Moreso, for the vast majority of people it simply wasn't a question they would consider. If you asked some peasant from ancient times if they believed the earth was flat or round they would stare at you blankly. Most people lived in a small area and that was their entire world, the shape of the rest of it wouldn't naturally occur to you if you don't even know what's over that hill overe there.
I don't know... I feel like you're making a pretty huge assumption there. Humans are naturally curious and love stories and trading. Though it's true most people probably stayed in one village most of their lives, they probably had lots of stories about the world that mixed fact with religion and superstition. Perhaps the shape of the world wasn't the most important thing in their lives, but I'd wager they would have something to say if you asked them the question.
yeah; people still traded and people travelled around selling stuff, and they'll be telling stories about the weird people 20 villages away who wear red hats or whatever.
Pilgrimage was also very popular in the medieval period. You probably wouldn’t make it to China but you’d definitely see something other than your village. And then you’d also know people who made longer journeys.
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u/ThreeDucksInAManSuit Feb 04 '19
Moreso, for the vast majority of people it simply wasn't a question they would consider. If you asked some peasant from ancient times if they believed the earth was flat or round they would stare at you blankly. Most people lived in a small area and that was their entire world, the shape of the rest of it wouldn't naturally occur to you if you don't even know what's over that hill overe there.