An annotated list of web sites important to the study of the Middle Ages.

The sites listed below were visited by the editors of Salem Press in March of 2004. Because URLs frequently change or are moved, their accuracy cannot be guaranteed; however, long-standing sites—such as those of university departments, national organizations, and government agencies—generally maintain links when sites move or otherwise may upgrade their offerings and hence remain useful.

• About.com: Medieval History
  

  http://historymedren.about.com/ Created by About.com, this site is made up of original articles on medieval history, as well as “annotated links to selected relevant Internet resources, compiled by a subject specialist, a subject-specific bulletin board, and details of related news and events.” Some of the topics included are armor and weaponry, the Crusades, Knightly Orders and the Knights Templar, medieval history organizations, science and technology, and women in the period.

  
  

• Ancient World Web
  

  http://www.julen.net/ancient/ This site includes annotated lists of Web sites concerning ancient and medieval “history, theory, and scholarship.”

  
  

• Country Studies
  

  http://countrystudies.us/ This site makes it possible to read the online versions of country books previously published through the Country Studies/Area Handbook Series by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. There are more than one hundred countries from around the world covered in the series. Each title has a wealth of information on such topics as history, society, geography, and economy.

  
  

• Enter the Middle Ages
  

  http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/history/middleages/ Divided into four sections, this site discusses how the Knight’s Realm, the Nun’s Realm, the Merchants Realm, and the Peasants Realm fit into the society of the Middle Ages.

  
  

• Eyewitness to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
  

  http://www.ibiscom.com/mefrm.htm This site includes first-person accounts of such important events in history as the invasion of England in 1066, the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170, the Crusaders’ capture of Jerusalem in 1099, Kublai Khan in battle in 1287, the Black Death of 1348, and much more.

  
  

• Internet Medieval Sourcebook
  

  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html This site is the product of Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies and is maintained by Paul Halsall. It has three primary index pages as well as a number of supplementary documents. The first index page, Selected Sources, includes numerous texts that can be used for teaching purposes. The second index page, Full Text Sources, includes the full text of medieval sources. The sources are arranged by type. The third index page, Saints’ Lives, includes biographies taken from ancient, medieval, and Byzantine sources. One of the more intriguing supplementary documents is the Medieval Legal History. This section groups together all texts that are relevant to the history of law.

  
  

• The Labyrinth: A World Wide Web Server for Medieval Studies
  

  http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth-home.html This massive information network provides connections to numerous electronic texts, databases, and services through Georgetown University’s WWW server. The national cultures or countries included in the Labyrinth are Anglo-Saxon, Byzantium, Celtic, England (1066-1500), France, Germany, Iberia, Italy, and Scandinavian. Some of the special topics that will be of interest to the casual as well as dedicated medieval researcher are the Crusades, Chivalry, Medieval Women, and Vikings, Runes, and Norse Culture. The site can best be described as a “global information network” that provides “free, organized access to electronic resources in medieval studies.”

  
  

• Medieval Europe
  

  http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/medieval/ A fine overview of medieval European history that includes such topics of discussion as the Dark Ages, the Carolingian era, the Moors, the Vikings, the Papacy, and the Black Death. This site is maintained by Boise State University.

  
  

• MEMDB: Medieval and Early Modern Database
  

  http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/memdb This data bank was established at Rutgers University. The MEMDB aims to make available to scholars “an expanding library of information in electronic format on the medieval and early modern periods of European history, circa 800-1815 c.e.”

  
  

• Middle Ages by Historylink 101
  

  http://www.historylink101.com/midieval.htm This site makes available a full range of Middle Ages links, including art, daily life, maps, and biographies.

  
  

• Multimedia History Tutorials, Applied History Research Group, University of Calgary
  

  http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/ These multimedia tutorials were created to “work with existing courses taught at colleges and universities throughout Alberta.” Some of the topics covered include the End of Europe’s Middle Ages, the European Voyages of Exploration, the Islamic World to 1600, and People North America: Population Movements and Migration.

  
  

• NetSERF: The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources
  

  http://www.netserf.org This site is sponsored by Catholic University’s Department of History and maintained by Beau Harbin. The index makes it possible for a researcher to investigate such categories as archaeology, art, civilizations, culture, literature, people, religion, science and technology, women, history, and law. The civilizations that can be researched include the Anglo-Norman, Anglo-Saxon, Byzantine, English, French, Italian, Viking, and Welsh.

  
  

• ORB: On-Line Text Materials for Medieval Studies
  

  http://www.the-orb.net The Online Resource Book for Medieval Studies (ORB) has been put together through the cooperative efforts of various scholars. ORB makes its home at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, and Kathryn Talarico is its editor. Previously ORB was edited by Carolyn Schriber of Rhodes College. This site is truly an academic site. Medieval scholars and serious students of the Middle Ages will benefit from the care taken by all involved. ORB includes such extraordinary sections as the ORB Encyclopedia, the ORB Textbook Library, What Every Medievalist Should Know, Resources for Teaching, Of General Interest, External Links, E-Texts, and the ORB Reference Shelf. The site has to be considered a work-in-progress. It can only be hoped that the original idea of this site, “to establish an online textbook source for medieval studies on the World-Wide Web,” will continue to be the guiding vision for the ORB.

  
  

• The Proceedings of the Friesian School
  

  http://www.friesian.com/ This extraordinary site is maintained by Kelley L. Ross of the Department of Philosophy, Los Angeles Valley College. It is possible to select the following sections: History of Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science, Value Theory, Political Economy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of History, Dissertations, and Reviews. The site is ever-expanding and covers all periods of history. Most of its many detailed pages provide full-color maps, geneaological charts, and regnal tables. The site also includes an extraordinary guide and index to its lists of rulers.

  
  

• Ragz International World History Center
  

  http://www.ragz-international.com/ At this site a researcher can locate anything that has to do with world history on the World Wide Web. It is possible to find photographs, paintings, carvings, and quotations. Some of the pages on this site are dedicated to important periods and civilizations in Western history, including Art, Philosophy, Historical Documents, European History, the Middle Ages, the Crusades, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Mongols.

  
  

• WebChron: Web Chronology Project
  

  http://campus.northpark.edu/history/webchron/ The Web Chronology Project is a program that was started by the History Department of North Park University. It includes a series of “hyperlinked chronologies developed by the instructors and historical articles prepared by students intended for use in history classes.” There are chronologies for different regions and for different themes.

  
  

• Civilizations in Africa
  

  http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/CIVAFRCA.HTM Maintained by Washington State University, this site includes discussions on various African civilizations and a glossary of African terms and concepts. There is also an annotated resource list of Africa Web links and African Studies WWW links. Some of the other sections that serious students of Africa can avail themselves of are History, African Art, and Newsgroups. The principal author and designer of the site is Richard Hooker. Paul Brians, of the WSU English Department, has served as the primary editor of the site.

  
  

• Internet African History Sourcebook
  

  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/africa/africasbook.html One of the “sourcebook” products of Fordham University, maintained by Paul Halsall. This site presents “historical sources on the history, of human societies in the continent of Africa.”

  
  

• ICMA: The International Center of Medieval Art
  

  http://www.medievalart.org/resources/ The ICMA was formed in order to “promote and encourage the study, understanding, and appreciation of the visual arts of the Middle Ages produced in Europe, the Mediterranean region, and the Slavic world, during the period between ca. 300 and ca. 1500 c.e.” The online resource links are divided into the following topics: Archaeology, architecture, Byzantium, costume, libraries and centers for medieval studies and databases, manuscript/text studies, the Middle East, museums, online grant research, online reference, painting, and sculpture.

  
  

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: Timeline of Art History
  

  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm This site provides a “chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated especially by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.” Within each time line, a student will find “representative art from the Museum’s collection, a chart of time periods, a map of the region, an overview, and a list of key events.”

  
  

• Asian Historical Architecture
  

  http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/ This site makes it possible to look at many thousands of photographs of Asian architecture through the links to more than 450 Web sites.

  
  

• Center for Chinese Studies Library, Berkeley
  

  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/CCSL/ In addition to including the CCSL’s own catalog and bibliography, this site lists many links to sites that focus on Chinese history.

  
  

• Chinese History and Culture
  

  http://www.cernet.edu.cn/history.html This informative site includes a time line of the Chinese dynasties, a fine narrative history of China, and much more.

  
  

• Internet East Asian History Sourcebook
  

  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/eastasiasbook.html One of the highly-regarded “sourcebook” projects of Fordham University, maintained by Paul Halsall. Through this site, it is possible to find historical and cultural information on China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

  
  

• Internet Indian History Sourcebook
  

  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/indiasbook.html Maintained by Paul Halsall, this site is one of Fordham University’s “sourcebook” products. Like its counterparts, this one includes an extraordinary amount of useful historical and cultural information.

  
  

• The Camelot Project: Arthurian Texts, Images, Bibliographies, and Basic Information
  

  http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm Sponsored by the University of Rochester, this site is “designed to make available in electronic format a database of Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information.” It includes menus of writers, artists, guidebooks, and many related topics. The texts have been prepared by the Consortium for the Teaching of the Middle Ages (TEAM) in association with the University of Rochester. The project was designed by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack.

  
  

• The Medieval World: British History, 1066-1500
  

  http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Medieval.htm This encyclopedia was produced by Spartacus, a publishing company organized by teachers. It includes information on such subjects as medieval warfare, monarchs, the Normans, medieval farming, the Anglo-Saxons, and much more. While the majority of articles are brief, this site serves as a wonderful introduction to Britain.

  
  

• TimeRef
  

  http://www.timeref.org/ This site includes numerous time lines for British events from 800 to 1499. There also are maps that “show the locations of castles, abbeys, and cathedrals in England, Scotland, and Wales.” Amazingly “every person and building on this site has its own time line and links to related subjects.” As a bonus there is a glossary of terms, architectural information, and three-dimensional images of buildings.

  
  

• Uniting the Kingdoms?
  

  http://www.pro.gov.uk/pathways/utk/ Sponsored by National Archives of the United Kingdom, this Web exhibition takes a detailed look “at how the governments and people of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and of England’s French territories, interacted in politics, warfare, religion, trade and everyday life” during the Middle Ages. In addition to each separate history being divided into chapters, there is a listing of the monarchs of England, Scotland, and France, as well as numerous relevant maps.

  
  

• Luminarium: Anthology of Middle English Literature (1350-1485)
  

  http://www.luminarium.org/medlit Created by Anniina Jokinen in 1996 and continually updated since, this site includes the literature of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, William Langland, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Sir Thomas Malory, Everyman, Medieval Plays, and Medieval Lyrics. A fine collection of essays and articles concerning literature of this period and these authors also has been included.

  
  

• Medieval Drama Links
  

  http://collectorspost.com/Catalogue/medramalinks.htm An organized collection of links to such topics as drama texts, articles, books, set design, make-up, costumes, dance, music, and musical instruments. Each link is annotated.

  
  

• Medieval Resources
  

  http://www.umm.maine.edu/faculty/necastro/medieval/index.asp This site can be best described as a “digital library of full-text resources” as well as a “virtual library of links and a subject guide to its many topics.” There are sections on such topics as Geoffrey Chaucer, Medieval and Renaissance Drama, Storybook of the Middle Ages, and Dante.

  
  

• The Schøyen Collection: Checklist of 222 Manuscripts Spanning 5000 Years
  

  http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/ In addition to digital representations of photographs of or from the original manuscripts, this site includes “references to 222 manuscripts from the whole world from the ancient period (starting 3200 bc), the medieval period, and the post-medieval period.”

  
  

• University of California Press eScholarship Editions
  

  http://escholarship.cdlib.org/ucpress/ Hundreds of books published by the University of California Press are included here in full text, including several books from the Middle Ages.

  
  

• Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean World
  

  http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/dl/proj/neh2/ This project was completed by the University of Chicago library and “preserves deteriorated research materials relating to the history, art and archaeology of the ancient Near East and the ancient Mediterranean world.” Some of the regions covered at this site are Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Nubia, Persia, and Sumer.

  
  

• Encyclopedia of the Orient
  

  http://i-cias.com/e.o/index.htm This ready-reference online encyclopedia covers all of the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. The articles are geared toward the high-school and undergraduate student who needs quick and concise information on the people and places of this often neglected region of the world.

  
  

• Internet Islamic History Sourcebook
  

  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook.html This site is one of the “sourcebook” products of Fordham University and is maintained by Paul Halsall. Many links to original documents are included as well as links to other online resources.

  
  

• Internet Jewish History Sourcebook
  

  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html One of Fordham University’s “sourcebook” products that is maintained by Paul Halsall. As with the other sourcebook sites, this one includes a wealth of relevant information as well as links to other Web resources.

  
  

• De Re Militari
  

  http://www.deremilitari.org/ Created by the Society for Medieval Military History, this site provides access to primary sources, book reviews, and bibliographies. There is also information on lectures and conferences relevant to the subject at hand.

  
  

• History of the Crusades
  

  http://libtext.library.wisc.edu/HistCrusades/ Provided by the University of Wisconsin Libraries, this site provides an online edition of a “six-volume narrative history of medieval Christian military expeditions to the Holy Land.” This classic work originally was edited by Kenneth M. Setton and published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

  
  

• A Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Instruments
  

  http://www.s-hamilton.k12.ia.us/antiqua/instrumt.html More than thirty musical instruments are discussed at this site. It is possible to find the history, pictures, alternate names, and even sound-wave clips on each of these instruments. Some of the fascinating instruments included are the bagpipe, bladder pipe, dulcimer, harpsichord, hurdy-gurdy, lute, organetto, recorder, shofar, and viol.

  
  

• Medieval Science Page
  

  http://members.aol.com/mcnelis/medsci_index.html This site was created and is maintained by James McNelis, who is the editor-in-chief of Envoi: A Review Journal of Medieval Literature. It attempts to provide a “convenient and comprehensive set of links to all Internet resources worldwide which deal with aspects of medieval science, both in Western and other cultures.” The site has been continually updated since 1995. Some of the topics include alchemy, astronomy, botany, cosmology, mathematics, medicine, technology, time, and weights and measures.

  
  

• Medieval Technology Pages
  

  http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/technology.html Maintained by New York University, this site provides information concerning “technological innovation and related subjects in western Europe during the Middle Ages.” Some of the topics covered are the horizontal loom, windmills, and agricultural tools.

  
  

• The Year 1000: A Legacy of Science and Technology
  

  http://www.lindahall.org/events_exhibit/ex_year_1000.shtml This online exhibit focuses on the technological developments in the year 1000. This year is described as a “turning point towards High Medieval civilization with individuals and societies around the world making contributions to science, technology and culture.” The site is edited by Nancy V. Green, a librarian at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, Missouri.

  
  

• Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
  

  http://www.haverford.edu/library/reference/mschaus/mfi/mfi.html This index includes more than eight thousand records from “journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages.” Margaret Schaus, a Haverford College librarian, is the editor of this “searchable, annotated index.”

  
  

• Monastic Matrix: A Scholarly Resource for the Study of Women’s Religious Communities from 400 to 1600 C.E.
  

  http://monasticmatrix.org/ Maintained through the Department of History at the University of Southern California, this site includes information that relates to “women’s religious life, activities and patronage.” All of the religious communities mentioned are searchable by “name, region, date, and other access points.” Primary documents, a bibliography, and a visual library also are included.

  
  

• Women Writers of the Middle Ages
  

  http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/womenbib.htm This site is part of the University of Rochester’s Camelot Project. It consists of a “bibliography of works by and about women writers of the Middle Ages.”