User:Csrfpz/sandbox

Article Evaluation
The medieval technology Wikipedia article has a large quantity of coverage over the types of civil and military technology. However, the amount of information provided on these technology and how they relate back to medieval technology page itself. For example, the mention of hops is used when talking about the preservation of beer but the information on how that came to be used and manufactured for use as a technological advancement are missing. There are a large amount of one to two sentence topics on this page that I believe need more information to give the user a better understanding about how the technology was considered to be a part of the medieval time period. I would like this to be done without having to scroll through and click each individual page in order to find the information needed to gain a firm understanding of that piece of technology.

Response to Peer Review
I agree that there are a large amount of one to two sentence topics and I am currently working on improving those topics. I am currently in the process of creating a draft that expands on each topic and added topics that I have found to be left out such as types of irrigation and how different regions use technology differently. Topics like Hops are easy to find sources on but hard to find time period specific information.I am working on finding more reliable sources other than non-cited articles. I also agree with your statement of not having to scroll and click on each individual page. My goal is to give a clear view of each subject so that an individual will be able to find a reliable source on the material without having too dig too much. I currently have a handful of books I am pulling information from and I am trying to find more to further improve the quality of the article. The lack of information currently present in my draft is due to my inability to obtain certain books and the poor quality of the books I thought would contain great information. I hope to have a more presentable article for you to read by the end of spring break and look forward to you viewing the article later if you so choose.

Agriculture & Irrigation
Carruca (6th to 9th centuries)

A type of heavy wheeled plough commonly found in Northern Europe. The device consisted of four major parts. The first part was a Coulter (agriculture) at the bottom of the plough. This knife was used to vertically cut into the the top sod to allow for the plowshare to work. The plowshare was the second pair of knifes which cut the sod horizontally, detaching it from the ground below. The third part was the moldboard, which curled the sod outward. The fourth part of the device was the team of eight oxen guided by the farmer. This type of plough eliminated the need for cross-plowing by turning over the furrow instead of merely pushing it outward. This type of wheeled plough made seed placement more consistent throughout the farm as the blade could be locked in at a certain level relative to the wheels. A disadvantage to this type of plough was its maneuverability. Since this equipment was large and lead by small herd of oxen, turning the plough was difficult and time consuming. This caused many farmers to turn away from traditional square fields and adapt a longer, more rectangular field to ensure maximum efficiency.

Ard (plough) (5th century)

An early medieval plough that consisted of a sharpened wooden post pulled by either animals or humans. This lightweight and primitive plough was used primarily before the invention of the carruca. The ard was inefficient in more firm northern soil but did decent work in southern areas where the soil was much softer. Although the ard required the user to apply constant pressure to the plough in order to make sure the edge could break the ground, the soil was merely pushed to the sides instead of being properly turned over.

Horse collar (6th to 9th centuries)

Once oxen started to be replaced by horses on farms and in fields, the yoke became obsolete due to it's shape not working well with a horses' posture. The first design for a horse collar was a throat-and-girth-harness. These types of harnesses were unreliable though due to them not being sufficiently set in place. The loose straps were prone to slipping and shifting positions as the horse was working and often caused asphyxiation. Around the eighth century, the introduction of the rigid collar eliminated the problem of choking. The rigid collar was "placed over the horses head and rested on its shoulders. This permitted unobstructed breathing and placed the weight of the plow or wagon where the horse could best support it."

Horseshoe (11th century)

Allowed horses to carry larger loads and move around with greater traction on hard to walk surfaces. The practice of shoeing horses was initially practiced in the Roman Empire but lost popularity throughout the Middle ages until around the 11th century. Although horses in the southern lands could easily work while on the softer soil, the rocky soil of the north proved to be damaging to the horses hooves. Since the north was the problematic area, this is where shoeing horses first became popular. The introduction of gravel roadways was also cause for the popularity of horse shoeing. The loads a shoed horse could take on these roads were significantly higher than one that was barefoot. By the 14th century, not only did horses have shoes, but many farmers were shoeing oxen and donkeys in order to help prolong the life of their hooves. The size and weight of the horseshoe changed significantly over the course of the middle ages. In the 10th century, horseshoes were secured by six nails and weighed around one quarter of a pound, but throughout the years, the shoes grew larger and by the 14th century, the shoes were being secured with eight nails and weighed nearly half a pound.

Wine press (12th century)

This device was the first practical means of Pressing (wine) on a plane surface. The wine press was an expensive piece of machinery that only the wealthy could afford. The method of Grape stomping was often used as a less expensive alternative. While white wines required the use of a wine press in order to preserve the color of the wine by removing the juices quickly from the skin, red wine did not need to be pressed until the end of the juice removal process since the color did not matter. Many red winemakers used their feet to smash the grapes then used a press to remove any juice that remained in the grape skins. This principle was later used for the printing press.

Qanat (5th century)

An underground passage used to water fields, crops, and provide drinking water. These tunnels had a gradual slope which used gravity to pull the water from either an aquifer or water well. This system was originally found in middle eastern areas and is still used today in places where surface water is hard to find.

Crop rotation (11th century)

Also called the Two-field system. This system included the farmers fields being divided into two separate fields. One field would grow a crop while the other was left to grow and was used to feed livestock and regain lost nutrients. Every year, the two fields would switch in order to ensure fields did not become nutrient deficient. In the 11th century, this system was introduced into Sweden and spread to become the most popular form of farming.

Three-field system (8th century)

The ideal three-field system is one that separates a section of land into three equal parts. Each one of the three parts holds a different crop. One part holds a spring crop, such as barley or oats, another part hold a winter crop, such as wheat or rye, and the third part is an off field that is left alone to grow and is used to help feed livestock. By rotating the three crops to a new part of the land after each year, the off field regains some of the nutrients lost during the growing of the two crops. This system increases agricultural productivity over the Two-field system by only having one third of the field not being used instead of one half. Another advantage of crop rotation is that many scholars believe it helped increase yields by up to 50%.

To do list
Irrigation

Open field system

Add advantages and disadvantages to each type of technology.

Separate certain technologies by region when talking about fields and techniques

Sections of Focus
Sections of focus: Agriculture (Chris), Military technologies(Elliott)

Partner
Elliott Smith Spike64113 (talk) 17:54, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

Editing Section -

Military technologies
Armour Jousting armor commissioned by Maximilian I in 1494

Plate armour (late 14th century)

Large and complete full plates of armour appear by the end of the 14th century. Cavalry

Arched saddle (11th century)

The arched saddle enabled mounted knights to wield lances underarm and prevent the charge from turning into an unintentional pole-vault. This innovation gave birth to true shock cavalry, enabling fighters to charge on full gallop.

Spurs (11th century)

Spurs were invented by the Normans and appeared at the same time as the cantled saddle. They enabled the horseman to control his horse with his feet, replacing the whip and leaving his arms free. Rowel spurs familiar from cowboy films were already known in the 13th century. Gilded spurs were the ultimate symbol of the knighthood - even today someone is said to "earn his spurs" by proving his or her worthiness.

Stirrup (6th century)

Stirrups were invented by steppe nomads in what is today Mongolia and northern China in the 4th century. They were introduced in Byzantium in the 6th century and in the Carolingian Empire in the 8th. They allowed a mounted knight to wield a sword and strike from a distance leading to a great advantage for mounted cavalry.

Original Medieval technology Edits
Armour Section Spike64113 (talk) 20:29, 15 March 2018 (UTC) Very Rough Draft - I still need to add post 13th century armor and plate Armor as well as citation. I'd also like to add to mounted (equine) armour and the stirrup section.

Armour
Quilted Armour (pre 5th - 14th Century)

There was a vast amount of armour technology available through the 5th to 16th centuries. Most soldiers during this time wore padded or quilted armor. This was the cheapest and most available armor for the majority of soldiers. Quilted armour was usually just a jacket made of thick linen and wool meant to pad or soften the impact of blunt weapons and light blows. Although, this technology predated the 5th century, it was still extremely prevalent because of the low cost and the weapon technology at the time made the bronze armor of the Greeks and Romans obsolete.

Cuir Bouilli (5th-10th Century)

Hardened leather armour also called Cuir Bouilli was a step up from quilted armour. Made by boiling leather in either water, wax or oil to soften it so it can be shaped, it would then be allowed to dry and become very hard. Large pieces of armour could be made such as breast plates, helmets, and leg guards, but many times smaller pieces would be sewn into the quilting of quilted armour or strips would be sewn together on the outside of a linen jacket. This was not as affordable as the quilted armour but offered much better protection against edged slashing weapons.

Chain mail (11th-16th Century)

The most common type during the 11th through the 16th centuries was the Hauberk. Made of interlinked rings of metal, it sometimes comprised of a coif that covered the head, and a tunic that covered the torso, arms, and legs down to the knees. Chain mail was very effective at protecting against light slashing blows but ineffective against stabbing or thrusting blows. The great advantage was that it allowed a great freedom of movement and was relatively light with significant protection over quilted or hardened leather armour. It was far more expensive than the hardened leather or quilted armour because of the massive amount of labor it required to create. This made it unattainable for most soldiers and only the more wealthy soldiers could afford it. Later, toward the end of the 13th century banded mail became popular. Constructed of washer shaped rings of iron overlapped and woven together by straps of leather as opposed to the interlinked metal rings of chain mail, banded mail was much more affordable to manufacture. The washers were so tightly woven together that it was very difficult penetrate and offered greater protection from arrow and bolt attacks. thumb|right|Banded Mail Armour Construction

Jazerant (11th century)

The Jazerant or Jazeraint was an adaptation of chain mail in which the chain mail would be sewn in between layers of linen or quilted armour. Exceptional protection against light slashing weapons and slightly improved protection against small thrusting weapons, but little protection against large blunt weapons such as maces and axes. This gave birth to reinforced chain mail and became more prevalent in the 12th and 13th century. Reinforced armour was made up of chain mail with metal plates or hardened leather plates sewn in. This greatly improved protection from stabbing and thrusting blows.

Scale Armour (12th century)

A type of Lamellar armour, was made up entirely of small, overlapping plates. Either sewn together, usually with leather straps, or attached to a backing such as linen, or a quilted armor. Scale armour does not require the labor to produce that chain mail does and therefore is more affordable. It also affords much better protection against thrusting blows and pointed weapons. Though, it is much heavier, more restrictive and impedes free movement.

Plate Armour (14th century)

Plate armour covered the entire body. Although parts of the body were already covered in plate armour as early as 1250, such as the Poleyns for covering the knees and Couters - plates that protected the elbows, the first complete full suit without any textiles was seen around 1410-1430. Components of medieval armour that made up a full suit consisted of a cuirass, a gorget, vambraces, gauntlets, cuisses, greaves, and sabatons held together by internal leather straps. Improved weaponry such as crossbows and the long bow had greatly increased range and power. This made penetration of the chain mail hauberk much easier and more common. By the mid 1400's most plate was worn alone and without the need of a hauberk. Advances in metal working such as the blast furnace and new techniques for carburizing made plate armour nearly impenetrable and the best armour protection available at the time. Although plate armour was fairly heavy, because each suit was custom tailored to the wearer, it was very easy to move around in. A full suit of plate armour was extremely expensive and mostly unattainable for the majority of soldiers. Only very wealthy land owners and nobility could afford it. The quality of plate armour increases as more armour makers became more proficient in metal working. A suit of plate armour became a symbol of social status and the best made were personalized with embellishments and engravings. Plate armour saw continued use in battle until the 17th century.

Plate armour covered the entire body. Although parts of the body were already covered in plate armour as early as 1250, such as the Poleyns for covering the knees and Couters - plates that protected the elbows, the first complete full suit without any textiles was seen around 1410-1430. Components of medieval armour that made up a full suit consisted of a cuirass, a gorget, vambraces, gauntlets, cuisses, greaves, and sabatons held together by internal leather straps. Improved weaponry such as crossbows and the long bow had greatly increased range and power. This made penetration of the chain mail hauberk much easier and more common. By the mid 1400's most plate was worn alone and without the need of a hauberk. Advances in metal working such as the blast furnace and new techniques for carburizing made plate armour nearly impenetrable and the best armour protection available at the time. Although plate armour was fairly heavy, because each suit was custom tailored to the wearer, it was very easy to move around in. A full suit of plate armour was extremely expensive and mostly unattainable for the majority of soldiers. Only very wealthy land owners and nobility could afford it. The quality of plate armour increases as more armour makers became more proficient in metal working. A suit of plate armour became a symbol of social status and the best made were personalized with embellishments and engravings. Plate armour was used in battle until the 17th century.

Sources Medieval technology
Sources for expanding the armour section

Arms and Armour of Late medieval Europe Woosnam-Savage, Robert S.    On Order at M S&T library

European Arms & Armour Ashdown, Charles Henry   3rd floor Library U820 .A8

Arms & Armour Journal of the Royal Armories Trustees of the Royal Armories       U799 .A745

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Components_of_medieval_armour   This has no citation but is a useful list of components