From 2015408aefb71f5d4697562fb12a579b6dc1202e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jacob Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2025 23:42:39 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Updated. --- Paper.md | 59 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------------------- 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-) diff --git a/Paper.md b/Paper.md index 0791899..4cba551 100644 --- a/Paper.md +++ b/Paper.md @@ -9,18 +9,17 @@ author: Jacob Signorovitch \maketitle In Weston, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Brandeis University, an -unusual structure rises among the trees; a forty foot stone tower, complete -with spiral staircase and ramparts, weathered and stained with time, looking +unusual structure rises among the trees; a forty foot stone tower, complete with +spiral staircase and ramparts, weathered and stained with time, looking distinctly out of place within earshot of I-95. The story of how it came to be -there involves Vikings, a baking soda magnate, the discovery of America, and, -at the center of it all, the city of Norumbega. As one explores the area, the -name comes up again and again: a map will tell you the structure's name is -Norumbega Tower, and running alongside is Norumbega Road. Further south, one -finds a Norumbega Park, and another road called Norumbega Court. This paper -will explore how one man in the late 19th century, Eben Norton Horsford, -brought together two seemingly disconnected ideas into a theory for the -original discovery of America, what motivated him to do so, and what he left -behind. +there involves Vikings, a baking soda magnate, the discovery of America, and, at +the center of it all, the city of Norumbega. As one explores the area, the name +comes up again and again: a map will tell you the structure's name is Norumbega +Tower, and running alongside is Norumbega Road. Further south, one finds a +Norumbega Park, and another road called Norumbega Court. This paper will explore +how one man in the late 19th century, Eben Norton Horsford, combined Norse saga +and a mythical Native American city into a theory for the original discovery of +America, what motivated him to do so, and what he left behind. The myth of Norumbega originated in the 16th century, during the Age of Exploration. It was variously a town, city, or country, somewhere along the @@ -30,25 +29,25 @@ Geography,[@KirsNor98, 34] the myth can be traced back to a conflation of two separate accounts. The first is that of Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer under King Francis I of France.[@GreeneLife37, 4-7] He was one of the first Europeans to explore the area around Narragansett Bay in 1524[@KirsNor98, -36, 39], far distant from where Norumbega would eventual be described. However, -due to geographical ambiguity at the time, his account would later become "at -the heart of the Norumbega legend."[@KirsNor98, 39] He recounted his -experiences in a letter to the king, where he described a pleasant harbor -inhabited by friendly and civil natives.[@KirsNor98, 39] They practiced "more -systematic cultivation [of crops] than the other tribes," and were "very like -the manner of the ancients."[@KirsNor98, 39] In the letter, Giovanni names the -place *refugio*, "on account of its beauty."[@KirsNor98, 39] Civilized -inhabitants became one of the core aspects of the myth, present throughout its -evolution even as its exact location and size varied. The second account is -that of Jean Alfonce de Saintonge, pilot on Jacques Cartier's exploration of -the Penobscot Bay area [@KirsNor98, 41]. Sailing up the Penobscot River, which -he called the *Norenbègue*, he described "a city called *Norombegue* with -clever inhabitants [...] The people use many words which sound like Latin and -worship the sun, and they are fair people and tall."[@KirsNor98, 41] These two -accounts, Giovanni s *refugio* and Saintonge's *Norombegue*, eventually merged -into a single myth, canonized by Gastaldi, of an advanced Native American city -whose manners were closer to those of Europe than their neighbors.[@KirsNor98, -41] +36, 39], and recounted his experiences in a letter to the king. He described a +pleasant harbor inhabited by friendly and civil natives.[@KirsNor98, 39] They +practiced "more systematic cultivation [of crops] than the other tribes," and +were "very like the manner of the ancients [i.e., antiquity]."[@KirsNor98, 39] +In the latter, Giovanni names the place *refugio*, "on account of its +beauty."[@KirsNor98, 39] Despite Narragansett Bay being quite far from where +Norumbega would eventually be described, the Penobscot Bay region of modern day +Maine, geographical ambiguity allowed his account to become "at the heart of the +Norumbega legend."[@KirsNor98, 39] Specifically, the mention of a "more +civilized" tribe of natives would become a core aspect of the mythical city in +all future renditions. The second account is that of Jean Alfonce de Saintonge, +pilot on Jacques Cartier's exploration of the Penobscot Bay area [@KirsNor98, +41]. Sailing up the Penobscot River, which he called the *Norenbègue*, he +described "a city called *Norombegue* with clever inhabitants [...] The people +use many words which sound like Latin and worship the sun, and they are fair +people and tall."[@KirsNor98, 41] These two accounts, Giovanni's *refugio* and +Saintonge's *Norombegue*, eventually merged into a single myth, canonized by +the cartographer Gastaldi, of an advanced Native American city whose manners +were closer to those of Europe than their neighbors.[@KirsNor98, 41] Eben Norton Horsford was a chemist working in Cambridge, best known for his invention of modern baking powder.[@JackHors92, 343] In addition to his work,