Then what - everyone forgot?
Why does history tell us that [Ball Earth] was a new idea that the Catholic Church tried to prevent [the popularity of] (at first) and then later accepted and promoted?
Ok here is a excerpt from a monk in 735 AD name Bede
“The reason why the same days are of unequal length is the roundness of the Earth, for not without reason is it called ‘‘the orb of the world’’ on the pages of Holy Scripture and of ordinary literature. It is, in fact, a sphere set in the middle of the whole universe. It is not merely circular like a shield [or] spread out like a wheel, but resembles more a ball,”
The European scholars and yea the church already knew it was a sphere.
The concept that the church was filled with flat earthers was promoted by church detractors.
It became really popular to ridicule Christians using the flat earther label in the 19th century.
Blessings
Bill