A new study indicates that Italian sailors from Genoa, Columbus' hometown, already knew about the existence of North America 150 years earlier.
The research, published in the scientific journal Terrae Incognitae, is written by the specialist in medieval Latin literature Paolo Chiesa, from University of Milan, in Italy. He analyzed a work written in 1345 by the friar Galvaneus Flamma.
Discovered in 2013, the text suggests that sailors already knew about the existence of the continent, which they dubbed “Markland” or “Marckalada”.
Later, researchers identified that the term referred to the Atlantic coast of North America, more precisely some territory in what is now Canada: Newfoundland or Labrador.
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ANALYZE MY CASEGalvaneus Flamma was a Dominican friar linked to a family that ruled Milan. Author of several texts in Latin, mainly on historical themes, he mentions North America in chronicle universalis, one of his last works, which portrayed the history of the world, but remained unfinished and without improvement.
In the text, the friar appears to hear rumors from Italian sailors about lands in the so-called “far northwest” that could be good for trade.
The friar describes the “Markland” region as being very rich in trees. These details may seem common, but they are not, as this is not a typical characteristic of the northernmost territories on the planet.
