Is that true?
Did medieval Christians believe the earth was flat?
FalseFalse. Educated medieval Europeans knew the earth was a sphere, following Greek astronomers like Ptolemy. Scholars such as the Venerable Bede and Thomas Aquinas took a round earth for granted. The idea that medieval Christians thought the world was flat is largely a 19th century myth, spread by writers hostile to religion.
The history
From late antiquity onward, learned Europe inherited the spherical earth of Greek science. Bede wrote about it in the 8th century, and Sacrobosco's On the Sphere was a standard university text. The flat earth legend was popularized in the 1800s by writers like Washington Irving and by conflict thesis authors such as John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White.
What Scripture says
Often cited in this debate, it speaks of the circle of the earth, though it is poetry rather than a scientific claim.
Where this points
The myth pits faith against reason, but medieval Christians largely saw no such war. They studied the heavens as the handiwork of God. Jesus himself pointed to the created order, the birds and the lilies, as windows into the Father's care.
People also ask
Did people fear Columbus would sail off the edge of the earth?
No. Educated people in 1492 knew the earth was round. The real dispute was about its size and whether a westward voyage to Asia was practical, not whether ships would fall off an edge.
Where did the flat earth myth come from?
Largely from 19th century writing. Washington Irving's romanticized 1828 life of Columbus and later conflict thesis authors like Draper and White popularized the false idea that medieval Christianity taught a flat earth.