Tips
Encyclopedias are great for:
- choosing a topic
- quick self-education
- perspective on a topic
- variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
- bibliography
Recommended Starting Places
The Middle Ages: a very short introductionPublication Date: 2014
- Oxford Bibliographies OnlineOffers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on the Middle Ages.
- Oxford Handbooks Online: Scholarly Research ReviewsThe complete texts of the Oxford handbooks in Archaeology, Business and Management, Classical Studies, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, History, Law, Linguistics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Religion online.
The Bible and Christianity
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the BiblePublication Date: 2001
The Oxford Bible CommentaryPublication Date: 2007Verse-by-verse commentary on the whole Bible, including all the books of the Apocrypha.
New Catholic EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2004A standard reference source on Christianity, especially strong on medieval Christianity. Scholarly presentation of persons and subjects related to Catholicism and the humanities.
- The Catholic EncylopediaOpen access (hence the interface). This is a digitized version of the first edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia, with a more traditional perspective that can sometimes be useful for the Middle Ages.
- Oxford ReferenceA collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference titles, many relating to the Bible or Christianity and the Middle Ages.
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fifth Edition RevisedPublication Date: 2011Covers the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world with bibliography.
Literature Encyclopedias
- Literature Resource Center (LRC)A literature database combining biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism).
- The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in BritainAlso available in print in Olin Library Reference, Olin Library Reference, PR260 .E53 2017 .
Greek & Roman World
The Oxford Classical DictionaryPublication Date: 5th editionAn unrivalled one-volume reference in the field of classics.Much more than a dictionary. Coverage of Greek and Roman history, literature, myth, religion, linguistics, philosophy, law,science, art, archaeology, sexuality, near eastern studies, and late antiquity.
- Oxford Art OnlineExcellent articles and images.
Medieval Encyclopedias
Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2006Examines the daily reality of medieval women from all walks of life in Europe between 450 CE and 1500 CE, i.e., from the fall of the Roman Empire to the discovery of the Americas. Masculinity in the Middle Ages is also addressed.
The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval EuropePublication Date: 2013
The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in BritainPublication Date: 2018Represents all the literatures of the British Isles including Old and Middle English, Early Scots, Anglo-Norman, the Norse, Latin and French of Britain, and the Celtic Literatures of Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall
Medieval England: An EncyclopediaPublication Date: 1998All aspects of life and culture in medieval England-art, architecture, law, literature, kings, commoners, women, music, commerce, technology, warfare, religion, and many others.
The Oxford Companion to ChaucerPublication Date: 2003
The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon EnglandThe only reference work to cover the history, archaeology, arts, architecture, literatures, and languages of England from the Roman withdrawal to the Norman Conquest (c.450 - 1066 AD)
Medieval Italy: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2003Online edition:
Volume I : A-K, Volume II : L-Z Cross-disciplinary resource on literature, history, the arts, science, philosophy, and religion in Italy between A.D. 450 and 1375.
The Cambridge Companion to BoccaccioPublication Date: 2015
Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2000Covers the peoples, places, technologies, and intellectual concepts that contributed to trade, travel and exploration during the Middle Ages, from the years A.D. 525 to 1492.
Medieval Islamic Civilization: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2005Online:
Volume I : A-K, Volume II : L-Z Two volumes, illustrated. Covers fields such as Arabic languages, Arabic literature, architecture, art history, history, history of science, Islamic arts, Islamic studies, Middle Eastern studies, Near Eastern studies, politics, religion, Semitic studies, theology, and more.
Medieval Scandinavia: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 1993Religion, education, politics and law, culture and material life, history, literature, and art. A valuable and absorbing volume for students of the Norse sagas, the Viking age, and Old English history and literature, and more.
Medieval France: an EncyclopediaISBN: 0824044444Publication Date: 1995Covers the political, intellectual, literary, and musical history of the country from the early fifth century to the late 15th.
Medieval Iberia: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2002Focuses on the Iberian kingdoms from the fall of the Roman Empire to the aftermath of the Reconquista.
Medieval Jewish Civilization: an EncyclopediaPublication Date: 2002Medieval Jewish civilization, from the fall of the Roman Empire to about 1492.
The Oxford Dictionary of SaintsISBN: 019860629XConcise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic associations of over 1,400 saints.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle AgesPublication Date: 2010Four volumes. Key aspects of European history, society, religion, and culture from 500 to 1500. Since neighbouring areas of Asia and North Africa impinged on and helped shape the civilization of the West, relevant aspects ofthe Byzantine Empire, the Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples such as the Avars and the Mongols are included.
Cambridge Histories Online
Excellent resource. Full text. Chapters as pdfs. Extremely high quality essays with rich footnotes and bibliography.
OED
English Language and its history
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) The dictionary that is scholar's preferred source; it goes far beyond definitions.
