MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Dec. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- December 18, 2019 - David X. Kenney, independent historical researcher and owner of Roman Officer, Inc. speculates there are two secret names connected to America and its official namesake, Amerigo Vespucci.
Amerigo (or Americo) likely derives from the ancient Germanic name Amalrich. Interestingly, the root of Norse explorer Leif Ericson's surname also appears in the word America. The root of Roman Emperor Vespasian's name, appears in Vespucci.
This seeming coincidence possibly represented a way for Duke Rene II of Lorraine to nod to historical beliefs originating from his grandfather, Duke Rene of Anjou. Rene II via his secretary commissioned German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller and his collaborator Matthias Ringmann to create the famed Universalis Cosmographia map in 1507, which names South America after Vespucci.
Six years later, Waldseemuller produced an atlas of the New World, without the name America. Waldseemuller perhaps had no reason to continue using the name Rene II likely favored, after Rene's death in 1508. The only complete copy of the 1507 map resides in the Library of Congress.
A bronze plaque owned by Kenney that appears to have been a quintain contest prize, gives clues to the naming. Besides having Renaissance knight themes on it, the plaque displays in Latin bind letters the names of Leif Ericson and Vespasian. The central theme revolves around the Norse mead god and a giant bee (Vespasian's name means wasp, and he was a beekeeper) and shows fruits of the New World.
The plaque contains the date 1545, among other details which suggests it was meant to promote a centennial for a tournament given by Rene of Anjou in honor of the marriage of two of his daughters, Margaret (to Henry VI, King of England) and Yolande (to Frederick II, Count of Vaudemont) in 1445. The plaque's information suggests in an entertaining way a claim by the English as the descendants of seafaring Norsemen and Romans (Vespasian had commanded a legion in Britannia), that they were the first European discoverers of America.
It has been nearly seven years since Kenney publicly announced he had artifacts which showed the Romans visited North America under Vespasian. In 2017, immediately after Hurricane Irma, Roman artifacts were discovered in southern Florida. Kenney has been busy and will begin publishing his latest findings on his website romanofficer.com around December 25, 2019.
Contact: David X. Kenney
[email protected]
SOURCE David Xavier Kenney
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