21 Books of engineering and machines of Juanelo Turriano - Introduction

I already announced in 1982, when I wrote the prologue for the Spanish edition of this codex -unpublished for centuries- that it would produce a world-wide event. It is true that three editions were sold out and that few copies remain of the fourth. Numerous critiques in the Spanish daily press and magazines were to endorse it, even if there were not as many as could be expected outside of Spain.

It deals with the first Architectura Hidraulica. As such, mysterious and unknown until now, nevertheless, it turns out to be the first of a great series of important books in the development of sciences and crafts, which have so positively served the welfare of the peoples; such as are still being written nowadays, with various titles, and will continue in the future.

Well before the dates when the codex was presumably written the phenomenon we call technology appears in history. In English, this is the only word that is normally applied in historical studies, even though it co-exists, of course, with the word ÂŤtechniqueÂť. In French the distinction between technologie and techniques is recognised. As the great historian Maurice Daumas -whom I had the honour of knowing- very aptly indicates, the first meaning of technology places it between science and technique, characterised by their mutual interaction. When I write in my own language, I follow his criterion and I sometimes use tecnologia and other times tecnicas; of course, other Spanish speakers may not do the same.

The above is not an unnecessary digression, because I believe that technology is among the impulses for the appearance of the first monographic treatises. Until now, only two of them have been famous: The first treatise, De la pyrotechnia (1540), appeared in Italian after the death of its author, Vanoccio Biringuccio, native of Siena; in it the applications employing fire are presented, especially metallurgy.

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