Myth of the flat Earth

The myth of the flat Earth is a common idea that people in the Middle Ages thought the Earth was flat. But this is not true. Most educated people in Europe and the Middle East knew long ago that the Earth is round. Even hundreds of years before the Middle Ages, ancient Greek thinkers knew the Earth was a sphere.

Important historians and scientists have studied this topic. They tell us that very few educated people ever believed the Earth was flat. In fact, many scholars from ancient times knew how to measure the size of the Earth. One famous Greek scientist, Eratosthenes, even calculated how big around the Earth is.

The idea that medieval people thought the Earth was flat became popular much later, mostly between 1870 and 1920. This misunderstanding grew from debates about science and religion. Books by writers like John William Draper, Andrew Dickson White, and Washington Irving helped spread this myth, even though it was not true.

History

The idea that people in the Middle Ages thought the Earth was flat is a myth that started in the 17th century. It became more popular in the 19th century through books about science and religion. These books wrongly said that many medieval scholars believed the Earth was flat.

Even in stories, this myth appeared. For example, in a comedy from 1723, a character faces trouble when saying the Earth is round. In the 19th century, a famous story about Christopher Columbus wrongly said that some people opposed him because they thought the Earth was flat. The real issue was about how far Asia was from Europe, not the shape of the Earth. Scholars knew the Earth was round, and the talk was about distances and sailing skills.

Later writers and some schoolbooks kept this myth alive, saying that people long believed the Earth was flat until Columbus proved otherwise. But historians have shown that educated people during the Middle Ages generally knew the Earth was round.

Historiography of the flat Earth myth

Historical writers have explained why many people think that medieval scholars believed the Earth was flat. American historian Jeffrey Burton Russell said that French scholars from the 1800s, especially Antoine-Jean Letronne, started this idea. They criticized the Middle Ages as a time of ignorance.

Other historians, like Edward Grant, think the myth grew from a bigger criticism of medieval times and old ways of thinking. This criticism began with Francesco Petrarch in the 1300s. The myth also appeared in books by writers like Draper and Andrew Dickson White, who wanted to show fights between science and religion. Artists helped spread the idea by painting scenes of Columbus arguing for a round Earth against church leaders.