Recommended Reading

Alchemic Notions ~ Global Medieval Science

                                                  Sophia, the personification of wisdom, teaching geometry.                                                                                         Image from an early 14th century manuscript of Euclid's Elementa,                                                   as translated by Abelard of Bath.  London. British Library. Burney 275, f.293

In the years between 400 ~ 1500 CE, the time period often referred to as the Medieval Period, peoples across the globe were already doing science. They were experimenting with the raw materials in their worlds to discover, analyze, create, and build in a quest to gain knowledge and to enhance their lives.  They did Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. They studied the atmosphere, the earth, the seas & rivers, rocks, animals, plants & the human body. While in some instances that scientific knowledge & discovery was not preserved and passed down to us, in many instances it was well documented in writing & extant artifacts. The books in the display, as well as the eBooks and Booth Special Collections books listed in this guide allow us a glimpse into the early science being done from East Asia - across to Europe.