Medieval Water-Mill

Timeline

1. 800–1101France and the Rhine river basin · GermanyMonasteries and lordly manors built watermills along rivers, using vertical or horizontal waterwheels to drive millstones; grain processing efficiency far exceeded that of human- or animal-powered mills.
2. 1291–1301Countryside of England and the Holy Roman Empire · Central EuropeWatermill density increased markedly in England, Germany, and elsewhere; lords often compelled peasants to use the lord's mill and pay mill taxes, and waterpower was also used for forging hammers and sawing timber.
3. 1401–1801Early industrial zones of Europe · EuropeWaterpower extended into textile fulling, papermaking, and mining and metallurgy, accumulating experience in mechanical transmission and centralized production for the modern factory system, until the steam engine gradually replaced it.