SUMMARY OF SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES THROUGH THE 13TH CENTURY

What remained of Greek science in Europe was buried in the libraries of Constantinople and even that suffered in the sack of 1204. Some of the Greek science had migrated through Syria into Islam in the 9th century and stirred Moslem thought to one of the most remarkable cultural awakenings in history while Christian Europe struggled to lift itself out of barbarism and superstition. Thus, science and philosophy in the medieval West had to grow up in an atmosphere of myth, legend, miracles, omens, demons, prodigies, magic, astrology, divination and sorcery. Thousands of sick or timid people believed themselves to be possessed by devils. The prayers, formulas and ceremonies of exorcism, used by the Church, may have been intended as psychological medicine to calm these superstitious minds. (Ref. 49)

Sumerian mathematics, born of forgotten parentage, had descended through Babylonia to Greece; Egyptian geometry, still visible in the pyramids, had passed perhaps through Crete and Rhodes to lonia and Greece; Greek mathematics had gone to India in the wake of Alexander and had played a part in the Hindu development that culminated in Brahmagupta (see page 422). About A.D. 775 translations were made of Hindu mathematicians and soon afterward of Greek mathematicians, into Arabic. About A.D. 830 the Hindu numerals entered eastern Islam; and about A.D. 1000 Gerbert brought them to France. In the 11th and 12th centuries Greek, Arabic and Hebrew mathematics streamed into western Europe through Spain and Sicily and came with Italian merchants to Venice and Genoa, Amalfi and Pisa. Leonardo Fibonacci was born at Pisa in 1180 and was taught by a Moslem in Algeria. In 1202 he published the first European exposition of the Hindu numerals, the zero and the decimal system and applied algebra to the treatment of geometrical equations, thus initiating a rebirth of mathematics in western Europe. Original Moslem contributions were chiefly in the fields of mathematics, medicine, chemistry and optics.

The 12th century saw some awakening of the intellect in Christian Europe. Adelard of Bath, who had studied in many Moslem countries, wrote in that century: "Nothing is surer than reason" (1). But the more advanced contributions came in the next hundred years. The most scientific approach to biology in the Middle Ages was Frederick II's De arte venandi cum avibus, a 589 page treatise on the art of hunting with birds. Albert Magnus did the best work in botany, keeping exceedingly accurate records on the organic structure and physiology of plants and attempting the first classification. The most famous of all medieval scientific men, however, was Roger Bacon (1214-1294), whom we have mentioned previously on page 627. Except in optics and calendar reform, he made only negligible contributions to science itself, being chiefly a philosopher of the scientific method. He remained a strong supporter of the papacy in the hope of getting help from the popes, but they didn't support him. (Ref. 49)

1. As quoted by Durant (Ref. 49), page 1004 (REFERENCE)