Circumnavigations #6: The First Book Around the World

One of the presenters at the "Primus Circumdedisti Me: Claves de la Primera Globalizacion" conference focused primarily on the life of those who traveled with Magellan on his voyage. What were the things that they ate? How much did they get paid? What were the rules on these ships? What was the hierarchy like? Were captains the lords over these ships and the men like slaves? Or was there some democracy as we see on pirate ships?

Much of this presentation I was already familiar with from my own study and even from the numerous pirate based video games that I enjoy playing. But there was one part that I found particularly interesting, about how men passed the time on the voyages, or what they did for fun.

Trade voyages to the other side of the world, followed known routes, but still took months and years to complete, the level of ennui on these journeys must have been severe on small ships without may diversions, and a crew too poor and too cramped in to bring much with them. But for voyages such as that of Magellan, which lasted for 3 years, and was driven was exploration into what was unknown to Europeans, there would have been a great deal of anxiety, along with long stretches of boredom.

One of the aspects of this age which is least mentioned, but was very common, was sexual relations between the men on board the ships. I was able to find one reference to it during Magellan's trip. One ships' master was caught engaging in sexual relations with a cabin boy. During those days when men undertook dangerous voyages and were not necessarily part of any military or rigid structure of command, executing men was not common, as it would sour the morale. Magellan nonetheless had the master executed, which is noted as one of the many issues that later led to the mutiny against him.

I did also find one reference to women being hidden aboard a ship. After resting in Port St. Julian in what is today Argentina, prior to attempting to reach pass around the southern tip of South America, several sailors tried to sneak on board their ship women they had met. Unfortunately for those desperate men, they were found and dispatched.

In some depictions of sea journeys for the time, sailors play games such as chess, however this was unlikely as obtaining the board and pieces could be very expensive. Cards were a far more affordable option, although even that was sometimes out of a sailor's price range. Dice were the cheapest options and therefore the most common game. Sailors, undeterred by their financial situation, could nonetheless try to carve their own pieces or even make their own cards.

Music was always an options. The cheapest and most convenient form of entertainment would be a song from your own lips or hearing a song from another. Instruments were expensive for your average sailor and not something each would have.

What fascinated me the most about this presentation was when it turned to "collective reading" as a means of leisure or entertainment. Books would be a rare commodity at this time, both in terms of price, but also because of the majority of sailors possibility not being able to read. But this was solved through collective reading, where someone who could read or had the book, would read from it to others.

In the early 16th century, there weren't many options in terms of literature, both for the rich or the poor. There were history books, religious books, perhaps some books that featured knowledge of faraway lands, or specialized knowledge about medicine or astrology. A fiction book as we know it today was still very uncommon.

On Magellan's voyage, the Bible would have been the main book to travel with the crew. But according to the presentation, another book, published just three prior to the start of the attempted circumnavigation, was also taken with them. And it would have been much more exciting to listen to than sections of the Bible.

That book is Orlando Furioso, written by Ludovico Ariosto. It is an epic Italian poem that would be the equivalent of a blockbuster today. It blended together so many genre types, that even though it was very successful for the time, it was criticized by scholars of the day for having a poorly conceived plot. Reading some of the scholarly commentary on it reminds me of film criticism today around Michael Bay films.

For something written in 1516, Orlando Furioso, feels very out of place. It contains action, huge battles and sieges. It contains romance and even sensual parts between lovers. It also has religious overtones. And finally, it contains fantasy and even sci-fi elements, with long voyages one of which takes characters to the moon. For men, traveling long distances without much in the way of comfort, a story like this would have been a huge diversion. Following fights between Christian and pagan warriors. Searches for princesses. A trip aboard a flaming chariot to reach the moon and found someone's lost sanity. Sea monsters and hippogrifs.

I have long enjoyed the story of Orlando Furioso, I first read it with the illustrations of Gustave Dore, who is one of favorite artists. What the men would have taken with them on Magellan's voyage wouldn't have been the complete version of the poem, as that was only published years later. But it would have been enough for me to say that this fascinating and innovative for its time books, was possibly one of the first literary works to travel around the world.