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Category Archives: medieval technology
DRAKEMASTER! Forthcoming historical fantasy
I am thrilled to share the cover and concept for my next historical fantasy novel. Set in China during the Mongol invasions, DRAKEMASTER brings together an unexpected team of rivals to find a mechanical wonder based on Su Song’s astronomical … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, fiction, history, medieval, medieval technology, Mongolia, Uncategorized
Tagged fantasy, fiction, history, medieval
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Elisha Mancer Launch Day! With footnotes. . .
Elisha Mancer, Book 4 of The Dark Apostle, is now available in bookstores everywhere! And you can find sample chapters for this, and all of the books in the series, at TheDarkApostle.com When you love it, you can click through … Continue reading
Medieval Technology: the crane
One of the niftiest things I saw in Germany while I was doing research for Elisha Mancer were the Kranen of Trier–the medieval cranes used to unload boats on the nearby Mosel River. I was fascinated by these curious round … Continue reading
God’s Clockmakers: factors in the early development of time-keeping technology
A few weeks ago, when I wrote about the medieval engineers of Islam, I promised a more general view of the role of religion in the development of clocks. The association goes way back. If you think about it, this … Continue reading
Posted in England, medieval, medieval technology
Tagged clepsydra, clockmaking, clocks, history of clocks, medieval clocks, su Song, water clock
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The Medieval Engineers of Islam
Many of my historical projects have delved into the technology of the Middle Ages, and it’s a topic I enjoy researching. I am always discovering cool things–sometimes things I’m not, alas, in a position to use. One fantastic example is … Continue reading
Posted in history, medieval, medieval technology, technology
Tagged al Jazari, Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Devices, historical technology, history, history of technology, inventions, Islam, Islamic engineering, Islamic technology, medieval engineering, medieval history, medieval Islam, medieval technology, Muslim engineer, Religion
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Developing Fictional Worlds: The Nits are All you Have
As you may know, my most popular blog entry (still) is the one entitled Bilbo Baggins’ Bathrobe: A Example of Poor World-building. Every month or two, someone new discovers this post and feels they must take me to task for … Continue reading
Posted in essays, fantasy, fiction, history, medieval technology, research, Uncategorized, worldbuilding, writing
Tagged fantasy fiction, world-building, worldbuilding, writing
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Ancient Aliens vs. Good, Hard Work
While recovering from recent illness and exhaustion (and under duress by another family member) I wound up watching a couple of episodes of a program designed to convince us that many of the great ancient monuments of the world were … Continue reading
Posted in essays, history, medieval technology, technology
Tagged ancient aliens, Egypt, Egyptians, manual labor, maya temples, pyramid building, pyramids
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Technology in Medieval Fantasy, thanks to Steampunk
I have just returned from the World Fantasy Convention, held this year in Arlington, VA, where I got to hang out with many other authors and readers, sharing our knowledge and celebrating the realm of fantasy writing. One of my … Continue reading
Posted in conventions, fantasy, fiction, history, medieval, medieval technology, research, technology
Tagged fantasy books, fantasy novels, medieval technology, Steampunk
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Automata of the Middle Ages
This topic is one of the interesting intersections between my medieval research and my current research into Chinese technology. Some of the earliest known automated figures are clock jacks–figures that come out and do something when a clock strikes a … Continue reading
Religious Influence on Medical Care, A Historical Perspective
A couple of recent court cases and the advent of recent changes to health insurance law have brought the issue of who controls the patient’s access to health care into the public mind, particularly in relation to religious freedom. Should … Continue reading
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