Science in the Middle ages was called knowledge. During the medieval period, any knowledge that was gathered by observation and logical thinking all fell within the term science. And during those time these people are curious enough about why the sun, stars, and the moon exists or developing the teachings of logic and mathematics.
Let’s take a look at the middle ages scientists and their contributions that paved the way for science and changed the world.
1. Gerard of Cremona (1114–1187)
Gerard of Cremona was an Italian scholar who is most famous for his translations of over 70 important scientific works from Arabic into Latin. His translations helped introduce the knowledge of the Islamic Golden Age to Western Europe, which had a profound influence on medieval science. Through his translations, the works of Ptolemy, Avicenna, Alhazen, and many others became accessible to scholars in the West.
Key Contributions:
- Translated key works of ancient Greek and Islamic science, especially in astronomy and medicine.
- Helped introduce Arabic numerals and advanced mathematics to Europe.
- Played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting classical knowledge.
2. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
Hildegard of Bingen was a remarkable German abbess, composer, and polymath whose works on natural science, medicine, and theology were groundbreaking for her time. Though more widely known for her mystical writings and music, Hildegard made important contributions to medieval medicine and the natural sciences through her study of herbs, plants, and their healing properties.
Key Contributions:
- Authored Physica, a text that explored natural history and the medicinal properties of plants and animals.
- Wrote Causae et Curae, a comprehensive medical work that examined the human body, health, and diseases.
- Her holistic approach to medicine and science integrated spirituality with natural phenomena.
3. Johannes de Sacrobosco (1195–1256)
Johannes de Sacrobosco, also known as John of Holywood, was a medieval scholar and mathematician famous for his De Sphaera Mundi (On the Sphere of the World), a foundational text on astronomy during the Middle Ages. His works were widely used in universities and helped standardize astronomical knowledge across Europe.
Key Contributions:
- De Sphaera Mundi was a popular textbook that summarized Ptolemaic astronomy, influencing medieval astronomical education.
- His work laid the foundation for later developments in European astronomy, such as the work of Copernicus.
- Sacrobosco also contributed to the understanding of calendar reform, advocating for corrections to the Julian calendar.
4. Nicole Oresme (1323–1382)
Nicole Oresme was a French philosopher, economist, and mathematician whose work in natural philosophy prefigured many later developments in physics and astronomy. Oresme’s treatises on motion and his critiques of Aristotelian cosmology were revolutionary for his time, laying some of the groundwork for the scientific advances of the Renaissance.
Key Contributions:
- Explored early ideas of motion and velocity, influencing the later work of Galileo and Newton.
- Made significant contributions to the study of mathematics and the nature of infinity.
- Challenged the Ptolemaic system and proposed the possibility of a rotating Earth.
5. Maimonides (1138–1204)
Maimonides was a Jewish philosopher, physician, and scholar who made significant contributions to both medicine and philosophy. Born in Cordoba, Spain, he eventually settled in Egypt, where he served as a physician to the royal court. His medical texts, such as Medical Aphorisms, influenced both Islamic and European medicine.
Key Contributions:
- His medical writings, including Medical Aphorisms, were widely respected in both the Islamic world and medieval Europe.
- Integrated philosophy and medicine, promoting a rational approach to health and disease.
- His works in philosophy, especially Guide for the Perplexed, had a lasting impact on both Jewish and Christian scholars.
6. Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) (965–1040)
Often referred to as the “father of optics,” Alhazen was a pioneering polymath who made significant contributions to the understanding of vision, optics, and light. His book, Kitab al-Manazir (Book of Optics), introduced the scientific method into experimentation and overturned long-held theories about how we see. He was the first to correctly explain how light is refracted through the lens of the eye, laying the foundations for modern optics.
Key Contributions:
- Developed the modern theory of vision, explaining how the eye receives light.
- Experimented with light, reflection, and refraction, influencing both physics and mathematics.
- Introduced early ideas of the scientific method by emphasizing experimentation and observation.
7. Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406)
Ibn Khaldun was an Arab sociologist, economist, demographist, and historian. He is the first man who recorded the various accounts of any particular event in history. He is known for writing the al-Kitabu I-ibar or his history of the world. It was originally meant to cover the history of the Berbers but Ibn Khaldun eventually expanded it and included the rest of the world and his insights into Arabic morphology and syntax. His works were hailed as the greatest work of its kind that has ever been created by any mind in any time or place.
Key Contributions:
- Founding of Sociology and Philosophy of History with his most influential work, Al-Muqaddimah, analyzed the rise and fall of civilizations.
- Economic and Political Theory and discussed early ideas of labor theory, supply and demand, and the role of government in economic prosperity
- Advancement of Historiography and was one of the first scholars to apply critical analysis to historical sources.
8. Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian polymath whose areas of interests included science, music, astronomy, botany, writing, history, architecture, and engineering. Da Vinci has contributed a lot in these fields especially in natural science. He wrote treatments on subjects like botany, engineering, and geography. Da Vinci is a man whose studies and knowledge were both extensive and deep.
Key Contributions:
- Scientific Drawings and Anatomical Studies are some of his most remarkable scientific contributions.
- Engineering and Inventions where he sketched ideas for numerous inventions far ahead of their time, including flying machines, armored tanks, and hydraulic systems.
- Art and the Science of Observation with his understanding of light, shadow, perspective, and anatomy greatly influenced his approach to painting, making his works not only artistically remarkable but scientifically accurate.
9. Roger Bacon (1219–1292)
Roger Bacon was an English philosopher who as an early advocate of study through empirical observation. He took advantage of the developing opportunities for learning and he spent most of his life studying before deciding to teach later in his later life. Roger Bacon also helped in the foundation of the scientific method. He wrote broadly in different fields such as astronomy, physiology, mathematics, and even alchemy. He wrote a paper about the place of philosophy in theology and Bacon’s works that were used, Tomas Aquinas. Bacon also wrote about how the human body is a variety of animal and it could be studied such as.
Key Contributions:
- Emphasized experimentation in scientific inquiry, foreshadowing the later scientific method.
- Made advances in optics and alchemy, influencing later scientific thought.
- His work in natural philosophy and mathematics contributed to the understanding of light and vision.
10. Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (980–1037)
Avicenna was a Persian polymath. He is considered as one of the most noteworthy astronomers, thinkers, and physicians of the Islamic Golden Age. He is also known as the father of early modern medicine and he has written a total of 450 books but only 240 of them survived and the majority of them are about philosophy and medicine. Avicenna’s works include The Book of Healing which is a philosophical and scientific encyclopedia.
The Canon of Medicine which is a medical encyclopedia that became a standard medical text during the medieval times. Besides his remarkable books, Avicenna also wrote about geology, astronomy, psychology, mathematics, physics, and alchemy.
Key Contributions:
- Authored The Canon of Medicine, which became the standard medical textbook for centuries.
- Made advances in anatomy, pharmacology, and clinical medicine.
- His works on logic and metaphysics laid the groundwork for scholastic philosophy in medieval Europe.
11. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
St. Thomas Aquinas was an influential jurist, theologian, and philosopher. He had great respect for Aristotle but he looked down upon other philosophers who he thinks does not grasp the concept of God. However, he is best known in the history of Western philosophy by agreeing with Aristotle’s “heretic” reasoning. His most important works include the Summa contra Gentiles and the Summa theologica.
Key Contributions:
- Aquinas’ Summa Theologica bridged faith and reason, integrating Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine, influencing both theology and the development of natural philosophy in the Middle Ages.
- He established the concept of natural law, arguing that the natural world follows divine law, which can be understood through reason. This idea supported scientific inquiry by promoting the study of nature as a way to understand God’s creation.
- Aquinas emphasized that reason and empirical observation could complement faith. His work laid the groundwork for the later development of the scientific method by encouraging systematic observation of the natural world.
12. Al-Ghazali (1058–1111)
Ghazali or also known as Algazel, was a Muslim philosopher, theologian, and jurist. He is known by other Muslims as the greatest Muslim after Muhammad. He made significant contributions in the development of Sufism and its acceptance and integration in Islam.
Key Contributions:
- In The Incoherence of the Philosophers, Ghazali critiqued Greek and Islamic philosophy, particularly the Aristotelian concept of causality, which influenced later Islamic and Western philosophical thought on science.
- Ghazali’s emphasis on skepticism about human reasoning led to a greater reliance on religious revelation but also opened the door to questioning established ideas, fostering a more critical approach to knowledge.
- Though primarily a theologian, Ghazali’s critique of metaphysics indirectly influenced Islamic scientific thought, including developments in mathematics and astronomy, by encouraging more practical applications of science.
13. Paracelsus (1493–1541)
Paracelsus was an European chemist during the 14th century. He was known for making great advances in medicine, botany, and the periodic table of elements. He was also the first person wo used chemicals instead of herbs in making medicines. Paracelsus was also the first scientist to propose the concept of unconscious.
Key Contributions:
- Paracelsus is often regarded as the father of toxicology and introduced the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine, breaking with traditional Galenic medicine and focusing on the chemical processes in the human body.
- He blended alchemical practices with medicine, developing new treatments using metals like mercury and sulfur. He also promoted the idea that illnesses were caused by external agents rather than imbalances of humors.
- Paracelsus emphasized the connection between mind, body, and spirit in healing, which foreshadowed modern holistic approaches to medicine and reinforced the importance of observation in treatment.
14. Al-Zahrawi (936–1013)
Also known as Abulcasis, Zahrawi was a Moorish Andalusian who is popular for founding and designing techniques for the first ever performed surgeries. He is also known for creating the first surgical tools as well as a thirty-eight volume guide that explains various techniques he used in medicine which he called Kitab al Tasrif.
Key Contributions:
- Known as the father of modern surgery, Zahrawi’s Kitab al-Tasrif, a 30-volume medical encyclopedia, included detailed descriptions of surgical instruments and procedures, many of which became standard in medieval European medicine.
- He developed over 200 surgical instruments, many of which were innovative for their time and are still in use today in modified forms, especially for procedures such as cauterization and suturing.
- Zahrawi’s work also covered pharmacology, dermatology, and dentistry, making significant contributions to the development of medical treatments, including the use of catgut for internal stitches and the formulation of medications.
15. Al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–850)
Khwarizmi is known for inventing algebra. In fact, he named one of the operations he used to solved quadratic equations, al-jabr. And the word algorithm was derived from the latin translation of his name, Al-Gorithmi. Khwarizmi is also known for publishing a book on mathematics entitled Al Kitab al-mukhtasar which contains procedures on how to calculate numbers from law to businesses. The book is known to be one of the earliest textbook with practical applications.
Key Contributions:
- Al-Khwarizmi is credited with developing algebra, a discipline introduced in his seminal work The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing. His algebraic methods laid the foundation for modern mathematics.
- He contributed to the development of trigonometry and astronomy, working on calculations of celestial phenomena and the creation of astronomical tables used for determining times of prayer and Islamic festivals.
- His work on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and algorithms (a term derived from his name) played a crucial role in making calculation easier and more systematic, which influenced later developments in computer science.
16. Paul of Aegina (625–690)
Paul of Aegina was a 7th century Byzantine physician that wrote an enormous encyclopedia entitled Medical Compendium in Seven Books. The book contains several medical procedure such as c-sections process that’s why Paul of Aegina had midwives who consulted him frequently. His work had influenced the top physicians in the Arab world.
Key Contributions:
- Paul of Aegina’s Epitome of Medicine was one of the most influential medical texts of the early Middle Ages, particularly for its detailed descriptions of surgical procedures such as lithotomy (removal of bladder stones) and trepanation (skull surgery).
- He wrote extensively on women’s health, particularly on obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatric care, which remained influential throughout the Middle Ages.
- His work was one of the primary sources for medieval medical knowledge, especially in Byzantine and Islamic medicine, where his influence continued for centuries.
17. Albertus Magnus (1200–1280)
Also known as Albert of Cologne, St. Albertus Magnnus was a German Catholic Dominican friar and saint. He is known for preserving Aristotle’s ideas in which he commented on frequently. St. Albertus Magnus compiled his works into an enormous thirty-eight volume encyclopedia which became popular among other scholars at that time.
Key Contributions:
- Albertus Magnus, also known as Albert the Great, integrated Aristotelian philosophy with Christian thought and significantly influenced medieval natural philosophy, including ideas about biology, physics, and chemistry.
- He made detailed observations about plant and animal life, often considered the founder of the medieval biological sciences due to his careful studies of nature.
- Albertus wrote about alchemical processes and was interested in the transmutation of metals, contributing to the early development of chemistry.
18. Averroes (Ibn Rushd) (1126–1198
Averroes was Muslim philosopher who wrote about Islamic jurisprudence, linguistics, medicine, astronomy, theology, and physics. He was also known for having insightful commentary about Plato’s Republic, Avicenna’s Cannon on Medicine and translating several works of Aristotle into Arabic.
Key Contributions:
- Averroes is best known for his commentaries on Aristotle, through which he reintroduced Aristotle’s works to Europe. His writings on logic, physics, and metaphysics shaped the course of medieval European thought.
- Averroes made significant contributions to astronomy, including critiques of Ptolemaic cosmology. His observations and ideas about the movement of celestial bodies influenced later astronomers in Europe.
- Averroes also contributed to medical science, particularly in his work Kitab al-Kulliyat (Generalities), where he examined medical treatments, anatomy, and the philosophy of medicine.
Final Thoughts
The Middle Ages, far from being a period of intellectual stagnation, was a time when great scientific minds laid the foundations for many of the advancements we take for granted today. From the Islamic Golden Age to the European scholastics, these scientists blended observation, experimentation, and philosophy to push the boundaries of knowledge. Their work helped shape the Renaissance and the subsequent scientific revolutions, proving that even in challenging times, the pursuit of knowledge never ceases.