centers, encouraging monks and nuns to study and pray. These were religious institutions that also
functioned as learning centers, encouraging monks and nuns to study and pray. The main role of the
libraries was to preserve the collected knowledge and to provide it to the people in the monastery.