Medieval Technology and Social Change

Oxford University Press first published Medieval Technology and Social Change in 1962. It discusses the technological advances during the medieval times and how these changes affected society. The book's author, Lynn White, Jr., was born in San Francisco in 1907. Educated at Stanford, Union Theological, and Princeton, White taught at Princeton and the University of California at Los Angeles. He was also president of Mills College in Oakland from the 1940s to the 1960s. His other works include Medieval Religion and Technology: Collected Essays, published in 1978 and Life & Work in Medieval Europe, the Evolution of Medieval Economy from the Fifth to the Fifteenth Century, published in 1982. White's work has been influential both in medieval history and the history of science.

In Medieval Technology and Social Change, White examines the role of technological innovation during the rise of social groups in the Middle Ages. White begins with the invention of the stirrup. He shows how this innovation, in turn, introduced heavy, long-range cavalry to the medieval battlefield. The development thus escalated small-scale conflict to "shock combat." Cannons and flame-throwers followed, as did m

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This caused the introduction of factories, which took the place of cottage industries. White is very clear on his theories and uses several examples to support them. It is now know that the actual date of this battle is 733.

Although the weaknesses in the book can not be ignored, they do not hinder the fascinating descriptions of the medieval times. This line is footnoted, however, but no translation can be found there either.

Like most works of literature, Medieval Technology and Social Change has both strengths and weaknesses. His theme of the effect technology is laid out through his discussion of the stirrup, the plow, and factories. He pays close attention to aspects of medieval life that many other scholars had previously disregarded. White dismisses the Saracen threat by pointing out that Brunner mistakenly thought the battle of Poitiers took place in 732. Brunner tied together evidence about the growth of cavalry forces and the confiscation of Church lands, to show that, between the battle of Poitiers in 733 and the battle of the Dyle in 891, the Franks changed their military forces. If he does not own a Latin to English dictionary, he is at a loss to comprehend what White was attempting to explain. Although White's work falls short in a few areas, it is valuable for the attention that it pays to aspects of medieval history that too often go ignored

White's work is important because he advocates the importance of science and technology to medieval history. White then ventures into the slow collapse of feudalism, coming about with the development of machines and tools. Perhaps White was only writing to scholars, who are capable of understanding Latin, French, or the other languages used, but the lack of translation is quite frustrating to the common man. Many of the dates can be put into question, shaking the stability of White's ideas.

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Approximate Word count = 1185
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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