FRAGOSO’S THEORY—CONFIRMATION OF CORTE REAL THEORY:
Joseph Dâmaso Fragoso became interested in Dighton Rock in 1928, and 2 years later invited Prof. Delabarre to New York City to lecture on his findings. Fragoso studied the history of Dighton Rock for more than 20 years. He organized the Miguel Corte Real Memorial Society which bought 49 1/2 acres of land adjacent to the rock, and also founded a magazine entitled “The Portuguese World” to campaign for the establishment of a park to preserve the rock.

Joseph Dâmaso Fragoso. He became the center of much controversy even sustaining bodily injuries while defending his beliefs about the Dighton Rock inscriptions.
While a language instructor (Portuguese) at New York University, Fragoso wrote in 1951 a small article in which he describes the Cross of the Order of Christ on Dighton Rock. He stated that:

  • (a) “The base of the figure representing a doll on the left side of the rock (north side), cannot be anything else but one of the branches of the Cross of the Order of Christ.”
  • (b) “The so-called arms of the doll are also other branches of the Cross of the Order of Christ.”
  • (c) and what has been thought to be the face of the doll (mermaid or God) is nothing else but the Portuguese coat of arms, “U” shaped, with the Quinas of Portugal.”
  • (d) "Other fragments and extremities of the Cross of the Order of Christ can be seen above Miguel Corte Real’s name and next to the ‘V” shaped Portuguese coat of arms discovered by Delabarre on the right, side (south side) of the face of the inscriptions.’’

Though Fragoso never made a drawing or a photograph of Dighton Rock in an attempt to explain his findings, examination of the early drawing reveals clearly that in the first document made by Rev. John Danforth in 1680, what he called a ‘‘ship without masts’’ is indeed the Cross of the Order of Christ.
Fragoso's discovery of the Cross of the Order of Christ was the decisive contribution to the Corte Real theory. Actually, when we review all of the drawings from 1680 to 1919, the parts most consistent of the inscriptions are those belonging to the Cross of the Order of Christ.
CRITICAL REVIEW OF DELABARRE'S AND FRAGOSO'S THEORY:
After giving serious consideration to Delabarre’s and Fragoso's theory, this author (then a Fellow in Internal Medicine at famous Lahey Clinic, in Boston) presented an exhaustive interpretation of the Dighton Rock at the First Inter national of the History of the Discoveries held in Lisbon, Portugal. (September 8, 1960).
In this presentation the author concluded that:

  • (1) The letters A.D., near IS11, as proposed by Delabarre, do not exist.
  • (2) The name of Miguel Corte Real appears as Delabarre so indicated.
  • (3) The "V" shaped Portuguese coat of arms is engraved on the rock.
  • (4) The message in abbreviated Latin (V. Dei hic Dux IND) is not on Dighton Rock because of the following objections:

(a) The abbreviated forms were too hypothetical,
(b) The letter's have an inconsistent size and shape (e.g. not all capital letters),
(c) Other Portuguese land markers do not have Latin inscriptions,
(d) The lines attributed to the X and N form part of the angles of the Cross of the Order of Christ.
(5) There are four Crosses of the Order of Christ, one U-shaped Portuguese Coat of Arms, and one V-shaped Portuguese Coat of Arms, engraved on Dighton Rock.
With all respect to Professor Delabarre, as he was the first to give a correct interpretation to some of the engravings the author believes that his “message in Latin’’ has been a hindrance to the acceptance of the Corte Real Theory. This “Latin message’’ unfortunately, has been an error that continues to be repeated by those who are not familiar with the Cross of The Order of Christ, or by scholars who desire to exaggerate doubts, because they do not want to accept a Portuguese theory.
In respect to Fragoso's, who first discovered the Crosses of Order of Christ on Dighton Rock, the author must criticize his adherence to Delabarre’s non-existing Latin message, and also his failure to point out the fragments of another Cross of the Order of Christ which lies parallel to the one he had described above Miguel Corte Real’s name.

Delabarre's "message in Latin"



What Delabarre thought to be an "N" and "X" are fragments of the Cross of the Order of Christ.
TESTING THE VALIDITY OF THE CORTE REAL THEORY
Click on all photos for a larger view


THE COMPLETE CORTE REAL THEORY: Photo by da Silva, (Nov 1959)


The following table lists the four groups of symbols attributed to Dighton Rock. Keeping these four characteristics in mind, we can proceed to examine the most outstanding reproductions of the Dighton Rock inscriptions.
The first recorded document of the Dighton Rock inscriptions was produced by Reverend John Danforth in 1680. Danforth drew only the upper half of the inscriptions, perhaps because the lower half was covered by tidal water most of the day. Danforth’s interpretation of his drawing was described as follows:
“It is reported from the tradition of the old Indians, that there came a wooden house (and men of another country in it) swimming up the river Assonet, that fought the Indians and slew their Saunchem (Sachem) . Some interpret the figures here to be hieroglyphical. The first figure representing a ship, without masts, and a meer (mere) wreack cast upon the Shoales. The second representing an head of land, possibly a cape with a peninsula. Hence a gulf.”
In 1732. the Royal Society of London requested and received Danforth’s copy of Dighton Rock and later presented it to the British Museum where it is preserved today.
FIRST DOCUMENT BY DANFORTH 1680:

The first document of Dighton Rock was made by John Danforth in 1680


It can be readily seen that what Danforth called “a ship without masts” or a “peninsula” are indeed sections of the Cross of the Order of Christ.

The fact that so many fragments of the Cross of the Order of Christ appeared on the first drawing is sufficient evidence to eliminate any suspicion that the Cross was engraved in recent times to support the Portuguese theory.


JAMES WINTHROP’S INK IMPRESSION — 1788:
In 1788, James Winthrop placed a large sheet of paper across the face of Dighton Rock and obtained a rubbing of the inscriptions. Afterwards he made a reduced copy in the same scale as the original.
In this Winthrop copy we can distinguish a more complete Cross of the Order of Christ on the upper center of the inscriptions. On the north side appears the base of another cross and the so-called “face of a mermaid” which is actually the Quinas of Portugal. On the south side, the V within a V-shaped shield and the lower branch of another cross begin to take shape.



LETTERING:
The Stephen Sewell copy made in 1788 depicts some of the letters and the complete V-shaped shield.

Two years later, in 1790, Baylies and Goodwin drew a complete M, and a diamond shaped Gothic 0, an R, and part of a T. The entire V-shaped shield was drawn, but was not recognized as the Portuguese symbol.



In 1830, a copy of the inscriptions was commissioned by the Rhode Island Historical Society . In this reproduction, the letters M, I, part of the C and 0 (both Gothic), R, T, and part of E were revealed. This copy again delineates the fragments of the Cross of the Order of Christ, and the U- and V-shaped Portuguese coat of arms. And once again, the students of Dighton Rock failed to discover that these symbols were Portuguese.

The Rhode Island Historical Society drawing, together with a sketch of the Dighton Rock and its surroundings, were sent in 1834 to Professor Charles C. Rafn of Denmark who had requested in 1829 evidence of Norse voyages to North America. Wishing to substantiate his preconceived Norse theory, Rafn, who never came to America, proceeded to interpret the letters in Corte Real’s name as Runic for Thorfinn, a Norse explorer.

Bartlett's view or sketch 1834

Rafn, unfortunately, influenced public opinion in favor of the Norse theory by encouraging a hysterical rather than a historical controversy. He not only attributed the Dighton Rock inscriptions to the Norsemen, but further claimed that the Newport Tower was also built by the Vikings.
Rafn based his claim for Newport Tower on the Viking theory for Dighton Rock, but later Delabarre proved that the Norsemen had nothing to do with the Dighton Rock inscriptions.
SYNOPSIS OF SELECTED COPIES OF
THE INSCRIPTIONS LISTED CHRONOLOGICALLY
In the following series of copies, we observe progressively greater detail recorded from one copy to another. Paradoxically, as the engravings continued to weather over the centuries, the copies became more complete in detail. If we were to superimpose these copies, one upon another, we would obtain a composite of all the lines which make up the engravings carved by Miguel Corte Real, in 1511.
Click here to see modern photos
and close-ups of the face of Dighton Rock
COMPARISON OF DIGHTON ROCK WITH
UNDISPUTED PORTUGUESE LANDMARKERS
IN AFRICA:
Dighton Rock is approximately 3,000 nautical miles from Lisbon, Portugal. Yellala Rock is 5000 nautical miles from Lisbon. It is located 147 miles from the mouth of the Congo River, and has inscriptions on it made by Diogo Cão in 1484
These inscriptions are typical of the Portuguese landmarkers, and show the transition from the high type cross to the Cross of the Order of Christ with concave base extremities. The Yellala inscriptions states in Portuguese: “The ships of wise King John II arrived here Diogo Cão, Pero Anes, Pero da Costa.”
IN ASIA:
The St. Laurence Rock, in Ceylon, is approximately 10,000 nautical miles from Lisbon. The Cross engraved there is the early form of the Cross of the Order of Christ with straight base extremities. The date 1501 on the St. Laurence Rock is illustrative of the form in which the Arabic numerals were written in Portugal. The digit one (1) is short and with serifs. The numeral 5 is in the form of a large capital 5, and the zero is made small to conform with the concept of emptiness.

ASIAN "CONTINENT": St Lawrence Rock (10,000 miles from Lisbon) Notice the date 1501 with short ones and the fives like a capitol "S"

AFRICAN CONTINENT: Yellala Rock (5,000 miles from Lisbon.)
IN AMERICA:
The similarity of these three landmarkers, so many thousands of miles away from each other, is indeed striking. They have engraved on them the same Portuguese coat of arms, the same Cross of the Order of Christ, and the same style of numerals.
The uniform use of these Portuguese national and religious symbols is a result of the fact that the Portuguese navigators received the same training and education at the School of Prince Henry the Navigator. In contrast to the early forms of the Cross engraved on the St. Laurence and the Yellala Rock, the Cross of the Order of Christ on Dighton Rock has the mature form of 45 degree extremities, the only cross of its kind in the world.
We consider the Dighton Rock inscriptions primary evidence for the Corte Real theory. In the next four chapters we present the secondary evidence for the Portuguese theory.

pilgrim chapter 7