During the Middle Ages, between the 5th and 16th century AD, Western Europe saw a period of growth in the mining industry. The first important mines were those at Goslar in the Harz mountains, taken i
Medieval mine on the Bockswieser Gangzug north of Oberschulenberg in Germany.
Beschreibung allerfürnemisten mineralischen Ertzt unnd Bergkwercks Arten (Description of most distinguished kinds of mineral ores and mines) by Lazarus Ercker, 1580
Great Bullion Famine
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The Great Bullion Famine was a shortage of precious metals that struck Europe in the 15th century, with the worst years of the famine being 1457 to 1464. During the Middle Ages, gold and silver coins
Mining and metallurgy in medieval Europe
…methodical intellectual background. Instead, they were the pioneers of causal thinking based on empirical observation and experimentation (Zilsel 2000). Great Bullion Famine Mining in the Upper Harz…
Gold coin of Louis XI of France, minted at Perpignan in 1461 during the worst years of the Great Bullion Famine
Spanish colonial coin of Philip II, minted in Potosí (modern-day Bolivia), struck c. 1580