Medieval Art

Why browse? This method is great for serendipitous searching and familiarizing yourself with library collections. 
For this research project, you should consult scholarly sources, so be sure to evaluate the books you choose to consult to make sure they are not introductory texts or popular reading.

Browsing for books in stacks

Browse by call numbers

Medieval Art books will be scattered throughout the N call number range. Many of them may be located around N5970. N-range books are on the 4th floor East in Ellis Library stacks:
N     Visual Arts
NA   Architecture
NB   Sculpture
NC   Drawing
ND   Painting
NE   Print Media
NK   Decorative Arts
NX   Arts in General

Books on Medieval history (global scope) will be on the third floor East,  between D111 - D203.  

Books on Medieval history for specific regions can also be browsed in person on the third floor.  Some examples:
Czechia/Bohemia, Early and medieval to 1526 - DB2080-2133
England, Early and medieval to 1485 - DA129-260
France, Early and medieval to 1515 - DC60-109
Germany, Early and medieval to 1519 - DD125-174.6 
Netherlands, Early and medieval to 1555 - DJ151-152 
Russia, Early to 1613 - DK70-112.42
Scotland, Early and medieval to 1603 - DA777-790 
Switzerland, Early and medieval to 1516 - DQ78-110

Browsing in Discover@MU

Browse by Subject Headings

To find a book on a topic you are researching, search by subject, rather than just by keyword. This strategy can help you find relevant books more efficiently. Subject headings are tags that libraries assigns to all the books about a particular topic to make those books easier to find (Fary).

Some suggested Subject Headings to try browsing with:

By period or style:
Art, Medieval 
Civilization, Medieval--12th century
Artists, Medieval
Art, Medieval -- Themes, motives

By medium or format:
Architecture, Medieval
Drawing, Medieval
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscripts, Medieval
Miniature painting, Medieval
Tapestry, Medieval

Geography or peoples:
Art, Gothic -- France
France--Civilization--1000-1328
Art, Gothic -- Czech Republic -- Bohemia
Art, Medieval -- Great Britain
Great Britain--Antiquities
Plantagenet, House of
Jewish art and symbolism
Muslims -- Spain -- History
Painting, Medieval -- Italy
Sculpture, Medieval -- Wales

You may come across other useful subject headings during your research. Keep track of them so you can search with them in future. To search with them, paste them into the search box and select SU Subject Terms from the Select a Field tab.

To refine your search, try combining a subject heading with keywords. Here are some example searches (click/tap the screenshots to see the search results in Discover@MU):