Medieval inventions
56 inventions and discoveries: year, what it is, what it evolved from and what it led to.
How the inventions are connected
| Year | Invention | What it is | Evolved from | Led to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 600 | Porcelain | Fine ceramics made from kaolin (China; Meissen in 1708). | ||
| 600 | Quill pen | A pen made from a bird’s flight feather. | Steel nib | |
| 600 | Kaolin | A white clay for porcelain. | ||
| 600 | Chess | A strategy board game. | ||
| 628 | Zero | The number zero and positional notation (Brahmagupta). | ||
| 672 | Greek fire Callinicus of Heliopolis | The incendiary mixture of the Byzantine fleet. | ||
| 800 | Fireworks | Pyrotechnics based on gunpowder. | Rocket | |
| 800 | Sulfuric acid | The most important product of the chemical industry. | ||
| 800 | Keel | The longitudinal beam of a ship’s bottom. | ||
| 800 | Distillation Zosimos of Panopolis | Separating liquids by their boiling points. | ||
| 800 | Crop rotation | Alternating crops to preserve fertility (three-field system, Norfolk system). | Mineral fertilizer | |
| 800 | Alembic | An apparatus for distillation (Jabir). | ||
| 820 | Algorithm | A finite sequence of steps; named after al-Khwarizmi. | ||
| 850 | Gunpowder Berthold Schwarz | A mixture of saltpetre, sulfur and charcoal. | Dynamite, Smokeless powder | |
| 850 | Pinned cylinder | A cylinder with pins — the carrier of the “program” of musical automata (described by the Banū Mūsā brothers). | Bouchon’s loom | |
| 900 | Windmill | A mill driven by the wind. | Wind turbine | |
| 900 | Playing cards | Cards printed by woodblock. | ||
| 950 | Fire lance | A tube of gunpowder on a spear — the ancestor of firearms. | Spear | Hand cannon |
| 984 | Canal lock | A chamber with gates for moving ships between water levels. | ||
| 1000 | Paper money | Jiaozi — the first paper money (China). | Coin | Payment card |
| 1000 | Fork | A piece of cutlery with tines. | ||
| 1000 | Spinning wheel | A wheel for spinning thread. | Spindle | Spinning jenny |
| 1000 | Grenade | A hand-thrown explosive projectile. | ||
| 1025 | Music notation | The staff (Guido of Arezzo). | ||
| 1040 | Movable type | Individual characters that are assembled into text and reused. In China — Bi Sheng; in Europe, metal type — Gutenberg. | Woodblock printing | Linotype |
| 1100 | Compass | A magnetic needle that points north. | South-pointing spoon (Chinese compass) | Gyrocompass |
| 1144 | Gothic cathedral | A skeletal stone building with flying buttresses. | ||
| 1150 | Blast furnace | A shaft furnace for smelting pig iron. | Bloomery | |
| 1163 | Flying buttress | An external arch that carries the thrust of a vault (Gothic). | ||
| 1200 | Chimney | A flue that carries smoke away by draught. | ||
| 1200 | Camshaft | A shaft with cams that drives valves or hammers. | ||
| 1200 | Sawmill | Mechanical sawing of logs. | Hierapolis sawmill | |
| 1206 | Crank | A lever on an axle that turns reciprocating motion into rotation and back. Described by al-Jazari. | Starter motor | |
| 1232 | Rocket | A vehicle driven by jet thrust; gunpowder rockets came from China. | Fireworks | Liquid-propellant rocket engine, Solid rocket motor, Guided missile |
| 1250 | Magnifying glass Ibn al-Haytham | A magnifying lens. | Glasses, Microscope | |
| 1277 | Landmine | An explosive device. | ||
| 1280 | Lens | A transparent body that focuses light by refraction. | ||
| 1286 | Glasses | Lenses for correcting vision (Italy). | Magnifying glass | Sunglasses, Contact lens, Telescope, Microscope |
| 1286 | Spectacle frame | A holder for lenses. | ||
| 1288 | Hand cannon | An early hand-held gunpowder gun. | Fire lance | Cannon, Musket |
| 1300 | Mechanical clock | A clock with a weight or spring, an escapement and a gear train. | Water clock (clepsydra) | Pendulum clock, Quartz clock |
| 1300 | Escapement | A mechanism that releases the stored energy in small portions and sets the pace of a clock. | ||
| 1300 | Tower clock | A clock on a tower. | ||
| 1300 | Hourglass | Measuring time with pouring sand. | ||
| 1300 | Hook and eye | A fastener. | Zip | |
| 1300 | Litmus | An acidity indicator. | pH meter | |
| 1326 | Cannon | A firearm artillery piece. | Hand cannon | |
| 1342 | Jacob’s staff Яков бен-Махир ибн-Тиббон, Gersonides | A navigational angle gauge. | Davis quadrant | |
| 1370 | Perfume | A solution of aromatic substances in alcohol. | ||
| 1400 | Spring | An elastic element that stores mechanical energy. | ||
| 1400 | Plate armour | Armour made of steel plates. | Chain mail | Armour |
| 1400 | Balance wheel | An oscillating wheel with a hairspring — the “pendulum” of portable timepieces. | ||
| 1400 | Anchor windlass | A ship’s winch for raising the anchor. | ||
| 1400 | Harpsichord | A plucked keyboard instrument. | Piano | |
| 1400 | Bolt and nut | A threaded fastening. | ||
| 1400 | Gunpowder mill | Producing gunpowder. |