Chapter Four: The Medieval Science of Weights

Most of the ancient Greek mechanical texts were translated into Arabic in the early Middle Ages, where they gave rise to the science of weights (on the balance) and the science of devices (on the design and use of practical machines). In the Latin Middle Ages, mechanics was identified with the purely practical mechanical arts. The Arabic science of weights and the Liber de canonio were the main sources of the Latin science of weights, traditionally attributed to Jordanus of Nemore, where the principle of positional heaviness was devised to explain the balance, lever, and other effects, notably the inclined plane. Blasius of Parma’s attempt to apply the methods of natural philosophy to the science of weights was the last medieval contribution to this tradition. Neither the science of weights nor the works of Archimedes was identified as mechanics.