The Expansion of Salamanca University: A Historical Account of Nebrija and Zacuto, Quizzes of English Language

Download The Expansion of Salamanca University: A Historical Account of Nebrija and Zacuto and more Quizzes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! GRAND DELUSIONS I sit still, erect, immobile, staring at the screen. My fingers itch with energy, my brain races, but inspiration lies just beyond my reach. I crumple back into my seat, close my eyes, and listen to the empty room. In my mind’s eye, I see bookshelves looking in on me from every angle. They must be whispering behind my back. I strain my ears but still can’t hear them. The ghosts of this hall, if they are in here, whisper only to each other. I look up into the ceiling and get lost in the latticework. I blink. I rub my forehead, sigh, and close my eyes. Fall, 1490 “He wants to sail to the West Indies.” “Yes, Zacuto, but I doubt he’d make it. It’s quite a body of water, and it doesn’t seem to me that he’s gone about this thing logically.” “He’s quite a presence, though. Forceful, you might say. He’s got the sort of fire that gets you places.” “Oh, I don’t know. The fire you’re talking about is that red hair! 1 He’s just hotheaded. Brash, hotheaded, and self-important.” “Well, he does have the backing of the court, it seems. He has the favor of the chief tax collector, the court rabbi, the chief banker, that wealthy Santangel fellow…and the king and queen gave the man a personal audience.” 2 “Perhaps, but we’re the ones who will decide the matter ultimately.” 1 National Geographic Historical Atlas of the Unites States. (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004), 17. 2 Alder, Joseph. “Christopher Columbus’ Voyage of Discovery: Jewish and New Christian Elements.” http://www.saudades.org/ccolumbusvoyage.html 1. Salamanca The two men, Nebrija and Zacuto, turned off the narrow cobblestone street and passed between two heavy wooden doors. The thick stone walls of the University enveloped them and the noises of the city streets fell away behind the click of their shoes on the stone floor. These building were newly built – some parts were still under construction – and the stone shone with freshness. In the last generation, with the student corpus swelling to a massive 6,000, it had become necessary to expand the Salamanca University complex. 3 Thanks to the financial support of the royal courts and the papacy, the most ‘en vogue’ architecture was employed: a delicate, ornate, and especially Spanish variation of Renaissance architecture known as Plateresque. 4 It was fine workmanship. But Nebrija often found himself reminiscing about the days of his youth, when he and his classmates had gathered for lessons in the shadowy bowels of the city’s great cathedrals. 3 The word of God and more than two centuries of classroom 3 University of Salamanca, “A Brief History of the University of Salamanca.” http://www.usal.es/web-usal/Ingles/Universidad/Historia/Historia.shtml 4 All About Spain Tourist Information Center, “Architecture.” http://www.red2000.com/spain/primer/arch.html 2. Salamanca University 3. The Façade of the University, Completed in 1435, is perhaps the best representation of the Plateresque style in Spain. Hidden somewhere in the detail work sits the legendary lucky frog, perched atop a human skull. Whoever can spot it is blessed with luck. Presently, a short man with a bald head and spectacles addressed the group. “My esteemed fellow councilors. We have gathered together intermittently over these last four years to discuss and study, as appointed to us by our illustrious king Ferdinand and our most noble queen Isabella, the proposal of one, Christopher Columbus, to reach the far West Indies world on part of the great empire of our mother country, Spain. We have among us many able minds: geographers, astronomers, philosophers, marines, cartographers – all men of the word or men of the sea. It has been our illustrious duty to appraise this project, by means of discussion, deliberation, and dedication…” 9 “My, he can ramble,” whispered Zacuto to his friend. “Yes, well, you know how these official things go…” answered Nebrija under his breath. Zacuto allowed his mind to wander. He thought of what he had for breakfast that morning and his son and the little boy who wanted to find the fountain of youth and the day that Columbus first proposed reaching the East by traveling west. He had come to Salamanca by the command of the King and Queen to address a council that they had assembled for the purpose. Zacuto had been less than thrilled when informed that he was to be a part of this “esteemed” council. He knew the King and Queen were busy, what with the war in Granada, and he did not appreciate having their projects farmed off onto his free time. But the tall foreigner had an interesting project in mind. Not very logical, but interesting. Columbus began on the assumption that the world was round, which they all agreed upon, being the more disciplined minds of their time. 10 He then assumed to follow logical conclusions: “the distance by land between the edge of the west (Spain) and the edge of the east (“India”–i.e. Asia) is very long, the distance by sea between Spain and “India” is therefore very short.” 7 Zacuto was not sure he agreed with this, but it was great fun to think about, and so he didn’t mind the meetings quite so much as he had expected. However, that was four years ago now. It was time to make a decision. None of them could guess as the distances, though they could certainly guess at the expense. Zacuto, like most of the members, knew what the verdict would be. They would save the crown’s precious gold and the lives of some salty sea lads, and err on the side of caution. Was the voyage possible? He told himself it didn’t matter much to him. But sometimes he liked to think it was… “As you all know,” boomed the orator, and several near-slumbering heads jerked up, “We have come here today to announce our final decision.” The little be-spectacled man finally had everyone’s attention, and was pleased with himself. “Let it be known that, like our cousins the Portuguese before us, we have come to the just and rational conclusion that this journey is unfeasible. Mr. Colombo will not be sailing under the Spanish flag. The Talavera council is henceforth dissolved.” 9 Martorell, Gabriel Verd. Recopilación del Enigma de Don Cristóbal Colom. (España: Palma de Mallorca, 1984), 110-113. 10 Odell, Clarence B., and Dale Edgard Case. “Geographical Background of the First Voyage of Columbus.” The Geographical Research Institute, Chicago. http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/geo/ODLCASE1.GEO 7 Encyclopaedia Britannica. “-WHAT?!?” “Come now, Señor Columbus, it really is quite ambitious.” Zacuto was watching the enraged young man curiously. His normally meticulous appearance had become a bit disheveled in his consternation. He was quite tall, and his face was almost as red as that strange hair of his. But the man recovered himself quickly and countered well: “Fortune favors the bold.” ` Zacuto was impressed. Not many sailors quoted Virgil. But he was careful not to let it show, and stuck to the point: “It also favors those with money. You have no one to fund you.” 10 Odell, “Geographical Background of the First Voyage of Columbus.” 6. The Ptolemy World Map, reconstructed from Ptolemy’s Geographia (circa 150) represents the geographical worldview accepted by most learned men of the time. Columbus, who was also familiar with this map, obviously did not expect to happen upon a land mass the size of the Americas. He calculated the Earth’s equator to be at least ! too small, and assumed that distance between the Spanish Canary Islands and the West Indies to be about 2,500 miles. “The Columbus story is based upon a case where the little-ness of knowledge was not a dangerous but a helpful thing. If Columbus had proposed to sail westward for nearly 12,000 miles, the approximate distance between the Canaries and Japan, could he have expected his crew- members to have made the voyage with him? Hardly! Under such conditions there would have been no first voyage to record as of the 15th century.” 10 “Fortunately, money is a fluid commodity, and can be acquired. With respect Zacuto, your Talavera Commission is by no means the final word. The word of God guides me, and by his grace I will find that which I seek.” He left abruptly. Zacuto sighed, walked to the door, and watched as the tall and ruffled man shouldered his way through the busy street. Such a high-strung, dramatic individual, he thought to himself. Nebrija was right - he has a temper. But that’s part and parcel with those sea- faring folk. If does find his funding, I’ll give him an astrolabe. If he gets that far, with this crazy idea of his, he’ll deserve it. Fall 2005 I open my eyes, images of a doorway, a crowded street, and a tall and angry man fading from my vision… Who was that? Reaching back to rub the base of my neck where the muscles have knotted, I slowly come back to myself and remember the black sleeping computer screen in front of me. I click “Enter,” to wake it up, and with a jolt the monitor jumps to life. It is horrifyingly blank. I watch the cursor blink in the white expanse. Tabula rasa. There was something I was going to write… what was it? I strain to remember, and lose focus momentarily of the page before me as I reach back into my thoughts…. …No, I lost it. Damn. I sigh, rub my forehead, and notice that the room is changing quality, glowing, softening. A golden dusk light reverberates into the room through thin glass panes. Indulging in the window view, I look out across the campus buildings. I watch the windy sky swirl and let my thoughts drift to what will come tonight. Rita must be rolling in. My eyes rest on the swath of dappled clouds draped across the horizon, and I hear a voice echo in my brain, “Fishscale clouds mean rain.” The sky is a salmon, pink with sunset, shimmering with premonition. I watch dusk fall, and sink into the darkness. Spring, 1492 A man walked alone down a dark alleyway on the outskirts of Salamanca. The echo of his footsteps had died out with the end of the cobblestones, and he was now he traipsing through dirt avenues, wet in places with the remains of washbasins and urine bowls. As a boy he had sometimes explored this side of Salamanca with his friends, but that was long ago now and he was unfamiliar with these soggy streets. It unnerved him a bit to be in such an unknown and distasteful part of the city that he knew and loved so well. If only it were daytime, he thought to himself. If it were daytime the sun would glow on the rosy golden stone of the city buildings, the doves would fly out from the cathedral buildings with the bells, and perhaps a lovely campesino girl would traipse by, charming in spite of her dusty frock… A lovely gypsy girl, with big black eyes and– No. not a gypsy girl. He frowned, steeled himself to the night, and kept walking. Eventually he stopped in front of a dark house and peered speculatively at the portal. The low wooden doorframe was splintering. He counted the houses next to it several times, as if to assure himself of something, hesitated momentarily, then knocked. Fall 2005 I open my eyes to darkness. The windowpane, drained now of color, is indistinguishable from the walls. The view before me is as black as my computer screen – the world sleeps. I can see nothing. But I can watch the images in my head. A man with a bundle scurries up a dark street. A little boy is awakened in bed by his heavy-browed father. A red-haired seaman pours over maps and a heavily-thumbed copy of the Bible by lamplight, wine bottle in hand. And I know what happens to them. The man with the package will go home but be unable to sleep. The little boy and his father will be taken prisoner twice on their voyage, but eventually arrive. 12 And the redheaded seaman will board ship a day early to commemorate his ancestors. He’ll be directed by the astrolabe and a compass that doesn’t point north, carried by the luck of the trade winds and his wealthy friends, get rich, murder, become famous and infamous. I think about each, and in the dark I watch their lives unfold until dawn. Somehow, before I know it has happened, light has filtered into the room once more. The windowpane takes shape - first in indigo, then grey, then pink, and finally opaque. “….. l’objet pour lequel on se devoue ….” The little boy, the mariner, the package… they drift away. “….visionune realite; et cette realite est las plus splendid…..” I am vaguely aware that I am staring up at the ceiling. A line of words rolls out before my eyes. I follow after them, but do not know what they mean. “…parure don’t l’homme puisse deco…” The light is changing, sharpening. Suddenly, as if by the click of a button, my brain jolts awake. I discern the meaning behind the words: “If the object to which one devotes himself is an illusion, the devotion to it is none the less a reality; and this reality is the most splendid dress with which a man can deck out his wretched state.” 13 Columbus never did reach the West Indies. But he aimed for them. Word count: 3,292 12 Jacobs, “Zacuto, Abraham Ben Samuel.” 13 France, Anatole. “ ‘Hall of Noble Words’ Quotations.” Course Anthology, (Austin: Jen’s Copy & Binding, 2005), 302. Bibliography 1. National Geographic Historical Atlas of the Unites States. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004. 2. Alder, Joseph. “Christopher Columbus’ Voyage of Discovery: Jewish and New Christian Elements.” http://www.saudades.org/ccolumbusvoyage.html 3. University of Salamanca, “A Brief History of the University of Salamanca.” http://www.usal.es/web-usal/Ingles/Universidad/Historia/Historia.shtml 4. All About Spain Tourist Information Center, “Architecture.” http://www.red2000.com/spain/primer/arch.html 5. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, “Antonio de Nebrija.” 15 September 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_de_Nebrija 6. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, “Abraham Zacuto.” 31 August 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacuto 7. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15 th ed., s.v. “Christopher Columbus.” 8. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, “Hernán Cortés.” 22 September 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_Cortez 9. Martorell, Gabriel Verd. Recopilación del Enigma de Don Cristóbal Colom. España: Palma de Mallorca, 1984. 10. Odell, Clarence B., and Dale Edgard Case. “Geographical Background of the First Voyage of Columbus.” The Geographical Research Institute, Chicago. http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/geo/ODLCASE1.GEO 11. Guía digital.com, Salamanca. “Students – University of Salamanca.” Parque Tecnológico Virtual, 2002. http://www.guia- digital.com/salamanca/estudiantes_en/univ_civil_en.cfm 12. Jacobs, Joseph, and Isaac Broydé. “Zacuto, Abraham Ben Samuel,” Jewish Enciclopedia.com. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=7&letter=Z 13. France, Anatole. “ ‘Hall of Noble Words’ Quotations.” Course Anthology. Austin: Jen’s Copy & Binding, 2005. 14. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. “Astrolabe.” 23 September 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolabe List of Illustrations 1. Salamanca, http://www.guiadigital.com/salamanca/laciudad/arteyarquitectura.cfm 2. Salamanca Universtiy http://www.guiadigital.com/salamanca/laciudad/arteyarquitectura.cfm 3. The Façade of the University, http://www.guiadigital.com/salamanca/laciudad/arteyarquitectura.cfm 4. The Minor Schools, http://www.guiadigital.com/salamanca/laciudad/arteyarquitectura.cfm 5. Cortez, http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/cortes/7.html 6. Ptolemy World Map, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy 7. Zacuto,http://aplicaciones.astrologiaparaserfeliz.wanadoo.es/index.php?seccion=1 0&art=1523 8. Nebrija, http://www.antoniodenebrija.org/ 9. Tabulae Astonomicae, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/loc12a.html 10. 16 th Century Astrolabe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolabe 11. Ships http://www.sailtexas.com/columbusships.html