Bertrandon de la Broquiere was esquire to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Philip had plans for a new Crusade to the Holy Land and as part of this plan he persuaded Bertrandon to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to gather intelligence. Bertrandon set off in 1432 disguised as a pilgrim but acting as a spy for Philip, noting important details of the military, political and cultural aspects of Mamluk and Ottoman lands. The resulting account of his travels, translated into English by Thomas Johnes in 1807, provides invaluable information on the region, including the military tactics of the Turks and the early use of gunpowder by the Mamluks. It is also one of the key documents for the history of the Crusades in the late medieval period.

In the years 1432-3 Bertandon de la Brocquiere, fifteenth-century gentleman and confidante to the Duke of Burgundy, undertook a pilgrimage to the Middle East and beyond. Though posing as a pilgrim de la Brocquiere was in fact a spy. He travelled to Ghent, Venice, Palestine and Damascus, eventually reaching as far as Constantinople at the important time leading up to the destruction of the city and the final fall of the Byzantine Empire. He met with both the Pope and with the Byzantine Emperor and his court. His account remains an excellent source on politics, leading figures and customs of the Mamluk and Ottoman lands, the early use of gunpowder by the Mamluks, and provides a careful analysis of Turkish military tactics. Written at the behest of the Duke of Burgundy, for the purpose of facilitating a new crusade, it also remains one of the key documents for the history of the Crusades in the late Middle Ages.