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The Pros And Cons Of Medieval Society

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The Medieval world has a certain connotation to its meaning. People throughout time have found the era synonymous with negativity. It has often been referenced to as the middle or dark ages lending people the view of a world with little to no progress along human advancement. We often paint the picture of medieval Europe with kings, queens, lords and peasants. We also immediately thing of the bubonic plague that wiped out almost a third of the European population at the time. However, there are three sides to every story. One sides describes the negative outlook with no human progress, the other, a glorification of royalty and knights which is often misconstrued. Finally, there is the truthful side. This is the side Jean Gimpel discusses …show more content…

Jean Gimpel notes that not only rivers were used but oceans as well. Tidal water wheels were also used however the change in tidal height meant it was less reliable at points and more difficult to fully engage. Wind power was also used to. Large windmills could be used to harness the bower of strong gusts of wind. Human labor could be used to create clothes for clothing as well as paper for writers, royalty and religious institutions. The Medieval society was able to be fully mechanized with water power behind its economy. May other regions still were seemingly stuck in a classical era. Mainly ones around the Mediterranean where most shared one thing in common, slave labor. Not much was offered by harnessing the power of water as geographical, technological and ideological reasons prevented such advancements. Jean Gimpel also discusses technology that allowed Europeans to cultivate food in mass numbers. Jean Gimpel believes this technology sparked an agricultural revolution as well. Modern Harnesses to use horses to plow fields, which was found to be much more effective than oxen, temporary field fallowing, advance plows. Agricultural advancements allowed higher food production. Throughout history, when food production rises so does human population. Another huge factor that many people do not realize is the vast amount of mining in Europe. Mainly stone quarrying and

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