A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance

Manchester returns to the story of Ferdinand Magellan, just as Magellan prepares to leave for what will be his final exploration. Manchester describes him as a tough, fastidious captain, and a private man. He was also a dreamer and a romantic, a side of himself that he did not let his men see. Columbus and other explorers inspired Magellan, who wanted to become a hero: “The patterns of Magellan’s age are now clear. Its clarifying event was the shattering of the medieval world—medium aevum, as Renaissance humanists call it” (228).

Manchester states that although the religious revolution was the most conspicuous series of events leading to the destruction of the Renaissance, many other events contributed, such as the fall of Constantinople to Muhammad II, the grown of commerce in England and Germany, and the humanists’ discovery of wisdom in the values of classical civilization: “Finally, the exploration of lands beyond Europe—of which Magellan’s voyage was to be the culmination—opened the entire world, thus introducing the modern age” (229). It had long been assumed that everyone worshipped Christ. The discovery of new lands proved that this was not so, and that the inhabitants of those non-Christian lands did not seem to suffer from their non-belief.

Geographical knowledge was inadequate. Manchester gives the early example of Rome agreeing with a 6th-century monk named Cosmas that the earth was flat: “This patristic dismissal of so elementary a fact was a sign of how deep the wisdom of the ancient world had been buried. More than three hundred years before the birth of Christ, Aristotle had determined than the planet must be a sphere” (230). It was also thought that people could not survive in the tropics, a belief that did not change until the 15th century.

Manchester writes of discoveries during this time: “During the long medieval night, Hellenic and Egyptian learning were preserved by Muslim scholars in the Middle East, where it was discovered by early Renaissance humanists” (230). It was only scholars who could actually understand and believe scientific facts—”average people still assumed that that the earth was flat, and their knowledge of the world beyond the horizon was largely derived from mythical lore” (231). Manchester notes that most medieval myths were set in Asia because Asia was largely unexplored, as far as most Europeans knew: "While the vast majority of Europeans knew nothing of the real Asia, some of them had been toiling busily on its fringes for three centuries” (234). It would be traders and merchants who initiated early explorations into Asia, in search of greater profits and more expansive trade routes.

These early explorations by Portuguese mariners, as well as the well-documented efforts of Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci, continued to flesh out parts of the world of whose existence Europe had never known.

But none were as influential as Magellan, in Manchester’s estimation. He presents the map of Magellan’s circumnavigation, which shows the daring and courage Magellan and his crew shared. They continued to press on through various setbacks, despite not knowing what land—if any—lay ahead of them. After arriving in the Philippines, Magellan became friendly with Rajah Humabon and converted him to Christianity. Shortly after, Humabon asked Magellan to fight an enemy that he had not been able to vanquish: Datu Lapulapu. Magellan agreed but secretly wished to convert Lapulapu to Christianity, as he had Humabon. When Magellan arrived on Lapulapu’s island with a small force, a battle ensued in which Magellan was killed.

After, a new captain is named and the crew returns home to report on their voyage. Manchester closes the book with a summation of Magellan’s deeds and the cartographic improvements that resulted from his circumnavigation of the globe. Then Manchester provides a summary of the events that led to the Renaissance, and how Magellan’s discoveries were among the most influential events in demonstrating that there was more to the world—in terms of geography, customs, religion, and happiness—than in Europe. He concludes by stating that Magellan, Luther, and the key dissenting, romantic figures of the Dark Ages were responsible for the loss of faith and belief that continues even today. He does not say whether he feels that this is a good or a bad thing, only that the seeds of doubt experienced by modern people began hundreds of years ago in the Dark Ages.