List of illustrations . . vi Preface . . ix Abbreviations . . xi Conventions followed text . . xv 1 The historical background . . 1 2 The literary background . . 6 3 The cartographic background . . 10 4 Maps of the Holy Land . . 17 5 The Ashburnham Libri map, late 12th century . . 31 6 The Tournai maps, late 12th century . . 40 7 The Oxford map of Matthew Paris, mid-13th century . . 60 8 The Acre map of Matthew Paris, mid-13th century . . 74 9 The earliest large Burchard map, circa 1300 . . 94 10 The grid maps, 1320-1339 . . 107 11 The later large Burchard maps, 14th to early 15th century . . 128 12 The small Burchard map, mid-14th century . . 141 13 Conclusion . . 155 General index . . 157 Index of manuscripts . . 160