What Did Medieval People Think Space Was?

From the beginnings of civilization, humans have always looked up to the heavens in wonder. Sightings of stars and planets, comets and eclipses are awe inspiring and help us to try and understand our place in the cosmos. Technological advances made just over the last few decades with larger and more powerful equipment mean that we can now probe much deeper into the unknown universe of countless galaxies, planets and stars, to understand its origin and growth. We know about pulsars, quasars, dark matter and black holes that all exist together within the vast infinity of space.
But for the Medievals, astronomy was also God’s creation and something that influenced their physical, spiritual and mental well-being. Welcome to Medieval Madness.

0:00 Introduction
1:04 The Science of God
2:18 Astrolabes and Quadrants
6:03 Beliefs
7:53 Astrometeorology
9:33 Illness

Additional music from Storyblocks.

Narrated by James Wade
Written by Lisa E Rawcliffe
Edited by James Wade

Thank you for watching.

Copyright © 2022 Top5s All rights reserved. In this video, we've compiled information from a variety of sources, including documentaries, books, and websites, all with the aim of providing an engaging viewing experience. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be variations in the authenticity of the content. We encourage viewers to delve deeper and conduct their own research to corroborate the information presented.

[samuelwestlund]

Medieval diagrams are interesting, because while they often did reflect popular opinion, they were never designed to reflect people's perception of the physical world. Even in medieval times there were still a lot of people who knew that the world was round and that Jerusalem was not the physical center of the world. When we see maps of the world from that time period they are usually meant to represent abstract ideas and religious beliefs rather than accurately illustrate the physical world. Misrepresentations like these were oftentimes deliberate. Accuracy did not become important until the late 1400s when European powers began searching for a sea route to China and India to avoid having to pay tariffs for goods transported along the Silk Road. This is when maps and other diagrams became less abstract and more realistic.

[Frosty_tha_Snowman]

Wan-Hu, a wealthy Chinese official, tried to send himself to the moon by gathering every rocket he possibly could - bought almost every bit of gunpowder available in his region. He strapped these rockets to his chair, and had hundreds of his followers there to witness this undertaking, and when it all lit, there was so much there, it ignited as an explosion, and the resulting blast vaporized and dissipated him so completely, that his followers were convinced that he'd made it to the moon.

Thus: the man on the moon.

[ItsJustMe]

Gotta give them props for what they did with very little tools or previously established knowledge. They weren't stupid as so many believed, just had a much harder go at learning.

[MickPosch]

Hundreds of years later, we have technological advances that these people couldn't have imagined. And people who believe that the Earth is flat.

[Harbinger]

Excellent video as always. One of my best parts of the week is just taking 10-15 minutes and listening to one of your videos. Thanks for what you do and please keep doing it.

[Fray-Bentos]

This is by far one of my favourite channels to watch on YouTube.

The effort that you put into each video is insane and it shows your love of the subject.

I

[newyardleysinclair]

Just think. Light pollution was not a thing during this time. So the heavens looked much more brighter than they seem now

[cookieraider]

It be great if there was a video game like this that followed the logic of medieval era scholarship. Humors, star charts, demonic familiars, sounds like it would make a great setting.

[thebrownbanana]

If I was a medieval person I'd probably think I was tripping balls looking at space.

[SandyRiverBlue]

3:02 The words behind the teacher say "Silence!". The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[neilhales]

I don't know who said it but he wasn't wrong: "the history of cosmology is the history of being completely wrong". Thank God that we've got it right now.

[philhobrla]

“The Discarded Image” by C.S. Lewis is a good ‘deep dive’ on this subject.

[LendriMujina]

It's easy to forget just how unknowable space is even in the modern day. Scientists still thought the universe only extended to the edge of the Milky Way as recently as the 1920s.

[jnielson]

The question of what medieval people thought space actually was is *really* interesting - but the only answer here is one line about concentric transluscent spheres. I'd like to hear a deep dive into that. What did they think the actual structure and mechanics of the 'heavens' were? That would be fascinating.

[davidmccann]

The ancient or medieval concept of the cosmos can seem ridiculous today. But who knows, in 500 years time our scientific concept of the universe or reality may seem equally naive or ridiculous to out distant descendants.

[farpointgamingdirect]

I always liked the woodcut of the shepherd at the edge of the world taking a peek under the clouds to see the mechanism of the universe

[paulwilson]

I remember watching a flat-earther explain away comets and meteorites by saying they are put up there by "The powers that be" with rail gun technology. Presumably, Medievals didn't have rail guns Anyway, I bring this up because the title of this Medieval Madness was the very same question that came up in my mind when I watched that interaction. Awesome, informative video.

[matthewtopping]

4:30 That would be pretty freaky to go back to like 1390 and see everyone in a room with this exact face

[kellyshomemadekitchen]

Your intro makes me feel like I’m right on a medieval battlefield with a cold wind blowing! Love your channel and all that you do! 💜

[Transilvanian]

Excellent video!! Also particularly loved the music with this one, it made me feel like I was at the Mages' College in the Imperial City (Elder Scrolls Oblivion); absolutely excellent work! :D