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Important 16th-Century Map of the Holy Land
Decorative example of Christian Van Adrichom's original and quite monumental plan of the Holy Land, which first appeared in his Theatrum Terrae Sanctae et biblicarum historiarum cum tabulis geographicis aere expressis.... in Amsterdam in 1590.
Van Adrichom's map of the Theatrum Terrae Sanctae, oriented to the east, shows the entirety of the Holy Land divided into 12 Tribes on both sides of the Jordan, along with the shoreline running from Sidon to Alexandria. The River Cison (Kishon of today) is shown as connecting the Lake of Tiberias with the Mediterranean Sea. There are many nonexistent rivers shown: a river connecting Jerusalem with the Dead Sea. In the Dead Sea four burning cities are shown: Sodoma, Gomorra, Seboim, and Adama. This map was instrumental in redefining the depiction of the Holy Land for nearly 200 years.
Christiaan van Adrichem was ordained in 1566 and was Director of the Convent of St. Barbara in Delft, until he was expelled in the turmoil of the Reformation. His work was first published in 1590 and edited by Gerardus Bruyns, canon at Deventer; the other editions were published in 1593, 1600, 1613, and 1682. It was also translated into many languages, owing to its extraordinary popularity and influence. As Van Adrichem based his work on sources which are now lost - for example the description of Jerusalem by his brother-in-law Ysbrand Godfriedsz - his work is still of importance for the history of Palestine and Israel. The map itself was compiled by Hondius, Jansson, Visscher, Stoopendahl, and others for over 100 years in various forms.
Christian Kruik van Adrichem, or Christianus Crucius Adrichomius, was a Dutch Catholic priest, theologian, and biblical geographer whose Theatrum Terrae Sanctae et Biblicarum Historiarum (Cologne, 1590) became one of the most influential sacred atlases of the early modern period. Ordained in 1566, he served as Director of the Convent of St. Barbara in Delft until the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation forced his expulsion. He spent the remainder of his life in exile, dying in Cologne in 1585.
Van Adrichem's Theatrum—first published posthumously in 1590 by Gerardus Bruyns, canon of Deventer—offers a detailed historical and theological description of the Holy Land, including its biblical geography, a chronology from Adam to the death of John the Apostle (109 AD), and a study of Jerusalem and its sacred sites. The work was part of a broader Catholic effort to reclaim biblical narrative through scholarship and printing in response to Protestant interpretations. It was reprinted multiple times (1593, 1600, 1613, and 1682), translated widely, and became a model for sacred cartography for more than a century.
The Theatrum is particularly valuable for its twelve engraved maps, including a detailed plan of Jerusalem and individual maps of the territories of the Twelve Tribes. These were widely copied, adapted, and reissued by leading Dutch cartographers such as Jodocus Hondius, Johannes Janssonius, Nicolaes Visscher, and Daniel Stoopendaal. Van Adrichem's account is also important as it draws on now-lost sources—including a description of Jerusalem by his brother-in-law, Ysbrand Godfriedsz.—making it a document of lasting relevance to the historical geography of Palestine and Israel.
In addition to the Theatrum, Van Adrichem authored the Vita Jesu Christi (Antwerp, 1578), a devotional life of Christ. His legacy lies in the enduring influence of his biblical geography, which helped shape both confessional cartography and European understanding of the biblical world well into the 18th century.
