Audiobook11 hours
The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
An illuminating guide to the scientific and technological achievements of the Middle Ages through the life of a crusading astronomer-monk.
Soaring Gothic cathedrals, violent crusades, the Black Death: these are the dramatic forces that shaped the medieval era. But the so-called Dark Ages also gave us the first universities, eyeglasses, and mechanical clocks. As medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons to the stars in the sky, they came to develop a vibrant scientific culture.
In The Light Ages, Cambridge science historian Seb Falk takes us on a tour of medieval science through the eyes of one fourteenth-century monk, John of Westwyk. Born in a rural manor, educated in England's grandest monastery, and then exiled to a clifftop priory, Westwyk was an intrepid crusader, inventor, and astrologer. From multiplying Roman numerals to navigating by the stars, curing disease, and telling time with an ancient astrolabe, we learn emerging science alongside Westwyk and travel with him through the length and breadth of England and beyond its shores. On our way, we encounter a remarkable cast of characters: the clock-building English abbot with leprosy, the French craftsman-turned-spy, and the Persian polymath who founded the world's most advanced observatory.
Soaring Gothic cathedrals, violent crusades, the Black Death: these are the dramatic forces that shaped the medieval era. But the so-called Dark Ages also gave us the first universities, eyeglasses, and mechanical clocks. As medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons to the stars in the sky, they came to develop a vibrant scientific culture.
In The Light Ages, Cambridge science historian Seb Falk takes us on a tour of medieval science through the eyes of one fourteenth-century monk, John of Westwyk. Born in a rural manor, educated in England's grandest monastery, and then exiled to a clifftop priory, Westwyk was an intrepid crusader, inventor, and astrologer. From multiplying Roman numerals to navigating by the stars, curing disease, and telling time with an ancient astrolabe, we learn emerging science alongside Westwyk and travel with him through the length and breadth of England and beyond its shores. On our way, we encounter a remarkable cast of characters: the clock-building English abbot with leprosy, the French craftsman-turned-spy, and the Persian polymath who founded the world's most advanced observatory.
Related to The Light Ages
Related audiobooks
The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Empire: A New History of the World: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Civilizations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Anglo-Saxon World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Emperor: A New Life of Charles V Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picts: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ancient Celts: Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Life in a Medieval Village Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life in a Medieval City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chaucer's People: Everyday Lives in Medieval England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hadrian's Wall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The English and Their History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of A.D. 800 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Science & Mathematics For You
Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thinking in Systems: A Primer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gene: An Intimate History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Time Travel: The Secrets Behind Time Machines, Time Loops, Alternate Realities, and More! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Light Ages
Rating: 4.111111111111111 out of 5 stars
4/5
9 ratings0 reviews