Before Columbus, everyone knew the world was a sphere. They even knew its diameter accurately - a Greek named Eratosthenes had measured it two thousand years earlier. If you don't believe me, go and read Dante's 'Divina Commedia'.
Interlace patterns are Scandinavian. The confusion arose because interlace patterns are common in Ireland, and too many people assume Ireland's culture is purely Celtic. It isn't. There was a Norse kingdom in Ireland for many years, and the culture reflects this tradition as much as it reflects the Celtic one. Similarly, 'Celtic Spirituality' is spirituality derived from Scandinavian or North germanic traditions. It has no points of contact with Celtic culture at all.
Anyone with the most minimal acquaintance with the Middle Ages knows that there were several hundred female saints with a wide variety of qualities, all serving as role models for women. But the role model for women that the Church pushed above all others was Judith, who when her menfolk were running round like headless chickens went out on her own initiative and used her feminine sexuality to kill Israel's enemy.
No it didn't. There was no Early Church, only a loose association of early churches, far too loose to do anything at all. In particular, the Early Church did not edit the New Testament documents. Individual churches may have wanted to, but the whole idea is impossible.
The Church vigorously opposed the conquest and enslavement of the Central and South American peoples. It was the Humanists who forced through the conquest, on the grounds that the native peoples were obviously racially inferior, and only fit for slavery. Oh, and they promised higher profits, of course. (There doesn't seem to be any real evidence that the profits actually materialised.)
No, wise Man. The ending '-a' in Old English indicates a masculine noun. The Old English for 'wise woman' would be something like 'wiccu', but I can't find any occurrence of that word. Not surprising; the whole concept dates back to pagan times, when the idea of a wise woman would have been laughed at - like a 'wise cow' or a 'wise bucket'.
No. The Greek for Earth is 'Ge', giving *Gamater or *Gemeter depending on the dialect. There is no justification for arbitrarily changing the G to a D. Nor is the evidence for Demeter as a life source particularly convincing; it is based largely on the identification of her daughter Persephone as a goddess of crops. But this proves nothing about her mother; Demeter is just as likely to be a death goddess, like Cybele, and then Persephone becomes a goddess of rebirth.