Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine.

Was the medieval church really anti-science? Why did one monk hurl himself from the roof of his Abbey Tower as an experiment?

And what were some of the most high-tech gadgets of the Middle Ages? While speaking to

Emily Briffitt, the historian and author Seb Falk is answering your questions on the often

misunderstood realm of medieval science, highlighting the significant contributions

made through scientific collaboration, from alchemy and astronomy to optics and herology.

I think the medieval period has somewhat got a bit of a reputation for maybe being a little bit

backwards, not so much innovation going on in this era.

But given that we are talking about medieval science in this episode for a full episode,

can we really say that this period was a dark ages in terms of scientific study?

No, you can't. Obviously, you'd expect me to say that because I've written a whole book about

it, but there's an enormous amount that happens in the Middle. Obviously, you'd expect me to say that because I've written a whole book about it,

but there's an enormous amount that happens in the Middle Ages, as you would expect,

given that most people would say the Middle Ages lasts for about 1,000 years from about 500 to 1500 AD,

and there are periods in those thousand years when there's enormous innovation, great encounters between different cultures,

invention of fabulous objects and instruments and new ideas spreading across the globe.

And there are also periods when there's not so much of that going on, as you would expect,

in any millennium. And so I think to ride off a whole millennium as a dark age is just nonsensical.

And even if it were somewhat backward compared with other periods,

and why would you want to compare other periods anyway?

But even if it were a bit backward, it might still be interesting.

So what I really want people to do when I talk about the

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