Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science

Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science
Name	Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science
Abbreviation	SHMTS
Formation	1960s
Type	Learned society
Purpose	Research and dissemination of medieval technology and science history
Headquarters	United Kingdom / International
Region served	Global
Language	English, French, German

Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science is a scholarly organization dedicated to the study of technological, scientific, and artisanal practices in medieval Europe, the Islamic world, Byzantium, East Asia, and the medieval Americas. It brings together historians, archaeologists, philologists, curators, and engineers to examine primary sources, material culture, and historiography related to figures such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Roger Bacon, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Jazari, Averroes and institutions such as Monastery of Saint Gall, University of Bologna, University of Paris, Abbey of Cluny and House of Wisdom. The society situates medieval innovations in relation to events like the Crusades, the Reconquista, the Mongol Empire expansions and the Black Death.

History

Founded in the mid-20th century by scholars influenced by debates around the Scientific Revolution and continuity from antiquity, the society drew early members from universities such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Heidelberg University and Université de Paris. Founding figures included historians who had worked on projects associated with archives like the Bodleian Library, the British Library, the Vatican Library and collections from the Museo Galileo. The society developed alongside research on artifacts excavated at sites like York Minster, Pompeiian baths (for classical comparisons), Sutton Hoo, Hagia Sophia and the León Cathedral restorations, and engaged with scholars affiliated with institutes such as the Wellcome Trust, the Max Planck Society, the École Pratique des Hautes Études and the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library. Over decades it addressed interpretive controversies tied to works by Isidore of Seville, Bede, Vitruvius (via Renaissance reception), Al-Kindi and Avicenna.

Mission and Activities

The society's mission includes promoting research on medieval instruments, manuscripts, workshops and networks connecting centers like Cordoba Caliphate, Karakorum, Constantinople, Venice, Florence and Novgorod. Activities focus on cataloguing manuscripts in repositories such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Biblioteca Marciana and the Prague National Library; conserving objects in museums including the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum and the Hermitage Museum; and collaborating with laboratories at MIT, University of Cambridge Department of Engineering, ETH Zurich and CNRS for materials analysis. It convenes thematic working groups that intersect with projects like the Corpus Christianorum, the Early English Text Society and the International Medieval Bibliography.

Membership and Organization

Membership comprises academics from institutions such as Columbia University, University of Toronto, University of Chicago, University of Glasgow and Leiden University, curators from Smithsonian Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum and Musée des Arts et Métiers, as well as independent scholars and graduate students. The society is governed by an elected council including officers who liaise with partners such as the Royal Historical Society, the American Historical Association, the Medieval Academy of America and the International Congress on Medieval Studies. Regional affiliates exist in areas served by centers like Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of St Andrews, University of Salamanca and Università di Bologna.

Publications and Journals

The society publishes proceedings and monographs alongside journals and collaborates with presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Brill, Routledge and Boydell & Brewer. It has produced edited volumes comparing texts from The Canterbury Tales manuscripts to technical treatises by Geber (attributed) and mechanical designs related to Hero of Alexandria traditions. Publications engage with manuscript projects such as the Digitization of the Dead Sea Scrolls model (methodologically) and catalogues in the vein of the Standard Catalogue of Scientific Instruments.

Conferences and Meetings

Annual conferences and symposia rotate through venues like King's College London, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Leiden and Sorbonne University, and collaborate with events such as the Biennial History of Technology Conference and the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Purdue University. The society organizes sessions on topics tied to archaeological fieldwork at Canterbury, metallurgical studies informed by finds at Mildenhall, and comparative studies involving collections at Dublin Castle, Kraków Cloth Hall and Seville Alcázar.

Awards and Recognition

The society grants prizes for monographs, essays and doctoral theses and honors scholars whose careers intersect with institutions such as the British Academy, the Royal Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. Recipients have included historians associated with research on figures like John of Salisbury, Nicholas of Cusa, Thomas Aquinas and Peter Abelard, and curators from The Ashmolean Museum and The National Gallery.

Impact and Legacy

The society influenced scholarship on technological transmission across routes such as the Silk Road, maritime networks connecting Venice and Alexandria, and craft traditions in Kashmir and Andalusia. Its work informed museum exhibitions at Science Museum, London, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and contributed to curricula at universities including University College London and Brown University. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue among specialists referencing texts like De Re Metallica (Renaissance reception), treatises by Agrippa, and mechanic accounts linked to Ismail al-Jazari, the society helped reshape understandings of continuity and innovation between medieval and early modern periods.

Category:Learned societies Category:Medieval studies organizations