Achievements of the Medieval World

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Eng – Social Studies

Achievements of the Medieval World

Roman Achievements

The Roman Empire made achievements in, among other things, architecture and engineering and language.

Architecture and Engineering

The Romans designed and utilized architectural features such as the arch, the vault and the dome. An arch is a structure shaped like an upside down ‘U.” A vault is an arch used for a ceiling or to support a ceiling or roof. A dome is a vault in the shape of a half-circle that rests on a circular wall. The Romans were the first to use concrete on a widespread basis. Concrete is a mixture of broken stone, sand, cement and water.

The Romans combined their architectural features with the use of concrete to build enormous structures. The Pantheon is an ancient temple with an enormous dome that still stands today. The Roman Coliseum uses arches to support its enormous size. It was one of the first large open air stadiums to incorporate tunnels so spectators could quickly enter and leave the stadium.

We continue to incorporate ancient Roman architectural features in modern buildings. For example, the United States Capitol building incorporates a large dome in its design. Theaters and houses of worship typically have vaulted ceilings. Virtually every stadium around the world incorporates the idea of massive seating and tunnels for easy access. Finally, we continue to use concrete to build enormous structures such as skyscrapers, dams and stadiums.

Language

The ancient Romans developed Latin as their spoken and written language. Following the fall of Rome, Latin was still used by the Roman Catholic Church to record important documents. Nobles also continued to learn Latin.

Several languages developed directly from Latin. French, Spanish and Italian are derived from Latin. English is a Germanic language, but is influenced by Latin. Many English words start with Latin prefixes. The prefix “sub” is used in words such as submarine, subpar, submicroscopic and subatomic. The prefix “trans” is used in words such as transatlantic, transportation, transcontinental and transportation.

The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. The English alphabet contains 26 letters, however, and the Latin alphabet contains 23 letters.

Roman numerals continue to be in use. We can see examples of their use on clock dials, sun dials, the first pages of books, the super bowl logo and on the cornerstones of buildings.

Muslim Achievements

Muslims made strides in medicine and mathematics during medieval times.

Medicine

Muslims established the world’s first hospitals. Most Muslim cities had at least one or two hospitals. Hospitals served as training centers for doctors in training. Hospitals provided separate areas for men and women, people undergoing surgery and patients with contagious diseases.

The government paid for medical treatment, so it was free for all who needed it. There were even medical caravans which travelled to people in remote villages.

Medieval Muslim doctors were advanced when compared to their European counterparts. Muslim doctors treated patients with drugs, diet and exercise. Pharmacists made hundreds of remedies from herbs, plants, animals and minerals. They had drugs to dull pain, antiseptics to clean wounds and ointments to help wound heal.

Muslim surgeons were able to put patients to sleep using medicines and perform amputations (cutting off diseased limbs), cut out tumors and remove cataracts (cloudy spots) from eyes.

Al-Razi, a Persian doctor, realized that infections were caused by bacteria. He also studied smallpox and measles.

Modern medical practices are remarkably similar to medieval Muslim practices. We too have hospitals in virtually all communities with sizable populations. Many of those hospitals are “teaching hospitals” where new doctors are trained. Our hospitals have isolated areas for those with contagious diseases.

Modern doctors treat patients with a combination of drugs, diet modification and exercise. Modern pharmacists make hundreds of medications from natural and chemically made compounds.

Modern surgeons perform a variety of surgeries such as open heart surgeries to bypass blocked arteries, the setting of broken bones, removal of cancerous tumors and even brain surgery.

Modern doctors and researchers are actively studying the biology and mechanisms by which illnesses progress and are spread in the hopes of finding treatments and cures for a host of ailments.

Mathematics

Medieval Muslim scholars greatly advanced the study of mathematics. Muslims translated the earlier works of Greek and Indian mathematicians and improved upon their findings.

Al-Khwarizmi, a mathematician and astronomer from the House of Wisdom in Baghdad in the 9th century, is known as “the father of algebra.” Algebra is the branch of mathematics used to solve problems involving unknown numbers. For example, the problem 7x+4=25 can be solved so that x=3. The translation of al-Khwarizmi’s book into Latin became the standard math textbook in European universities.

The Muslims way of writing numbers, fractions and decimals (first learned from India, but known as Arabic numerals) became more widespread in Europe during the medieval period. Muslims also popularized the Indian concept of “zero.” This made it easier to perform calculations for trade and business.

It is hard to imagine a subject that permeates through much of modern society as math does. Toddlers begin the study of mathematics with the introduction of Arabic numerals and the counting of quantities. These studies continue throughout elementary, middle and high school. Indeed, algebra itself is a required course in virtually every high school in the United States.

Mathematics isvital in our daily lives. Computation skills are necessary to balance our bank accounts, to figure out the correct change of a purchase and to determine the correct amounts for a cooking recipe.

Mathematics is vital to many careers. Architects and civil engineers must make precise calculations to determine whether the materials they use will support the weight of their building projects. Doctors and nurses must calculate the proper dosages of medicines to give patients. Safety engineers have to calculate safe speed limits for curves on the road. As in the past, mathematics continues to be vital to computing trade and business transactions such as the price of stocks, goods and services in the world market.

West African Achievements

West African Music

West Africans sang call and response songs. In a call and response singing, a leader plays or sings a short phrase, known as a call. A group of people, the chorus, sings a short phrase – the response. The leader and the chorus repeat this call and response over and over as the song is performed.

Enslaved West Africans brought this musical tradition to the Americas. The call and response style was sung by slaves to ease the burden of hard work, to celebrate social occasions and to express outrage at their situation.

This style of singing has greatly influenced modern music. Call and response songs resonate in gospel, blues and jazz music. You can also hear call and response in rock and roll and rap songs. Call and response songs are deeply ingrained in the musical traditions of this country.

Textiles

West Africans created beautiful types of fabrics. West Africans created stamped fabrics by “stamping” a pattern in a square grid on the fabric. The stamps represent proverbs, historical figures, objects, plants or animals. West Africans created story fabrics using appliqué. In appliqué, smaller pieces of fabric are attached to a larger background to make pictures or designs. Story fabrics depict events such as a king hunting a lion. West Africans also created kente cloth. Kente cloth was made by sewing together narrow strips of silk or simple fabric. Kentecloth colors and designs have symbolic meaning. It reflects the makers’ history, values and beliefs, or political and social circumstances.

The tradition of making textiles was brought to this country by West African slaves. Quilts patterns sometime have special meaning or symbolism for the maker. Indeed, there have been claims that quilts were used to help slaves escape. The quilts were hung and the patterns indicated whether a house was a “safe” house or which direction the slave should go.

Regardless, quilts continue to be made today and are considered classic American folk art.

Chinese Achievements

The Chinese are credited with inventing, among other things, gunpowder and papers.

Gunpowder

Gunpowder is an explosive powder made with saltpeter and other materials. The Chinese recorded a formula for gunpowder as early as 850 CE during the Tang dynasty. The Chinese developed a flamethrower using gunpowder. Later, the Chinese used gunpowder to make grenades, bombs and early guns and cannons.

Gunpowder continues to be used for fireworks. Gunpowder is also the main propellant in virtually every bullet made today. (The formula, however, has been modified so a bullet’s charge is “smokeless.”) The ammunition for every handgun, rifle, shotgun and machine gun uses gunpowder to make it work. Therefore, every police or military force which uses guns use gunpowder.

Paper

The Chinese invented papermaking by the second century CE. At first, paper was probably made of the bark of mulberry trees. Knowledge of the process remained a Chinese secret for over 500 years. Europeans did not learn of the art of papermaking until after 1100 CE. Before the use of paper, people used papyrus (plant reeds sewn together), clay tablets and animal hides.

The introduction of paper allowed people to record ideas on a massive scale. Paper is used for, among other things, books, to record legal contracts, as receipts, for paper money, note taking, record marriages, letters, sending messages, advertisements, newspapers, magazines, labels, boxes, envelopes, signage, coupons and invitations.

Even with the widespread use of computers, it is difficult to imagine someone who has not used paper in some way.