Wk12_English Renaissance 3

This substance that is to the left can only be one thing. Cant guess what it is well, its Gunpowder. Gunpowder was first used and invented by the chines. They used it in fireworks and other things as well.
Thanks to the Chinese inventing gunpowder all sorts of weapons were created. It was first used in a battle in Europe in 1346. Historians are not sure if the idea was adopted by the European from the Chinese or if the Europeans invented it themselves.
 One thing is for sure the Europeans used it for weapons and to conquer other places.

Wk12_English Renaissance 2

. The man seen on the right is reading a book thanks to his glasses. Although, this may seem normal now it was not that common in the Renaissance time. The invention of  eyeglasses or spectacles was first seen by the people of the13th century.
It is not certain who invented these spectacles, but it is certain that they were first seen in paintings that are dated from the Renaissance time. This is how a date can be put on them, but not an inventor.
There were certain laws put on these eyeglasses. For example, they could only be made out of certain material although they could really be made from different kinds of materials. Also, by the mid 14th century, spectacles were seen mostly being used by the wealthy or the higher class, well educated, or well read Italian clergy.
Glasses could be made of the following things: wood, lead copper, bone, leather, and even horn. These things made the frame for the glasses. Later with time glasses were improved on. The Spanish helped make a way were they could measure how much augmentation each persons glasses needed. With time glasses were only made better and better. Thanks to this invention by the people living in the Renaissance time, contacts can now be used by people of the 21st century.http://www.mce.k12tn.net/renaissance/inventions.htm

Wk12_English Renaissance 1

During the Renaissance time or the beginning of the 13th century  the mechanical clock was invented. Although, the mechanical clock was not made before, there was people who had tried to develop one but could never actually do it till the start of the 13th century. One can say that the clock was being developed to this stage because some of the earlier clocks worked different but showed the same thing, time.
One of the first forms of mechanical clock to have ever been made  had a drum containing mercury. This drum containing mercury clock worked by weights. Compartments in the clocks had mercury inside them and this mercury helped work the time.
The mercury moved through holes present in the compartments and then this would help regulate the rate at which drum movement took place. Once this clock was invented the twenty four hour cycle was able to be measured.
Then came more sophisticated clocks like the one seen to the left. The method of mercury going through chambers became old by the renaissance time. This was only possible thanks to the invention of clocks with gears. Inventions like these started to spark technological advances in these times, believe it or not. Unlike the Renaissance time today we have different kinds of clocks or watches. The clocks we use today are digital, but some still work like the one seen at the top. These advances in technology could have never been reached without such inventions from the renaissance.

Wk8_Medieval Times 3

In Medieval times people also played sports but not for the same reasons we do now. Although, in the middle ages they did enjoy sports for fun, that was not the main reason why they played sports. As you may notice, the sports played in Medieval times were based on fighting an opponent.
Lets take Jousting for instance, two people on hoarse back with long pointed sticks trying to knock each other off their horses. Usually, the sports played in Medieval times were contact sports and they were designed to teach better battle skills to each player. There were even laws passed in England about Archery and this helped lead to triumphs in battles. Not everyone had to know how to use a bow and arrow just the men. That law does not sound like a reasonable law because it forces one to learn a skill that teaches to hurt others. This can also be seen as self defense though. Whatever the case now that I am familiar with this law I know why people were so skilled at archery.
Being a skilled player at Jousting, Archery, or other Medieval sports could help raise social states for the common people and others. Isn't that interesting to be able to become wealthy through sports. Now a days we still have this it is called, a Professional. Except that the sports played now are simply, just for entertainment. The following link is much more descriptive if you would like to learn more http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/medieval-sports.htm

Wk8_Medieval Times 2

Who doesn't like to eat? During the middle ages food had a different twist to it. The food that royalty ate was different from the one that the common people ate. However, some things were the same like the meats.
Royalty tended to eat the best of foods. They were lucky at the time because spices were being introduced to them. How lucky for them, although we can easily obtain them; it was much more difficult in their times to get any kind of spices.
I never knew that they ate so many different kinds of meats. They ate the following types of meat: pork, lamb, veil, venison, poultry, game, bear, hedgehog, hare, and rabbit. most of these meats are still eaten but some more than others. Although, not everybody could afford to eat meat everyday, it was mostly royalty who ate these different types of meat. The poor suffered everyday and ate what they could.
Another interesting thing I discovered was that you had to have some higher authority in order to hunt the better meat. Otherwise, if a peasant was found hunting a deer or something of the sort, that would be the end for him or her. It is amazing to see how some types of meat were valued more than others and how a regular person could be killed for hunting some type of precious animal (meat). It sounds hard to believe read it.http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-food-meat.htm 
see it
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/medieval/clip_image002.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/medieval/Conference_Flyer.htm&usg=__gu_QbFovG1PNEGI4Qc4K6CBKZdI=&h=336&w=500&sz=50&hl=en&start=0&sig2=LLKy0DeB387yxT1BPxYwfQ&zoom=1&tbnid=nqgsnVC1H2_87M:&tbnh=95&tbnw=142&ei=T3OyTPzlN4PCsAO_rrnbBA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmiddle%2Bages%2Bfood%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D880%26bih%3D453%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divb&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=522&vpy=162&dur=77&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=146&ty=113&oei=T3OyTPzlN4PCsAO_rrnbBA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Wk8_Medieval Times 1

During the Middle ages, also known as Medieval Times medicine was a practice that failed to flourish. This was due to the fact that it was not so important at the time. People living in the middle ages had other things to be more worried about. The more important thing at the time was the soul.
The soul, was a precious thing for the Medieval people. It seemed as if they were more concern with how the soul was doing than with how they were doing. As weird as it may sound, these people thought if they could cure their soul then they could cure any disease that they had.
The diseases that they had back then are now easily cured with over the counter medicine that we have now a days. For this simple reason medicine was not of such importance to the Medieval people, curing the soul through prayer was their solution for sickness. If any interest was put into medicine then some advances could have been reached and far less people could have died during the middle ages.
Although, doctors were still around at the time; it was harder for a regular person to practice medicine. This would also explain why only people of higher statues could practice medicine. Also, priests and other women would practice medicine at a cost. They had to do it a certain way and the women mostly only practiced on women, unless they were licensed doctors. Looking at all these examples of doctors and medicine at the time, it is easy to see why people died of simple diseases like the Black Death. Here is a link it is a bit more specific; it has pictures to.   http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/hist-6.html