57 pages • 1 hour read
Michael CrichtonTimeline
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Technology in the Middle Ages
The popular conception of the Middle Ages is that it was the “Dark Ages,” implying that it was a brutal, uncivilized time in Europe. In Timeline, however, Michael Crichton uses his extensive research to present a more complex, nuanced vision of the Middle Ages by focusing on its technological innovations and dynamic society. As Crichton notes in the Acknowledgements, “It is especially difficult for modern people to conceive that our modern, scientific age might not be an improvement over the prescientific period” (490). Much of the medieval technology described throughout Timeline is accurate based on historical records, although Crichton also takes a few liberties.
Each of the graduate students is interested in different aspects of medieval technology and takes the time to analyze how various inventions impact the society of the 14th century. For instance, Kate describes the creation of bastides, or fortified market villages, and describes how “some of them were built to hold territory. But many of them were built to simply make money” (102). Within these bastides, people could free themselves from the feudal system. Similarly, Marek reflects on the fact that the rise of archers in the 14th century led to the fall of the noble knight system and enabled the creation of standing armies of wage laborers. Chris is also fascinated by the importance of the complex fortified mill, which served as a military outpost, a source of tax revenue, and a foundational part of the food system. These insights into medieval technology help the graduate students to survive in the world of 1357 and achieve their mission of rescuing the professor.
While most of the innovations that Crichton describes are accurate to the time period, a few are anachronistic. For example, the professor is able to make a form of Greek fire known as “the fire of Athenaios of Naukratis,” or “automatic fire,” which ignites when it comes into contact with water. However, if it ever existed, the recipe for creating Greek fire has been lost to time, and it would not have been possible for the professor to have known it. Furthermore, its last documented use was in the 13th century (“What Was Greek Fire?“ Royal Museums Greenwich). Despite this departure from the realm of historical accuracy, the inclusion of Greek fire in the text implies that many elements of medieval technology have been lost to time, for modern historians lack full documentation of the time period. The novel also explores the idea that medieval societies were constantly working to improve their military technology; as a result, learned men such as the professor were highly valuable, sought-after resources in this “arms race.”
Similarities Between Past and Present
In Timeline, Crichton draws many connections between life in the past and modern life. Despite the foreign nature of much of medieval life—such as its languages, societal structures, and clothing—he takes care to emphasize the constants that endure across the centuries. As Crichton notes in the Acknowledgements, “As for the old reputation of medieval times as a dark time of parochialism, religious prejudice and mass slaughter, the record of the twentieth century must lead any thoughtful observer to conclude that we are in no way superior” (490). In particular, the novel describes the similarities between the past and the present in the context of relationships between men and women, the despotic manifestations of leadership, and the importance of technology.
Before leaving for 1357, Kate notes that the fortified market towns, the bastides, are similar to the modern-day shopping center. While much has changed in the intervening centuries, the importance of markets as hubs for investment, wealth, and resources endures in modern times. As in medieval towns, many modern cities, especially in Europe, are built around a town square. She also recognizes that the architecture of the transportation machines, despite their modern materials, are in some ways similar to the fortifications surrounding castles. These observations are meant to prove that some architectural and planning designs have remained constant over the years.
Certain elements of human character remain constant as well. For instance, Chris is beguiled and manipulated by beautiful, aristocratic women both in modern and medieval times. Leaders in both timelines are likewise portrayed as capricious, greedy, and authoritarian, and the characters of Sir Oliver, Arnaud, and Robert Doniger share several similarities. They are all cruel, callous, and power-hungry, and they ruthlessly pursue their goals no matter the cost. For instance, Sir Oliver and Doniger both display cruelty toward animals. Sir Oliver stabs a dog who is eating his food, while Doniger used a cat as a test subject and shows no remorse over the fact that it becomes riddled with horrific, grotesque transcription errors. Sir Oliver, Arnaud, and Doniger also display a lack of regard for human life in the pursuit of wealth. Sir Oliver and Arnaud are fighting over control of Castelgard because it is a market town from which they can extract taxes, while Doniger sacrifices his employees to develop a technology that he hopes will make him billions of dollars in profit.
Despite the popular conception of the Middle Ages as a time without technological innovation, Crichton portrays this time period in a very different light. In particular, existing technology is deployed in new ways under pressure. During the siege of La Roque, Arnaud’s mercenaries use cannons in their attack. Chris is initially unsure why, because the cannons are not powerful enough to destroy the walls of La Roque. During the battle, it is revealed that the cannonballs are heated and then aimed at the arsenal with the intent of causing the gunpower-packed room to explode. At the same time, in 1999, Stern uses the rubber from the weather balloons to strengthen the walls of the glass water-filled shields used to protect the team from transcription errors.
True Chivalry and Honor
Chivalry is an idealized medieval code of conduct that emphasizes proper conduct according to very strict standards and rules. Under chivalric code, knights were expected to act bravely to protect women, defend their own honor, and demonstrate their strength. In Timeline, the medieval knights act in accordance with this code. During their adventures in 1357, Marek and Chris Hughes also adopt aspects of chivalric conduct.
Sir Guy’s challenge of Chris for Lady Sophie is one of the clearest examples of formal chivalric code in the text. Lady Sophie is to be betrothed to Sir Guy. However, in order to provoke him, she goes to the great hall with Chris. In response, Sir Guy throws down his glove to challenge Chris to a duel in order to preserve his honor. Unwittingly, Chris picks up the glove and thereby accepts his challenge. However, Sir Guy later betrays the chivalric code by attempting to trample Chris with his horse after Chris has surrendered in combat. This encounter demonstrates the reality that because chivalry was an idealized code, its rules would sometimes be abandoned in favor of pure, bloodthirsty revenge.
Even when adhered to, chivalry results in considerable acts of violence, as is shown when Raimondo slits the throat of a soldier who calls him a “bastard” (382). Chris and Marek likewise engage in acts of violence in their own displays of chivalry. Marek is the most consistently chivalrous character, for he believes passionately and wholeheartedly in the chivalric code and honors this belief by putting himself in harm’s way to defend others. For instance, when he and Kate are attacked by soldiers in the fortified mill, Marek stays behind to fend off the attackers so that she can escape. He later takes a similar course of action to defend the winch in the drawbridge so that the others can return to 1999. Chris, by contrast, grows to adopt the chivalric code. In the modern world, Chris is cautious and fussy, but while in 1357, he comes to Kate’s rescue and learns to endure his injuries stoically. His change is so remarkable that Kate reflects that “she was amazed that he wasn’t complaining more. After all, this was the same guy who threw fits if he was served dried cèpe mushrooms instead of fresh ones in his morning omelette” (332). This transformation reaches its height when he saves Kate from the green knight in a scene that recalls the actions of Sir Gawain from Arthurian legend.
Related Titles
By Michael Crichton
