Water Technology in the Middle Ages: Cities, Monasteries, and Waterworks after the Roman Empire (review)

In this study Roberta Magnusson investigates the interrelationship between the people of medieval Europe and one important technological cluster: complex, gravity-flow water systems. Such systems, composed of collection basins, long-distance conduits, and distribution points, were built for medieval palaces, castles, manors, hospitals, and gardens, but Magnusson focuses on urban and monastic systems. She also concentrates on Italy and England, where written sources, in particular extensive administrative records, start fairly early. This gives her the opportunity to provide a great longitudinal study of the evolution of technological systems in premodern Europe, integrating written data with archaeological evidence. Although I respect the restricted geographical choice, since it is better to do two case studies well than several badly, it is a pity that the enormous wealth of German scholarship on this topic was not used systematically.

According to Magnusson, the decision to adopt an innovation is based on a recognition of need and a favorable attitude toward the innovation because of its perceived advantages. This is a very useful starting point for evaluating changes in technological systems. Thus, concerning the gradual decay and abandonment of the majority of Roman water systems, Magnusson observes that most communities were able to obtain their water from rivers, wells, and cisterns—a simpler level of technology. In purely technological terms this may amount to a regression, but from a historical point of view it can be seen as a result of appropriate social behavior. Why invest in complicated water systems if sufficient clean water can be had by simpler methods? Such a relativist or functionalist approach helps explain different responses to complex water systems, whether actually inherited from antiquity or merely posed as potential innovations.

In the thirteenth century, London's growing population triggered the construction of the Great Conduit, yet in most other towns nothing of the sort happened, even in the face of significant population growth. Geography also played a role in the decision-making process; Orvieto, Perugia, and Spoleto, situated on hilltops, built aqueducts, but the community of Old Sarum simply moved down close to the river Avon (and became New Sarum or Salisbury) when it faced a water shortage. Similarly, towns in the wetland zones of northern European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland were amply supplied by networks of artificial channels, dug in the soft subsoils.

Magnusson's longest chapter is devoted to design and construction. It shows a firm grounding in archaeology and a fine technical understanding of relevant systems. Yet the particular value of this book lies in the convincing way Magnusson describes how medieval water systems functioned in differing social situations; the technological history is framed by general history very skillfully. While expenditures for normal maintenance of conduits could be covered by revenue, this was not the case with major repairs. The principal beneficiaries, whether private or corporate, had to supply additional funds. In London, testamentary benefactions served as a special source of revenue. Magnusson sees this as part of a gradual shift in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century concepts of charity, which led to donations for all sorts of public works, from bridges to latrines. In Italy, fountains were set in open basins, whereas in England they were constructed as towers with taps, so that it simply was not possible in England to abuse supplies of drinking water by washing clothes in fountains. Here potential conflicts over competing uses of water were resolved by means of a choice in technological design.

In sum, this is a very well-written book, and I look forward to using it in my next series of seminars.