Parchment & Wolf is a fictional retelling, set in another world with magic, of the Protestant Reformation. Two big things had to happen to make the Protestant Reformation kick off -- a translation of the Bible from Latin into Europe's actual languages -- Italian, Spanish, German, English, etc. -- so that people could actually learn what their religion was, and the printing of a massive number of such Bibles so that everyone could afford to read it. The earlier books dealt with the translation part, and this book introduced the printing press, so the explosive proliferation of the translation can now occur. We're on the brink of world revolution.
Because the Protestant Reformation wouldn't be complete without the journeys of Columbus and the discovery that the world was round, Parchment & Wolf is also looking into sailing across the ocean in search of a new continent and discovering globes among heretical scientific thinkers. All the monumental events of the 1400's and 1500's are coming true in what used to be a simple Medieval fairy tale romance. I like this history-based story better. I also like that it talks about how exciting and adventurous the moment was without any actual combat required. The world was overturned by an idea, for once, instead of at gunpoint, and this story captures how great that is. It's about time we had a fictionalized hero taking on the mantle of Martin Luther as opposed to Fate's King Arthur or the like. Unlike Martin Luther King, Martin Luther is a true hero of humanity who should be remembered forever. There should be a Martin Luther day, not a Martin Luther King day.
"Because the Protestant Reformation wouldn't be complete without the journeys of Columbus and the discovery that the world was round"
ReplyDeleteDude....people knew the Earth was round by 3rd century BC. What the fuck are you even talking about. How can you be so clueless about history.
Some people knew. Most still believed it was flat. Are you sure I'm the clueless one?
ReplyDeleteYes, you are clueless.
ReplyDeleteEurope had generally accepted the round Earth model during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, about a thousand years before your suggested timeline. But hey, what's a thousand years to a retard.
You're the type of dude who was taught, "Europeans didn't sail west because they were worried they would sail off the Earth" as a child in elementary school, and still use that unironically 30 years later.
Get this, Europeans knew the Earth was round AND the circumference of the Earth.
Wikipedia says that among the educated class the sphericity of the Earth was well known. That educated class being about 1% of the population at the time. It also says the Church taught that the world was flat. Europe being 100% Christian at the time, that puts me at 99% compared to your 1%. I highly doubt the illiterate peasants of Europe were studying Greek scholars to find out the circumference of the Earth.
ReplyDeleteBut it's completely irrelevant whether you're right, because in the story of Parchment & Wolf, which is what I was discussing, the common folk and the Church believe the world is flat and only a few heretical scientists claim it is round. And this is a point of major crisis for the faith because it could undermine their authority if the scripture is found to be incorrect on a point of fact. So in the story, in the world I was talking about, discovering the world was round is a big pivotal point in history. I do not care what was true of actual Europe in 1500, because I'm talking about the world of Parchment & Wolf, the book I was reviewing. I said the book has many parallels to the real Protestant Reformation , perhaps this part of the story does not perfectly parallel Europe's history. It doesn't matter, in large part it does parallel. If you like you could substitute in the heliocentric theory vs. the geocentric theory as the parallel, since you're so opposed to the flat earth argument. It doesn't matter to me in the least.
If you don't like the author's choice of making the world is round versus flat an important plot element in his story, take it up with him, not me. I'm just giving a book review.