Books on Technology & Miscellaneous Subjects

Agricola, Georgius
De re Metallica
New York: Dover Publications, 1950.
xxxi, 638 pp. ISBN: 0486600068

A translation of an 1556 work on mining and metallurgy by Herbert Hoover (who was a mining engineer before he became President) and his wife Lou. The amount of woodworking information is minimal (although there are some good engravings of wheelbarrows and other mining equipment) but the book is still useful for determining what was state of the art in 16^th Century metallurgy. It is interesting to compare this work with that of Biringuccio (q.v.) to see the differences between German and Italian practices of the period.

Andrews, Francis B.
The Medieval Builder and His Methods.
New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973.
A general work on medieval construction. Has a short chapter on tools.

Biringuccio, Vannoccio.
The Pirotechnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio: the Classic sixteenth cethury treatise on metals and metallurgy / translated from the Italian with an introduction and notes by Cyril Stanley Smith and Martha Teach Gnudi
xxvi, 477 pp. ISBN: 0486261344 LoC: TN664.B5713

Biringuccio covers the smelting, alloying, and casting of numerous metals and other substances (e.g. quicksilver, sulphur, etc.). Utterly nothing on woodworking, but useful for the technological background of the Sixteenth Century and getting an idea of what was involved in producing iron and steel tools.

Blair & Ramsey.
English Medieval Industries.
London: Hambledon Press. 1991.
ISBN: 1852853263

Good background on a variety of medieval English industries, including timber use and production. Recently re-issued in paperback.

Clason, W. E.
Elsevier's dictionary of tools and ironware: in six languages, English/American, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and German.
New York: Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co., 1982.
297 pp.

Just what the title says. Invaluable for translating technical terms.

Daumas, Maurice, ed.
A History of Technology & Invention.
New York: Crown Publishers, 1970.
ISBN: none LoC: T15.D2613

I'm rather dubious about this one. It seems mostly OK but I've found several pretty egregious errors, particularly in the section on medieval joinery. In fairness, some of this could be the fault of the translator but the presence of errors in areas I'm familiar with leads me to distrust it in other areas.

Gies, Frances and Joseph Gies.
Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages
New York: Harper Collins, 1994
357 p. ISBN: 0060925817

Aimed at the general reader, the Gies' have produced another in their series of well researched and readable books. Probably the single best book on medieval technology available. Anything else by the Gies' is worth reading too.

Gimpel, Jean.
The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages.
London: Pimlico, 1992.
2nd ed. 294 p. ISBN: 0140045147

A good survey of Medieval technology, although Gimpel probably overstates the impact of industrial processes on society.

Long, Pamela O., Ed.
Science and Technology in Medieval Society.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, v. 441
New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1985
224 p. ISBN: 0897662776

A collection of articles covering various aspects of medieval science and technology. Perhaps the most useful is an article on the uses of water power in a rather isolated area of 15th Century Italy.

Mabille, Gérard.
Menuiserie Ébénisterie.
Paris: Massin, 1995.
ISBN: 2707202630

In French. A short work on the history of cabinet making. The most useful parts are where the author dicusses the history of various techniques.

McGrail, Sean, ed.
Woodworking Techniques before A.D. 1500: Papers presented to a Symposium at Greenwich in September, 1980, together with edited discussion.
Oxford, England: B.A.R., 1982.
394 p. : ill., maps ; 30 cm. Includes bibliographies.
BAR international series 129 Archaeological series / National Maritime Museum, Greenwich ; no. 7.
ISBN: 0860541592

This is an extremely important set of papers that I have been trying to find for years. Rather than try and summarize the whole book, I am going to deal with each of the papers individually. I don't plan to spend much time on the non-Medieval papers, since they're not an area I'm particularly interested in.

Table of Contents:

Multi-Period

1. Ancient woodworking techniques: the implications for archaeology- J.M. Coles.

The introductory paper for the conference, focusing on the need for better recording and description of wooden finds.

2. Recording timberwork on the London waterfront - Gustav Milne.

A description of the methods used to describe the Roman, Saxon, and Medieval timber revetments found on the London waterfront. The most interesting parts are the sample descriptions and drawings of remains that illustrate the construction techniques used.

3. Boatbuilding techniques, technological change, and attribute analysis - Sean McGrail and Geoffery Denford.

While the focus of this paper is on recording and analyzing boatbuilding techniques, there is a wealth of information here on themselves techniques ranging from the prehistoric to the medieval.

Prehistoric

4. Prehistoric woodlands and woodworking in the Somerset Levels - B.J. Orme.

A description of the prehistoric trackways of the Somerset Levels and the techniques used to build them.

5. The Wood Age? The significance of wood usage in pre-Iron Age north western Europe - S.V.E. Heal

A brief survey of wooden artifacts from prehistoric Europe followed by an examination of the techniques used in prehistory to convert wood from raw material to usable form. The author also delves briefly into the use of different woods for distinct purposes.

6. The Architectural woodwork of the Late Bronze Age village Auvernier-Nord - Beat Arnold

An examination of the construction of a Bronze Age lake village in Switzerland.

7. The Donnerupland Ard - Peter J. Reynolds

The reconstruction of an Iron Age plow and the results of experimental plowing. The plow being studied is similar to early Medieval plows and the results might be interesting to those studying early medieval agriculture.

Roman

8. Roman carpentry joints: adoption and adaptation - Jane Weeks

A survey of the joints found in surviving Roman remains, focusing on waterlogged finds such as wells and waterfront revetments. There is also a brief discussion of Roman carpentry techniques and tools.

9. Roman military timber buildings: construction and reconstruction - W.S. Hansen

An examination of the different timber buildings used by the Roman military in the northern provinces. There is not much on specific construction techniques since the author concentrates on the gross forms of the buildings.

10. Roman vehicle construction in the north-west Provinces - Hugh Chapman

An examination of the available material on Roman vehicles. The majority of the information presented is from artistic and literary sources since the finds material is extremely limited.

Mokyr, Joel.
The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
349 p. ISBN: 0195074777

A general survey of technological history with an emphasis on economics. Good coverage of medieval and renaissance Europe.

Singer, Charles, ed.
History of Technology.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954.

A five volume set that covers the history of technology in great detail. Volumes 2 and 3 cover the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Detailed coverage of many different industries and trades.

Tylecote, R.F. and B.J.J. Gilmour.
The Metallography of Early Ferrous Edge Tools and Edged Weapons.
Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1986.
246 pp. ISBN: 086054401X BAR British Series 155

Metallurgical analyses of several ancient and medieval tools and weapons.

White, Lynn.
Medieval Technology and Social Change.
London: Oxford University Press, 1962
294 p. ISBN: 0195002660

One of the first works on medieval technology. Still useful, although some of White's theories (such as the stirrup causing the rise of feudalism) are now discounted.