Life In Medieval Times Report

There are several topics of the Medieval Times that could be argued to be the most interesting and/ or important, but one topic that especially stands out to me are the sciences of the Middle Ages. There are several records of the sciences during the time period. Authors and historians have taken on the task of compiling the information into books and articles that people with less knowledge and resources are able to find and read in their spare time. A couple of examples of these works are Marjorie Rowling’s book, Life in Medieval Times, and Professor of History at Portland State University Karen Carr’s article, Medieval Science. The general consensus of the findings is that the Middle Eastern scientists were streets ahead of their European counterparts.

The sciences of medieval Europe were mainly alchemy and astronomy, as well as medicine. Alchemy was the earliest form of chemistry that blended science, superstition, and art into one field. The laboratories were very complex, containing furnaces, mortars, funnels, crucibles, glass flasks, furnace rakes, strainers, and tongs (Rowling). European Alchemists were focused on finding what was known as the Philosopher’s Stone, which was rumored to possess the traits of every metal, and could turn Lead into Gold (Rowling). This was a get rich quick trick that they eventually found to be false. European alchemists also would help the Arabic scientists find new ways to combine certain elements (Carr). Another reason that alchemists practiced was to help people achieve immortality, which, one could assume, would help the sciences of other fields, as well as serve political purposes.