Burchard's Descriptio Terrae Sanctae. Edition and Historical Contexts of Reception

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Ingrid Baumgärtner
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 507616969

No travel report has had a greater influence on subsequent representations of the Holy Land than the Descriptio terrae sanctae, written by the Dominican friar, Burchard of Mount Sion from 1280 onwards. It is regarded as a key text for its description of the geography, topography and ethnography of the Holy Land, which encompasses both Old and New Testament representations as well as contemporary views of the existentially threatened crusader states. The more than 80 surviving manuscripts and 20 printings not counting multiple vernacular translations, testify to the works popularity, which enjoyed such a wide dissemination thanks to its many adaptations, abbreviations and variants. It is surprising therefore that the origin of the text, its complex history of transmission and especially the question of its archetype have not yet been adequately addressed.The aim of this project is to produce a critical edition of the version closest to the archetype of the Descriptio in association with the MGH, as well as an in depth analysis of its transmission and an examination of the sociocultural context for the production and use of select witnesses at various stages of reception. To this end, the urtext will first be produced in Open Access as a digital edition with explanatory notes and commentary (sub-project A). This will allow the nine most relevant witnesses (seven manuscripts from the a and b family of the long recension and the two copies of the earliest short recension) to be reproduced with the greatest possible detail and flexibility. A subsequent printed edition is planned for ease of use. Second, (sub-project B) an in depth analysis of the reception will establish and contextualise the manuscript tradition as well as the process of the Descriptio’s development through a set of groundbreaking case studies. Third, (sub-project C) the establishment of a stemma for the short recension and a description of the complete manuscript tradition (in TEI encoding) for both the short and long recension along with excerpts and illustrations, will accompany the edition and provide a more precise understanding of their dependencies.The edition of the urtext, the study of its reception and the associated manuscript catalogue will establish a new foundation for research on Burchard and representations of the Holy Land in general. This illuminating, late thirteenth century description of the Levant will likewise stimulate anew our approach to patterns of conception by revealing complex processes that underlie the transmission and adaptation of travel literature. It likewise sheds light on a range of topics that are central to medieval research, such as mobility, materiality and medium, perceptions of space and alternity, as well as Christian-Muslim interactions in the eastern Mediterranean.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Israel
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Jonathan Rubin, Ph.D.