Shape of the Earth

The Fiction of Washington Irving

Student (angry): Tell me one thing: Why do so many people today think Columbus had to prove the Earth is round? Humpf!

Oresme: Yes, that is an interesting question, indeed. Up here in the Cosmic History Zone, we call it the “Flat Earth Myth.” The Flat Earth Myth does not refer to medieval belief in a flat Earth, but to the modern belief that medieval people thought the Earth is flat, when it’s so easy to show that they knew the Earth is round.

Student: I never thought about it that way.

Student: Who started the Flat Earth myth?

Oresme: Well, I hate to name names, but Washington Irving fooled a lot of readers when he dramatized the myth.(1) (Figure 1)

Student: Legend of Sleepy Hollow!

Student: Rip Van Winkle!

Oresme: We all enjoy Irving’s far-fetched tales, but his Life of Christopher Columbus presented itself as biography, not fiction. Unfortunately, it was about as factual as the headless horsemen. Irving fabricated a tale of Columbus pleading his case before a council of Inquisitors at a convent in Salamanca, who assailed him with citations from the Bible and the teachings of the Church. Irving’s account is nothing but misleading and mischievous nonsense. It should have been read only as a pleasant romance.(2) (Figure 2) (Figure 3) (Figure 4) (Figure 5) (Figure 6) (Figure 7) (Figure 8)

Student: Irving was great at fiction.(3)

Notes and References

1. (Text) - 1. For insightful discussion of the remainder of this section see Jeffrey Burton Russell, Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians (New York: Praeger, 1991).
2. (Text) - 2. Russell, Ch. 4.
3. (Text) - 3. Russell, p. 57.

Exhibit credit: Kerry Magruder.