Science and Its Times

by Schlager, Neil; Lauer, Josh

• ISBN13: 9780787639341
• ISBN10: 0787639346
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: Gale / Cengage Learning

Summary

"This series discusses how the major fields of science developed during specific time periods. Each volume focuses on a range of years and includes developments in exploration, life sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and technology. When the series is completed, the seven volumes will cover 2000 B.C. to the present."--"Outstanding Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2001.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Advisory Board	xi
Contributors	xiii
Introduction: 700-1449	xv
Chronology: 700-1449	xxi
Exploration and Discovery
Chronology of Key Events	1	(1)
Overview	2	(2)
Topical Essays
Al-Maqdisi Travels Throughout the Muslim World	4	(2)
Ibn Battuta Explores the Non-Western World	6	(3)
Finding Mecca: Mapmaking in the Islamic World	9	(2)
The Crusades	11	(3)
Al-Idrisi and Representations of the Medieval Muslim World	14	(3)
The Mongols Conquer an Empire, Opening Trade and Communication between East and West	17	(3)
Giovanni da Pian del Carpini Travels to Mongolia	20	(2)
Mongolia and Europe: Personal Accounts of Cultural Overlap and Collision	22	(2)
The Journeys of Marco Polo and Their Impact	24	(3)
Niccolo de' Conti Immerses Himself in the East	27	(2)
Al-Mas'udi, the ``Herodotus of the Arabs,'' Travels Widely and Writes Influential Works of History	29	(3)
Ibn Fadlan: An Arab Among the Vikings of Russia	32	(2)
The Viking Raids, A.D. 800-1150	34	(2)
Rabban Bar Sauma, the ``Reverse Marco Polo,'' Travels from Beijing to Bourdeaux	36	(2)
Jean de Bethencourt and Gadifer de La Salle Colonize the Canary Islands for Spain	38	(3)
Joao Goncalves Zarco Inaugurates the Era of Portuguese Exploration with the Rediscovery of the Madeira Islands, 1418-20	41	(2)
Nuno Tristao: Early Portuguese Explorer	43	(3)
Gil Eannes Passes the Point of No Return at Cape Bojador---And Inaugurates a New Era in Exploration	46	(3)
Viking Settlers in Greenland	49	(2)
The Vikings Explore North America	51	(3)
The Discovery and Settlement of Iceland	54	(2)
The Legend of Prester John Spurs European Exploration	56	(3)
The Arab-Persian Trading Cities of East Africa	59	(2)
Mansa Musa Makes His Hajj, Displaying Mali's Wealth in Gold and Becoming the First Sub-Saharan African Widely Known among Europeans	61	(2)
Chinese Exploration: The Voyages of Cheng Ho 1405-1433	63	(3)
Foreign Exploration and Descriptions of India	66	(2)
Dinis Dias and Cape Verde	68	(2)
Biographical Sketches	70	(27)
Biographical Mentions	97	(6)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	103	(2)
Life Sciences and Medicine
Chronology of Key Events	105	(1)
Overview	106	(2)
Topical Essays
The Medical Influence of Rhazes	108	(2)
Early Medieval Medicine in Europe	110	(3)
The Emergence of University Education	113	(4)
Ibn an-Nafis and Pulmonary Circulation	117	(2)
Astrology and Medicine	119	(4)
The Development of Surgery during the Twelfth through Fourteenth Centuries	123	(3)
The Emerging Practice of Human Dissection	126	(3)
The Black Death	129	(3)
The Western Revival and Influence of Greco-Roman Medical Texts	132	(2)
The Significance of Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine in the Arab and Western worlds	134	(3)
The Development of Arab Medicine During the Eighth through Thirteenth Centuries	137	(2)
The Emergence of Hospitals in the Middle East, Constantinople, and Europe during the Tenth through Twelfth Centuries	139	(2)
Leprosy	141	(3)
Mental Illness during the Middle Ages	144	(2)
Public Health in the Middle Ages	146	(3)
Holy Shrines and Miracle Healers	149	(2)
The Development of Medical Botany and Pharmacology during the Middle Ages	151	(2)
Botany in the Middle Ages, 700-1449	153	(4)
The Contributions of Albertus Magnus and the Development of Zoology during the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries	157	(2)
The Art and Science of Falconry	159	(3)
Biographical Sketches	162	(18)
Biographical Mentions	180	(7)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	187	(2)
Mathematics
Chronology of Key Events	189	(1)
Overview	190	(2)
Topical Essays
Islamic Mathematics in the Medieval Period	192	(2)
Developments in Chinese Mathematics	194	(2)
Mathematics in Medieval India	196	(2)
The Return of Mathematics to Europe	198	(2)
Development of Algebra during the Middle Ages	200	(3)
The Use of Hindu-Arabic Numerals Aids Mathematicians and Stimulates Commerce	203	(2)
The Rediscovery of Euclid's Elements	205	(2)
Arab Contributions to Trigonometry	207	(3)
Omar Khayyam and the Solution of Cubic Equations	210	(2)
Medieval Kinematics	212	(2)
Combinatorics in the Middle Ages	214	(2)
The Muqarnas: A Key Component of Islamic Architecture	216	(2)
Recreational Mathematics in the Middle Ages	218	(2)
Biographical Sketches	220	(13)
Biographical Mentions	233	(8)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	241	(4)
Physical Sciences
Chronology of Key Events	245	(1)
Overview	246	(2)
Topical Essays
Science in Premodern China	248	(5)
Greek Texts are Translated into Arabic	253	(2)
The Transmission of Arabic Science to Europe	255	(2)
The Invention and Advance of Scientific Instruments	257	(2)
Medieval Religion, Science, and Astronomy	259	(3)
Peter Peregrinus Initiates the Scientific Study of Magnets	262	(2)
Astronomical Tables: Applications and Improvements During the Middle Ages	264	(3)
Ptolemaic Astronomy, Islamic Planetary Theory, and Copernicus's Debt to the Maragha School	267	(2)
Aristotelian Physics, Impetus Theory, and the Mean Speed Theorem	269	(3)
Theodoric of Freiberg and Kamal al-Din al-Farisi Independently Formulate the Correct Qualitative Description of the Rainbow	272	(2)
Advancements in Optics, 700-1449	274	(3)
Alchemists Seek Gold and Everlasting Life	277	(4)
The Alchemy of Mineral Acids	281	(2)
The Earth and Physical Sciences of Shen Kua	283	(2)
Ordering Knowledge in the Medieval World	285	(2)
The Rise of Medieval Universities	287	(3)
Biographical Sketches	290	(18)
Biographical Mentions	308	(9)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	317	(4)
Technology and Invention
Chronology of Key Events	321	(1)
Overview	322	(2)
Topical Essays
The Invention of Block Printing and Early Forms of Movable Type	324	(2)
The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe	326	(2)
The Technology of the Medieval Islamic World	328	(4)
The Spread of Papermaking Technology into Europe	332	(2)
Improvements in Iron Processing and the Development of the Blast Furnace	334	(3)
The Invention of Gunpowder and Its Introduction Into Europe	337	(2)
The Bow in Medieval Warfare	339	(2)
The Invention of Guns	341	(1)
The Chinese Invention of Gunpowder, Explosives, and Artillery and Their Impact on European Warfare	342	(3)
The Evolution of Medieval Body Armor	345	(2)
The Development of Canal Locks	347	(2)
The Spinning Wheel: The Beginning of the Medieval Textile Industry	349	(2)
The Magnetic Compass	351	(2)
Development of the Lateen Sail	353	(2)
Incan Roads in South America	355	(2)
Feeding an Expanding World	357	(2)
The Development of Windmills	359	(3)
The Influence of Water Mills on Medieval Society	362	(2)
The Ancestral Puebloans and the Cliff Palaces at Mesa Verde	364	(2)
The Khmer Capital at Angkor	366	(2)
The Medieval Castle	368	(2)
The Gothic Cathedral: Height, Light, and Color	370	(3)
Medieval Feudalism and the Metal Stirrup	373	(2)
The Great Musical Machine: Origins of the Pipe Organ	375	(2)
The Technology of the Incas and Aztecs	377	(4)
Medieval Trade Fairs and the Commercial Revolution	381	(2)
Biographical Sketches	383	(13)
Biographical Mentions	396	(4)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	400	(1)
General Bibliography	401	(2)
Index	403