Burchard of Mount Sion (Latin: Frater Burchardus, also misnamed Brocard or Bocard; fl. late 13th century), was a German priest, Dominican friar, pilgrim and author probably from Magdeburg in northern Germany,[1] who travelled to the Middle East at the end of the 13th century. There he wrote his book called: Descriptio Terrae Sanctae or "Description of the Holy Land"[2] which is considered to be of "extraordinary importance".
It is the most detailed account of the Holy Land from the thirteenth century. It is described as having belonged to a class of its own among medieval descriptions of the Holy Land.[3] Approximately 100 medieval and early modern manuscripts are known today, some of which include maps and diagrams.[4]
The long version, unlike the short version, contains additional descriptions that illustrate Burchard's journey from Europe to the Holy Land and back. He travelled to Mamluk Egypt and Angevin Sicily, among other places, and in two manuscripts of the long version he shares his observations during the ascent of the volcanic mountain Vulcano.[5]
Burchard was in Palestine for 10 years between 1274 and 1284. He then visited Armenia where he wrote about the court of the king of Cilician Armenia, Levon II. Burchard described the country of Cilician Armenia as submitted to Mongol domination,[6] and explains that Mongols were present at the royal Armenian court:
Actually, I spent three weeks with the king of Armenia and Cilicia, who had with him some Tartars. The rest of the attendants were Christians, to the number of about 200. I saw them gather to go to church, listen to the office, bend the knee, and pray with devotion.
Burchard also wrote a plan for a Crusade, in which he recommended the conquest of OrthodoxSerbia and Constantinople as pre-requisites to the accomplishment of a Crusade. His plan is said to have been rather impractical, and to have displayed a dislike of Orthodox Christians, more than of Muslims themselves.[8]
Burchard is one of the last pilgrims to travel to the Holy Land and write a full report before the fall of the Latin Kingdom in 1291. According to Jaroslav Folda the account is important not only because of its systematic and yet selective content, but also because of the extent of the actualia included in his discussion.[12]
^Baumgärtner, Ingrid. "Burchard of Mount Sion and the Holy Land," Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture 4, 1 (2013): 5-41. : "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 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 travel accounts and maps until far into the sixteenth century. Some of the manuscripts and later prints of Burchard’s text are accompanied by graphical work, including regional maps, diagrams, miniatures, and city plans."
^Mehr, Christian: Vor Petrarca. Die Bergbesteigung eines Mönchs auf Vulcano. Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 101, 2 (2019), pp. 317-346.
^"He starts by explaining that the country was "submitted to the domination of the Mongols"", in Mutafian, p.66
Ekkehart Rotter, Windrose statt Landkarte. Die geografische Systematisierung des Heiligen Landes und ihre Visualisierung durch Burchardus de Monte Sion um 1285. In: Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 69 (2013), ISBN978-3-412-22204-8, ISSN 0012-1223, S. 45–106.
Jonathan Rubin, "Burchard of Mount Sion's Descriptio Terrae Sanctae: A Newly Discovered Extended Version," Crusades 13 (2014), pp. 173–190.[1]
Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, London (1896-01-01). The library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society. London Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.[2]
Adrian J. Boas (2001) Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the Holy City Under Frankish Rule Routledge, ISBN978-1-134-58272-3[3]