# Medieval technology. What are they?



## ViKtoricus (Oct 10, 2013)

I'd like to write a fantasy fiction book set in a medieval setting. But I want to know more about medieval-era technology. My questions (and more):

* How do people cook?
* How do people make smithing shops? I know they hammer away metals to make swords, but how do they make the stuff they use to make swords?
* How's the reading? Is it by scroll or by book?


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## Cran (Oct 10, 2013)

ViKtoricus said:


> I'd like to write a fantasy fiction book set in a medieval setting. But I want to know more about medieval-era technology.


OK, the Middle Ages covers about 1000 years, from the 5th to the 15th Centuries AD (or CE). Technology varied across civilisations and centuries, so you might want to narrow your search down a bit.



> My questions (and more):
> 
> * How do people cook?


Again, the fine details vary according to where and when, but in general they cooked using some form of solid fuel fire; mostly wood or charcoal where available, otherwise dried peat or dung, rarely coal. Liquid fuels (oils, alcohols) may have been used in special situations; gases less so.


> * How do people make smithing shops? I know they hammer away metals to make swords, but how do they make the stuff they use to make swords?


If you mean the tools, they were mostly cast, and commonly cast iron - that means that molten metal was poured into a cast or mold and allowed to cool. Early casts were commonly made in sand (silica) or raw clay (aluminosilicates) or soaked raw wood; sometimes the by-products (glass, baked clays, and charcoal, respectively) found other uses.


> * How's the reading? Is it by scroll or by book?


Both. Again, depending on where and when, one form might be used more than the other, but both existed in most civilisations throughout the Middle Ages. The ability to read tended to be limited to various elites rather than a common skill.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 10, 2013)

Thank you! This will greatly help.


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## shadowwalker (Oct 11, 2013)

When I used to ask my mother what a word meant, she always replied, "Did you look in the dictionary?". 

This is where you learn another of the vital tools of a writer - learning to do [your own] research.


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## Outiboros (Oct 11, 2013)

ViKtoricus said:


> I'd like to write a fantasy fiction book set in a medieval setting. But I want to know more about medieval-era technology. My questions (and more):
> 
> * How do people cook?
> * How do people make smithing shops? I know they hammer away metals to make swords, but how do they make the stuff they use to make swords?
> * How's the reading? Is it by scroll or by book?


These questions can't be answered. 
The Middle Ages covered 1000 years, as said earlier, and the time period is mostly used in regard to Europe and its closest regions. There were hundreds, thousands of different civilisations in this period and this area. They didn't all cook the same way; they didn't all smith the same wa; some of them had books, some scrolls, some neither and some both.
If I were you I'd first narrow down your period and area - by picking a civilisation to base your story on - and then do your research yourself. If you'd ask questions here you'd miss all the little details that make a good story great.
Also, making swords is much, much more complicated than 'hammering away metals'. Sure, there were cheap, cast-iron swords, no doubt about it - but for a proper sword the forging was a multi-stage process that took weeks and weeks. There are technologies related to the craft that have been forgotten through time, even.


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## The Tourist (Oct 11, 2013)

Outiboros said:


> There are technologies related to the craft that have been forgotten through time, even.



Oy, tell me about it.  My wife has purchased Japanese history books for me and cross references for period icons.  Just learning a rudimentary knowledge of polishing hammered and folded steel took me a decade.

Now I understand what I do not understand.

This is a topic where you have to ask just how deep does the author wishes to delve for realism.


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## Outiboros (Oct 11, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> Oy, tell me about it.  My wife has purchased Japanese history books for me and cross references for period icons.  Just learning a rudimentary knowledge of polishing hammered and folded steel took me a decade.
> 
> Now I understand what I do not understand.
> 
> This is a topic where you have to ask just how deep does the author wishes to delve for realism.


Yes, exactly. My advice would be not to go too deep. You'll get bogged up. Make swordsmithing a black box - raw metals go in on one side, hard work is applied, and swords come out on the other side.


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## The Tourist (Oct 11, 2013)

Outiboros said:


> Make swordsmithing a black box - raw metals go in on one side, hard work is applied, and swords come out on the other side.



I was a member of a knife forum years ago and we used to refer to katana topics as BLMBRM.  It stood for "bent little man, bucket of red mud."  The best Samurai swords were made from iron deposits along this one expanse of a river.  A little wizened togishi took a bucket, scooped up mud, and kept reducing it until he got enough material for a sword.

Supposedly this expanse still exists and mining is now tightly controlled.

My point is that I just got bored typing this out--and I like this stuff.  But then, in "Kill Bill," fictitious sword maker Hattori Hanzo (the real guy was a Samurai, not a sword maker) built the best katana the world had ever seen in 30 days, saya and all.


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## Outiboros (Oct 11, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> I was a member of a knife forum years ago and we used to refer to katana topics as BLMBRM.  It stood for "bent little man, bucket of red mud."  The best Samurai swords were made from iron deposits along this one expanse of a river.  A little wizened togishi took a bucket, scooped up mud, and kept reducing it until he got enough material for a sword.
> 
> Supposedly this expanse still exists and mining is now tightly controlled.
> 
> My point is that I just got bored typing this out--and I like this stuff.  But then, in "Kill Bill," fictitious sword maker Hattori Hanzo (the real guy was a Samurai, not a sword maker) built the best katana the world had ever seen in 30 days, saya and all.


Well, he wouldn't have had to go mucking about with buckets. He'd have more than enough iron. And it wasn't the least realistic part of Kill Bill, in any case...


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## The Tourist (Oct 11, 2013)

Outiboros said:


> Well, he wouldn't have had to go mucking about with buckets. He'd have more than enough iron. And it wasn't the least realistic part of Kill Bill, in any case...



LOL.  I was speaking of the katanas only.  Not the rock music, 2/3s of the plot, the muscle atrophy from four years unconscious in a hospital bed, or a close range shotgun battle inside the confines of a hotel room.

Cutting the baseball in two is not that hard a trick, though.


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## john123 (Oct 13, 2013)

Its a very interesting period to write about. However because of the length and complexity of the time period, i would recommend doing extensive independent research on the subject, not just requesting info though the forum. Ospery publishing offers extensive information on the military side of medieval society, while the epic poems Beowulf and king arthur offer large amounts of info on broad social views customs and beliefs. Finally jeffery Chaucer's Canterbury Tales provides extensive information on day to day life for the average person. Anyway hope this helps.


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## Morkonan (Oct 14, 2013)

ViKtoricus said:


> I'd like to write a fantasy fiction book set in a medieval setting. But I want to know more about medieval-era technology. My questions (and more):
> 
> * How do people cook?
> * How do people make smithing shops? I know they hammer away metals to make swords, but how do they make the stuff they use to make swords?
> * How's the reading? Is it by scroll or by book?



A good book to read is "Life in a Medieval City" by Joseph and Frances Gies. They've written a couple of books on the subject of life in Medieval times. (And others, IIRC. I've enjoyed them.)

Cooking: 

Cooking, in a large way, depends on what sorts of facilities you have access to and what sorts of foods you can afford as well as the season of the year. For Commoners, it wasn't uncommon for them to have a sort of continually simmering pot of "soup" of sorts, sitting over a fire. Whatever you had, within reason, went into the pot. For others, all they may have been able to afford was a sort of gruely mush made with grains, supplemented by a caught fish every once-in-awhile, if they were lucky. Fish was a very common staple food since other meats were rare for most folk. The wealthy, of course, fared better, and could afford to host lavish dinners every evening. In fact, it was sort of the socially appropriate thing to do - Rich people were expected to have lavish dinners. There's also the variable of "Place", as well - Life may have been slightly different in concerning foodstuffs and preparations, depending on the region in which you lived. Seasons also greatly effected the sorts of foodstuffs available as there were few ways beyond pickling and smoking that could be used to preserve foods.

(Note: Interestingly enough, a great many of our present-day, Western, "Rules of Etiquette" involving eating evolved from this period in history. It's much the same in other cultures, as well. Each had their own influential periods in history that continue to have an impact on their culture, today. For instance, it is considered polite, today, to wipe your mouth before you drink from your glass. That's because in Medieval times you would probably be sharing a cup with someone, either family or guests.)

Smithing:

A smith could make most of what they needed, except an iron anvil (Probably). Metal anvils were highly prized, difficult pieces of work (IIRC - However, anvils did not have to be made from metal. It depends on what you're working with. For instance, certain sorts of stone would be suitable for some work, but not likely if you're working on a steel sword.) A smith may employ a tanner to make the bellows (or bellows material) and a stone-mason to help with the fire-pit, I suppose. But, most of it is pretty simple stuff, before the advent of blast furnaces. (A smithy with a bellows and furnace arrangement would have been necessary to make quality steel. A regular fire does not get hot enough.) A smith may have employed the help of a Carpenter, for some things he couldn't make himself. (All these connections would serve the smith well, once his shop got running, so it may be likely that other craftsman would help the smith, eagerly, in expectations of returned favors once his shop was operating.) Coal, of course, would have either been purchased from a coal mine or from charcoalers, who made charcoal from wood. Charcoal pits would have been located near the forest, of course. Ore or iron rod-stock would have been purchased from a merchant/mine. Most of what a blacksmith makes, like horshoes, nails and such, starts off as a simple iron rod. (Square, not the modern round extruded stuff.) They're also easier to work than something like a large brick as well as being easy to ship. (And, easier to measure out for a project, too, I'd imagine.)

Books:

There were books in Medieval times. But, they were expensive. There a many famous "Illuminated" manuscripts from the Medieval period. All were hand-copied, of course, mostly by dedicated monks. Manuscripts done in such fashion were often artfully embellished by the scribe who copied them. Face it - If all you have to do with yourself is pray eight times a day, eat sparingly, and copy books, you'll take whatever opportunities you have for personal creativity. Some of these works are very beautiful, btw. 


You might like this website: http://www.middle-ages.org.uk


Edit-Add - I just wanted to emphasize that this is from a European perspective, btw. As others have noted, customs and habits would have differed greatly, depending upon the region. Also, I'm no Historian, so you need to verify the voracity of my vociferations...


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## pointystar (Jan 26, 2014)

Depends on the area and time of middle ages. Italy in the 14th century was experiencing the Renaissance, while Russia was having internal wars and kicking out the Mongols. The Iberian peninsula was occupied by the Moors, and much of Central Europe had no contact with each other and minimal trade.


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## dvspec (Apr 7, 2014)

Check to see if you have a Society for Creative Anachronism in your area or look on line.  

They reproduce stuff from the middle ages and do research papers on a variety of subjects from that time period.  It is part of the culture to pass on the knowledge to others and they get rewarded for doing it.

Good luck.


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