Book Reviews /Journal ofReformed Theology 7 (2013) 109-134 115
James Hannam, The Genesis of Science. How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific
Revolution (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2011), 448 pp., $29.95, ISBN 9781596981553;
a.k.a. God's Philosophers. How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modem Science
(UK edition).
How dark were the Dark Ages? Is it really true that in between the collapse of the Roman
Empire and the Renaissance nothing of importance happened in Western Europe, as
popular—and some scientific—historians have said for centuries? Renaissance humanists
cast aside the medieval scholarship because of the 'barbaric' Latin in which it was written.
Entire libraries of medieval manuscripts were recycled as book covers for printed versions
of the newly discovered classics. Protestants had their own axe to grind with the Church, so
it came natural to them to disown any progress made under papal rule. And in the 19th
century, the myth of the war between science and religion was bom, stating that the church
held on to ideas like aflatand immovable earth and burned scientists who said otherwise at
the stake.
Historian of science James Hannam wants to set the record straight, by showing the light
of science that burned—sometimes weak, often quite strong—during the turbulent Middle
Ages. A light that was quite often kept by the church, rather than snuffed out He starts the
introduction of his book with a well-known quote by Isaac Newton: 'If I have seen a little
further then it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' But this aphorism was already
coined in the twelfth century by theologian Bernard of Chartres, says Hannam. And at the
end of the book, that famous quote by Galileo 'The intention of the Holy Spirit is to teach us
how one goes to heaven, not how the heavens go' is traced back to William of Conches, four
centuries earlier.'
In a sense, this is how Hannam works in this well-written book. Again and again, he shows
that the roots of many great discoveries lie much deeper in time than we have assumed.
Take the use of mathematics to describe reality. This is usually associated with Isaac Newton.
But in the 14th century, Thomas Bradwardine was thefirstto connect mathematics with the
natural sciences at Merton College, Oxford. This work was expanded by a group of mathe-
maticians called 'The Merton Calculators.' Their work paved the way for people like Newton
and Galileo.
Hannam also shows how dark arts like astrology actually stimulated a lot of scientific
research. Astronomical tables were mostly used to draw horoscopes, rather than predict or
investigate astronomical phenomena. Indeed, astrology was seen by some as a science and
studied in a systematic way. By contrast, the science of medicine was so poor that medical
doctors quite often did more harm than good. Going to a doctor for treatment or going to a
priest for prayer were both equally ineffective. But, Hannam writes, at least the priest caused
no physical harm.
Hannam also tries to dispel often-repeated claims that the Church stemmed the progress
of science. Indeed, many early scientists were clergy and the Church stimulated learning. As
Hannam points out, dissection of human corpses was not forbidden by the church. There
were restrictions for 'natural philosophers,' but often enough there were also plenty of loop-
holes to circumnavigate them. For example, the Copemican system could be discussed
© KoninklijkL- Drill NV, leiden, 2013 DOI: 10.1163/15697312-12341280
ii6 Book Reviews /Journal of Reformed Theology 7 (2013) 109-134
freely, as long as it wasn't presented as the truth. This is certainly restrictive by modern
standards, but left plenty of room for the development of science.
The American edition of the book has as a subtitle 'How the Christian Middle Ages
launched the scientific revolution'. This suggests a positive contribution from the Church, or
at least from the Christian faith. For sure, in some cases the Church actually supported sci-
entific progress and many of the natural philosophers Hannam introduces in his book are in
some way connected to the Church. However, at other times, the Church was indeed restric-
tive. Hannam claims that the Church never burnt scientists at the stake, as only the worldly
rulers were allowed to execute this punishment. That seems a rather moot point, as church
leaders knew fully well what would happen with condemned heretics whom they handed
over to those rulers.
Overall, Hannam doesn't build a real case for an active and positive role for either the
Church or Christianity in a broader sense as a factor that stimulated scientific discovery. Nor
does he prove his claim that Renaissance humanists did serious harm to science by revert-
ing to the Classics and dispelling medieval thought. In fact, Hannam doesn't build any sort
of overarching case whatsoever. He has collected numerous well-documented examples of
medieval scholars doing important work. He convincingly shows that the scientific revolu-
tion of the 16th and 17th century would have been impossible without the work of medieval
natural philosophers. But all these examples are just that: individual examples. The book
lacks analysis. Is this a problem? Yes and no. No, because the sheer amount of data Hannam
produces does dispel the idea that the Middle Ages were a period of stagnation. And he
convincingly shows that the role of the Church is not as negative as it has been portrayed.
But Hannam fails to explain the progress of science during the Middle Ages. If anything,
it was not the faith of the Church as such, but rather the diversity of thought that it allowed
to exist which spurred scientific inquiry and progress. Astrology was frowned upon by the
Church, but because it was more or less tolerated, the need for more accurate horoscopes
stimulated astronomy and mathematics. And universities flourished, because they drew
support from both the Church and worldly rulers, and could seek protection from one
against the other when needed.
Having said this, however. The Genesis ofScience is a treasure trove of facts and anecdotes,
which are a joy to read. And it does dispel quite a few myths about the relationship between
science and religion.
René Fransen
Science Writer, Physicist
University of Groningen (The Netherlands)
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