Johannes Scotus Eriugena (9th century) divided them into seven parts: • (
tailoring,
weaving) • (
agriculture) • (
architecture,
masonry) • and (
warfare and
hunting, military education, "
martial arts") • (
trade) • (
cooking) • (
blacksmithing,
metallurgy) In his
Didascalicon,
Hugh of St Victor (12th century) includes
navigation,
medicine and
theatrical arts instead of commerce, agriculture and cooking. Hugh's treatment somewhat elevates the mechanical arts as ordained to the improvement of humanity, a promotion which was to represent a growing trend among late medievals. The classification of the as applied
geometry was introduced to Western Europe by
Dominicus Gundissalinus (12th century) under the influence of his readings in Arabic scholarship. In the 19th century, "mechanic arts" referred to some of the fields that are now known as
engineering. Use of the term was apparently an attempt to distinguish these fields from creative and artistic endeavors like the
performing arts and the
fine arts, which were for the upper class of the time, and the
intelligentsia. The mechanic arts were also considered practical fields for those that did not come from good families. Related phrases, "
useful arts" or "applied arts" probably encompass the mechanic arts as well as craftsmanship in general. In the United States, the most famous usage of the term "mechanic arts" (and the one in which it is most commonly encountered today) is in the
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. == See also ==