Burchard of Mount Sion

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Burchard of Mount Sion, or Burchard de Mont Sion, also wrongly called Brocard or Bocard, was a German Dominican who travelled to the Middle East at the end of the 13th century.

He was in Palestine for 10 years between 1274 to 1284. He then visited Armenia where he wrote about the court of the king of Cilician Armenia. Burchard described the country of Cilician Armenia as submitted to Mongol domination,[1] 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 of Mount Sion, 1282.[2]

Burchard wrote "Descriptio Terræ Sanctæ", said to be the best medieval work on Palestine. He makes careful and precise descriptions of his observations.

Burchard also wrote a plan for a crusade, in which he recommended the conquest of Orthodox Serbia and Constantinople as pre-requisites to the accomplishment of a Crusade. His plan is said to have been rather unpractical, and to have displayed a dislike of Orthodox Christians, more than of Muslims themselves.[3]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "He starts by explaining that the country was "submitted to the domination of the Mongols"", in Mutafian, p.66
  2. ^ Quoted in Mutafian, p.66
  3. ^ Ruciman, p.440

[edit] Reference