Medieval Timeline

Medieval European scholars create maps which reflect their religious beliefs of the universe.

Europe is transitioning from the Roman Empire into the rebirth.

The compass comes from China to Europe. A compass is an instrument used for determining directions, as by means of a freely rotating magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north. Before the compass, sea and land explorers had to use the sun, wind, and stars as guides. This is important because it made mapping easier, which in turn increased trade.

Roger Bacon writes about the need to understand the physical reality of the world as the first step in understanding its challenges, which includes defeating the mongols. He is assigned by Pope Clement in 1266 to find out about the threat of Gog and Magog. He maps out a map of the world using longitude and latitude

Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner traveled on the Silk Road. He excelled all the other travelers in his determination, his writing, and his influence. His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He reached further than any of his predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. He became a confidant of Kublai Khan (1214-1294). He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became the greatest travelogue.

The medieval cosmos has the earth at its center, surrounded by the spheres of water, air, fire, the moon, the sun, the planets, and the firmatent. Paris put earth at the center of the universe.

Byzantine scholar, Planudes, finds a copy of Ptolemy's "Geography". Planudes uses Ptolemy's calculations of latitude and longitude of places and recreates his maps.

Byzantine scholar, Chrysoloras, who fled Florence to teach Greek, brings a copy of Planudes' work with him.

Causes many scholars to look for a new home

A caravel is a light sailing ship that that was developed by the Portuguese in the late 1400's, and was used for the next 300 years. The caravel was an improvement on older ships because it could sail very fast and also sail well into the wind. The Caravel is important because it increased sea trade.