Baum Gartner Peregrinations 41
Baum Gartner Peregrinations 41
Baum Gartner Peregrinations 41
The Holy Land has always played an important role in the imagination
between Europe and Asia, it served as a region of diverse interactions between the three
Abrahamic religions, was a destination for pilgrims, and a place where many disputes over
territory took place. The armed crusades of 1099 by the Latin Christians led to the formation
of the crusader states, which fell again after the final loss of Jerusalem in 1244 and the fall of
Acre in 1291 to the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Khalil. Seizures and loss of territory resulted in
the production of hundreds of travel and crusade accounts, as well as some of the first
regional maps created in Europe for precisely this part of the world.1 More than twenty maps
1
This article was developed from a paper that I gave at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds in 2011.
For a first version, see Ingrid Baumgärtner, "Reiseberichte, Karten und Diagramme. Burchard von Monte
Sion und das Heilige Land,” Geschichtsvorstellungen. Bilder, Texte und Begriffe aus dem Mittelalter, ed.
Steffen Patzold, Anja Rathmann-Lutz and Volker Scior (Köln Weimar Wien: Böhlau Verlag, 2012), 461-
507. I am grateful to the Gerda Henkel Stiftung for providing financial support for travel and research costs
and to the Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, in Florence, Italy, for
providing me with the opportunity to stay there as a research associate. Cf. P.D.A. Harvey, “The biblical
content of medieval maps of the Holy Land,” Geschichtsdeutung auf alten Karten. Archäologie und
Geschichte (Wolfenbütteler Forschungen 101), ed. Dagmar Unverhau (Wolfenbüttel: Harrassowitz Verlag,
2003), 55-63; P.D.A. Harvey, “Europa und das Heilige Land,” Europa im Weltbild des Mittelalters.
Kartographische Konzepte (Orbis mediaevalis 10), ed. Ingrid Baumgärtner and Hartmut Kugler (Berlin:
Akademie Verlag, 2008), 135-142. Harvey counts 21 maps excluding the city maps, in particular of
Jerusalem and its surroundings, and without other drawings such as Bruxelles, Bibliothèque royale de
Belgique / Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België (henceforth referred to as KBR), Ms. IV 462, fol. 8 r (first half
of the 13th century); cf. Patrick Gautier Dalché, “Cartes de terre sainte, cartes de pèlerins,” Fra Roma e
Gerusalemme nel medioevo. Paessaggi umani ed ambientali del pellegrinaggio meridionale, vol. 2, ed.
Massimo Oldoni (Salerno: Laveglia, 2005), 573-612; Ingrid Baumgärtner, “Das Heilige Land kartieren und
beherrschen,” Herrschaft verorten. Politische Kartographie des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit, ed.
Ingrid Baumgärtner and Martina Stercken (Zürich: Chronos, 2012), 27-75; P. D. A. Harvey, Medieval Maps
of the Holy Land (London: British Library, 2012).
5
of Palestine, as well as numerous Holy Land diagrams and city maps dating from the twelfth
to the fourteenth centuries, have been found. European travelers and draftsmen were already
exploring the geography of the Middle East at a time when they seldom mapped even their
home regions.
The sacred places and the territories surrounding them held ideological significance.
The ways in which they are described in texts and visualized in maps and diagrams
contributed to the impression that these coveted places were held by the Christian west.
Crusader beliefs and the veneration of Jerusalem established a model to interpret and
organize history, which in turn influenced the world order of European crusaders and the
world knowledge of pilgrims and scholars. Using visual descriptions, Europeans found a new
way to operationalize their distant conquests. Despite all efforts to make claims to the border
region disputed by the various religions a reality, this symbolic occupation can be interpreted
as reflecting a fundamental desire; as John Brian Harley argues, "to map the land was to own
it and make that ownership legitimate."2 The results were interactions between the textual
descriptions provided by pilgrim accounts and encyclopedias and the visual cartographic and
diagrammatic images. And so, the questions here are: to what extent were text and
cartography, narrative accounts and graphical designs, interdependent, and which spatial
visualizations did authors create for the targeted reader through the use of various media?
The following closely examines the relationship between the description and mapping
of spaces and the feasibility of describing and mapping such spatial representations. Travel
accounts have a special ability to generate a layout. They refer to spaces and topographies
beyond the textual descriptions, thereby making them visible. Even the texts themselves
2
John Brian Harley, assisted by Ellen Hanlon and Mark Warhus, Maps and the Columbian Encounter. An
Interpretive Guide to the Travelling Exhibition (Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin, 1990), 99; cf. John H.
Andrews, “Introduction. Meaning, Knowledge, and Power in the Map Philosophy of J. B. Harley,” The New
Nature of Maps. Essays in the History of Cartography, ed. Paul Laxton (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 2001), 1-32, here 22.
6
produce positioning, which can be cartographically illustrated as a complement to the
description and then color the account once again. The maps are then no longer seen as
surveys of topographical reality and visualizations of landscapes and places, but as multi-
purposed, as we consider their qualities as cultural texts. They represent different systems of
classification; they suggest the potential control over and designation of areas, and are used to
generate knowledge and discursive interaction with the observer. On the one hand, they are
tools for orientation and self-positioning and, on the other, products of discourses on power
and religion. Therefore, they play active and passive roles in the visualization of territories. In
each of these roles, they are closely bound to the political cultures of their times, knowledge
of areas, and power. This applies in particular to the Holy Land and its cultural, religious, and
Using Burchard of Mount Sion and his Holy Land description as an example, we can
examine how text and image interact in the acquisition of territories, and which changes each
of these types of representation were subject to over time. The Dominican wrote down his
experiences while or after spending several years in the Holy Land before, during and after
12833 Burchard's Descriptio terrae sanctae became a late medieval popular success. Its
various versions, including a short and a long version in Latin and translations into German
and French, have been handed down in approximately one hundred medieval and early
3
About the author and his work cf. Ernst Rotermund, “Das Jerusalem des Burchard vom Berge Sion,”
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 35 (1912): 1-27 and 57-85; Repertorium fontium historiae medii
aevi 2 (Rome: Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo, 1967), 609; Thomas Kaeppeli, Scriptores Ordinis
Praedicatorum 1: A-F (Rome, 1970), 257-260; Karin Schneider, “Burchardus de Monte Sion,” Die deutsche
Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon 1, ed. Kurt Ruh (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1978), 1117f.; Jan Prelog,
“Burchard de Monte Sion OP,” Lexikon des Mittelalters 2, ed. Robert-Henri Bautier (München Zürich:
Artemis & Winkler, 1983), 953; Harvey, “The biblical content,” 56-59; Gritje Hartmann, Wilhelm Tzewers:
Itinerarius terre sancte. Einleitung, Edition, Kommentar und Übersetzung (Abhandlungen des deutschen
Palästina-Vereins 33) (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004), 38-42; Gautier Dalché, “Cartes de terre sainte,”
586-592; Ingrid Baumgärtner, “Reiseberichte und Karten. Wechselseitige Einflüsse im späten Mittelalter?,”
In Spuren reisen. Vor-Bilder und Vor-Schriften in der Reiseliteratur, ed. Gisela Ecker and Susanne Röhl
(Münster: Lit Verlag, 2006), 89-124, here 108f.; Harvey, Medieval Maps, 94-106, about Burchard of Mount
Sion and the map of the Holy Land in Florence, Archivio di Stato, Carte nautiche, geografiche e
topografiche 4. I am grateful to Professor Harvey for allowing me to read and refer to the relevant chapter of
his book prior to publication.
7
modern manuscripts and some early printed books of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Burchard’s description, although little studied even today, is considered a key document that
influenced the perception of Palestine in both text and image, in travel accounts and maps
Some of the manuscripts and later prints of Burchard’s text are accompanied by
graphical work, including regional maps, diagrams, miniatures, and city plans. Differentiated
regional maps visualize, for instance, two handwritten long versions from the fourteenth and
early sixteenth centuries.4 Regional diagrams of the winds illustrate a short and a long version
from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries now in London and Munich, respectively, as well
as a longer version in Hamburg from the early sixteenth century.5 A T-O scheme of the world
supplements the excerpts of a long version from the fifteenth century now in Munich.6 In
addition, two portolan-style maps of Palestine, produced around 1300, were transmitted
separately from the account that inspired their makers.7 These multifaceted transmittal
circumstances offer us an opportunity to analyze in greater detail the correlation between map
and account, as well as the content, routes, and structures of the transfer of knowledge
This interrelation can be outlined in six steps. I first examine the biographical context
of origin and its complex transmittal circumstances; second, I look at the structure of the
4
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (henceforth referred to as BML), Plut. 76.56, fol. 97v-98r;
Hamburg, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek (henceforth referred to as SUB), Cod. geogr. 59, p. 70-71 with
a map of the Holy Land.
5
London, British Library (henceforth referred to as BL), Add. Ms. 18929, fol. 1r-50v (long version), fol. 51r
with a wind diagram; Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (henceforth referred to as BSB), Clm 569, fol.
184r-210v (short version), fol. 186v with a wind diagram; Hamburg, SUB, Cod. geogr. 59, pp. 10-69 (long
version), p. 13 with a wind diagram. I would like to thank Ekkehart Rotter for graciously referring me to the
diagrams in Munich and Hamburg.
6
Munich, BSB, Clm 14583, fol. 454r-488v, here fol. 471v with a T-O scheme.
7
Florence, Archivio di Stato (henceforth referred to as ASt), Carte nautiche, geografiche e topografiche 4;
Reinhold Röhricht, "Karten und Pläne zur Palästinakunde aus dem 7.-16. Jahrhundert I," Zeitschrift des
Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 14 (1891): 8-11; and Figure I, New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
(henceforth referred to as PML), M 877.
8
account, including its graphical presentation; third, I discuss the diagramming and mapping
methods used in the versions of handwritten accounts; fourth, I study the relevance of the
separately transmitted maps and their interplay with the text of the travel report; fifth, I
briefly discuss how Burchard’s account was received, pictorially and textually, in the
manuscripts and the printed editions; and, finally, I present a summary of the results.
What we know of Burchard's life comes only from his travel report. However, without
knowing what was added by copyists and annotators, it is difficult to know precisely what
Burchard wrote himself. The starting point is complex. We are currently aware of
approximately one hundred medieval and early modern transmissions in Latin, German and
French, including over eighty manuscripts of the Latin text in short and long versions. There
preface in two different versions. A few copies of the longer version include an additional
Compilations and excerpts also have been found merged with works of other authors.8 All of
this leads to the fact that the biographical information contained in the numerous versions and
their variations differs significantly. Therefore, we are not able to ascertain sources for the
information, who added it, or how reliable the statements are. As a consequence, Burchard's
8
Cf. Cecilia Blanco Pascual, “Los manuscritos del Tractatus de Terra Sancta compilatus a fratre Marino et a
fratre Brocardo (anónimo): algunas notas críticas,” Exemplaria Classica. Journal of Classical Philology.
Revista de Filologia Clásica 12 (2008): 181-193; Cecilia Blanco Pascual, “El Tractatus de Terra Sancta
Compilatus a Fratre Marino et a Fratre Brocardo (anónimo): “plagio” y originalidad,” Actas do IV
Congresso Internacional de Latim Medieval Hispânico, ed. Aires Nascimento and Paulo Alberto (Lissabon:
Centro de Estudos Clássicos, 2006), 243-249. Michele Campopiano, University of York, is preparing an
edition of the compilation in Wolfenbüttel, Herzog-August-Bibliothek (henceforth referred to as HAB), Cod
Guelf. 391 Helmst. and examines the different collections of texts in manuscripts with pilgrims’ guidebooks;
cf. Michele Campopiano, “Tradizione e edizione di una compilazione di testi sulla Terra Santa proveniente
dal convento francescano del Monte Sion (fine del XIV secolo),” Revue d’histoire des textes n.s. 4 (2011):
329-359; Michele Campopiano, “Islam, Jews and Eastern Christianity in Late Medieval Pilgrims’
Guidebooks: Some Examples from the Franciscan Convent of Mount Sion,” Al-Masāq: Islam and the
Medieval Mediterranean 24,1 (2012): 75-89.
9
biography and works, thanks to the imagination and additions of others during and after his
present day. This can be partially attributed to the fact that, to this date, neither the long nor
short version has been critically edited, and both are available only in old, incomplete
editions. In 1604, Heinrich Canisius published the Latin short version, last reprinted in 1725,
and without the seldom-transmitted preface.9 In 1864, Johann C. M. Laurent published the
long version, which was reprinted in 1873.10 He added a detailed forward about the
transmission circumstances, but was unaware of the description of Egypt, which probably
was included in only a few of the long-version manuscripts. The situation becomes
recently confirmed by Paul Harvey, may have been two completely different works, and not
It is even more difficult to clarify the relationship between the two versions. In his
preface, Laurent assumed that Burchard wrote the short version while in the Holy Land, sent
it to Magdeburg, and only later, based on this first rapid narrative, produced the complete
9
For an edition of the short version, see Burchard de Monte Sion, “Descriptio terrae sanctae,” ed. Heinrich
Canisius, Antiquae lectionis, 6 vol. (Ingolstadt: Officina typographica Ederiana, 1601-1604), vol. 6, 295-322;
Burchard de Monte Sion, “Descriptio terrae sanctae,” ed. Jacques Basnage, Thesaurus monumentorum
ecclesiasticorum et historicum, sive Henrici Canisii lectiones antique, 4 vol. (Antwerpen: Apud Rudolphum
& Gerhardum Wetstenios, 1725), vol. 4, 1-28. This is the only edition of the short version; it is based on a
manuscript from the monastery of St. Mang in Regensburg, today in Munich, BSB, Clm 569, fol. 184r-210v.
10
Edition of the long version: Burchard de Monte Sion, “Descriptio terrae sanctae,” ed. Johann C. M. Laurent,
Peregrinatores medii aevi quatuor (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs Bibliopola, 1873), 11-94; English translation:
Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land, trans. Aubrey Stewart (London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text
Society, 1896, Reprint New York: A M S Press, 1971); Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-
1291 (Crusade Texts in Translation 23), ed. Denys Pringle (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2012), 241-320;
Reprint and Italian translation: Burchardus de Monte Sion, “Descriptio terrae sanctae,” ed. Sabino de
Sandoli, Itineraria hierosolymitana crucesignatorum (saec. XII-XIII) (Pubblicazioni dello Studium Biblicum
Franciscanum 24), 4 vol. (Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, 1978-1984), vol. 4, 119-219.
11
Rotermund, “Das Jerusalem des Burchard,” 3; Harvey, Medieval Maps, 98-99. There are differences in the
titles, for example. The long version divides the Holy Land into seven or eight sectors, when including the
separate chapter on Jerusalem; the short version, in contrast, focuses on individual Holy Land locations and
sites.
10
version, which is almost four times longer than the short version.12 Accordingly, authors such
as Johann Laurent and Paul Harvey privileged the short version. They argue that the latter
tells us more about Burchard himself than the long version, as it supposedly omits some
personal comments.13 At the same time, however, Harvey emphasizes that many references
made in the short version are meaningful only when read in the context of the long version,
which, therefore, must form the basis of the short version.14 This means that the short version,
which contains more biographical information, must have come from the long version. The
question of authorship of the individual versions and their biographical additions remains
unanswered.
Adaptations and printed copies followed later. In the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, the works were translated into German and French. These translations are available
in only a few manuscripts. One copy of the short version and two copies of the long version
in German are found today in Munich, Vienna, and Klosterneuburg, Austria.15 The translated
work was spread in the form of early printed books: German editions in 1534, 1583, 1584,
1609 and 1629, 1827; and a French edition in 1488. Approximately twenty editions of the
Latin version were published by the middle of the eighteenth century, after its first printing in
the Rudimentum novitiorum in 1475.16 All of these texts offer different information about the
12
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent, 10.
13
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 3-4; Harvey, “Medieval Maps,” chapter 9.
14
Harvey, Medieval Maps, 98-100, with examples.
15
Short version in Klosterneuburg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 1056, fol. 75r-98r; long versions: Munich, BSB,
Cgm. 317, fol. 131ra-140vb; Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 4578, fol. 195va-207va. For
the codex in Munich, dated 1406-1450, cf. Karin Schneider, Die deutschen Handschriften der Bayerischen
Staatsbibliothek München: Cgm 201-350 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1970), 306-316; Kaeppeli, Scriptores,
260; Reinhold Röhricht, Bibliotheca geographica Palaestinae. Chronologisches Verzeichnis der von 333 bis
1878 verfassten Literatur über das Heilige Land mit dem Versuch einer Kartographie, Berlin 1890,
verbesserte und vermehrte Neuausgabe mit einem Vorwort von David H. K. Amiran (Jerusalem: John Trotter
Publishers, 1963), 57. An edition of the unprinted German version is still missing.
16
Rudimentum novitiorum (1475), fol. 176r-200r, map of the Holy Land ibid., fol. 174v-175r; Burchard,
“Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 11-17, with a list of the twenty Latin editions from 1475 to 1746 and the print
versions of the translations.
11
author and his travels through the Holy Land, along with a variety of pictures, diagrams, and
Some manuscripts tell us that Burchard of Mount Sion was of German origin
(Theotonicus) and that he came from the Magdeburg region. 17 Because of his first name, he
was always connected with the noble Barby family of the region, not to be confused with the
then Earl of Barby. We can assume that he was a Dominican friar: he refers to himself as
frater in the incipit of the short version (in later printed copies, however, the text refers to
Burchard as monachus), and addressed a copy of the work to a Dominican friar of the same
name, Burchard, in Magdeburg.18 It is almost certain that Burchard of Mount Sion spent
several years in the Middle East, certainly in 1283/1284, probably before and perhaps even
after; however, the duration of his stay is difficult to estimate. It is possible he spent up to ten
years there.
Above all, Burchard's account describes the Holy Land, including its borders, flora
and fauna, and the religions of the inhabitants. When he later claims to have been in
Cappadocia, in Cyprus, which was ruled at the time by the Hospitallers, and in Egypt, we
must ask ourselves if this statement has any merit. 19 For, in the preface, he emphasizes his
17
Padova, Biblioteca del Seminario Vescovile (henceforth referred to as BSV), Cod. 74, fol. 32 v, manuscript
from the early 14th century with two pieces of important information: The explicit of this long version dates
the account to 1284 and identifies Burchard as a German (Theotonicus). For the codex cf. Andrea Donello et
al. (Ed.), I manoscritti della Biblioteca del Seminario Vescovile di Padova (Venezia – Firenze: Regione del
Veneto, Giunta regionale, 1998), 24. Cf. the explicit in Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 101v. Harvey,
Medieval Maps, 94, infers the German decent also from the fact that the short version mentions a place called
Rotenburch, located between Jerusalem and Jericho, where much blood was spilled; cf. Burchard,
"Descriptio," ed. Canisius/Basnage 16: Locus idem Rotenburch appellatur, propter multum sanguinem ibi
susum. For the origin from the Magdeburg region, cf. Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Canisius/Basnage , 17:
quod Ierusalem amplior multo sit & longior, quam antiqua civitas Magdeburgensis.
18
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Canisius/Basnage 9: fratri Burchardo, Lectori Ordinis Praedicatorum in
Maydenburch, frater Burchardus de monte Sion. Even the long version in Hamburg (circa 1500) identifies
Burchard as a Dominican: Hamburg, SUB, Cod. geogr. 59, p. 10 with the title Itinerarius terre sancte valde
bonus, editus a fratre Borchardo de Berghe ordinis predicatorum; cf. Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 6.
19
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 61 on the production of balsam in Egypt and 93-94 on the travel routes.
12
personal experiences and status as an eyewitness.20 To fulfill the wishes of his readers, he
supposedly crossed the territory on foot many times. He claims to have observed everything
his readers would like to know, noted it with care, and written it down diligently. He states
that he recorded nothing in his account that he did not see with his own eyes, or, if he was
unable to access certain places, he rigorously questioned a native and precisely recorded the
answers.
It might be hasty to dismiss these recurring declarations as a topos, since the author
admits never setting foot in the remote regions east of Jordan and the Sea of Galilee.21 In
other places he mentions which monuments and landscapes he saw and which ones he had to
forego.22 For example, he reports that because of the wild animals and snakes, and
particularly because of the combative Bedouins, he was unable to travel to the region where
one could see the pillar of salt that was once Lot's wife.23 Despite this, we do not know much
for sure, except that the inquisitive Burchard travelled the Holy Land and wrote a Descriptio
terrae sanctae.
Even the date of the transcript is questionable. According to Johann Laurent, the work
was written between 1271 and 1285, while Denys Pringle concludes that it was written
between July 1274 and May 1285.24 The explicit of a manuscript in Padua from the early
20
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 20-21; cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 242: “I have inspected, diligently
recorded and studiously described in so far as I have been able that land through which I have frequently
passed on foot; and I would wish the reader to know that I have included nothing in this description except
what I saw with my own eyes when I was in the place itself or, when I was unable to gain access, what I saw
standing on some mountain or in another suitable place; and I have noted down what I have learnt from
Syrians, Saracens or other inhabitants of the land, diligently questioning them.”
21
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 41; cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle , 264: “Note that the land beyond the sea
of Galilee is extremely mountainous, as it seems to me, although I have not entered it.”
22
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent with words like non uidi or non intraui, such as on p. 53 to Samaria. We
can find the word vidi nearly fifty times in the report.
23
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 59; cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 283.
24
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 4. Cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 50; cf. Harvey, Medieval Maps, 95.
13
fourteenth century indicates that the account was completed in 1284.25 This would make a
date of composition between 1283 and 1284 plausible. In the long and short versions, the
author reports visiting Mount Gilboa on November 11, St. Martin's Day. 26 Later printed
copies surprisingly date this event as November 1, All Saints’ Day, 1283.27 This example also
demonstrates the need for a critical edition of the account; irrespective of whether the
different versions contain intentional changes or small scribal errors, we still do not know
believe that Burchard could read Arabic, simply because one copy of the long version
proposes that he tried to read the Koran?28 Did he belong to a delegation sent by the Roman
King Rudolf I of Habsburg (1273-1291) to the Sultan in Cairo, as the long version of the
manuscript in Nancy, not written until 1517, suggests?29 Nevertheless, the long version
printed by Laurent mentions a visit to Egypt, where Burchard supposedly saw at the Sultan's
court how balsam was grown in large quantities.30 Only a few manuscripts, including the long
25
For dating purposes cf. Padova, BSV, Cod. 74, fol. 32 v: Explicit liber de Descriptione terre sancte editus a
fratre Borcardo theotonico ordinis fratrum predicatorum. Sub anno domini MCCLXXXIIII.
26
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 52: cum in die beati Martini essem ibi; Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed.
Canisius/Basnage 15: Nec est verum quod dicitur de monte Gelboe, quod in eo nec ros nec pluvia descendat:
Quia cum in die sancti Martini essem in valle Jezrael sub monte, vidi pluviam maximam super montem, quae
etiam aquae ad nos descenderunt de monte.
27
Venice 1519; Magdeburg 1593; the Antwerp edition of 1536 gives the year but not the day; cf. Burchard,
“Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 342, Anm. 52.
28
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 53; Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. De Sandoli 162: Machometum dicunt
nuncium Dei fuisse et ad se tantum a Deo missum. Hoc legi in alcorano, qui est liber eorum.
29
Nancy, Bibliothèque Municipale Ms. 250, fol. 89r-177r, here fol. 89r.
30
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 61; cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 285-286: “On and around this mountain
was a certain garden of balsam […]. This I also saw when I was coming to the sultan in Egypt. He had me
taken to it and I took a great quantity of balsam wood and bathed in the well from which it is watered.”
14
versions in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, and Paris (which is lost), give details of this supposed
trip to Egypt.31 Therefore, it is not hard to believe that the later transcripts and early printed
books produced new biographical details that seem more and more removed from the
lifestyle of a modest travelling Dominican friar. Later copyists designed Burchard's life to
suit what they and their contemporaries needed from this traveler to the Holy Land.
As the crusader states dissolved and the Christians were pushed back, Europeans
longingly set their sights on foreign lands. The pilgrimage accounts and regional maps
produced after these events unfolded dealt with this loss by perpetuating the unrealistic image
of biblical and historical traditions or by trying to render a more realistic picture of the lost
lands in preparation for new crusades. In both cases, the account of Palestine by Burchard of
Mount Sion, an observer familiar with the area, presented opportunities, if nothing else,
because it was written shortly before the Latin Christians had to leave the Holy Land.
Like all other authors who wrote travel reports of the Holy Land, Burchard wrote for
those believers unable to make the journey to the holy places, or for those who wanted to
envision past experiences. In his description, Burchard records exactly what a visitor, whose
knowledge was shaped by the Old and New Testaments, expected to find there; the rest was
taken from Burchard's personal experience. Burchard’s account was enriched with specifics
31
The supplement from the missing codex in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France (henceforth referred to as
BnF), NAL 781 was printed by Henri Omont, "Manuscrits de la bibliothèque de sir Thomas Phillipps
récemment acquis pour la Bibliothèque nationale," Bibliothèque de l’École des Chartes 64 (1903): 490-533,
here 498-503; available online at: http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/issue/bec_0373-
6237_1903_num_64_1. Cf. Kaeppeli, Scriptores, 1, 259. The Egyptian section is missing in the printed
version of Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent ; it was transmitted in Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 354
Helmst., fol. 165rb-167rb (Incipit: De descripcione egipti. Perueni usque ad ostia nyli fluminis; Explicit:
Istud retulerunt omnes egyptij et cristiani et sarraceni bona fide. Explicit libellus de descripcione terre
sancte cuius auctor ignorat). This manuscript collection from the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries contains a
list of places including their longitude and latitude (ibid., fol. 4r-110v), Ptolemy‘s Cosmographia with two
drawings of the world, a globe and a map (ibid., fol. 16r-18v), Burchard‘s Descriptio (ibid., fol. 132va-
167rb), a description of the Holy Land by Beda, the Imago mundi of Honorius Augustodunensis and the
Historia Hierosolimitana of Robertus Monachus.
15
on physical distances and structured so that the reader could imagine those distances and
understand his travel experiences. This is true for sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the
coastal towns and landscapes. The account was even enhanced by observations on plants and
animals.
miniature shows crusader-occupied Jerusalem.32 Diagrams, maps of Palestine, and a city plan
of Jerusalem help one position settlements and events. One manuscript, written around 1300,
and found today in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence, Italy, contains a small
sketch of the most important holy places in Jerusalem and a double-sided schematic map of
Palestine.33 Three other manuscripts, written between the fourteenth and early sixteenth
centuries, show a diagram of the winds.34 These diagrams divide the land into fan-shaped
sectors, position Acre at the center and match the travel routes described in the text. The
manuscript written around 1500 in Hamburg, which was possibly compiled as an apograph, a
draft for print, includes yet another map of Palestine,35 which appears to be closely related to
the Rudimentum novitiorum (Lübeck 1475) and Prologus Arminensis (Lübeck 1478).
Another diagram presents a T-O scheme with the three regions of the world.36 Two other
32
Padova, BSV, Cod. 74, fol. 13v with a full-page miniature, ibid., fol. 1r and fol. 14 with figurative initials;
cf. Donello et al., I manoscritti , 24.
33
Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 97r with a map of Jerusalem; cf. Reinhold Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo sen.
als Kartograph Palästinas,” Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina-Vereins 21 (1898): 84-126 and the plates,
here plate 8. Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 97v-98r with the map of Palestine.
34
London, BL, Add. Ms. 18929, fol. 1r-50v (long version), fol. 51r with a wind diagram; Munich, BSB, Clm
569, fol. 184r-210v (short version), fol. 186v with a wind diagram, cf. Kaeppeli, Scriptores, 1, 258, without
knowledge of the diagram; Hamburg, SUB, Cod. geogr. 59, pp. 10-69 (long version with an index), p. 13
with a wind diagram. The manuscript in Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, Gymnasium Josephinum 17,
unfortunately missing, was originally accompanied by a wind diagram on a separate sheet.
35
Hamburg, SUB, Cod. geogr. 59, p. 70-71 with a map of the Holy Land. Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent
6, dates the paper codex, which he believed to be an apograph, to the sixteenth century. The manuscript could
have originated as early as 1500. It is the only codex in which the wind diagram and map are depicted
together.
36
Munich, BSB, Clm 14583, fol. 454r-488v, here fol. 471v with a T-O scheme.
16
relatively large maps, each on a separate, single sheet, comprise Burchard's knowledge. They
were handed down separately and are not connected directly to one of the travel report
manuscripts. These maps are located in the Archivio di Stato in Florence and in the Pierpont
This complex situation makes it possible to track and analyze the interaction and paths
of knowledge transfer between text and diagram and to obtain an understanding of the Holy
Lands seizure, shape and composition in both media. In contrast to the biographical
constructions that primarily enrich the short version, the maps and diagrams, all created by
unknown hands, refer primarily to the toponyms of the long version. A few copied short
versions written after 1400 do mention a figurative drawing in their prefaces (omitted by
Heinrich Canisius in his edition) that was probably sketched on accompanying parchment
(pellis).38 In this preface, Burchard promises the recipient, a confrère in Magdeburg, a sketch
designed to help him and his Dominican brothers understand the Holy Land. He aimed to
describe and re-present everything for the eye so it could be better imagined.39
We still do not know which version of the received maps and diagrams this statement
refers to or how the transmitted manuscripts of the Latin text are related. It still remains
unclear who inserted this passage into the text and when. At present, there is no printed
directory of the extant transmitted texts and their illustrations, via which a connection could
37
Florence, ASt, Carte nautiche, geografiche e topografiche 4; Reinhold Röhricht, "Karten und Pläne zur
Palästinakunde aus dem 7.-16. Jahrhundert I," Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 14 (1891): 8-11
and Figure I with map and transcription. The New York map is PML, M 877.
38
The short versions in Breslau (Wrocław), Biblioteka Uniwersytecka (henceforth referred to as BU), I. F. 221,
fol. 232r-242r (dated 1407) and Munich, BSB, Cml 569, fol. 184r-210v (fifteenth century) are manuscripts
with complete prefaces, including reference to the pellis. These three manuscripts should serve as the basis of
a future edition. All of the other known short versions (approximately 21) provide a shortened preface, also
including Wrocław, BU, IV. F. 191 fol. 142r-151r and the four short versions in Prague.
39
Wrocław, BU, I. F. 221, fol. 232v: Que omnia, ut melius possint ymaginari, mitto vobis simul pellem, in qua
omnia ad oculum figurantur; cf. Munich, BSB, Clm 569, fol. 185v-186r; Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent
10 with reference to an addita tabula geographica; both of which are not found in the edition of Canisius'
short version; cf. Burchard, "Descriptio," ed. Canisius. Cf. Harvey, Medieval Maps, 99, note 45 with the
notation that the addita tabula geographica supplement most likely comes from Laurent himself and is not a
Burchard quote.
17
be more easily made.40 Because of this, it is difficult to determine what exactly this pellis is,
him and his followers as a geographical map of Palestine, or a different kind of geographical
representation. Alternatively, was the illustration for the eye mentioned in the preface only
the descriptive visualization in the Descriptio itself? This ambiguity is compounded because,
during the Middle Ages, the verb describere combined both elements: the creation of a text
All maps produced from Burchard's description locate biblical and historical elements
of various origins in the context of rulership at the time. According to the Descriptio, they
conceptualize territorial units into which the fortified cities and fortresses of the crusaders fit
just as the mountains, landscapes and holy places mentioned in the Bible. The three diagrams
show the Holy Land in great cartographic abstraction. They consider the political importance
of the crusader bastion, the city of Acre, on which all three drafts are centered. From there the
routes—in the text, the streets, and in illustrations, the straight lines of the wind directions—
fan out across Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, all the way to Lesser Armenia in the north and
Egypt in the south. The preface of the long version explains that the model was based on a
systematic process.42 The division of the world into four continents and twelve wind
directions formed the basis for the textual and graphical structure, whereby only seven sectors
40
I would like to thank the Gerda Henkel Stiftung for the initial funding of the project.
41
For the meaning of describere and descriptio see Gautier Dalché, “Cartes de terre sainte,” 590-592.
42
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 21; cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 243: “[…] I thought of defining a central
point among them and of setting out all land around it in due measure. And for this centre I have chosen the
city of Acre, as it is better known than other places. However, it is not located in the centre but at its western
border on the sea. From it I have drawn four lines corresponding to the four parts of the world and each
quarter I have divided into three, so that those twelve divisions might correspond to the twelve winds of
heaven.”
18
The long version is the basis of this diagram. Its chapter headings, which divide the
Holy Land into seven (or eight, including the separate chapter on Jerusalem) regions,
determine this expansive fan-shaped division.43 Its text describes how the sectors are
organized from Syria in the north to the coastal areas in the south, such as Gaza. From the
first four sectors (prima, secunda, tercia and quarta divisio) ensue the two densely populated
regions of the Eastern Quarter (secunda and tercia divisio quarte orientalis), an accentuated
section of Jerusalem and its surroundings, and the southern sector (prima divisio quarte
australis) with its coastal towns. The concluding three chapters provide an overview of the
size and tribes of the Holy Land, the crops and animals of the earth blessed with fertility, as
It is quite clear that the long version's text and illustrations were coordinated, because
the diagrams mirror the structure of the textual description. On the other hand, the short
version focuses in greater detail on the individual locations and sites, without taking into
consideration the classification according to sectors. In the short version, only isolated
remnants of the sector divisions remained in the text, which no longer made sense in the new
context.44
Despite this, at least one of these diagrams has also been added to the short version.
The Münchner Clm 569, (Figure 1) a short version with a slightly different textual layout,
shows Acre as a heavily fortified triangle with towers and city gates, from which twelve
sectors of land and water, named after winds, emanate. In one case, the name of the wind is
missing.45 Seven labeled double lines with directional arrows traverse the land, and five
43
Cf. Padova, BSV, Cod. 74 with red chapter titles.
44
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Canisius/Basnage 13: Procedendo igitur de Accon per primam divisionem
quartae Orientalis partis ad quinque milliaria de Accon, occurrit casale quoddam, quod dicitur sanctus
Gregorius; ibid. p. 13: In secunda divisione hujus quartae partis Orientalis primo post Accon ad quatuor
leucas occurrit Cana Galilaeae; ibid. p. 14: In tertia divisione hujus quartae partis Orientalis de Accon ad
quatuor leucas contra Austrum est prima pars montis Carmeli.
45
Munich, BSB, Clm 569, fol. 184r-210v (short version), here fol. 186v.
19
Figure 1 Wind diagram according to Burchard of Mount Sion: Munich, BSB, Clm 569,
fol. 186v. Photo: Munich, BSB
20
Figure 2 Wind diagram according to Burchard of Mount Sion: London, BL, Add. Ms.
18929, fol. 51r. Photo: British Library
21
unlabeled double lines cross the water on the diagram, which is oriented to the north. The
decision to align the diagram with Acre was determined by which places and territories the
crusaders had under control and the fact that only a small part of the Holy Land was under
Christian rule at the time. Even Burchard organized his exploration of the area by starting at
The location of the metropolis also determined the layout of the second known
diagram, now in London. (Figure 2) This diagram is oriented to the south and focuses more
heavily on the part of the world that lies east of the harbor city.46 The listing of the locations
and regions between the sector lines appears uniform. It has more text, if for no other reason
than because the six winds are named and because Acre itself is not shown as a voluminous
pictogram, but only as a name. This left room for more text. This means that the geographic
circumstances there were illustrated in a most efficient manner—in six evenly large sections
of a single semicircle.
Even harder to interpret is the easterly oriented diagram in the Hamburg manuscript,
because the interior labels that fan out from Acre have been crossed out.47 Only a small hill
with a church tower, perhaps a symbol for Jerusalem, remains within the semicircle. The
surrounding texts name the heavenly directions and winds that lead north, northeast, east,
southeast, and south. The distance calculations taken from the account determine the length
for those in Magdeburg to whom Buchard sent his travel report? Was this the figurative pellis
46
London, BL, Add. Ms. 18929, fol. 1r-50v (long version), here fol. 51r.
47
Hamburg, SUB, Cod. geogr. 59, p. 13.
48
Hamburg, SUB, Cod. geogr. 59, p. 13: Longitudo terre sancte a Dan usque Bersabe cIo leuce und Magnitudo
a mare magno usque ad mare mortuum xl leuce.
22
Figure 3 Map of Palestine according to Burchard of Mount Sion: Florence, BML, Plut.
76.56, fol. 97v-98r. Photo: Florence, BML
sketch announced in the letter that is mentioned only in the prologue of a few fifteenth-
century manuscripts?49 We cannot even be sure that this prologue version and a visualization
of this type, if there were one, accompanied the original account. Perhaps it was an addition
geographical area in this simple, but most expert way. Whatever the truth may be, and
independent of the author and his time, this seemingly innovative approach is based on
was accompanied by a wind diagram on a separate sheet, could have provided us with more
49
Breslau (Wrocław), BU, I. F. 221, fol. 232v (dated 1407); Munich, BSB, Cml 569, fol. 185v-186r.
50
Alessandro Nova, The Book of the Wind: The Representation of the Invisible (Montreal, Kingston, London,
Ithaca: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011), 21-57, on the iconography of the wind.
23
detailed information, were it not missing.51 We must assume that this type of wind diagram
fulfilled its purpose, while the creation of more complex geographical maps would have
Abstraction and regularity characterize the unique map of Palestine located in the
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence,52 which is also included in a codex of the long
version. (Figure 3) The map with the boxes appears uniform and undifferentiated. This
regularity is apparently intentional. The red-framed text entries in black are, at least for the
most part, distributed uniformly across the surface; there are a total of 406. Only a few
patches were left empty. The amount of text in the fields varies from one word to multi-line
sentences. All fields should be identifiable by name and have a concrete meaning. The
"imprisoned" texts became pictorial elements, which were subject to the primacy, so to speak,
principle of order, were thus equalized. The well of Rachel and the crusader fortresses are
placed next to each other on the same level, as are the grave of Cain and the Mountain of the
Leopards. This Holy Land presents the picture of a predominately systematically arranged
square ruptured by a few borders, mountain ranges and roads. Even Jerusalem and Acre obey
However, this uniformity can be deceiving. The legends contain toponyms of the most
different origins, including terms from the Bible, classical antiquity, contemporary times, and
words in Arabic. Similar to the account, they discuss biblical foundations, secular control,
and religious differences; they specify the bastions and crusaders, as well as the intercultural
51
Kaeppeli, Scriptores, 258 still listed it in 1970, when he wrote the book.
52
Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 97v-98r. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” (as note 30) 93-105 and plate 7
with the typographical rendering but without the coastline or other geographical details; Gautier Dalché,
“Cartes de terre sainte,” 607f.
24
competitors there. Signs of biblical significance are mixed with those of secular control.
Therefore, it is not always easy to understand the meanings and their multiple layers, and, at
times, the meanings of the entries can be found only after reading the account. In order to
interpret it in greater depth, it will be necessary to transcribe and examine more closely the
long version, transmitted in the same codex, which is difficult to read. Therefore, the
following specifies only a few examples of the interplay between account and map. To
which more likely deviate from other accounts than the biblical motives, which, in a more or
less unified form, were received in this map like everywhere else.
Figure 4 a-b Map of Palestine according to Burchard of Mount Sion: Florence, BML, Plut.
76.56, fol. 97v, section. Photo: Florence, BML
A section of the territory around Tripoli (Figures 4a-b) provides us with insight and
references to once contemporary events. First we see the mighty Margat (merrgad, 2; mons,
3), one of the most important crusader fortresses in Syria.53 The Hospitallers, as the long
version reports, expanded the castle from which they ruled the area into their main settlement,
not far from the sea on the mountain above the city of Valenia/Bâniyâs (ualania, 4). In the
53
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 30f. on the location in a distance of seven leagues from Antaradus;
Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 252-253. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” 105 and plate 7: Merigard and Mons.
25
end, they even allowed the seat of the bishop to be moved there from the less-protected town,
due to the invasions of the Saracens, until they also lost the fortification to the Muslims in
1285. Not far from there one finds the famous crusaders' territory of Nephin (nephyn, 5) and
its impressive castle, whose location by the sea and fortress are described by Burchard, in
addition to its excellent wine and the fact that it belonged to the Principality of Antioch. 54
The long version mentions that Tripoli (Tripolis, to the left of 5), which is surrounded by the
sea, has a large population of Nestorians, Greek and Latin Christians. The long version also
describes the economic prosperity of the region.55 Finally, the presence of the crusaders is set
abreast the round and tall Mountain of the Leopards (Mons eleopar/dorum, 1). It marks the
place where the Muslims would visit the tomb of the prophet Joshua, which Burchard
believed to be the tomb of Canaan, a grandson of Noah, while Joshua would be buried in
The framed short entries on the map can be understood only in combination with
Burchard’s longer description of the Holy Land, which defines the location of the places with
precise distance data and specifies the operational framework. On the cartographic
representation, we are unable to account for the activities of regional rulers, pilgrims, or
crusaders. Dynamic motifs, such as the approaching crusader ships depicted on the map of
Matthew Paris, are missing completely. 57 This region is subject to other principles of
construction: it is not to be measured; indeed, it is immeasurable. The simple text and image
54
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 27-28; Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 250. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,”
plate 7: Nephyn.
55
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 28; Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 250. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” plate 7:
Tripolis.
56
Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” plate 7: Mons leopardorum. Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 28; cf.
Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 250-251. Jacob of Verona adopted this passage including this doubt circa 1335; cf.
Liber peregrinationis fratris Jacobi de Verona, ed. Ugo Monneret de Villard (Rom: La Libreria dello Stato,
1950), c. 14.
57
London, BL, Royal Ms. 14 C VII fol. 4b-5a; Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Ms. 16, fol. III v and IVr;
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Ms. 26, fol. III v-IVr.
26
structure unite salvific history with localities of war; religious differences and Christian
dominance are placed on the same level. One could say that text and image merge time and
space.
Despite this, the regular scheme is ruptured in some places. Borders that signify
historical developments traverse carefully designed space. For example, the borders between
the different crusader states as well as the boundaries between them and the outside world
remain visible, even though they were no longer operative. (Figures 5a-b) We can see the
frontier (7) between the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Principality of Antioch, which
Figures 5 a-b Map of Palestine according to Burchard of Mount Sion: Florence, BML, Plut.
76.56, fol. 97v, section. Photo: Florence, BML
along with the northern part of Syria had been lost since 1268. The clearly intentional
borderline on the map stresses the territorial setback and conceals it at the same time by
refering to crusader possessions on both sides of the double line. The text inserted above the
borderline (Figure 4a-b, 6) explains the graphical symbol in language that is nearly identical
58
Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” plate 7: Hic terminatur patriarcatus Jerosolimitanus ab Antioceno. Cf.
almost literally in Burchard, "Descriptio," ed. Laurent 27: Terminatur similiter patriarchatus
ierosolimitanus, et incipit patriarchatus antiochenus et comitatus tripolitanus; cf. Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle
249.
27
Figure 6a-b Map of Palestine according to Burchard of Mount Sion: Florence, BML, Plut.
76.56, fol. 97v, section. Photo: Florence, BML
In most cases, a deeper understanding can be obtained only after reading that account.
The Teutonic Knights built Castle Judin (Judyn, 8) in 1192.59 (Figures 6a-b) Burchard's
account not only explains its location in the mountains of Sharon (mons, 9), above the city of
Acre, but also the fact that the buildings had long been destroyed. Not far from here, located
at the foot of the mountain, we see Lambert cottage by the sea (casale lan/berti, 10).60 At
nearby Castle Scandalion (sandalion, 11), Burchard does not fail to highlight the fact that the
castle was located on a historical site. It was rebuilt in 1116 by King Baldwin I, who intended
to pass it on to his vassals, and is tellingly located at the place between Acre and Tyre where
Alexander the Great is said to have built his camp, Alexandroskena, during the siege of
Tyre.61
59
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 34; Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 257. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” plate 7:
Iudyn and mons.
60
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 23; Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 246 identified it as Al-Zīb, the biblical
Akhziv. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” plate 7: Cattanberti; Hartmann, Wilhelm Tzewers 372, note 39,
identified it as ez-Zib, 14 km north of Acre.
61
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 24; Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 246. Cf. Hartmann, Wilhelm Tzewers, 372,
28
What is striking is the lasting presence of impressive fortresses that once secured the
coastal and mountainous borders of crusader states that had long been lost to the enemy. East
of the Jordanian valley, far to the southeast, one finds al-Karak, not far from the hilltop
fortress Montréal (Mons Regalis), founded in 1115, or al-Shawbak, which had already been
surrendered to Saladin. Both the account and the map mention that the sultans kept their
treasures there since that time.62 The author did not try to hide his admiration for the Templar
castle Safad (Saphet), found on the map on the mountain with the same name, located
between Acre and Damascus.63 In his opinion, it was the strongest and most beautiful fort,
which was, however, besieged by the Muslims in 1266, fifteen years before Burchard's trip. It
was a defeat that aided in the successive loss of the Holy Land, even if at that time
conquering the massive city fortress of Acre still appeared impossible.64 The Florentine map
more important after the bitter loss of Acre. The Florentine copyist (active around 1300)
adapted the text to contemporary events. Burchard, after all, always used the past tense when
he mentioned defeats that reduced the size of the Christian Holy Land under the increasing
military pressure of the Muslims. The copyist perpetuated this realism by updating
information. He used the imperfect and perfect tenses in these passages, where Burchard had
written in the present tense. He supplemented the text in a way that suggested that he wrote
29
The scribe of the Florentine manuscript even supplemented his text with precise
additions not found in Laurent's edition. He first changed Burchard’s present tense verbs,
which he used to describe Acre.65 Thus the city's splendid walls and towers, the fortresses of
the Hospitallers, Templars, and Teutonic Knights, and its lively harbor are said to have
perished. He then added that the town was seized by the Muslims and razed to the ground in
1291, on Friday, 17 May (the calendae of June).66 On this day, when several thousand
Christians had been massacred, a huge cross was said to have appeared in the sky before
vespers to indicate that many people had to suffer martyrdom for Christ’s sake. Perhaps these
observations also explain why the mapmaker did not follow common precedent, instead
On this Laurenziana map, only Jerusalem, with all of its sites, is fanned out to a
orientation dominates one’s initial perception of the countryside. From Jaffa, the port of
arrival for pilgrims, there is a road indicated in red that passes by Hebron, past Jerusalem, to
the Dead Sea and Jordan, on whose east side the baptismal place of Jesus is indicated. On the
right and left sides at the page margins, the Mediterranean coast does not end but bends
upward. Because of this, north of Tyre the map is oriented north, and south of Jaffa it is
oriented south. On the extreme right, we also see Egypt beyond the Red Sea, the Exodus
route, and the statues of idols in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis. 67 This is unique and
astonishing, because Burchard's visit to Egypt, mentioned in only a few surviving copies of
65
Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 94rb, line 25-30. I am grateful to Dr. Ekkehart Rotter for having pointed out
this paragraph to me.
66
Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 94rb, line 30-34.
67
On Heliopolis cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” 105 and plate 7: Elyopoleos hic stabant ydola; Omont,
"Manuscrits," 500: Eliopolis est villa multum bona et dives, sed non est munita, sicut nec aliqua villa in toto
Egypto, preter Alexandriam et Babiloniam, sed habundat fructibus et omnibus deliciis mundi; cassia fistula
in magna quantitate crescit ibidem. Cf. ibid. 502: In Elyopoli et in Babilonia ostenduntur loca in quibus
beata Virgo mansit cum puero Jhesu, quando a facie Herodis fugerat in Egyptum et casus ydolorum et
30
Figure 7 Burchard of Mount Sion, Descriptio terrae sanctae, long version with glosses:
Florence, BML, Plut. 76.56, fol. 95r [or fol. 94r]
templorum, secundum prophetiam Ysaie. Cf. Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 354 Helmst., fol. 132 r-167r,
here fol. 166v.
31
Figure 8 Map of Palestine according to Burchard of Mt. Sion: Florence, ASt, Carte nautiche,
geografiche e topografiche 4[section].
the text, is not even registered on the other Burchard maps. The textual and visual
representation of an entry like Heliopolis, which is found so seldom, bears witness to the
element in the Laurenziana codex: the pictograms of the buildings on the margin of the
manuscript folios. (Figure 7) As figurative glosses, they accentuate and illustrate the
toponyms buried in the text. The marginal notes help to unite the complex description with
the cartographic localization in order to topographically localize the stories of the account.
Thus text and image are interrelated, and at times even dependent upon one another. Clearly,
the modifications to the transmitted texts and their pictorial implementations can hardly lead
back to Burchard himself, which means that every copyist added his own principles of order.
Despite their similar content, on two other copies of the Burchard map the structures
of local power and government have been depicted in a totally different manner. Measuring
an impressive 52 x 168 cm, neither is part of a codex; both were therefore more suited as
presentation objects for an informed audience. The place-names mentioned in Burchard’s text
32
provide the basis for the layout, even if a few settlements, such as Scandalion and Judin, are
missing. Nonetheless, both maps organize the geography of Palestine in an innovative way
that is closer to modern than medieval conventions, even when they retain the traditional
eastern orientation. What results is a completely different picture, with rivers, roads,
mountain ranges, towns, and fortresses. This image was highly influential in subsequent
decades, because most of the Palestine maps of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, from
the treatises and historiographical works of Marino Sanudo and Paolino Veneto to the travel
report of Bernhard von Breidenbach, followed this model. In Italy, mapmakers like Pietro
The copy from the Archivio di Stato in Florence, (Figure 8) measuring 51.5 x 168
cm, is probably the oldest of this group.68 Harvey dates it to approximately 1300 and regards
it as the earliest known Burchard map.69 The map is oriented toward the east and also refers
to the text found in the long version. Blocks of text on the southern (right) and, particularly,
on the northern (left) edges of the map explain the geographical context in detail. The
alphabetized index of place-names has three columns containing some 200 entries.
The map shows fortresses, cities, and bridges, whose fortified constructions
strategically cover the vastness of the land. It is clear that this representation of Palestine
corresponds more to today’s conventions and the present requirements of using signs, colors
and symbols. For instance, the geographical contours of the coasts, rivers, and mountains
appear in brown ink, just like the place-names and texts. Other colors, such as olive green,
68
Florence, ASt, Carte nautiche, geografiche e topografiche 4; Reinhold Röhricht, “Karten und Pläne I,”: 8-11
and Figure I with the map and a transcription of the text. Cf. Cornelio Desimoni, “Una carta della Terra
Santa del secolo XIV,” Archivio Storico Italiano, ser. 5, 11 (1893): 241-258; Hans Fischer, “Geschichte der
Kartographie von Palästina,” Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 63 (1940): 1-111, here 7;
Bernhard Degenhart and Annegrit Schmitt, “Marino Sanudo und Paolino Veneto. Zwei Literaten des 14.
Jahrhunderts in ihrer Wirkung auf Buchillustrierung und Kartographie in Venedig, Avignon und Neapel,”
Römisches Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte 14 (1973): 1-138, here 76; Harvey, “Medieval Maps, ” 94-106.
69
Harvey, “Medieval Maps,” 94.
33
now faded, have been used for the bodies of water. However, we can see that various sections
The map’s apparent “realism” cannot cloak the fact that the different levels of time
and argumentation remain active. The twelve tribes of the Old Testament structure the area in
the same way the various views of the cities and crusader fortresses do, whose red walls and
towers can clearly be seen from a distance. In general, places are identified by name. Only
Jerusalem differs; without an accompanying name, it is located in the southern half and
represented by a Greek cross within a circle. It thus stands out significantly from the crusader
strongholds as the religious center, though it is marked with the same color in a rather
inconspicuous way. Even the heavily fortified city of Acre loses it substantial prominence,
although three massive towers with city walls secure the area of the peninsula that protrudes
into the Gulf of Haifa. South of here, other places along the coast dominate, such as the
almost invincible Château Pèlerin (Castrum pelegrinorum), the Templar residence abandoned
as late as the summer of 1291, and the smaller Templar fortress Merle, built in the old harbor
town of Dor, whose location in the middle fold helped to maintain its vibrant red color. The
adaptation of portolan conventions determines the cartographical picture: its grid, which
The somewhat more recent copy at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York,
(Figure 9) measuring nearly the same size 52 x 165.5 cm and also not included in a codex, is
almost identical to the older copy in Florence.70 However, the portulan-like pattern, with grid
lines, 83 columns running north-south and 28 running east-west, has emerged clearly, and the
well-preserved, intense colors – like the deep olive green used for the bodies of water
70
New York, PML, M 877; cf. Frederick Baldwin Adams, Seventh annual report to the fellows of the Pierpont
Morgan Library (New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1957), 14-17; Henry S. Morgan and Arthur A.
Houghton, The Pierpont Morgan Library. A review of acquisitions 1949-1968 (New York: Pierpont Morgan
Library, 1969), 5; Harvey, “The biblical content,” 58-59. For the function of the different types of maps, cf.
Eitay Mayraz, “Place and Space in the Mediterranean: The (Mental) Map of a Pilgrim in the Holy Land,”
Mediterranean Historical Review 19 (2004): 25-33.
34
Figure 9 Map of Palestine according to Burchard of Mt. Sion: New York, PML, M 877
[section].
– make it almost more impressive. The maps are similar in size and character and also in their
arrangements of explanatory texts and geographical details, like the mountain ranges that
It is clear that the maps have a common origin or at least that the Pierpont map, with a
reduced amount of text, is more or less directly related to the copy in Florence. 71 The most
significant difference between the two is that the index of place-names on the left edge of the
Florentine map is missing from the New York copy. The portolan-like presentation emerges
even more clearly in the Pierpont map. The neck of the animal from which the parchment
was made is evident and the grid lines recall the rhumb lines on portolan charts. Furthermore,
both Burchard maps are similar to portolan charts in size and in the accuracy of coastlines
and water ways. These features correspond to Holy Land images from after the fall of the last
bastions in Palestine and Syria, when crusading fervor was reignited. The grid lines that
structure and outline the region suggest a new accuracy, as do the mountains, rivers, and
towns that are carefully arrayed along the new coastline from Gaza to Sidon. The grid system
gives the impression of measurability and operational practicability, and a copyist could
71
For details cf. Harvey, Medieval Maps, 128-132.
35
Figure 10 Burchard of Mount Sion, Descriptio terrae sanctae, long version with glosses:
Florence, BNC, F. 4. 733, fol. 32v-33r. Photo: Florence, BNC.
Distances and their measurements are an important issue for both texts and images. In
the account, the regional distances are usually indicated in leagues (leucae), shortened
leagues (leucae modicae) and number of day's journeys. Burchard estimated the width of the
Dead Sea, for example, to be six leagues, though he could not determine its length; he
large as these are, of course, not suitable for short distances. Places of interest, for example,
are measured in feet (pedes), paces (passus), and stades (stadia).73 Gardens, temples, and
urban neighborhoods are calculated in bowshot distances (quantum potest iacere arcus) and
72
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 59; Pilgrimage, ed. Pringle 283. On the distances, cf. Harvey, Medieval
Maps, 95.
73
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 25, 28, 30, 70-72 with pedes as measurement; 72 with conversions: 125
passus faciunt unum stadium. Cf. Harvey, Medieval Maps, 95.
36
stones' throws.74 The diverse dimensions in the different parts of Europe that accrued over
time meant that even scribes and readers of those days had trouble understanding their size
precisely and could only imagine their relative significance. Measurability seems to have
Distance data such as these are particularly emphasized in some copies of the long
version. Two manuscripts from the fourteenth century preserved by the national library in
Florence exhibit a principle of order (which has not been studied) noted in the margins. This
technique of structuring the text with words, comments, and signs on the margins was
apparently passed on more often with the Descriptio. At the beginning of each chapter, on the
external side margin, the long version manuscript, F. 4. 733 (Figure 10) names the place
described.75 The glosses in the other fourteenth-century copy, C.8.2861, (Figure 11)
emphasize not only the cities described in the text, but give their distances from Acre in
leagues, and sometimes in miles.76 This corresponds to the pictograms of buildings, including
the registered toponyms, in the margins of the Laurenziana manuscript. All three copyists
were aware of current representational conventions. Their method of presenting content via
marginalia and pictograms is unlike most of the short versions, like Florence, Biblioteca
Nazionale Centrale,
Irrespective of this, the layout of both independent copies created a new type of
cartography, a record of the land to be measured, conquered and ruled. The copyists went to
great lengths to reproduce the distances and their visual representation as accurately as
74
Burchard, “Descriptio,” ed. Laurent 24, 35, 47, 49-51, 55, 58, 61, 62, 66, 70, 73, 78, 81 and 82 for the
bowshot as a unit of measurement, ibid. 25, 62, 72, 74 and 75 for the stone’s throw; cf. Harvey, Medieval
Maps, 95.
75
Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale (henceforth referred to as BNC), F.4.733, fol. 29ra-43vb; dating
according to Kaeppeli, Scriptores, 258.
76
Florence, BNC, C.8.2861, fol. 1-26; dating according to Kaeppeli, Scriptores, 258.
37
Figure 11 Burchard of Mount Sion, Descriptio terrae sanctae, long version with glosses:
Florence, BNC, C 8. 2861 fol. 21v-22r. Photo: Florence, BNC.
possible, and the grid system helped to emphasize their function as a guiding system. 77 This
approach was expanded in the decades that followed, as authors and cartographers attempted
to give Holy Land pilgrims and Levant merchants practical instructions for their trips, and to
V. Burchard's Reception
The use of various forms of spatial representation in the Burchard tradition, from
cartographic visualizations, encouraged their employment in new contexts. This broad set of
intellectual tools facilitated and stimulated the depiction of the territories in question, locally,
77
Florence, BNC, Magl. XXII.22, fol. 107ra-119rb, short version from the 15th century with shortened preface;
dating according to Kaeppeli, Scriptores, 258.
38
regionally, and throughout the known world. Burchard's narratives and their visualizations
helped distant readers envision the Holy Land, gave travelers the directions, legitimized the
Christian claim to power over the Holy Places, and generated military strategies. Geographic
measurement meant being tied to a particular time and vision, but also timelessness, because
a copyist could utilize a model created at an earlier time and in another place by modifying it
to suit current needs.78 Burchard’s spatially organized knowledge flowed into world
The content and style of the “Burchard maps” influenced the presentation of the Holy
Land in the widespread Liber secretorum fidelium crucis, written by the Venetian merchant
Marino Sanudo (d. 1343).79 Seven of a total nineteen transmitted copies of the Liber are
accompanied by a map of Palestine.80 Sanudo placed even more importance on the harmonic
interplay of both media than the Burchard copyists. He engaged the Venetian portolan maker,
Pietro Vesconte, to design the maps, whose only purpose was to accentuate the
78
Gautier Dalché, “Cartes de terre sainte,“ 603f.
79
Marino Sanudo, “Liber secretorum fidelium crucis super Terrae sanctae recuperatione et conservatione,” in
Gesta dei per Francos 2, ed. Jacques de Bongar (Hannover, 1611, Reprint Jerusalem, 1972); cf. the
translations by Aubrey Stewart, Marino Sanuto’s Secrets for True Crusaders to Help them to Recover the
Holy Land, written in A.D. 1321 (Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society 3,14) (London: AMS Press, 1896) (only
book 3); Peter Lock, Marino Sanudo Torsello. The Book of the Secrets of the Faithful of the Cross (Crusade
Texts in Translation 21) (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011). Cf. Sylvia Schein, Fideles crucis.
The Papacy, the West, and the Recovery of the Holy Land 1274–1314 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), 269-
270; Evelyn Edson, “Reviving the Crusade: Sanudo’s Schemes and Vesconte’s Maps,” Eastward Bound.
Travel and travellers, 1050-1550, ed. Rosamund Allen (Manchester, New York: Manchester University
Press, 2004), 131-155, here 134; Patrick Gautier Dalché, “Cartes, réflexion stratégique et projets de croisade
à la fin du XIIIe et au début du XIVe siècle: une initiative franciscaine?” Francia 37 (2010): 77-95.
80
Marino Sanudo, Liber secretorum fidelium crucis, atlas of 1320 with a map of Palestine: Rome, Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana (henceforth referred to as BAV), Pal. Lat. 1362; first to second redaction Oxford,
Bodleian Library, Ms. Tanner 190; second redaction: Rome, BAV, Reg. lat. 548; Florence, Biblioteca
Riccardiana, Ms. 237; London, BL, Add. Ms. 27376, fol. 188v-189r; Bruxelles, KBR, Ms. 9347-9348;
Bruxelles, KBR, Ms. 9404-9405, fol. 173v-174r, all of them from the workshop of Pietro Vesconte, before
1332. Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” Degenhart/Schmitt, “Marino Sanudo,” 21-24, 105 and 116-117 with
illustrations of Bruxelles, KBR, Ms. 9404-9405, fol. 173v-174r; Edson, “Reviving the Crusade,” 136-137 and
151-152; Gautier Dalché, “Cartes de terre sainte,” 598-603; Harvey, “The biblical content,” 55-63.
39
propagandistic imperative for a revival of the crusades by pictorializing the accompanying
text.
Over time, Burchard's vision of the Holy Land was subjected to changes and
adaptations; it was integrated into shifting perspectives on the Christian world. Two versions
of the Sanudo map accompany the Chronologia magna, a world chronicle by Paulinus
Minorita or Paolino Veneto (d. 1344), a Franciscan born in Venice, who was a member of the
papal examination commission employed for the Liber and its plea for a crusade.81 Later, the
map and the longer account version were incorporated into an encyclopedic world chronicle,
The Sanudo map’s verbal and pictorial description of geography was modified only
the regions and events of the Old and New Testaments. This eastern-oriented map is centered
political imperative: the longing for Christian domination of the holy city and the Holy Land.
An additional map of Jerusalem serves, as it does in the Laurenziana codex, to accentuate the
81
Paulinus Minorita (Paolino Veneto), Chronologia magna, map of Palestine (Neopolitan, circa 1329): Paris,
BnF, Ms. Lat. 4939, fol. 10v-11r and ibid., fol. 10r on the eastern Mediterranean, figure in
Degenhart/Schmitt, “Marino Sanudo,” 118, 119 and 115; Rome, BAV, Vat. Lat. 1960. Cf. Edson, "Reviving
the Crusade," 137-138.
82
Cf. Röhricht, “Marino Sanudo,” 105f.; Anna-Dorothee von den Brincken, “Universalkartographie und
geographische Schulkenntnisse im Inkunabelzeitalter (unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des „Rudimentum
Novitiorum“ und Hartmann Schedels),” in Studien zum städtischen Bildungswesen des späten Mittelalters
und der Frühen Neuzeit. Bericht über Kolloquien der Kommission zur Erforschung der Kultur des
Spätmittelalters 1978 bis 1981 (Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen,
Philologisch-Historische Klasse 3. Folge 137), ed. Bernd Moeller (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
1983), 398-429, repr. in: Anna-Dorothee von den Brincken and Thomas Szabó (Ed.), Studien zur
Universalkartographie des Mittelalters (Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte 229)
(Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008), 263-296; Kenneth Nebenzahl, Atlas zum Heiligen Land.
Karten der Terra Sancta durch zwei Jahrtausende (Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1995), 62;
Michael Herkenhoff, Die Darstellung außereuropäischer Welten in Drucken deutscher Offizinen des 15.
Jahrhunderts (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1996), 147-156.
40
In conclusion, and as these brief examples illustrate, the spread of Burchardian
knowledge made possible the creation of purposely designed accounts and maps of Palestine,
books, and world chronicles. These works offered the reader an overview and explanation of
local customs in these holy places, localized the geographical component of salvific history in
a concrete way, and carried forward political biases. Examining these different verbal and
visual adaptations of Burchard’s work makes it possible to trace the ways in which
information about a hotly contested region bordering Europe was acquired and transferred
between authors and cartographers from diverse countries over time. As this study has
shown, these verbal and pictorial transmissions will have to be studied closely and critically
41