Editing Artes mechanicae (section)

==Overview==
[[Johannes Scotus Eriugena]] (9th century) divided them into seven parts: 
* {{lang|la|vestiaria}} ([[tailor]]ing, [[weaving]])
* {{lang|la|agricultura}} ([[agriculture]])
* {{lang|la|architectura}} ([[architecture]], [[masonry]])
* {{lang|la|militia}} and {{lang|la|venatoria}} ([[war]]fare and [[hunting]], military education, "[[martial arts]]")
* {{lang|la|mercatura}} ([[trade]])
* {{lang|la|coquinaria}} ([[cooking]])
* {{lang|la|metallaria}} ([[blacksmithing]], [[metallurgy]])<ref>In his commentary on Martianus Capella's early-fifth-century work, ''The Marriage of Philology and Mercury'', one of the main sources for medieval reflection on the liberal arts.</ref>

In his ''[[Didascalicon]]'', [[Hugh of St Victor]] (12th century) includes [[navigation]], [[medicine]] and [[theatrical arts]] instead of commerce, agriculture and cooking.<ref>Hugues de Saint-Victor, ''Libri septem eruditiones didascaliae'', ch.26 (PL 176, col.760): lanificium, armaturum, navigationem, agriculturem, venationem, medicinam, theatricam</ref> 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.<ref>See Georges Legoff, ''Time, Work and Culture in the Middle Ages'', (Chicago, University of Chicago Press) 116.</ref><ref name="Invention of Art">{{cite book | last = Shiner | first = Larry | year = 2003 | pages = 28–30 |title=[[The Invention of Art: A Cultural History]] |publisher=The University of Chicago Press}}</ref>

The classification of the {{lang|la|artes mechanicae}} as applied [[geometry]] was introduced to Western Europe by [[Dominicus Gundissalinus]] (12th century) under the influence of his readings in Arabic scholarship.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

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.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

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]].{{cn|date=December 2024}}