The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-09-30

Univers" Monsieur Arthur Lotli says
that probably it is not generally
known that the town of Saint Die, in
France, has the honor of being the
godmother of America and Of having
given that continent her name. Evil
IDENTIFY the land of the Stars and
Stripes recognizes this fact, for at the
recent fetes held in this little French
town the American Ambassador and
the Consul General of the United
States in Paris represented their coun-
try. There We're several meetings
as we'll as official receptions, and
many references made at them to the
naming of America having originated
in Saint Die.
The famous writer Joseph de Mais-
ire wrote at the beginning of the
nineteenth century that 'for three
hundred years history has been a con-
spiracy aginst truth" Now we have
to add a century to this. The great
effort of history since the sixteenth
century is the systematic elimination
of the Church and the misstatement
of the part she took in different ep-
ochs. Nowhere is this fact brought
more clearly before us than in the
various histories of France" Wheth-
er the volumes be large or small, it
is patent to us, throughout all their
pages. Therefore, it is not surprising
that at Saint Die. during the recent
celebrations, no effort was made to
let the public know that the name Of
America was given to the land that
bears it by a cleric. Naturally, at
this time Of separation of the State
from the Church, the committee who
organized the festivities omitted to
give any place to the clergy. In order
to have Minister present it was nee
essary to put the Bishop aside and it
was necessary to avoid shocking Off
cial ears by recalling how Saint Die
gave America her name. Now the
following facts with regard to the lat
ter statement have been absolutely
proved:
Origin of the Name.
Towards the end of the fifteenth CEN
fury there was founded at Saint Die,
under the auspices of the canonical
chapter, a scientific society known as
the Gymnasium Vosagense. Canon
Gaultier or Vaultrin Lud had the chief
part in founding this society; it was
he who was also the introducer of a
printing press into Saint Die. Among
the other members of the Gymnasi-
un Vosagense, which was literary as
we'll as scientific, were Canon Pierre
de Baru, the author of the "Nau.
ceide," a Lorraine epic poem; Canon
Basin, Martin Waldsmuller, then a
priest in the Diocese of Constance, but
afterwards a canon of Saint Die, and
some other clergy.
The geographical discoveries of
Christopher Columbus and of Americ
Vespuce suggested the idea to these
learned men who composed the Gym.
nasium Vosagense to bring out a new
edition of Ptolemy's Geography.
Whilst this project was being carried
with the encouragement and patron
age Of Rene H., Duke of Lorraine, who
was lover of learning. Martin Walds-
muller, better known by the nom de
plume "Hylacomylus, published an
abridged treatise of the account of the
quadruple voyage of Americ Vespuce
which Canon Jean Basin had translat-
ed into Latin; he gave the title of
"Cosmographie 1ntroductio' to the
pamphlet. Some time later the name
Of Gymnasium Vosagense" was sub
stituted as being more suitable for a
work brought out under the auspices
Of the Gymnasium Society, and print
ed at the press introduced by Canon
Lud. 1t is in this little treatise that
Waldsmuller proposed in two places to
give America the name of Americ Yes
puce.
Thls is the origin of the name we
now know so well; and we see that
1t emanated from "a committee com.
posed of ecclesiastics and from a book
compiled by one in the priesthood.
This should have been stated at Saint
Die, but then it would have been nee
essary to refer to the clergy at lay
gathering, and this would not have
been pleasing to official anti-clerical.
ism. What shock it would have been
to the ears of Minister of the bloc
to recall the recollection of these
good canons of Saint Die, who. we
may say, christened America In the
first edition of his book Waldsmuller
fell into the mistake of attributing
3 the discovery of America to Amaric