A complete example of the 1613 Cologne edition of Christian van Adrichom’s influential topographical and biblical atlas of the Holy Land, first published posthumously in 1590. Adrichom’s Theatrum was a landmark in sacred geography, seeking to reconcile scriptural history with an imagined but visually precise cartographic landscape. His work was foundational for nearly all subsequent 17th-century biblical cartography.
The twelve engraved maps include a general map of the Holy Land and detailed tribal allotments based on the divisions of Canaan among the twelve tribes of Israel. Notably, the maps visualize the wilderness wanderings, the territory of Jerusalem and its surroundings, and the lands east of the Jordan assigned to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They are based on a mix of biblical exegesis and classical sources, rendered in a decorative and accessible style that would influence generations of sacred mapmaking.
List of Maps
- Situs Terrae Promissionis ss Bibliorum Intelligentiam Exacte Aperiens: per Christianum Adrichomium Delphum
- Tribus Aser id est, portio ill Terrae Sanctae, quae Tribui Aser in diuisone regionis attributa fuit
- Tribus Ephraim, Benjamin, et Dan, iste videlicet Terrae Sanctae tractus, qui in regionis partitione istis tribus tribulus datus est.
- Tribus Gad nempe, ea Terrae Sanctae pars, quae obtigit in partitione regionis tribui Gad.
- Tribus Zabulon, Isachar, et Dimidia Manasse altera, hoc est, illae Terrae Sanctae regiones, quas iste tribus in distribuendo possidendas acceperunt.
- Tribus Iuda id est, pers illa Terrae Sanctae, quam in ingressu Tribus Juda consectua fuit.
- Dimidia Tribus Manasse hoc est, ea Terrae Sanctae pars, quam Manassae dimidia tribus in regionis diuisione obtinuit.
- Tribus Neptalim videlicet, ea Terrae Sanctae pars, quam in diuisione regionis tribus Naptalim accepit.
- Pharan desertum, et confinia eius cum parte Aegypti, ea videlicet terrae regio, in qua filii Israel post exitum de Aegypto, tringinta octo annis vagati sunt antequam terram promissam ingrederentur.
- Tribus Ruben hoc est, ea Terrae Sanctae regio, quae in diuidendo tribui Rube assignata est.
- Tribus Simeon nempe ea Terrae Sanctae portio, quam tribus Simeon in ingressu nacta fuit.
- Ierusalem, et suburbia eius
Complete with 12 (of 12) maps. *4, chi2, A-2Q4, 2chi2.
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.