The Science of the Early Middle Ages in the West

1988/06/01 Bandres Unanue, Luis Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Historia

Arab influence

Throughout the seventh century Islam became an empire. In this empire, to remind us, a complete and closed culture appeared that corresponded to its ethnic characteristics. However, in this culture externalities were important. Muslims accepted Jews and Christians (i.e., friends of the book) in high-level positions.

The Muslim empire managed to somehow unite the philosophical currents (including mystics) and the various sects existing in the conquered territories. However, some special attitudes remained as such and found in the taifa kingdoms an environment conducive to their development. The Kings of Zaragoza, Cordoba, Malaga and Seville tried to conquer the best lawyers and scientists without looking at their origin.

Against this situation the Islamic orthodoxy rose with the force of fanaticism and the Almoraters entered Morocco from the Sahara desert and from the High Atlas to fight against the bad religious beliefs accepted by certain principles. The strong attitude of these fanatical people caused the delay of that open and wide world. On the other hand, the peninsular Muslim viceroys called these almoravids to get rid of the danger of the crusaders and they were also these. Faced with this fact, many Jews migrated north, and as owners of a culture enriched by their contacts settled in France, Germany and Italy.

XII. By the mid-twentieth century, the civilization of the Almoravids had disappeared. Their descendants, the Almohads, made a political and religious reform, but finally adapted to the previous open environment they wanted to change. Therefore, XII. In the twentieth century a great step was taken forward, and as a reflection of this step, we have the impressive constructions made: The mosque of Giralda in Seville or Hassan in Rabat, for example. On the other hand, science, philosophy and art also achieved spectacular development.

In the Middle Ages the history of Western knowledge is based on the exploitation of Greek-Arabic knowledge. But to understand this basis well it is necessary to take into account the socio-economic environment. XI. In the 20th century a new era began. Because of population growth, agriculture expanded, cities developed, crusaders began and churches were made in Christian territory. Through them, schools would be increasingly important.

For his part, IX. From the 20th century, in the Islamic world a division of disciplines emerged: on the one hand, those related to religious orthodoxy, that is, law, history, the study of customs, language, etc. On the other hand, those who did not have that relationship, that is, they differentiated between natural sciences and mathematics. And so, especially in these second questions, when the dogmatic attitude disappeared, there was an opportunity for great development.

As we have already written before, the first point in Europe that shows a cosmopolitan attitude of science is Toledo. It understood science as a universal, generalist and purely humanistic reality, and therefore as a human being of any religion, race or language. In Toledo both Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Castilians, Aragonese, Navarros, French, English, Germans and slaves met, although we all carry forward knowledge.

XII. In the nineteenth century, from England they travel with the first naturalist of Western Europe (Adelardo de Bath) Roberto de Chester, Daniel de Morley and Alfredo de Sareshels. From Lotaringia, today Lorena, X and XI. For centuries, with great interest in Arabic astrology and science, Plato de Tivoli, Gerardo de Cremona, Aritipo de Catania, Salio de Padua and Juan de Brescia. Next to them are Errodolfo de Brujas, Enrique de Bate, Hermann de Caritia, Jaime de Anatolia or Hugo de Santallana, Sevillian archdeacon of Juan and Segovia.

Toledo thus became the nest of science throughout Europe. However, in most cases, and except for exceptions, the translations made in it were literary and their errors were due to the incorrect reading of the manuscript in Arabic and not to the difficulty of understanding the original manuscript. On the other hand, the difficult Arab technical words were expressed through an approximate Latin transliteration. This enriched the scientific vocabulary.

Figure, algorithm, algebra, zenit, nadir, etc. belong to this source. XII. If the books that returned at the beginning of the 20th century are chosen a little randomly, we will see that they are mathematical, astronomical and astrological. But from one hundred and forty, translators will deal mainly with philosophy. At the end of this century we can consider as summit the discovery of Libri naturalis of Aristotle.

Therefore, the Arabic school of Toledo and Frederick II of Hohenstafen in Italy. It can be taken as a bridge between what bloomed in a cut. With all his splendor in that court we find the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci. There is not much information about this Fibonacci: He was born in Pisa around 1170. His father was an official of the Pisana Republic and was sent as customs officer to Bugia, on the coast of Algeria.

He soon brought his son with him to study the ways of calculating the Arabs. Leonardo, after learning these methods of calculation, immersed himself in the depth of mathematics and returned to his homeland after several trips to obtain scientific information. Here he contacted the court of Frederick II of Hohenstanfen and became one of the great stars of that strange court.

The two most prolific works of this mathematician are the so-called Liber abbaci and Geometrica Practice. Next to them we have a letter to his master Flos, Liber quadratorum and Teodoro. As it usually happens at all stages of the transition, his work was not entirely new, but supposes what was discovered by previous Greeks and Arabs. The writing of the numbers used by the Arabs through the so-called "abacci apse", that is, introduced in the West that of the Indian figures.

In parallel, fractions, algebra to solve first and second degree equations, etc. brings. In the book practical geometry, indexes are offered for the calculation of surfaces of polygons and circles. Also for the calculation of volumes, among others. Fibonacci strived especially to collect, order and express in a programmed and simple way the mathematical wisdom that had reached him, and he did well.

While the court of Frederick II was at its peak, that is, in the first half of the thirteenth century, the school of Toledo knew a deep depression. But in the second half of the century it would blossom again with Alfonso X the Wise. Around this king, together with the Christians, a group of Jewish scholars met who, in addition to translations and adaptations that can be found in the Books of Astronomical Wisdom, made tables Alfonso. These are, of course, XI. They were based on Toledo tablets made in the 18th century and were first published in 1483, after being written in 1252 and having been used in manuscripts for three centuries.

General characteristics

The men who took care of the natural sciences during the Middle Ages found no friendship, neither social nor ecclesiastical, but obstacles in most cases. For his part, XIII. Until the nineteenth century they remained in the monasteries of science and wisdom. For centuries they will go out into society, but religious influence was very important. Therefore, the empirical teachings of nature in the name of theology were banned in universities and thought that the wisdom of nature could be expressed through religion.

However, XI. and XII. for centuries oriental science, chemistry and alchemy, astronomy and astrology, technique and magic, medicine and philosophy, etc. entered Europe. But in those years of introduction scientific and speculative aspects were largely mixed. Universities will have to come so that, after passing through their sieve, the real science will gradually pour and drip. In this way the confrontation between authorities was very important.

In astronomy, for example, against Aristotle's cosmology, based on the homocentric spheres of Eudoxio, the theory of Ptolemy's eccentrics and epicycles and finally the XIII is counterposed. In the eighteenth century an abrasion was opened in the authority of Aristotle, with the victory of the theory of Ptolemy through the works of Bernardo de Verdún and Errikardo de Middleton.

In this century new encyclopedias were written, such as that of Bartolomé de Inglaterra, that of Tomás de Cantimpre or that of Vicente de Beauvais, and although the level of intelligence and knowledge of the authors was not very good, they had their importance as a bridge, especially in the university world.

XIII. In the early 20th century the first centre of natural science began in Oxford. It was done through the impulse of Roberto Grosseteste. Grosseteste was from Suffolk, and after studying in Oxford and Paris, he went to England to teach at Oxford. When he became university chancellor, he was appointed bishop of Lincoln. In Grosseteste's view, the three-dimensionality of space is the function of light and its laws of action.

All natural causalities would be based on light energy, so any natural expression must be sustained by laws of optics; the cosmos is only the development proper to the principle of light and the corresponding laws can be expressed by simple models of geometry. Therefore, both Grossetest and his student Bacon, later as Galileo, thought that mathematics (and especially geometry) carried out the basic principles of natural philosophy.

Grossetest used a verification method and it can be accepted that somehow it started the deductive path. After observing the natural causes of a phenomenon, he rejected those contrary to logic or to the new observations made, reaching a conclusion. In this deductive way some have wanted to see the genesis of the experimental method, but according to the meaning we give today to this method, to say this seems excessive.

However, the greatest merit of Grosseteste is not that, but to start a school, that of Oxford. In this school, Bacon, Peckham, Duns Scoto and William of Ockham, among others, had a great influence on European science of the time.

The influence of the Greek spirit on that world must be taken into account in order to redirect things and understand them better. According to this spirit, the researchers had to worry about the great speculations and labor that the experiments needed (which we would say deductive today) was totally despicable and therefore it corresponded to the artisans and not to the superior researchers.

This position was in force in the XII. In the twentieth century it began to consolidate in Oxford. In it, based on mathematical and philosophical foundations, a new inductive and experimental method was initiated. XIII. Throughout the 20th century, Oxford reached great importance. There we will find Roger Bacon (+ 1294) with all his splendor. He said: Reasoning does not prove anything, everything corresponds to experience. Therefore, it has been accepted as the first modern science.

Roger Bacon became a Franciscan and burned all his heritage on the altar of science. Therefore and because of his experiments he had to collect mockery and fares from other students who were in Oxford. In addition, the order locked him in. For all this, he left his England to emigrate to France where Arab, Jewish and Christian culture were mixed. There, the idea of science based on mathematics, astrology, criticism of the Bible, and linguistics was very present and here also published the idea of the need for research into the nature of theology. Bacon dreamed of a general science that would change the world and cleanse Christianity.

Bacon's influence was typical of the Church's political structure. Due to the needs of the missionary Franciscans who penetrated the East, the Pope came up with the idea of investigating the world that was then known and was drawn by Bacon. This map shows the maritime route between Spain and India and was consulted by Columbus before making his discoveries. Fortunately, Bacon Clemente IV. He had the protection and support of the Pope and, by his order, the works of Bacon should not follow a heavy and slow hierarchical order.

Roger Bacon's works are found in his Letter to the Pope. Through them it was intended the renewal of the Church, the cleansing of science and, above all, the liberation of theology. In his opinion, the goal of science was to provide Christians with mental tools for their faith. In this sense, it is a preindicator of what is now known as dialectics. Contrary to violence, he strongly criticized the attitude of those fanatical soldiers who traveled to the crusades.

Roger Bacon's vision of the world is extremely interesting and it can be said that it comes from his Franciscan spirit: nature is only the instrument of God's plan and you can see how God carries out this plan in world history. Therefore he gave importance to astrology, since through it he could enter the world of prophecies. Actually, XII. In the 20th century Jewish and Arabic astrology was widespread throughout Western Europe.

Astrologers had made horoscopes of all religions, including that of the Christian. But Bacon's intention was different. He wanted, through the stars, to awaken the end of Islam, to give a novelty to the calendar. Therefore, as is normal in your work you can find some speculations. However, it must be said that it was a true science (and not somehow).

But in this period of research there was a new phenomenon in Western Europe closely related to science, that is, the creation of universities. To properly explain and analyze this phenomenon, we leave it for another.