Water Technology in the Middle Ages
Subtitle: Cities, Monasteries, and Waterworks after the Roman Empire (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: December 4, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9780801866265
Subjects: History of engineering & technology; Water supply & treatment; World history: c 500 to C 1500; c 1000 CE to c 1500; c 500 CE to c 1000 CE; Municipal water supply; Water Resources Engineering; Technology; History - General History; Water-supply; Science/Mathematics; History; Medieval; History / Europe / General; Hydraulics; Europe; Monasteries; Water-supply engineering
First sentence: During the years 1220-22, an underground pipeline was laid by Master Laurence of Stratford to supply fresh water to the Augustinian canons at Waltham Abbey in Essex.
Description: "Focusing attention on gravity-fed water-flow systems in medieval cities and monasteries, Water Technology in the Middle Ages: Cities, Monasteries, and Waterworks after the Roman Empire challenges the view that hydraulic engineering died with the Romans and remained moribund until the Renaissance. Roberta Magnusson explores the systems themselves - how they worked, what uses the water served - and also the social rifts that created struggles over access to this basic necessity.".

"Mindful of theoretical questions about what hastens technological change and how society and technology mutually influence one another, the author supplies a thoughtful and instructive study. Archeological, historical, and literary evidence vividly depicts those who designed, constructed, and used medieval water systems. Magnusson's work demonstrates a shift from the public-administrative to a private-innovative framework - one that argues for the importance of local initiatives."--BOOK JACKET.