Fall 2009 - Professor Welsh

Questions? Please contact Sara Swanson (704-894-2157).

Finding Primary Sources

Primary sources related to the medieval millenium can be found using library catalogs, digital collections (both subscription-based and on the Web), and other resources, including reprints of original documents.

Library Catalogs

The Davidson College Library Catalog contains information about primary source materials owned by Davidson.  WorldCat lists primary source materials held in libraries around the world.  If Davidson does not have a copy of what you need, use Interlibrary Loan to request it.

Note:  Rare and archival materials cannot be borrowed on interlibrary loan.  You can sometimes locate microfilm or microfiche copies of these documents in WorldCat; try doing an advanced search, enter your keywords or subject terms, and then apply a “subtype limit,” choosing “Microform” as the format.

To locate primary sources in a library catalog, do a keyword search and add one or more of the following words:

• sources
• correspondence
• diaries
• personal narratives

Or, try a subject search using one of the following subject headings:

• Europe - History - 476-1492 - Sources
• Middle Ages - Sources
• Renaissance, 1450-1600 - Sources

Digital Collections

• Early English Books Online (EEBO)
  (1475-1700) Includes over 125,000 books, pamphlets, broadsides, proclamations, almanacs, and other publications printed in Great Britain, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and British North America from the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries.
  Note:  Includes only a small number of periodicals.
  To print more than a citation or one page of a document, you need to add a record to your marked list, then click on the “Marked List” button at the top of the page.  Click on “Download document image sets in PDF format.”  Then choose “Download entire document.”  Once the document is downloaded, you can print out a range of pages or the entire document using the print function in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  
  
• Internet Medieval Sourcebook
  From the Fordham University's Center for Medieval Studies, this website contains texts of primary source materials related to the Middle Ages.
  
  
• The Labyrinth:  Resources for Medieval Studies
  From Georgetown University. Provides links to primary and secondary sources.
  
  
• Women Writers Online
  Contains the full text of over 200 works written by women in the period 1400-1850.
  

Note: Many libraries and archives are in the process of scanning materials and posting them on the Web. Some of these can be excellent materials. As always, be cautious about using materials that you find on the "Open Web"; remember to evaluate everything you find! For more information, see the Web Resources:  Evaluation guide.

Other Resources

• ARTstor
  A collection of over 900,000 images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and the social sciences; covers a wide range of cultures and time periods.  Also includes tools to manipulate and analyze the images.
  
  
• The Medieval and Early Modern World: Primary Sources and Reference Volume. Comp. Donald R. Kelley and Bonnie G. Smith. New York: Oxford UP, 2005.
  Little Library Stacks 909.07 M4892
  
  
• Medieval Italy: Texts in Translation. Eds. Katherine L. Jansen, Joanna Drell, and Frances Andrews. Philadelphia: U. of Pennyslvania Press, 2009
  Little Library LC Stacks DG501 .M535 2009
  
  
• Medieval Worlds: A Sourcebook. Eds. Roberta Anderson and Dominic Aidan Bellenger. New York: Routledge, 2003.
  Little Library Stacks 940.1 M4895
  
  
• Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History.  Philadelphia, PA:  Univ. of Pennsylvania Dept. of History, 1897-1907.  6 vols.  New York:  AMS Press, 1971
  Little Library Stacks 940 P77t
  
  
• The Voice of the Middle Ages: In Personal Letters, 1100-1500. Ed. Catherine Moriarty. New York: P. Bedrick Books, 1989.
  Little Library Stacks 909.07 V889
  
  
• Women's Live in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook. Ed. Emilie Amt. New York: Routledge, 1993.
  Little Library Stacks 305.4 W87215
  
  

Finding Secondary Sources

Books

Use library catalogs to find books, videos, government documents, journals, magazines, and newspapers.  The Davidson College Library Catalog contains information about materials owned by Davidson.  WorldCat lists materials held in libraries around the world.  If Davidson does not have a copy of what you need, use Interlibrary Loan to request it.

When searching for books and other materials in a catalog, try searching by keyword, author, or title.  You may also search by Library of Congress subject headings.  To locate appropriate subject headings, do a keyword search and then browse records.  Helpful subject headings include:

• Civilization, Medieval
• Eleventh century
• Europe – History – 476-1492
• Europe – Social life and customs
• Fifteenth century
• Fourteenth century
• Kings and rulers, Medieval
• Medievalism
• Middle Ages
• Renaissance
• Renaissance, 1450-1600
• Seventh century
• Tenth century
• Thirteenth century
• Twelfth century

Articles

Core Resources

• Historical Abstracts
  (1450 to present [historical time period covered]; 1954 to present [publication date of articles and books indexed]) Indexes scholarly articles, review of scholarly books, and doctoral dissertations on world history, excluding the history of the U.S. and Canada.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  use double quotation marks “ ”.
  Wildcard:  use a question mark ?.
  Time Period Searches:  search by decade or century only.
  To search for a decade, use the format xxxxD (example:  1940D).
  To search for a range of decades, use the format xxxxD xxxxD or the format xxxxD OR xxxxD.
  Note:  For more than five decades, search by century (see below).
  To search for a century, use the format xxxxH (example:  1900H).
  To search for a range of centuries, use the format xxxxH xxxxH.
  
  
• ITER:  Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance
  (400-1700 [historical time period covered]; 1842 to present [publication date of articles and books indexed]) Indexes scholarly articles and books on topics related to the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use a dollar sign $.
  Phrase Searching:  use double quotation marks “ ”.
  Wildcard:  use a question mark ?.
  
  
• International Medieval Bibliography
  Reference R 016.914 I61
  (400-1500 [historical time period covered]; 1967 to present [publication dates of articles indexed] Indexes scholarly articles, essays, and conference papers on a wide range of topics related to the Middle Ages in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.  International in scope.
  
  

Other Resources

• ATLA Religion Database
  (1949 to present) Indexes journal articles and essays related to world religions, church history, and Biblical studies; also includes some book reviews.  ATLA has a strong focus on Western religions.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  automatic.
  Wildcard:  use a question mark ?.
  
  
• Essay & General Literature Index
  (1985 to present) Indexes chapters and essays in edited collections.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  unnecessary when using “All-Smart Search”; otherwise, use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  use double quotation marks “ ”.
  Wildcard:  do not use with “All-Smart Search”; otherwise, use a question mark ?.
  
  
• Feminae:  Medieval Women and Gender Index, from Margaret Schaus at Magill Library, Haverford College
  (1450-1500 [historical time period covered]; 1990 to present [publication date of articles indexed]) Indexes journal articles, essays, and book reviews on women, sexuality, and gender in medieval Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
  
  
• Humanities Abstracts
  (1907 to present [publication date of articles indexed]) Indexes journal articles and some book reviews on all humanities subjects, including history, classics, art, archaeology, literature, philosophy, and religion.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  unnecessary when using “All-Smart Search”; otherwise, use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  use double quotation marks “ ”.
  Wildcard:  do not use with “All-Smart Search”; otherwise, use a question mark ?.
  
  
• JSTOR
  Includes PDF copies of scholarly articles from a core collection of journals; also includes book reviews.  Note:  JTOR does not contain articles from the most recent 3-5 years.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use a plus sign +.
  Phrase Searching:  automatic
  
  
• Periodicals Index Online
  (c. 1665-1995 [publication date of articles indexed]) Indexes articles from humanities and social sciences periodicals from their first issues to 1995. Particularly useful for locating references to articles from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. International in scope.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  automatic.
  
  
• Project Muse
  Includes PDF and HTML copies of journal articles published by university and scholarly presses.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  use double quotation marks “ ”.
  
  
• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
  Provides information about journals, magazines, and other serials published in the United States and in many foreign countries; both current and discontinued titles are included. Subscription costs, publication frequency, and ISSNs are listed for each title. Ulrich's is particularly useful for the information it provides about the indexes and databases that cover a particular journal or magazine, and it also confirms whether or not a given title is peer-reviewed.
  
  
• Web of Knowledge
  (c. 1900 to present) A multidisciplinary resource that provides citations to articles in over 10,000 journals in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
  Search Syntax
  Truncation:  use an asterisk *.
  Phrase Searching:  use double quotation marks “ ”.
  Wilcard: use a question mark ?.
  

Reference Resources

Atlases, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

• Atlas of the Medieval World. Roasamond McKitterick. New York: Oxford UP, 2004.
  Reference R 909.07 M158a
  
  
• A Companion to Medieval England, 1066-1485. Nigel Saul. 3rd ed. Stroud, England: Tempus, 2005.
  Reference R 942.03 S256c
  
  
• Dictionary of the Middle Ages.  Ed. Joseph R. Strayer.  13 vols.  New York:  Scribner, 1982-1989.
  Reference R 909 D554
  Note: The Library also has the supplement to this set (Reference R 909 D554-s).
  
  
• Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000.  Ed. Peter N. Stearns.  6 vols.  New York:  Scribner’s, 2001
  Reference R 306.094 E56
  
  
• Encyclopedia of Religion.  Ed. Lindsay Jones.  2nd ed.  15 vols.  Detroit, MI:  Macmillan Reference, 2005.
  Reference R 203 E562 2005
  
  
• Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages.  Ed. Andre Vauchez.  2 vols.  Chicago, IL:  Fitroy Dearborn, 2000.
  Reference R 909.07 E56
  
  
• Encyclopedia of the Renaissance.  Ed. Paul F. Grendler.  6 vols.  New York:  Scribner’s, 1999.
  Reference R 940.2 E56
  
  
• Europe 1450 to 1789:  Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World.  Ed. Jonathan Dewald.  6 vols.  New York:  Scribner’s, 2004.
  Reference R 940.2 E89
  
  
• Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England, 1272-1485.  Ed. Ronald H. Fritze and William B. Robison.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood, 2002.
  Reference R 942.03 H6731
  
  
• Historical Dictionary of the Renaissance. Chalres G. Nauert. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
  Reference R CB361.N35 2004
  
  
• The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of the Renaissance.  Ed. David Rundle.  Abingdon:  Helicon Publishing, 2005.
  
  
• The Longman Handbook of Early Modern Europe, 1453-1763.  Chris Cook and Philip Broadhead.  New York:  Longman, 2001.
  Reference R 940.2 C771L
  
  
• Medieval Folklore:  An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs.  Ed. Carl Lindahl, et al.  2 vols.  Santa Barbara, CA:  ABC-CLIO, 2000.
  Reference R 398 M489
  
  
• Medieval France:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. William W. Kibler, et al.  New York:  Garland, 1995.
  Reference R 914.4 M489
  
  
• Medieval Germany:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. John M. Jeep.  New  York:  Garland, 2001.
  Reference R 943.02 M489
  
  
• Medieval Iberia:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. E. Michael Gerli.  New York:  Routledge, 2003.
  Reference R 946.02 M489
  
  
• Medieval Ireland:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. Seán Duffy.  New York:  Routledge, 2005.
  Reference R 941.5 M489
  
  
• Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Josef W. Meri, 2006. New York: Routledge, 2006
  Reference R 909.09 M48
  
  
• Medieval Italy:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. Christopher Kleinhenz.  2 vols.  New York:  Routledge, 2004.
  Reference R 945.03 M489
  
  
• Medieval Jewish Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Norman Roth. New York: Routledge, 2003.
  Reference R 909.04 M489
  
  
• Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Thomas F. Glick, Steven J. Livesey, and Faith Wallis. New York: routledge, 2005.
  Reference R 509 M489
  
  
• New Catholic Encyclopedia.  2nd ed.  15 vols.  Washington, DC:  Catholic Univ., 2003. 
  Reference R 282 C36n2
  
  
• New Dictionary of the History of Ideas.  Ed. Maryanne Horowitz.  6 vols.  Detroit, MI:  Scribner’s, 2005.
  Reference R 901.0 D554 2005
  Note: The Library also has a copy of the first edition, the Dictionary of the History of Ideas, edited by Philip. P. Wiener (5 vols.; New York:  Scribner, 1973-1974), shelved in Reference at call number R 901.9 D554.
  
  
• The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance. Gordon Campbell. New York: Oxford UP, 2003.
  Reference R 940.2 C187o
  
  
• Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Johon Blocok Friedman and Kristen Mossler Figg. New York: Garland Pub., 2000.
  Reference R 909.07 T763
  
  
• Women and Gender in Medieval Europe:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. Margaret Schaus.  New York:  Routledge, 2006.
  Reference R 305.409 W8721
  
  
• Women in the Middle Ages:  An Encyclopedia.  Ed. Katharina M. Wilson and Nadia Margolis.  2 vols.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood, 2004.
  Reference R 305.409 W872

 Bibliographies

• International Medieval Bibliography.  Leeds, Engand:  Univ. of Leeds, 1967-.
  Reference R 016.914 I61
  
  
• Medieval European History, 395-1500: A Select Bibliography. R.H.C. Daivs. 2nd rev. ed. London: Historical Association, 1968
  Reference R 016.94 D263m
  
  
• Renaissance Humanism, 1300-1550: A Bibligraphy of Materials in English. Benjamin G. Kohl. New York: Garland Pub., 1985
  Reference R 016.94 K79r

Biographical Information

• Biography Reference Bank.  H. W. Wilson, 2003-.
  
  
• The Late Medieval Age of Crisis and Renewal, 1300-1500:  A Biographical Dictionary.  Ed. Clayton J. Drees.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 2001.
  Reference R 920.04 L351
  
  
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison.  60 vols.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 2004.
  Reference R 920 N2111
  Note: See also the first edition:  Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee (22 vols; 1885-1901; reprinted London:  Oxford Univ. Press, 1963-1965), shelved in Reference at call number R 920 N211.
  
  
• The Rise of the Medieval World, 500-1300:  A Biographical Dictionary.  Ed. Jana K. Schulman.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 2002.
  
  
• Who’s Who in the Middle Ages.  Mary Ellen Snodgrass.  Jefferson, NC:  McFarland, 2001.
  Reference R 920.04 S673w

Related Guides

• RefWorks:  A Guide
  
  
• Research Log
  
  
• Research Planner
  
  
• Scholarly Articles:  How to Identify Them
  
  
• Web Resources: Evaluation