Southtown wrote:Yes, it's indeed a myth that midieval people thought the world to be flat. They weren't as ignorant as we like to imagine. If my knowledge is correct, the Greek had already discovered the earth's spherical shape (perhaps even a civilization before them).
That doesn't mean that later civilizations can't forget or even challenge theories of the older ones.
I always thought that Medievalers ignored the ancient Greek idea, or just disagreed with ir.
Or i am wrong, but it's an explanation
No, in the middle ages educated people were well aware the Earth was round.
The easiest way to demonstrate this is the globus cruciger or orb representing Christ's domination over the earth, a standard part of medieval regalia. It was a sphere surmounted by a cross.
Add to that the fact that the ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes not only knew the Earth was round, but had his famous experiment in which he found out how big the Earth was. Another more ambitious Greek astronomer found out how far away the Moon was, although he failed spectacularly in trying to determine the Sun's distance.
