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Already in antiquity, Greek mathematicians realized that the Earth is round, and the idea was operative in Europe ever since. But how widespread was this belief in the centuries until the Renaissance?

It was suggested that my question may be a duplicate of this question. That is not so.

Rodrigo de Azevedo
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Frode Alfson Bjørdal
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    What kind of answer do you expect to "how widespread"? There were no statistical polls back then. It was Aristotelian orthodoxy supported by Ptolemaic astronomy, so the Church and the learned accepted it. It is likely that the rest of the populace had more naive beliefs. See also Why was China slow to recognise the sphericity of Earth? – Conifold Nov 11 '18 at 21:44
  • Thanks for the comment. If some would venture answers, I would expect them to take into account that there were no poll - as you point out. It would be in accordance with my own expectations if any answers agreed with your comment that "it is likely that the rest of the populace had more naive beliefs." – Frode Alfson Bjørdal Nov 11 '18 at 22:07
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    Possible duplicate of When was it discovered that the Earth wasn't round? – Carl Witthoft Nov 12 '18 at 13:58
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    You can see the post : Did medieval scholars believe the Earth was round ? – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Nov 12 '18 at 20:00
  • @Carl Witthoft No, my question is not a possible duplicate of the question "When was it discovered that the Earth wasn't round?" – Frode Alfson Bjørdal Nov 12 '18 at 22:07
  • @Conifold There could be indirect evidence from literary sources, of course. – Frode Alfson Bjørdal Nov 13 '18 at 19:20
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    My inference was from the fact that in the Chinese tradition even scholars accepted flat Earth for a long time, so it did not conflict with everyday beliefs and activities. European peasants, who did not attend schools or read Aristotle, simply had no reason to revise naive intuitions. Sailors and merchants, on the other hand, did have such reasons. And among medieval Christian scholars a Byzantine Cosmas Indicopleustes was the only defender of flat Earth. In the West medieval flat Earth is a modern myth. – Conifold Nov 13 '18 at 21:42
  • Frode, please do not just claim (and repeat) that the question is not a duplicate of X, without saying why. Can you [edit] that in? –  Nov 14 '18 at 10:07
  • @Jan Doggen Why can't I claim like I do? I am right, and I can do without unfounded allegations that my question is a duplicate of a different question. If people are not willing to exercise the minimal amount of energy to see that I am right, then I will stop my participation here. – Frode Alfson Bjørdal Nov 22 '18 at 21:14
  • Answering this question usefully requires an answer to the question, "Before the Renaissance, how many people cared whether the Earth was round?" Even in a rich, technical, globalist society today it's hardly of importance in ordinary life today. I suspect that in, say, 1300, the fraction of people for whom it mattered enough to have an opinion was tiny. – Mark Olson Jun 26 '23 at 12:35
  • As the author of the alleged duplicate, I'd say it's pretty self-evident that this question is different. – Mark Jun 28 '23 at 03:24

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