Columbus and the Flat Earth Myth: Origins and Afterlife
About this Capsule
Sailors in 1492 knew perfectly well the Earth was round; the flat-Earth panic is a later invention. These arguments split on how the myth was born and spread, from Washington Irving's 19th-century storytelling to how far medieval Europeans ever doubted roundness at all. Tracing the invention shows how a false history can outlive the truth for centuries.
This capsule reveals three distinct perspectives on the belief about Earth’s shape during Columbus’s time: one debunks the myth that people thought the Earth was flat, another examines how Washington Irving’s 19th-century writings created the flat Earth myth, and a third challenges the idea that medieval Europeans widely doubted Earth’s roundness. Readers will explore where historians and scholars diverge on the origins and persistence of this misconception, enabling them to judge how and why this false narrative took hold.
3 Arguments About Earth's Shape in Columbus's Time
Debunking flat Earth myth about Columbus.
Try asking: “Why did scholars reject Columbus’s westward route?”
Irving's role in the flat earth myth
Debunking the myth that medieval people thought Earth was flat.
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