Library Guides: Medieval Studies: Background Information

Overview of Medieval Studies

Medieval Studies is the term used to describe scholarly investigation into the history, religion/theology, philosophy, art, literature, music, and other aspects of culture of those living in Europe (East and West), around the Mediterranean, in North Africa, and in the territories of the Eastern Roman empire during the Middle Ages (a period from roughly 400 CE-1500 CE).

Medieval studies is an interdisciplinary endeavor. Related subjects include: Art History, Byzantine Studies, Classics, English Literature, French Language and Literature, History, Western Europe, Italian Language and Literature, Music, Philosophy, Theology and Religion.

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Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Dictionaries are most often collections of words in one or more specific languages, usually arranged in alphabetical order, providing information like word meanings, usage, etymology, and, when they contain more than one language, translations. Some dictionaries include information more commonly found in encyclopedias. Encyclopedias are collections of information on terms, figures, eras, locations also arranged alphabetically, and, alongside definitions of terms, they also include more in-depth general information on a topic. Encyclopedias can be general or subject-specific.

Abbreviationes This link opens in a new window
An electronic dictionary of medieval Latin abbreviations. Note: This resource may require the ATimes.ttf font.
Brill's Medieval reference library online This link opens in a new window
Includes: Encyclopedia of Medieval pilgrimage; Encyclopedia of the Medieval chronicle; and Encyclopedia of Medieval dress and textiles of the British Isles c. 450-1450.

Dictionary of the Middle Ages by Joseph R. Strayer (Editor); American Council of Learned Societies Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: Medieval [7th floor] Reference (Rm. 715) (D 114 .D5 1982)
ISBN: 0684190737
Publication Date: 1989-04-01
Published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies Visit every aspect of medieval life in Western Europe, the Scandinavian north, the Byzantine and Slavic east, the Muslim south, and the ubiquitous world of Judaism from A.D. 500 to 1500. Here you can explore the conditions of daily life, major and minor figures, terms and concepts, countries and provinces, and movements, monuments, people, and events.

Dictionary of Old English This link opens in a new window
The Dictionary of Old English (DOE) defines the vocabulary of the first six centuries (600 - 1150 A.D.) of the English language, using today's most advanced technology. The DOE complements the Middle English Dictionary (which covers the period 1100 - 1500 A.D.) and the Oxford English Dictionary (which documents the development of the English language to the present), the three together providing a full description of the vocabulary of English. Includes the first release of the letter H, containing some 2,956 headwords, as well as revised versions of the eight previously published fascicles (1986-2007).

Christian-Muslim Relations by David Thomas; Alexander Mallett
Call Number: Near Eastern Reading Room (Rm. 714B) BP 172 .C4196 2009
ISBN: 9789004216181
Publication Date: 2010-
Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History is a history of all the works on Christian-Muslim relations. It comprises introductory essays and entries containing descriptions, assessments and comprehensive bibliographical details of individual works.

Christian Muslim Relations Online I This link opens in a new window
CMR Online is a general online history of relations between the faiths. It covers the period from 600 to 1500 CE, when encounters took place through the extended Mediterranean basin and are recorded in Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin and other languages.
Database of Latin Dictionaries This link opens in a new window
Integrates different types of Latin dictionaries, from the Classical-Late Antique (75 BC - 600 AD), Medieval (ca. 600 AD - 1517 AD), and Modern eras (after 1517 AD), and includes all major dictionaries used for Christian and Medieval Latin except the Oxford dictionaries, and Niermyer's Lexikon latinitatis medii aevii. Use the "non-Latin headwords" function to search for all terms related to a specific English word.
Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques : DHGE This link opens in a new window
Contains articles on the history and geography of the Christian church.
Lexikon des Mittelalters This link opens in a new window
An electronic version of the Lexikon des Mittelalters, a fundamental medieval studies encyclopedia covering the period from 300 to 1500 AD/CE for the whole of Europe and parts of the Middle East and North Africa. Usage info: Licensed for 3 simultaneous users.
International encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages This link opens in a new window
IEMA Online is intended as a complement to Lexikon des Mittelalters online, providing original articles that cover the time period 300-1500 CE, in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.Usage info: Licensed for 3 simultaneous users.

Logeion Latin & Greek Language Resources
Logeion (literally, a place for words; in particular, a speaker's platform, or an archive) was developed after the example of dvlf.uchicago.edu, to provide simultaneous lookup of entries in the many reference works that make up the Perseus Classical collection.

Oxford dictionary of Byzantium This link opens in a new window
Contains searchable entries covering all aspects of Byzantine history and civilization from the 4th through the 15th centuries, with special depth in subjects such as bureaucratic titles and fiscal terms, urban life, and rural economy.

Oxford Latin Dictionary by Oxford Dictionaries Staff (Editor)
Call Number: Byzantine Reference (7th Floor) PA 2365 .E5 O9 2012
ISBN: 9780199580316
Publication Date: 2012-04-01
The Oxford Latin Dictionary is the world's most authoritative dictionary of classical Latin, with comprehensive coverage of the language from its beginnings until AD 200.

Guides, Handbooks and Finding Aids

Reference resources like Handbooks, Guides, and Manuals provide subject-specific, sometimes technical information to aid in understanding important aspects of the discipline or subject that they treat. Finding Aids are useful for finding information within libraries, archives, or specific collections.

Europa Sacra This link opens in a new window
Offers unrivalled coverage of medieval Church prelates, information on all 1300 medieval bishoprics, archdioceses and patriarchates under obedience to Rome. As of 2003, it provides prosopographical information on 18,507 bishops, archbishops and patriarchs. Gradually more recent prosopographical works on members of religious orders and data on secular clergy supplied by nationally-based prosopographical projects will be added.

Orbis Latinus
Graesse's Orbis Latinus is a finding aid for Latin place names, providing modern language equivalents.

Biographies

Biography provides a description of a person's life, detailing the basic facts like birth and death, education, family background, etc. but also portraying the individual subject's experience of those life events.

Biographisch-bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon This link opens in a new window
Onlive version of the German biographical church encyclopedia that provides information about persons related to history of the Church.
Mirabile: Digital archives for Medieval Latin culture This link opens in a new window
An online content aggregator of Medieval resources. Contains Medioevo latino : a bibliographical bulletin of European culture from Boethius to Erasmus, VI to XV centuries (MEL) ; Bibliotheca scriptorum latinorum medii recentiorisque aevi (BISLAM) ; and Compendium auctorum latinorum medii aevi (500-1500) (CALMA). Includes full-text content from several related online journals.
Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit This link opens in a new window

Medieval Studies

Medieval Studies Librarian

Overview of Medieval Studies

Other Related Guides

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Guides, Handbooks and Finding Aids

Biographies