La tierra plana en la Edad Mediaun mito contemporáneo

  1. Pablo Martín Prieto 1
  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR 02p0gd045

Journal:
Espacio, tiempo y forma. Serie III, Historia medieval

ISSN: 0214-9745

Year of publication: 2022

Issue: 35

Pages: 391-414

Type: Article

DOI: 10.5944/ETFIII.35.2022.31115 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Espacio, tiempo y forma. Serie III, Historia medieval

Abstract

This article addresses the claims that the idea of a flat earth was an essential part of the dominant cosmological paradigm in the Middle Ages. After examining the origin and transmission of the main arguments that ancient science passed on to medieval scholars with respect to the signs and evidence of the earth’s (almost) spherical shape, we will also explore both ancient and medieval advocates of alternative models, only to conclude that throughout the Middle Ages the standard scientific paradigm involved the notion of a spherical earth. The (inaccurate) belief that medieval science generally upheld the flat earth paradigm seems to be part of a widespread prejudice held in contemporary times against the Middle Ages writ large.

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