In 1492, when the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus stepped foot in the New World, everything changed. But was it a sudden shift, or was it part of a larger, gradual transformation over time? This is the fourth in our series of “exhibits” that focus on and contextualize pivotal years in American history (see our previous posts: 1776, 1861, and 1941). In this case, we explore 1492, closely examining historical documents that illuminate the events before and after the breaking point.
The 15th Century
The 15th century is described both as “late Middle Ages” and “early Renaissance.” In other words, it was a time of great change. At the beginning of the century, many Europeans held fast to their agrarian and religious roots, but by the end, a social and cultural upheaval would be underway. Surviving historical documents and books from the 15th century can provide insight into these shifts.
At the start of the 15th century, religious texts in the form of Books of Hours, or private devotional books, were used by lay readers to guide the various hours of daily prayer. A manuscript Book of Hours, such as the one pictured above, with beautiful hand-painted miniatures served two purposes: to aid acts of prayer and to demonstrate the wealth and influence of the owner, leading to increasingly more decoration and large devotional images, often by professional artists or workshops dedicated to the production of these books. This type of book was steadily produced in continually increasing numbers throughout the Middle Ages into the Early Modern period, becoming something of a medieval ‘bestseller.’ Certainly it was the type of book through which the highest number of Europeans in the Middle Ages came into contact with the Bible and prayer, and in many cases was the only book that a non-ecclesiastic would own.
Deeds and indentures from the 1400s are particularly useful at providing historical details that would otherwise be lost to history. In the example pictured above, we learn about a debt paid more than 600 years ago that not only reveals intimate ties between two important English families of the time, but also one that adds to the American story as well. The Standish family referenced in this indenture is that from which Myles Standish descended. Myles Standish was the English military officer hired to accompany the Pilgrims in 1620 on the ship Mayflower and later the colony’s first and longtime leader.
During the Hundred Years War between England and France (1337-1453), five generations of kings from two rival dynasties – the English House of Plantagenet and the French House of Valois – fought for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe, France. After more than a century of warfare, interrupted by several truces, England seemed powerless to stop the French offensive of 1449 to recapture Normandy. The last major battle occurred in April 1450. With no other significant English forces in Normandy, the whole region quickly fell to the victorious French.
In the rare signed document pictured above, a commander in the final major battle of the French “Conquest of Normandy” in 1450, receives his compensation from the Treasury of King Charles VII.
The war’s effect on European history was lasting. Stronger national identities took root in both countries, which became more centralized and gradually rose as global powers that expanded into the New World. This period was also marked by a literary and cultural flowering, from the recovery of ancient Greek thought to the founding of many colleges and universities to Johannes Gutenberg’s first printed Bible in 1455.
Pictured above is an example of one of the literary trends of the time – reviving the great texts of classical antiquity. It is a bifolium of a 15th-century manuscript of Cicero’s De Officiis, written 44 BC. The text expounds on the best way to live, behave, and observe moral obligations, and was used to advance humanist philosophy during the 14th and 15th centuries.
The intellectual, artistic, and economic revival commonly known as the Renaissance was underway, particularly in Italy.
Another example is this bifolium from a large, mid-to-late 15th-century manuscript of the poem “Dittamondo.” Inspired by Dante, the Italian poet Fazio degli Uberti set to work on his own allegorical poem in 1345. His “Dittamondo” emulated Dante’s Commedia in style and content, and it also forced his exile due to the underlying political critique. Though incomplete, the “Dittamondo” is a notable work of late medieval/early Renaissance Italian literature and has survived in a handful of manuscript copies.
The 15th century also witnessed advances in law. A surviving document from Macerata, Italy, signed by Judge Bernardo Lippi of Arezzo shows how he used ancient Roman law to decide a complex legal case involving the validity of a bequest in estate planning.
Rare Documents from the Fateful Year 1492
Near the end of the 15th century, explorers such as Columbus sought the patronage of European governments for major maritime expeditions in search of spices, precious goods, and new lands. Columbus had been attempting to win the favor of Queen Isabella for years. When he gave up and decided to ask France for support, King Ferdinand intervened and the rest, as they say, is history.
Recently acquired by Raab is a document signed by both Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492, the year they signed the articles empowering Columbus on his historic voyage. In fact, the rare document is dated the month that a dejected Columbus left Spain to seek French help and two months before he returned to formalize his agreement with the Spanish monarchy. In this official document, the king and queen order their council to do justice to a church near Segovia.
In April 1492, a final agreement was signed between Columbus and the Spanish monarchs, naming him admiral and sending him to find the “Indies.” Columbus finally set sail, while in Spain, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had taken their court to Barcelona.
From there in December 1492, Queen Isabella sent an order from Pope Alexander VI to the Great Abbey at Segovia. This signed document shows the ways in which the Spanish monarchs communicated with and on behalf of the Pope, the same Pope who would just months later give the Crown title to the lands being explored by Columbus at that exact moment in the New World.
Documents signed in the momentous year of 1492 by the very leaders crucial to the discovery of the New World are historical treasures that rarely come to market.
Also in 1492, Pope Innocent VIII sent the imposing bulla pictured above to Spain, mentioning Ferdinand and Isabella. He commands an orderly election of the head of the Hieronymites, early New World missionaries, and threatens the “expulsion from the confederation of the most powerful of our sons in Christ, Ferdinand and Isabella…” if his wishes are not met.
Papal bulls to Spain are very uncommon; this one mentioning Ferdinand and Isabella is exceptionally so.
The Age of Exploration
Buoyed by Columbus, the era from the late 15th century to the early 17th century would become known as the Age of Exploration or the Age of Discovery. It would be marked by the conquest and colonization of land and people around the globe. For much of this time, Portuguese and Spanish traders had a monopoly over the maritime routes into East Asia, establishing fortresses and Catholic missionaries.
An early 16th-century exegetical book from the library of the New World Missionary School in Portugal, signed by its rector, is a remarkable memento of the education of those missionaries. The students would have included those destined for the New World, Africa, and Asia during the height of Portugal’s influence.
It was, at that point, not only a new century but a whole new world.
To learn more about 15th-century documents, visit our Medieval and Renaissance Historical Documents page and read our Medieval Insights.
