Medieval History Innovations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chinese

The Chinese were using crossbows prior to the fifth century BC, but it is not known whether these were for war or hunting purposes. By the fifth century BC however, they were definitely being used as military weapons by the warring states of that era. Made of bronze, with detailed firing mechanisms, their efficiency was such that many were found buried among the weapons of Qin Shi Huang's famous Terracotta Army in his tomb, which was revealed by farmers digging a well in 1974. Crossbows were also used by the army of the Roman Empire as well, and then appeared to go AWOL until revived as a weapon of war during the early Middle Ages.

Other innovations that appeared in western Europe during this period were the stirrup and the horseshoe as well.

Answer: Windmill

Early forms of a wind driven wheels to power various machines were known back as far as Ancient Greece, Tibet, China and Babylon. The first practical windmill in the form we recognise it today was claimed to be invented by the Persians in late 9th century, but today's scholars challenge this claim. Nobody then can say with full authority from where or whom the European windmill evolved. What can be stated though is that, by the close of the 12th century, windmills were beginning to spring up throughout Flanders, northern France and England.

These early windmills had sails which spun around a vertical axis. They were used for the purposes of grinding grain into flour, pumping water out of flooded areas, or providing water for irrigation purposes.

The first mechanical clocks were also introduced to the western European world during this period of history.

Answer: Spherical astrolabe

Various forms of this most amazing invention had been around since the 8th century BC, and were improved upon and developed further as the centuries passed. It enabled users to accurately predict the positions of all the heavenly bodies at any given point, proving an invaluable tool for seamen and astronomers in particular. Seamen though had to use a different form of this device, because the standard astrolabe was not really suitable in stormy weather. During western Europe's high middle ages, the spherical astrolabe came into being. Also known as the armillary sphere, this consisted of a round metal structure, with earth located at its centre, surrounded by various metal rings which represented longitude, latitude, different positions of the sun, planets and the months and days of the year and so on. By adjusting the axis of the astrolabe at any point, one was able to tell at a glance, from the earth's perspective, the positions of the sun, the stars and all the then known planets. At a later date, which made it even more accurate, the sun was placed at its centre instead of the earth.

Answer: Mortise and tenon

Prior to the rib and plank method of construction, ships were made using the mortise and tenon method. This basically involved drilling the right sized hole in a stronger piece of wood (the mortise) into which a shaped lighter plank (the tenon) fitted snugly. There were several different styles of this, but the end result was the same, and of course this method was used on small buildings as well. Interestingly, Stonehenge was constructed using a form of this method. The rib and plank method introduced into shipbuilding in the high middle ages involved fixing the ship's ribs (pliable timbers) to the external skeleton (planking) of the vessel with rivets and copper nails.

Other forward moving innovations introduced into western Europe during the High Middle Ages included distillation of spirits, the three field crop method of farming, the horse collar, the construction of huge cathedrals, castles and bridges, lateen sails on ships and the stern-post rudder.

Answer: Gun

By the late 1300s in Europe, hand held guns were becoming a relatively common sight in the field of war. Not very efficient, but there they were, along with the increasing use of crossbows, sappers and engineers, gunpowder, cannon, closed face helmets, body armour and horse armour. China introduced this early weapon to that part of the globe by the year 1000 by packing bamboo sticks with gunpowder that was then lit to fire spears.

This new weapon made its way to the West, and over the centuries that followed, bamboo was replaced by metal, the amount of saltpetre was increased to enhance the explosive capability, and early bullets that fitted the metal barrels were made.

Answer: Buttresses

Perhaps a good visual image for describing the appearance of a buttress would be a giant spider, with its eight legs curving out sidewards from its body, and supporting that section of the creepy-crawly from collapsing to the floor. A flying buttress is similar, one of a series of curved stone arches on the external walls of large cathedrals.

They prevent the walls of those huge, tall structures from collapsing outwards under the weight they carry above. Utilised to full effect during the High Middle Ages, a form of this architectural device was described way back in biblical times in Ezekiel 41:6 where it says "And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house".

Answer: Tower mills

The purpose of the tower mill on these structures was to enable its small upper working parts to turn towards the direction from which the wind blew. It looked a little like a movable cap adorning the top of a windmill. Prior to this invention, windmills were referred to as post mills, because the machinery was built around a single post, onto which the spinning blades were attached, and this entire device had to be turned towards the wind.

The later addition of the tower mills, which originated in the late middle ages in western Europe, were constructed so that only the top of the windmills and blades had to be turned to do the same work. Larger, taller mills were subsequently built and work output increased greatly as a result.

Answer: Blast furnace

The blast furnace originated in Sweden during the late Middle Ages. It was used in the production of industrial metals such as iron, copper and lead. It worked by allowing the ores being worked upon to be supplied continuously to the top part of furnace and make their way down through the furnace where they met the hot blasts of air being pumped upward from the lower section. Though used to produce other metals, blast furnaces were mainly used to smelt iron ore, which was then used to make great numbers of iron and steel products.

Answer: Spinning wheel

The invention of the spinning wheel saw the replacement of the previously used distaff which had been used up to then. That was a hand held device which held unspun fibres of the various materials in place. These were wrapped around the distaff and then tied in place to keep them from tangling.

The distaff was normally held under the left arm, while the left hand separated and kept straight the strands of fibre as it fed them down to the spindle held in the right hand. As the spindle was spun around by the right hand, the thicker strands of material were then created - later to be used in the weaving process.

The invention of the spinning wheel replaced this cumbersome hand held method, combining it all into one foot driven wooden machine. The production of the threads used for weaving was increased six fold as a result, more cloth was subsequently produced and growing weaving industries began to spring up in western Europe as a result.

The spinning jenny and spinning frame would in turn replace the spinning wheel several centuries later during the Industrial Revolution.

Answer: The printing press

The printing press appeared on the scene during the middle of the 15th century towards the late middle ages, thanks to the imagination of Johannes Gutenberg. This most excellent invention enabled the mass production of literature, and works of worship and learning, opening the door to what would eventually bring the light of learning to the minds of millions of people. Eventually. Though the literacy rates of the poor did indeed rise somewhat during the late Middle Ages following the invention of the printing press, it would be quite a few centuries more before they could claim equality with the more affluent classes there who were able to make full use of its gifts. Yet, the printing press should never be underestimated for that mighty gift it introduced to mankind. Nevertheless, many take the view that it played a key role in the rapid spread of the Reformation.