|
The people in the middle ages that would know most about the shape of the world were sailers. They
knew the earth was round due to the fact that 1 minute they could not see anything up see next
minute land was rising into view. At the time people thought the earth was more of an egg shape.
This whole Idea about mediveal thinking the earth was flat, came from a misinterpretion of
the Mapa Mundi (Map of the World). Which was one of the first true maps of the mediveal world,
which has Jerusalem in the centre. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
You're absolutely correct. The ancient Greeks knew the earth was round. Any semi-educated person
in the middle ages knew the earth was spherical. |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
Just because it said so in a book did not mean society accepted it. They could of thought he was
insane. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
You obviously know very little about the middle ages, or about history itself. You say that the
greeks knew the earth was round, but they didn't. Some may have hypothesized that the earth wasn't
the flat earth that many believed, but that doesn't mean that they all accepted the hypothesis. But
as chaew said the common peasant in the middle ages couldn't have read. Also the church did execute
many scientists that claimed the world was round, and, seeing as the church was a powerful being in
the middle ages, i am sure that most people believed the church was correct in saying that the earth
was flat.
As for the greeks and romans, there were many texts that warned and hypothesiszed that the earth was
flat. Many sailors did not want to sail too far out into see for fear of falling off the earth. And
besides, what gives you the mentality to stand here and believe that you know much more than the
historians who wrote the text books. I'm not saying that the historians are infallable, but they
surely have a higher education than yourself and that usually constitutes that they know more about
that field of study than yourself. Although there are a few exceptions.
I admire your enthuisiasm and your willingness to disprove the historical community, but i believe
that the historians have you beat on this one. Besides there is no way to know what the people of
the middle ages knew or did not know, beside through the texts that historians find.
And about the sailors: It wasn't blatantly obvious, for many feared traveling across the sea for
they thought it was flat. They didn't know it was round, although many thought it was. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
They would kill you if you said that, just cause another smart one person knew it wasn't flat,
doesn't mean the hole planet did. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
I'm speaking from the european perspective so don't criticize me on being narrow minded.
In the middle ages the catholic church taught the earth was flat if someone disagreed they were
killed for being heretical. It was in the renaissance when reading was becoming common and the
church was losing power. People like Galileo proved that the earth was round. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
They thought the earth was flat. They killed the people that said it wasn't because they called them
crazy. They also believed that there were sea monsters and if you went to fat you would fall off the
edge of the earth |
| |
 Pure  18 May 2008 00:15
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
I don't know what the big deal is. You speak as though they were the only people on earth. What
is the Chinese perspective who represented the largest percentage of the world at the time. You are
angry at people for speaking from the perspective of a certain European region as though they were
the source of all knowledge and you are mad because you have proof they were wrong. Wasted energy. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
I think there were lots of different theories about the earth's shape. There were some Romans that
believed that the earth was an enormous disk with a globe like cover, partly it was clear and other
was like a colander with holes for the stars. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Yes but Mark the average peasant in the middle ages did not read the works of Thomas Aquinas. And to
be fair, if you hadn't been told you would probably presume that the earth was flat. |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Sign In
For and Against Recent Activity
