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Key Resources
Citations and abstracts of journal articles, book reviews and dissertations in all areas of world history from 1450 to present.
Provides access to citations and full-text of articles in the humanities.
An interdisciplinary bibliography of the European Middle Ages, covering Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Covers the period 400-1500.
Use guides, dictionaries, and encyclopedias to find authoritative definitions
- A short history of the Middle Ages
- Dictionary of Old English corpus
- Materials, Methods and Masterpieces of Medieval Art
- Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia
- Medieval Jewish civilization : an encyclopedia
- Medieval worlds; a sourcebook
- Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages
- Reading the Middle Ages: sources from Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic world
- The New Cambridge medieval history
- Understanding Medieval primary sources: using historical sources to discover Medieval Europe (print only)
- Women's lives in Medieval Europe; a sourcebook
To find journal articles, you have three options:
1. Use Omni the library's main search box, to find all types of material
- type in the keywords of your topic or use the Advanced Search
- use the filters to refine your search results
- Need help? Try Omni Search Tips
2. Search historical databases
3. Use Google Scholar - via the library's web site that searches information on the web
Additional Databases:
- ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Early English Books Online
- Index Islamicus
- International Medieval Bibliography
- Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages & Renaissance
- Medieval Travel Writing
- Monumenta Germaniae Historica
- MLA International Bibliography
- Past Masters
- Feminae - Medieval Women and Gender Index
Finding Books/eBooks
Use Omni to find books (in addition to journal articles and almost everything else). Here are a few search tips:
- do a keyword search in the box provided and filter the results by 'Books'
- view instructions for finding eBooks on Omni
- try adding the word 'sources' to any keyword search to locate primary sources
- when using the Advanced Search, filter by Subject (a controlled vocabulary used by cataloguers), then select Books, as Material Type
- Listed below are some Subject headings used for medieval history topics. Try searching them when looking for books. Remember, for every book you find, scroll down to the Subjects listed in the book record under 'Details' to discover more subjects to explore.
- Civilization, Medieval
- Coins, Roman
- Europe History, 476-1492
- France, Antiquities, Roman
- Historiography England History, to 1500
- Inscriptions, Latin
- Medicine, Medieval History Sources
- Middle Ages
- Numismatics, Ancient
- Social history, Medieval, 500-1500
- After finding book(s) on your topic, use the Virtual Browse feature to discover other titles
- Need help? Try Omni Search Tips
Search eBook Collection Databases:
Searching for primary sources:
Search your topic using Omni, the library's main search box to find primary sources (or reproductions) in our collection. Keyword searches that include the following terms will identify primary materials most of the time: Diar* (for diary or diaries), Correspondence, Letter*, Memoir*, Personal narrative, Recollection*, Reminiscence*, Journal, Sources.
Search tips:
- Use the bibliographies and footnotes of secondary sources on your topic to help identify primary source material.
- Useful e-book: History Beyond the Text : A Student's Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources
Primary Sources on the web
- Archives and Primary Sources Databases
- Digital Public Library of America
- Internet Archive
- Hathi Trust Digital Library
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- National Archives (UK)
- New York Public Library Digital Collections
- Center for Research Libraries (CRL): CU Library is a member of the CRL consortium.
Other libraries and collections:
- ARTstor - includes approximately 500,000 images covering art, architecture and archeology
- Avalon Project (Medieval Documents 400-1399) - has digital documents in the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government
- Bibliotheca Augustana - composed of e-texts of world literature in several languages
- Bibliotheca Latina Intra Text - Latin texts, 7th-16th centuries
- British History Online - digital library containing some core printed primary and secondary sources for medieval and modern history of the British Isles
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts - covers Irish history and culture from the Middle Ages to the Modern period in various languages
- Early English Books Online
- Internet Medieval Sourcebook (Fordham University)
- Munich Digitization Center
- The Online Medieval and Classical Library
MANUSCRIPTS
- Belgica
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
- Biblioteca Digital Hispanica - The digital library of the Biblioteca Nacional de España. Provides access to 1000s of digitised documents, such as, books printed from the 15th to the 19th century, manuscripts, drawings, engravings, pamphlets, posters, photographs, maps, atlases, music scores, historic newspapers and magazines and audio recordings.
- Bibliotheque virtuelle des manuscrits medievaux (BVMM) - Digital library of medieval manuscripts from French libraries.
- Bodleian Library Manuscripts - Electronic catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library with descriptions and some images. Also available is a subject guide to the collections.
- British Library Digital Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
- Cambridge Digital Library
- CHD Institute for Studies of Illuminated Manuscripts in Denmark
- Codices Electronici Sangallenses (CESG) – Virtual Library - The purpose of the “Codices Electronici Sangallenses” (Digital Abbey Library of St. Gallen) is to provide access to the medieval codices in the Abbey Library of St. Gallen by creating a virtual library. At the moment, the virtual library contains 500 manuscripts. The virtual library will be continuously updated and extended. (Dec. 2013)
- Digital Library of Illuminated Manuscripts - Digital project containing 12th-16th C. illuminated manuscripts from several American universities. Full browsing and downloading.
- Digital Scriptorium - Clearing house of digiitzed medieval and renaissance manuscripts.
- Early Manuscripts at Oxford - This site provides access to over 80 early manuscripts now in institutions associated with the University of Oxford.
- e-codices: Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland
- Europeana Regia
- Gutenberg Bible
- Images of Medieval Manuscripts (Bodleian Library)
- Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales - Includes an online, original manuscript of Chaucer's work.
- MacKinney Collection of Medieval Medical Illustrations
- Manus Online Database containing descriptions and digital images of manuscripts, private papers and archives held by Italian public, private and ecclesiastical libraries.
- Manuscripta Mediaevalia Manuscripta mediaevalia represents more than 75,000 documents to Western manuscripts available mainly in German libraries.
- Manuscriptorium (Memoria Project)
- Manuscrits enluminés des bibliothèques de France More than 14,000 manuscript illuminations.
- Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts from Western Europe (New York Public Library)
- Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts
- Medieval Manuscripts in Dutch Collections
- Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts
- Schoyen Collection - The collection is comprised of most types of manuscripts from the whole world spanning over 5000 years. It is the largest private manuscript collection formed in the 20th century. Many images with extensive annotation.
- Scriptorium -A digital archive of manuscript miscellanies and commonplace books from c. 1450-1720, including research and teaching resources for late medieval and early modern manuscript studies.
- St. Albans Psalter
Bestiary
- The Aberdeen Bestiary
- Bestiaire du Moyen Age
- Books of Beasts in the British Library: the Medieval Bestiary and its context
- The Medieval Bestiary: Animals in the Middle Ages
Church and Religion
- ARTFL Project - A source of classical French writings which consists of a number of searchable databases.
- Bible. Latin. Vulgate. (Gutenberg Digital)
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana = Vatican Library - Website of the Vatican Library. Contains links to the Archivio Segreto Vaticano and other resources including the map, Forma Urbis Romae.
- British Library Sacred Manuscripts Collection
- CEEC: Codices Electronici Esslesiae Coloniensis
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) A digital library of hundreds of classic Christian books selected for edification and education.
- Corpus Thomisticum - The complete works of Thomas Aquinas.
- Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) - Medieval stained glass in England.
- Early Church Documents
- Index of Medieval Art - A large database of medieval art.
- Internet Sacred Text Archive
- Monastic Matrix - Contains medieval documents (literature and historical records of all kinds) collected from manuscripts and printed sources.
- Myriobiblos - Patristic Texts (Greek) - E-text library of the Church of Greece.
- Patrologia Latina - Cover the works of the Latin Fathers, from Tertullian in 200 A.D. to Pope Innocent III in 1216.
- Thesaurus Precum Latinarum - Texts of Latin prayers.
England
- British History Online
- English Medieval Legal Documents AD 600 - AD 1535
- Henry III Fine Rolls Project
Law and Legal History
Military
- De Re Militari - The Society for Medieval Military History
Music
Women in the Middle Ages
- Monastic Matrix: A scholarly resource for the study of women's religious communities from 400 to 1600 CE - Contains medieval documents (literature and historical records of all kinds) collected from manuscripts and printed sources.
Maps
- Atlas of medieval Britain (print)
- Atlas of medieval Europe online
- Atlas of the Medieval world (print)
- The journey of maps and images on the Silk Road
- Medieval maps of the Holy Land (print)
- The medieval world : an illustrated atlas (print)
- Roadworks medieval Britain, medieval roads
Images
- ARTstor - a digital library of art images. Includes approximately 500,000 images covering art, architecture and archeology
- Index of Medieval Art - a thematic and iconographic index of early Christian and medieval art objects
- CORSAIR
- Les Enluminures Medieval Art
- Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands
- Illuminating the Medieval Hunt
- Index of Medieval Art
- Renaissance and Medieval Manuscripts (New York Public Library Digital Gallery)
Films/Videos
Writing an annotated bibliography
- view the Youtube video or web page for instructions on how to construct an annotated bibliography
Writing a research paper
- writing a thesis statement (video)
- writing an outline for your essay (web page)
Citing your sources
Referencing your sources is an important part of academic writing. Why?
- it lets you acknowledge the ideas or words of others if you use them in your work
- it helps you to avoid plagiarism
- it demonstrates that you are using the scholarly record and that you can provide authority for statements you make in your term paper
- it enables readers to find the source information
- Consult the "How to" Guide on Chicago Citation Sytle (Notes & Bibliography)
- You may also want to consult the following: Department of History Essay Writing Guide.
- Citing your sources web page
- OWL Purdue Writing Lab
Other Writing Help
Writing Services offers students instruction on developing an argument, structuring ideas, etc. and is part of the Centre for Student Academic Support.
