The fourteenth century marked the high point in
optical experimentation and in the conceptual devel-
opment of mechanics during the late Middle Ages. The
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries served mainly as pe-
riods of transition, where the underlying ideas were
diffused throughout Europe, entered into combination
with those of other cultures, and provided the proxi-
mate setting for the emergence of classical science.
Much of this interplay took place in Italy, although
France and Spain also figured in it to a limited extent.
