John Cairns

John Cairns illustrates the regional maps in the Warfare in the Age of Crusades series. His maps of Europe and its theaters of war place campaigns, shifting medieval frontiers, and battle sites within their geographic context, presenting complex historical information through clear, thoughtful cartography.

By day, John works as a software engineer and has spent three decades building distributed software systems. As an enthusiastic amateur illustrator, photographer, and computer cartographer, he values the balance between art and science and brings an engineer's precision to historical mapmaking.

A proud husband and father of three, John enjoys family time, travel, and the rich tapestry of life in Chicago. On weekends, he runs through local forest preserves and cheers from the sidelines of his children's soccer matches.