I asked this in askhistorians as well but it’s not active (it should be though!).

  • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
    0·
    1 year ago

    The average (or presumably median) European would have been illiterate and would not have ventured more than a few miles from their place of birth within their lifetime, so if news of newly discovered lands reached them, it would have done so very slowly, and been distorted into implausible folktales of marvels and monsters.