DCPA NEWS CENTER
Enjoy the best stories and perspectives from the theatre world today.
Enjoy the best stories and perspectives from the theatre world today.
We have a lot to thank the printing press for: the spread of knowledge in the Renaissance; the force of political movements, including the U.S. Revolution, through the dissemination of political pamphlets; the spread of Protestantism; and Gutenberg! The Musical!, the musical comedy running at the Garner Galleria Theatre through May 4. Johannes Gutenberg’s 1455 innovation with movable type was only one of many technological innovations during the Middle Ages with major impacts on human development.
Reconstruction of medieval glasses. Photo by Ziko Van Dijk
Eyeglasses
The first eyeglasses, perching precariously on the nose, were developed around 1290 in central Italy. The date is somewhat easier to pinpoint, due to a sermon by Dominican Friar Giordano da Pisa, who wrote in 1306, “It is not yet 20 years since there was found the art of making eyeglasses, which make for good vision.” By 1320, there was a Venetian guild for the makers of glasses, and concave and convex lenses were used to correct near — and far-sightedness. Perhaps you’re using a pair to read this right now.
Chimney
Industrial chimneys date back to the Romans, who used tubes to ventilate their bakeries. But ordinary homes were generally smoke-filled rooms in the winter. The first basic chimney was built in a Swiss monastery in 820, but not until the 12th century did the fireplace venting into a chimney come into use. Even then, they weren’t widespread until the 16th century, leading to a healthier and more pleasant hearth.
Gothic Architecture
Rib vaults, flying buttresses, and the pointed arch led to the soaring cathedrals of Europe, celebrated this month during the grand reopening of Notre Dame de Paris, heavily damaged by fire in 2019. Those architectural innovations led to larger indoor open spaces and advertised the dominance of the Catholic Church in Europe. They also required patience: Notre Dame took a century to complete and was finished in 1260 and modified in the centuries following.
Gunpowder. Painting by Ludovico Buti
Gunpowder
Around 830 C.E., the Chinese discovered that mixing sodium and potassium nitrate could lead to some very pretty fireworks. It took awhile for gunpowder to be weaponized, but once it was, gunpowder gave a fundamental advantage to invaders who had harnessed its power.
Paper Money
In the 13th century, Marco Polo clued Europeans into the paper money that had been used in China for more than 500 years, first by merchants issuing promissory notes. In 1023, the Song Dynasty began issuing paper notes – a great relief to the rich, who were carrying heavy coins on cords laced through holes in the center. Not only was paper money lighter, it allowed governmental control of currency (limiting forgery and counterfeiting) and the quantity of money in circulation. Despite Polo’s writings, it wasn’t until 1661 that Sweden became the first European nation to issue banknotes.
Magnetic Compass
Once again, advantage: China. Developed during the Han Dynasty in the 2nd Century C.E., the magnetic compass was used primarily for fortune telling and religion until the 12th century, when its use for navigation spread rapidly among European nations and Persia. It allowed for seafarers to find their way without clear skies and opened the doors to the Age of Exploration.
Medieval Clocks
Numbers
Traveling overseas exposed Leonardo Fibonacci to Hindu-Arabic numbers, used today in most of the world and entirely for international trade. Fibonacci’s 1202 Book of Calculation showed a more efficient way to calculate large values, using the concept of zero. This, in turn, made possible feats of engineering and astronomy. Roman numerals, then in use across Europe, soon became obsolete.
Mechanical Clocks
There’s nothing worse than waiting for a late friend, only to be told, “That’s not the angle of the sun!” Or at least, that was the case until around 1280, when mechanical clocks were first used in northern Italy and southern Germany. They began primarily in clock towers, and did not become widespread until the 16th century, when time became widely synchronized as well as a concept with a fixed point. So you can also blame the mechanical clock for that harried schedule you’re trying to keep.