The Internal Functions of a 14th-Century Florentine Flour Factory

of kinematics, the physicist, according to Reuleaux, had to resort to history. thorough understanding of old mechanisms, he stated, even more important than the creation of new ones. It is indeed astonishing to how small a depth the methods hitherto used have penetrated into their real nature, and how incompletely known therefore are most of the mechanisms in common use.2' To be sure, his historical approach to the understanding of mechanics is a boon to any historian of technology. However, the procedure can be fraught with difficulties. Historians who study ancient and medieval mechanisms are often frustrated by the lack of dependable information outside of archaeological finds or pictorial representations, which themselves can be either deficient or distorted. Yet, when the remains are sufficiently complete or the documents explicit enough in their descriptions, an attempt can be made at re-creation that certainly approaches the kinematic analysis Reuleaux desired. The wealth of medieval documents that are found in European archives relating to machines held in tenure or by lease are particularly fruitful in this regard. Economic necessity forced landlords to keep meticulous accounts of their holdings to protect themselves from

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  Open Access•Nigel Goose•Urban History•1993

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