In 1483, wealthy German clergyman and politician Bernhard von Breydenbach made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land accompanied by two friends, a cook, and an artist, Erhard Reuwich. After travelling from Mainz to Venice, the group sailed around the Greek islands before heading on to the Holy Land, where they visited Jerusalem and other important religious sites, including Mount Sinai. After travelling to Egypt and cruising down the Nile, they returned home to Europe. Over the course of their ten month trip, Reuwich compiled dozens of drawings of the places and monuments they had seen, from which he then produced a series of maps, views, and images to illustrate Breydenbach's subsequent publication, the 'Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam'.

The success of the 'Peregrinatio', which ran to 12 editions between 1486 and 1522, was largely down to Reuwich's woodcut prints, which were the first woodcuts to use cross-hatching and are the earliest examples of folding plates in a book. Among these folding plates were seven panoramic views, two of which were particularly exceptional: the view of Venice was spectacular in its size, being 1600mm (63 inches) in length, while Reuwich's map of Palestine and Egypt, in fact, includes the earliest printed map of the Holy City. It is set within a long panorama that extends from Sidon in the north to the Nile Delta in the south, with views extending to the Red Sea and Trans-Jordan region in the distance.

The view is filled with a wealth of topographical and geographical features, all represented pictorially and many accompanied by explanatory notes and captions in Latin. Beside the valley of Elah, for instance, is the "mount on which David laid Goliath low with his sling and stone", and the Israelite base-camp at Gilgal is described as "Galgala, where the sons of Israel waited for a long time after crossing the Jordan" (trans.). The most important feature of the view, however, is the detailed plan of the Holy City set in the lower central portion of the image.

"Jerusalem stretches out like a theatre in front of the viewer and dominates the middle part of the woodcut of the Holy Land. The impressive sight from the Mount of Olives must have been the main reason to portray the cityscape to the west, opposed to the eastern orientation of the map of Palestine and Egypt of which it is a part. Moreover, Jerusalem is represented on a much larger scale than the map, which emphasizes the city's religious importance. The larger scale allows a clear image of the holy places where indulgences could be obtained. In this way the practical usefulness of the map for pilgrims was assured. The sanctuaries are marked by textual notes and single or double crosses. These signs are explained in a legend at the bottom of the woodcut.

"The inclusion of the cityscape in the geographical map, which is oriented to the east, caused some problems with the representation of the surrounding region. The western orientation of Jerusalem was retained at the bottom side of the woodcut. However, this caused difficulties for the depiction of the Brook Kedron. This part of the map contains a view of the Valley of Jehoshaphat with the sanctuaries of the Garden of Gethsemane and the Tomb of the Virgin. In Reuwich's woodcut the creek flows from the south (left) parallel to the city wall and then rounds the two holy shrines, whereas in fact it pursues its direction in the Valley of Jehoshaphat" (Empelen).

Furthermore, there are other discrepancies between Reuwich's map and contemporary reports that suggest the artist may have deliberately romanticized his depiction. Another pilgrim whom Breydenbach's group met on their journey was Felix Fabri, who also went on to publish an account of his travels, in which he reports that Jerusalem had become a city of ruins due to a combination of natural disasters, a devastating plague, subsequent poverty, and the increasing presence of Muslims, who neglected the historic monuments. Reuwich's view, by contrast, shows no signs of any desolation.

"Under close scrutiny the structure of the town largely seems to correspond to reality in 1483. However, this is not the case for the northern (right) side of the city which is heavily shortened and rounded. The ruinous state of the city wall and many buildings is barely visible. Obviously, Reuwich idealized reality; artistic and religious reasons counted more than realism. The bird's-eye view and the larger scale of the monumental buildings can be explained by a desire for clarity and practicality. The perspective of the cityscape is only partially successful." (Empelen).

Despite the inaccuracies and embellishments in Reuwich's work, his view of Jerusalem and the wider panorama of Egypt and Palestine were seminal in the cartographic portrayal of the Holy Land, and the 'Peregrinatio' as a whole proved highly influential in shaping the European perspective of the region. The present example is from the third Latin edition, distinguished by the thickening of the lettering in the title.