Library Guides: English: Medieval Literature: Find Primary and Literary Works

Online Text Collections

Dictionary of Old English Corpus
A complete record of surviving old English except for some variant manuscripts of individual texts.
Presented in two formats: eXtensible Markup Language (XML), TEI-P5 conformant, and HyperText Markup Language (HTML).

Date Coverage: 2000 release

Maximum Users: Unlimited

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Can select to search Begins With.
Middle English Compendium
Provides interlinked access to several resources: the online Middle English Dictionary, a HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and verse, and a Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, with links to associated online resources.
Date Coverage: 1100-1500
Maximum Users: Unlimited
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Early English Books Online
Provides full text, digital images of almost every book printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and every book in the English language printed abroad from 1470-1700.
Access provided through a partnership of the English Department, the College of Arts and Science and the MU Libraries.

Date coverage: 1475-1700

Literature Online text collections
Digital Scriptorium
Digital Scriptorium is an image database of medieval and renaissance manuscripts from many diverse collections.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Luminarium Anthology of English Literature
Luminarium is a collection of English literary works from the Medieval through the Restoration era, with links to some basic background information.

Incunabula: Early Printed Works

English Short Title Catalogue
The ESTC lists works printed ca. 1473-1800 in the British Isles, Colonial America, United States, Canada, and other territories governed by Britain, regardless of language, and works in English and other British vernaculars printed elsewhere.
Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke/Union Catalogue of Incunabula
Online version of the GKW, still a work in progress.

Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (GKW)
Call Number: Special Collections Rare Reference Z240.A1 G47
Publication Date: 1968-
Lists books from the "cradle of printing" in 15th century Europe. The 2nd edition is not yet complete. See also the 1st edition at Z240 .G39

Manuscript Sources

British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
The Catalogue lists some of the medieval and renaissance manuscripts from the British Library collections. It includes both descriptions and images.
Directory of Institutions in the United States and Canada with Pre-1600 Manuscript Holdings
Updates the Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts.

Census of medieval and renaissance manuscripts in the United States and Canada by Seymour de Ricci
Call Number: Special Collections Rare Reference Z6620.U5 R5
Publication Date: 1935
Continued by a Supplement (Special Collections Rare Reference Z6620.U5 R52) and
Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries
Call Number: Z6620.G7 K4
Publication Date: 1969-2002
Catalogue of manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon. by N. R. Ker
Call Number: Depository 016.829 K45c
Publication Date: 1957
Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts by Michelle P. Brown
Call Number: ND2889 .B76 1994 & Special Collections Rare Reference
Publication Date: 1994
Concise and readable explanations of the technical terms most frequently encountered by the museum-goer are presented in an easily portable format. With numerous illustrations, many of them in color, this volume will be invaluable to all readers wishing to increase their understanding and enjoyment of illuminated manuscripts.
Introduction to Manuscript Studies by Raymond Clemens; Timothy Graham
Call Number: Z105 .C58 2007 & Special Collections Rare Reference
Publication Date: 2007
Providing a comprehensive and accessible orientation to the field of medieval manuscript studies, this lavishly illustrated book by Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham is unique among handbooks on paleography, codicology, and manuscript illumination in its scope and level of detail.
Western Manuscripts from Classical Antiquity to the Renaissance by Laurel N. Braswell
Call Number: Special Collections Rare Reference Z105 .B73
Publication Date: 1982
Guide to Scripts Used in English Writings up To 1500 by Janet Roberts
Call Number: Z115.E5 R634 2005
Publication Date: 2006
English vernacular hands from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries by C. E. Wright
Call Number: Z115.E5 W7
Publication Date: 1960
English Cursive Book Hands, 1250-1500 by M. B. Parkes
Call Number: Z115.E5 P37 2008
Publication Date: 1979
First published in 1969, English Cursive Book Hands rapidly established itself as a key resource for the study and teaching of palaeography.
English Court Hand, A.D. 1066 to 1500 by Charles Johnson
Call Number: Extra Large, Room 201 Z115e .J54 & Special Collections Closed
Publication Date: 1915
The later court hands in England from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century by Sir Hilary Jenkinson
Call Number: Z115.E5 J57 1969 & Special Collections Closed
Publication Date: 1927

Dramatic Records and Texts

REED: Records of Early English Drama
Online editions of the print volumes transcribing records that relate to dramatic, ceremonial, or minstrel activity before 1642. Print volumes are also available in the MU Libraries.
Patrons and Performances Database
An interactive database of performance records collected by REED: Records of Early English Drama

Dramatic Texts and Records of Britain by Ian Lancashire
Publication Date: 1984
In 1800 entries this valuable reference work covers texts and records of dramatic activity for about 400 sites in Britain from Roman times to 1558.
English Dramatic Interludes, 1300-1580 by Darryll Grantley
Call Number: PR643.I57 G73 2004
Publication Date: 2004
Starting in the fourteenth century, Interludes included a variety of works not considered part of cycle plays. This easy-to-use reference guide to each of the extant Interludes and fragments (c. 100) includes: account of early editions or manuscripts; authors or sources; modern editions; plot summary and dramatis personae; social issues in the plays; verbal and dramaturgical features; and staging directions, among other valuable details. A bibliography and appendices are also included.

Visual Resources

ARTStor
A digital library of images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images.
Partial funding was provided by the Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee.

Date Coverage: Varies

Maximum Users: Unlimited

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User's Guide: https://support.artstor.org/Images-Objects
Index of Medieval Art
Supports the study of symbolism in art by providing descriptions and images of art objects in all media from the beginning of the Christian Era through the middle of the 16th century.
It can be searched by artist, title, medium, subject, location, date, etc. The display of some images is restricted by copyright, but references to reproductions in books are provided.

Finding Primary Sources in All UM Libraries Catalog/MOBIUS/WorldCat

The Library Catalog, MOBIUS Union Catalog, and WorldCat all list early materials, reprints, and electronic editions. Note that some electronic editions may be licensed only to another campus and thus be unavaiilable to MU affiliates. Rare materials may not be available via Interlibrary Loan, but sometimes we can ask to have such a work digitized.

Use the advanced search and limit by date to find materials from a certain period.
Include s:sources in a keyword search to find reprints of older materials; e.g., medieval and s:sources.
Include the following terms to find specific types of materials:

s:correspondence
s:diaries
s:interviews
s:manuscripts
s:periodicals
s:personal narratives
s:pictorial works
s:portraits
s:sermons