Medieval European history

Sources for Background Information

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias

• Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (Oxford)
• The multi-volume Dictionary of the Middle Ages (1982) is still a classic, but has been largely superceded by the volumes of the Garland/Routledge Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages:

• 1 Medieval Scandinavia: an Encyclopedia (1993)
• 2 Medieval France: an Encyclopedia (1995)
• 3 Medieval England: an Encyclopedia (1998)
• 4 Medieval Archaeology: an Encyclopedia (2001)
• 5 Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: an Encyclopedia (2000)
• 6 Medieval Germany: an Encyclopedia (2001)
• 7 Medieval Jewish Civilization: an Encyclopedia (2003)
• 8 Medieval Iberia: an Encyclopedia (2003)
• 9 Medieval Italy: an Encyclopedia (2004)
• 10 Medieval Ireland: an Encyclopedia (2005)
• 11 Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: an Encyclopedia (2005)
• 12 Key Figures in Medieval Europe: an Encyclopedia (2006)
• 13 Medieval Islamic Civilization: an Encyclopedia (2006)
• 14 Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: an Encyclopedia (2006)
• 
  Although not part of that series, these encyclopedias are also recent and useful:
• Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature (2000)
• Medieval Folklore: an Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs (2000)
• Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought
• Concise Atlas of World History: The Medieval World - AD 600- 1492

Searching the Library Catalogue

Use the basic word(s) anywhere or advanced keyword search in the library catalogue. You can search using words like - monarch, feudal?, carolingian, etc.

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Core and Additional Databases

Periodical indexes for Medieval History and closely-related subjects:

• International Medieval Bibliography, coverage 1967-
• Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance
• Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index, coverage 1996-

Periodical indexes for related subjects:

• Bibliography of British and Irish History
• BHInet (British Humanities Index), coverage 1962-
• FRANCIS, coverage 1984-
• ATLA Religion Database (American Theological Libraries Association), coverage 1949-
• MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association of America), coverage 1926-

Very large, multi-subject periodical indexes. There is a lot of content in these databases relevant to medieval history and very many full-text files. Years of coverage vary greatly.

• WilsonWeb OmniFile Full Text Mega, coverage mainly 1984-
  For retrospective coverage 1907-1984, go to WilsonWeb, open the database selection area and select "Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retro." To search thousands of collections of essays, open the database selection area and select "Essay and General Literature Index." All three databases can be combined in the same search.
• ProQuest Research Library - (Years of coverage vary)
• Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) - (Years of coverage vary)
• Expanded Academic ASAP (Gale) - (Years of coverage vary)

Primary Sources (electronic databases)

• The Calendar and the Cloister
• Medieval Travel Writing

Selected Internet Sites

• Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies (Maintained by Georgetown University)
• On-Line Reference Book for Medieval Studies (ORB)(Hosted by the City University of New York)
• Ménestrel: médiévistes sur l'internet - sources travaux références en ligne
• Internet Medieval Sourcebook (Hosted by Fordham University)
  Primary historical documents in translation that are available as public domain and copy-permitted texts, etc.
• NetSERF: The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources

Other Resources

Related Subject Guides

• Religious Studies
• Classics
• Philosophy
• History of Science