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Riley Cochrane
Bobby Gendron
Bobby Pace
Medieval Science
During the Middle Ages, science was in the early stages of development, it was nothing
compared to today’s standards. Today we have countless areas of science, when back then, areas
such as biology, physics, and astronomy were just being discovered! Due to the lack of
abundance in the scientific field at the time, we were required to pick areas that may not seem
very “science related” today. Our group decided to focus on a few major areas of Medieval
Science, and they are: diseases, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, education, and mathematics.
There were many diseases to worry about in the middle ages. Many of these diseases are
common now, and we have medicine. However, medicine in medieval times was not as
advanced as modern medicine, and diseases that are not severe to us were fatal in the middle
ages. The most severe diseases were dysentery, gonorrhea, leprosy, malaria, measles, smallpox,
and plague. These diseases are not common to us today because we have vaccines to prevent
them. Medicine in the middle ages had strong spiritual influences. For example, the cure for a
headache was drilling a hole in the patient’s head to release the bad spirits. Spells and herbs were
used as medicine. Not much was known about the human body. They did discover that each
person has four principle fluids called humours- black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood.
These four fluids had to be kept in balance. They could keep them in balance using diet,
medicine or blood-letting. Because of poor medicine, many people died during the middle ages
as a result of disease.
Astronomy was important for religious reasons. It was used to predict when holy days
would occur, such as Easter. There were four main celestial bodies during the middle ages. They
were the sun, the moon, stars, and the planets. Astronomers recorded the movement of these
bodies using charts. The sun was the most important of the celestial bodies. At the time,
astronomers thought the sun orbited around the Earth. They studied the sun to find out how long
the year was and when to do things, like plant crops. The second most important body was the
moon. It was also used to determine holy days and other important events. It was also thought to
orbit around the Earth. The stars were the next most important. Astronomers thought stars were
fixed lights in the sky. They did not know the sun was a star. The least important body was the
planets. In medieval times, not all planets we know were discovered. They did not have the
equipment we do today to view the planets. They only knew of the planets as lights in the sky.
So if they could not see its light, they did not know it existed. Today, we know much more about
our solar system than ancient astronomers, and we use astronomy for many more reasons.
One of the most debated topics of the middle ages was faith versus reason. All
explanations for things that happened were related to God. There was no science involved. Some
philosophers argued thought that reason should be used to draw conclusions, not religion.
Medieval thinkers did not consider themselves as philosophers. The three main principles of
philosophy at the time were: the use of logic, dialect, and analysis. Philosophers used these
principles to find answers that were not related to God.
Education in the Middle Ages followed the same basic principles as ours does today. For
example, formal schooling was created during this time period! Also Universities were
established in the Middle Ages. Like most concepts in Medieval Times, education was strongly
based on religion. When children were in there younger years of education the primary focus was
grammar. As their education progressed, they would acquire knowledge of arithmetic, geometry,
music, and astronomy. In the final years of education, Universities would teach philosophy and
theology. During Medieval Times mathematics was a subject taught in Arabic. Algebra (a
combination of Indian and Babylonian material with Greek geometry) was also created during
this time period. As a result during the Middle Ages the very basis of math was formed for us to
use as a foundation today.
Medieval Science is a very broad topic to study. Now our group narrowed it down to a
few categories. First deadly diseases, and the medicine used to cure them. Next Astronomy, and
how it is dramatically affected by religion, which is not the case today. Third, Philosophy, and
how it there was an ongoing battle between Faith and Reason. Lastly Education in the Middle
Ages, and how their educational system worked and examples of specific classes. Medieval
Science laid the vital building blocks for the very science we use today.