Primary Sources for British and Medieval History on the Web

Sources and Resources for British and Medieval History on the Web

Medieval Primary Source Collections and Bibliographies

The Internet Medieval Sourcebook

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

A superb collection of documents from Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, in translation.

The On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies

http://the-orb.net/

Excellent secondary material, with links to primary sources.

Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies

http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/

Easy to use access to a wide variety of electronic resources for medieval studies.

Online Medieval Sources Bibliography: An Annotated Bibliography of Printed and Online Primary Sources for the Middle Ages/

http://medievalsourcesbibliography.org/index.html

Created by the Center for Medieval Studies at Fordham.

Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH)

http://www.dmgh.de/

The MGH is a project to edit and publish the sources and documents relevant to German history (and thus to much of Europe before 1000). This site is still being implemented and so is not fully functional, but some volumes are available digitally.

Annotated Justinian’s Code

http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/blume&justinian/default.asp

A translation of the famous law code, with annotations, by Fred H. Blume, ed. Timothy Kearly.

Medieval Manuscripts

Medieval Manuscript Collections at the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP)

http://libwww.library.phila.gov/medievalman/index.cfm

A new image database containing many of the library’s holdings (both codices and leafs). The interface allows you to zoom in and scroll the images, and the resolution is high enough to permit reading of the texts.

Codices electronici Sangallenses

http://www.cesg.unifr.ch/en/

Digital Abbey Library of St. Gallen

Codex Gigas

http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/

AKA “the Devil’s Bible” because it has a full-page picture of the devil. An early 13^th century Bible produced in Bohemia, supposedly the largest surviving European manuscript. Includes commentary.

Other sites of interest to medievalists

De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History

http://www.deremilitari.org/

“De Re Militari is an international scholarly association established to foster and develop interest in the study of military affairs and warfare in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.” The site includes a bibliography, book reviews, primary sources, and links to other resources.

Medieval Manuscript Collections at the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP)

http://libwww.library.phila.gov/medievalman/index.cfm

Medieval Archaeology

http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch

The first fifty volumes (covering 1965 to 2007) of the journal, courtesy of the Society for Medieval Archaeology. Fully searchable.

Crusades Encyclopedia

http://www.crusades-encyclopedia.com/

An excellent reference source, currently with 900 entries and over 500 sources (primary and secondary).

Le Glossarium de Du Cagne en ligne

http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/

Vol. 6 of the famous dictionary of Medieval Latin (letter O to Q). Interface is in French. Courtesy of the École nationale des chartes.

English and British History

Durham Cathedral Muniments: A Selection of Medieval Documents

http://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.documents/

By A.J. Piper of Durham University Libraries Archives & Special Collections. A substantial collection of charters from the monastic archives of the Durham Cathedral Chapter. Superb digital photographs; disable your pop-up blocker, since with some you can move the mouse around and bring up information. Some have transcriptions available as well. Begun as an adjunct to a Latin paleography class, so there is a good range of documents, from royal charters to local court rolls, musters of clergy to leases of land, and excommunications to coal-mining accounts.

The Lindisfarne Gospels

Can be accessed through http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html , as can 14 other works held by the British Library.

One of the most famous products of the Northumbrian Golden Age, produced in the early 8^th century in the monastery of Lindisfarne. One of the greatest examples

of the Insular style of book production. Now held in the British Library, London.

British Library Harley Collection

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm

A catalogue, but with some images, from the British Library.

The Anglo-Saxon Index

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/asindex

A collection of links for Anglo-Saxon sources.

The Canterbury Tales Project

http://www.canterburytalesproject.org/

The Year Books

http://www.bu.edu/law/faculty/scholarship/yearbooks/

Searchable database of the Year Books (medieval English law reports) from 1268 to 1535, by David J. Seipp, Professor of Law, Boston University.

Henry III Fine Rolls Project

http://www.finerollshenry3.org.uk/cocoon/frh3/index.html

Fine Rolls from 1216-1248 in calendar format. Includes digital images.

Anglo-American Legal Tradition

http://aalt.law.uh.edu/

Digitized documents from the period 1218 to 1650, from the National Archives/Public Record Office, London. Includes some translations.

British History Online

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/

Massive digital library containing primary and secondary sources, including the Victoria County Histories, Calendars of State Papers, and so forth.

NICE (The National Inventory of Continental European Paintings)

http://www.vads.ahds.ac.uk/collections/NIRP

A database on European paintings from 1200 to 1900 held in UK public collections; eventually, this will be expanded to all pre-1900 European paintings in the UK.

An Introduction to Palaeography

http://paleo.anglo-norman.org/

Tutorials in medieval (Latin) and early modern (English) palaeography (the art/science of analyzing and reading handwriting), provided by a collaboration of the West Sussex Record Office and the Centre for English Local History.

You must enable pop-ups to use this site; there is a CD available for a modest fee.

Images of medieval features in England

http://picasaweb.google.com/leicmrc/Leicmedres

Pics (various resolutions) of medieval buildings and features from England. [More images to come.]

Courtesy of the Medieval Research Centre, University of Leicester.