Page 68 - Grasp English C1 (Workbook)

7 Hıstory

C. Read the text about Technologies from the Middle Ages. Then write or say one sentence about each
of the technologies shown in the pictures on page 65, using the information you have learnt.

The Middle Ages was a time of great technological innovation. Medieval inventions, like glasses,
buttons and mirrors, are now so fundamental to our lives that we barely think of them as technologies
at all. But at the time, medieval technologies changed both the cultural and the geographical
landscape of the world.

During the Middle Ages, most people were employed in farming, so developments in agriculture had
a major impact on ordinary people’s lives. One such technology was the heavy plough. The use of the
plough goes back to Neolithic times, but in the Middle Ages, ploughs were radically improved so that
they could be led by teams of cattle. This allowed heavy, wetland and newly cleared forest to be dug
up and put to agricultural use. Along with this, came the invention of the horse harness. Before the
Middle Ages, horses had worn yokes, like cattle, which choked them when pulling ploughs.
The invention of a comfortable horse harness allowed horses to pull carts and ploughs much more
easily, greatly increasing the efficiency and speed of farming and transportation. A third revolutionary
agricultural technology was crop rotation. By growing different crops on a piece of land in a subsequent
year, then leaving the land fallow for a year to regain nutrients, agricultural productivity soared.

The increasing efficiency of farming freed up labourers to work in other industries and crafts. The
most common cottage industry at the time was textiles, with most cloth being made from wool and
linen. Cloth production was extremely time-consuming and required several individuals to wash, comb,
spin and weave the threads. The process was much simplified by the introduction of spinning wheels,
which probably were introduced from India, and horizontal looms, probably adapted from Chinese silk
looms. Before the Middle Ages, looms were vertical and were slow and tiring to use. Horizontal looms,
which had foot pedals to move the threads, were much faster and more comfortable for the user. The
Medieval period also saw the spread of cotton manufacturing into Europe from Muslim lands.

Another huge development was power. Many water wheels and windmills were constructed, and these
gave increased power to mill grain, make paper and drain water from the marshy ground. Meanwhile,
the invention of the blast furnace in around 1150, allowed for the production of strong, cheap cast
iron, and this led to thriving mining and smithing industries. Cheap tools could be produced and
purchased, further increasing the efficiency and production in mining, agriculture, construction and
many other growing industries.

With goods moving, land being cleared, mines being dug, land and sea transport becoming more
efficient and people moving to different areas to seek work, the Middle Ages changed the landscape
of Europe for ever.

66
66