What are Primary Sources?
An image from the "Domesday Book," a survey of English land and landholdings commissioned by William I in 1086
Primary Sources are original sources: they were created by someone who participated in or observed an event. They include diaries, letters, newspapers, government documents, photographs, and other manuscripts.
Resources for finding and accessing primary sources are below:
Primary Source Collections
- Internet Medieval History SourcebookThe starting point for medieval European research.
- English Historical Documents This link opens in a new window
English Historical Documents Online is a collection of British history documents from 500 to 1914, indexed by historians from the University of London's Institute of Historical Research. It covers political, constitutional, social, economic, religious, and cultural topics.
- British History Online: Premium Collection"a digital library containing core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles. Included are: the Parliament Rolls of Medieval England (Edward I to Henry VII), all the volumes of the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic 1537-1714, the Calendars of State Papers for Scotland and Ireland, plus the Calendar of Close Rolls. Note that State Papers Online covers only the Tudor Period: 1509-1603."
- Medieval Travel Writing This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a collection of original medieval manuscripts that describe travel - real and imaginary - in the Middle Ages. Material provides an insight into the attitudes and preconceptions of people across Europe in the medieval period, shedding light on issues of race, economics, trade, militarism, politics, literature and science.
- Medieval Family Life: the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor and Armburgh papers This link opens in a new window
Contains full-color images of the original medieval manuscripts that comprise the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor, and Armburgh family letter collections, along with full-text searchable transcripts from printed editions. Also includes family trees, chronology, a map, and a glossary.
- EuroDocsKey works of European history, organized by country.
- Europeana"Multi-lingual online collection of millions of digitized items from European museums, libraries, archives and multi-media collections."
- Hanover Historical Texts CollectionGreek and medieval texts, including the works of ancient Church writers and Crusader letters.
- Avalon Projecttreaties, charters, constitutions, and other documents from ancient times to the present.
- Eyewitness to the Middle Agesfirsthand accounts of the Crusades, Vikings, Monasteries.
- Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance This link opens in a new window
A collection of materials pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700). The platform contains databases, books, and journals.
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library"digital library of hundreds of classic Christian books selected for edification and education."
- Regesta Imperii"literature search in more than 1 million tracks to the Middle Ages...full text of more than 150,000 online calendar entries from the Carolingians to Maximilian I."
- The Papal Encyclicals Online"Website containing papal encyclicals dating back to the 13th century. Also contains official documents translated into English from the church councils dating back to the First General Council of Nicaea (325 CE)."
- Europa Sacra This link opens in a new window
Europa Sacra, part of the Brepolis Medieval Encyclopaedias cluster, is a comprehensive database for studying Church prelates from the Early Church to the Early Modern Period, covering medieval bishoprics and patriarchates.
Personal Texts and Books
If you are searching for texts written by a specific medieval figure, you can often find their texts on the internet since their works are usually not copyrighted. Type in the name of the person Google along with a word like texts, writings, or works.
You can find the famous Scholasticism philosopher's writings at:
Some other great resources that you can use to find a vast amount of eBooks from the Later Middle Ages are:
- Early European Books This link opens in a new window
Early European Books is a collection of European materials from 1455-1700, including modern sciences, travel, Renaissance, Incunabula, church fathers, Reformation, Counter-Reformation, literature, and philosophy, sourced from major European libraries.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
HathiTrust is a partnership of research institutions committed to digital preservation of the cultural record. The Digital Library provides access to public domain and some in-copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives. Materials are available to the extent permitted by copyright law.
You can also find books that can be used as primary sources at:
- WorldCat FirstSearch This link opens in a new window
Contains all the records cataloged by OCLC member libraries. Offers millions of bibliographic records. Includes records representing 400 languages.
- ScoutUse Scout to find books, eBooks, scholarly journal articles, magazine articles, newspapers, and more.
- Libraries' Cataloggives the call numbers and locations of books in Gorgas and most of the other University Libraries. Select "Advanced Search" for the most effective searches.
Women in Medieval Religion
- Epistolae"Epistolæ is a collection of medieval Latin letters to and from women. The letters collected here date from the 4th to the 13th centuries, and they are presented in their original Latin as well as in English translation."
Images
- The Index of Medieval Art"descriptions and photographs of Christian art from early apostolic times to AD 1550. Although the focus is on art of the western world, the database includes examples from Coptic Egypt, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Syria, Armenia, and the Near East."