The Twenty-One Books of Devices and Machines: An Encyclopedia of Machines and Mechanisms of the 16th Century

Abstract

Progress in Engineering and Architecture has been decisive in the birth and duration of empires throughout History, and Mechanical Engineering has always played an important role. For long periods of the 16th and 17th centuries the Spanish Crown became the World’s leading political and economic power, so extensive that in the domains of King Philip II, “the Sun never set”. The strategic interest in Mechanical Engineering became clear with the appearance of “The Twenty-One Books of Devices and Machines of Juanelo” (Anonymous (Los Veintiún Libros de los Ingenios y Máquinas de Juanelo Turriano, 1997)), whose compilation was ordered by King Philip II around the year 1570 [1]. Among other knowledge exposed, the book contains a large number of machines of the period. The devices and machines are classified according to its function, with a surprising number of pumps, mills, cranes and other machines, particularly those driven by water, wind-energy, gravity or animal traction. This work sets out some reflections on the importance of this book and takes a detailed look at the main mechanisms and machines described, while making comparisons with similar devices of the period or those that may have had an influence on the contents.