Stephen Ressler, PE

TODAY’S MEDIEVAL TECHNOLOGY TIDBIT – Waterpower was invented in antiquity, but it advanced to substantially higher levels of technological sophistication during the Middle Ages. Three different types of waterwheels—horizontal, undershot and overshot—offered three distinctly different combinations of cost, power output, and site suitability. A typical medieval waterpower installation included a waterwheel, milling equipment (housed within a building); a dam, millpond, sluice gate, and headrace to supply a controlled quantity of water to the wheel; and tailrace to carry it away.
Learn more in Lecture 5 of my new course, “Understanding the Marvels of Medieval Technology,” produced by The Great Courses.
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/understanding-the-marvels-of-medieval-technology

After two and a half years of research, writing, 3D-modeling, building, teaching, and post-production work, I’m excited to announce that my new The Great Courses lecture series—“Understanding the Marvels of Medieval Technology"—has just been released. In this course, you’ll learn about castles, cathedrals, catapults, cogs, carracks, clocks, cannons, camshafts, cranks, and quite a few technologies that don’t start with the letter “C”—all from an engineering perspective. Check it out at https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/understanding-the-marvels-of-medieval-technology