[Mark in the Old South]

Re: "You don't have to be a lit crit to realize that no fifth-century author would ever say "After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century." They just wouldn't."

You are 100% correct but not for the reasons you assume. You see English did not exist in the fifth-century. Even English from the 12th century requires translation for most. And even English from 1611 (a'la the King James Bible) is beyond the understanding of many (consider those who have no idea what tongues means).

[Pyro7480]

Also, if this was a hoax, I would have found at least one site on the Internet refuting it.