MEDIEVAL: 15 FUN FACTS

MEDIEVAL 15 FUN FACTS

1.Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X) were used until soldiers came home from the crusades. The Arabic (O, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) numbers included zero which made computations easier.

2.Thirteenth century glass workers ground glass for lenses for those with bad eyesight.

3.Sometime during the 14th century, springs and gears were used to control hands of clocks, making clocks a great invention of the time. Eventually every town in Europe had a clock in the market square.

4.In the 14th century, heavier plows with wheels, horizontal plowshares, and a moldboard were invented, which cut down on manual labor.

5.Three-field crop rotation innovation caused many farmers to drop the idea of small, individual farming plots and take in the idea of communal patterns of open-field agriculture. This system of field use involved an autumn planting of grain (wheat, barley, or rye) and a spring planting of peas, beans, oats, or barley. This reduced the amount of fallow fields to one third. The legumes planted in spring improved the soil through the fixation of nitrogen. At the same time, the variation of crops improved the peasants' diet and larger families. This system was most successful in areas where there were consistent and reliable summer rains.

6.During the 13th and 14th century came the invention of the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel improved the production of yarn, cotton, and thread used for cloth.

7.From the 10th to the 11th centuries, the invention of the horseshoe, the whiffletree, and the spring carriage made travel easier. Goods were more easily transported, which aided the growth of industry.

8.The magnetic compass also made sea travel faster and more efficient. This technology was so advanced for the time that Prince Henry of Portugal (1394-1460) established a school to teach navigators how to use all the new machinery.

9.The horizontal loom appeared in Europe in the 11th century. Old looms had been vertical. This made weaving less wearing and time consuming.

10.In the winter of 1063, the Thames River froze for a record 14 weeks.

11.In 1191 A.D., Dean Herbert built the first English windmill, which he successfully used to grind corn.

12.In medieval England, pots and dishes were made from clay called "pygg." People saved coinage in such pots. Around 1600, an English potter unfamiliar with this custom was asked to make a "pygg bank." Misunderstanding the instructions, he created a clay vessel in the shape of a pig.

13.The Great Hall was the main meeting and dining area and used by everyone who lived in the castle. The life of the castle revolved around this room. All of the meals, celebrations, and entertainment happened here. Pages and servants waited on the tables. Servants ensured the Hall was cleaned, the fires were laid, and the lighting was adequate. The Steward supervised the events in the Great Hall.

14. The Buttery, usually adjacent to the Great Hall, was used for storing and dispensing beverages, especially mead, ale and wine. The person who presides over the buttery is the Butler.

15. Though he never mastered the art of reading and writing (he tried many times to learn), Charlemagne (742-814) was an enthusiastic patron of learning. He insisted that girls as well as boys learn how to read and write.