Medieval History
The Labyrinth
The site is useful for those with either a Historical or an English background as it
provides links to historical documents as well as literary texts. It divides the medieval
period into topics from which one can then access links to manuscripts, art and
archaeology, living history and resource sites. It is easy to navigate but is a very large
site, hence the name. The site background takes the form of an Inca maze, very apt,
but is actually pretty dull. Georgetown University constructed the site as a resource
for Medieval Studies so it is very useful for the Medieval Studies course at RHUL.
Old English Pages
Useful notes provided on each site so you know if they are relevant to you before you
try them. Provides links to The Order of St Benedict, Beowulf and others so is a
useful source for English and History students. A lot, but not all, of the material and
links provided are too early for the Medieval Studies course. The presentation of the
home page is dull and uninspiring; it is presented in black and white. The most useful
links can be found in ‘Electronic texts, translations & manuscript images’ but under
‘History’, links can be found to ‘British Archaeology’ and ‘Current Archaeology’,
which may prove to be a useful resource.
Online Medieval and Classical Library
This site had a collection of ‘some of the most important literary works of Classical
and Medieval civilization’. The search facility comes above the list of sites, which is
handy when there are so many. You can browse sites by: Title, Author, Genre and
Language. This division helps the visitor to find relevant Primary resources with
ease. Although a search for Medieval turns up 554 hits these don’t appear to be
ordered in any way and no degree of relevance is given. The appearance of the site is
dull and uninspiring, but the content of this site makes up this. It is a very useful
resource.
NetSerf
This site has excellent usability. The home page subdivides links into Archaeology,
Architecture, Art, Arthuriana, Civilizations, Culture, Drama, History, Law, Literature,
Music, People, Philosophy, Religion, Science and Technology, Women and Research
Centre. When following one of these links, the visitor reaches a page with relevant
links, each with a comment pertaining to their content. The layout of the home page
is very clear. The site is illustrated with images from Medieval manuscripts and pieces
of art, which are very relevant to the theme of the site. This site possibly has a link
for most aspects covered in the Medieval Studies course, a fantastic and very useful
site.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Along the left hand side is a topic menu to aid searching, while the main page divides
into the type of source. The pages are rather long, so further topic sub-division at the
top of each page would have helped navigation. The page contains many links to
useful sites. All links are to primary sources and the time span covered is wide. The
appearance of the site resembles a piece of manuscript parchment but the font style
does not reflect the medieval theme. Although navigation could be clearer, this site is
an important and useful resource for the Medieval Studies MA.
Select Sources Full Texts Saints' Lives Law Texts Maps Search
Select Sources Full Texts Saints' Lives Law Texts
Medieval History
The first thing the visitor sees when connecting to this web page is the ‘Word from
the Management’ which ruins the first page. It is necessary to scroll down the page to
the History section, which divides thematically but only provides a couple of links for
each theme, many of which are not suitable. Scrolling further down the page there is
a ‘Literature and Manuscripts’ section, which would be more useful if the links
always connected. This site is not only boring in appearance (a stone background
with black writing) but being one long page is hard to navigate. Not recommended.
The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
The navigation bar at the top, more or less contains the contents of the page and is the
best way to navigate the site. The home page also provides links to other Medieval
Webpages, a reference shelf with links to excerpts and full texts from primary and
secondary sources (this is particularly useful for the Medieval Studies course) and a
Google search facility. The appearance of the page of dull and navigation could be
improved but this site is worth using as once in the site, there are some useful links to
Primary sources. What every Medievalist should know, has suggestions for reading
on a variety of topics which you should already know about!
Richard III Society
This is a resource for topics relating not only to Richard III but also to fifteenth
century life more generally. Not much of the material is useful or relevant but there
are links to some primary resources and articles on the site about the life of Richard
III. The ‘Online Library Texts and resources’ is the most useful part of the site. The
usefulness of this site is very limited, even to those looking for information and
resources on Richard III.
The Medieval Review
This site is aesthetically dull, white background with black writing. The site provides
links to book reviews published in The Medieval Review Journal. It is possible to
search either by year or keyword. Following your search you will get a list of
relevant reviews which can then be accessed quickly and easily. This resource is not
particularly useful for the Medieval History MA as reviews and not articles can be
accessed.
Medieval English
Boccaccio
The home page for this site immediately grabs your attention. On the left hand side is
a medieval picture which dominates the page in a successful way. On the right hand
side of the page are the site topics. The site provides copies of the works of
Boccaccio along with brief pieces placing them in context along the themes of plague,
literature, history, society, religion, arts, maps and themes. The site also has a
bibliography. The aesthetics of the site are successful and encourage you to use it.
The site is useful for providing Boccaccio’s texts but the contextual pieces are too
basic for the Medieval Studies MA and need expansion.
Geoffrey Chaucer
The home page is dark, a black background with an image of Chaucer in the centre.
Navigation icons surround this image. All further pages also have a black background,
but nothing is lost. The site is easy to navigate. Each icon leads you to a selection of
relevant topics which you can choose to pursue. The site is helpful in leading you to
contemporary authors, but some historical information is not detailed enough for MA
studies. The site contains some successful images.
Marie de France
This is a difficult site to navigate, as topic division is not clear. It is necessary firstly
to scroll down the page to see if anything is relevant and any information can be
gathered. The navigation bar at the top of the page will take you down to some parts
of the page but by doing this you miss information, which can be found when
scrolling. The site provides links to translation but it is not clear whether links to
contextual information appear on this page. This site is not recommended.
Essays on Geoffrey Chaucer
The homepage for this site is aesthetically pleasing. In the centre is an image of the
Canterbury Tales, which is surrounded by navigation icons. The information you
request from these icons appears below the central image. It costs money to order the
essays but there is a wide range of titles and if you can’t find one appropriate to your
needs they will write one for you! Using the ‘Links’ icon you can find links to sites
that provide essays on other topics. This site is potentially useful, if you are prepared
to pay.
The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester
A useful resource for students of Arthurian legend. This site provides access to
primary resources in both written and art form as well as a bibliography of suggested
secondary sources. An important feature of the site is the access to a large number of
primary texts both from the medieval period but in particular the nineteenth century.
The graphics are unobtrusive yet relevant and attractive. Navigation through the site
is straightforward. A search facility is available to help find particular information
within the site. There are over 300 hits for the term ‘medieval’.
The Quest-An Arthurian Resource
Although this site has a white background, there is a strong Arthurian image on the
right and a series of drop-down menus on the left-hand side of the page to help you
navigate the site. The idea of drop-down menu for navigation is the first I have found
on these medieval sites and is a tidy and clear method of navigation. Each drop-down
menu also holds the date of the sites last update, so the visitor knows how relevant the
information may be. There are lots of interesting links, to Arthurian art, location of
the legend and the Legends origins’ sites but none to English texts. This site is
interesting but not of much use to those studying Medieval English.
Arthurian Legend
This is not a useful resource for students of Medieval English. The background and
graphics of the page are uninteresting the content is little more successful. The site
provides links to ‘Online articles and E-texts’ and ‘other Medieval and Arthurian web
sites’ but none of these links provides material useful for the Medieval Studies MA.
Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
This site is a search facility for Medieval English texts. One text that can be found on
this site is ‘Treatises of fistula in ano : haemorrhoids, and clysters’ by John Arderne.
This particular text would be useful for students studying the history of medicine.
Searches on Medieval English texts are possible. The site aesthetics comprise of a
white background with large black writing. It is uninteresting and does not encourage
the visitor to use the site.
The Norton Online Archive
Although slightly boring in appearance this site is clear and easy to navigate. The
visitor has the option of browsing a Chronological Table of Contents or an
Alphabetical Index of Authors. Only two works are available for the Middle Ages,
The York Play of the Crucifixion and Chaucers’ Canterbury Tales. The documents for
the Sixteenth century and beyond are more prolific. Documents are presented to you
via Adobe Acrobat.
Medieval Texts
Order of St Benedict
This site is centred around access to the primary text of the Order and is arranged by
chapter; each listed with its title. It is therefore easy to find a particular aspect of the
order which to investigate. One can easily follow a link to individual chapters, which
are written along with the dates for their readings. Such texts can be downloaded for
further textual analysis, as in a recent project on the evolution of monastic rules by a
student taking the Computing and Medieval Studies option. Each chapter is also
available in a variety of European languages. The site contains a bibliography for
further reading on the Order, which is detailed to allow the visitor to locate secondary
sources with ease.
Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Documents at Yale
The page opens with an image of The Medieval City of Rothenberg on the Tauber.
You have a choice of collections, which are available for viewing or you can choose
one of the documents listed below the search facility mid-way down the page. There
are over 40 documents available for the Ancient, Medieval and renaissance period,
but although they are small in quantity they are clearly presented and their content is
useful to the Medieval Studies MA.
Tudor Texts and Documents
Set on a manuscript background, this site has a variety of links to Tudor texts and
documents. These are not numerous, yet a thoughtful selection is displayed offering
the visitor access to information about some of the most important events of the
period including The Act of Supremacy and Pope Pius V’s Bull Against Elizabeth.
The site also offers secondary sources, poetry, drama and fiction resources.
Eurodocs : Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe
This site is an excellent resource for a variety of documents in connection with the
medieval period. You can search for documents either by country, Medieval and
Renaissance Europe or Europe as a Supranational region. For the purpose of the
Medieval MA it is more useful to go to the Medieval and Renaissance Europe link
rather than look under the United Kingdom, this allows you to find documents from
the appropriate time period. Results are listed in a chronological order. Despite the
poor aesthetics of this site it is very useful for the Medieval Studies MA.
Medieval Texts
This site is a resource for texts from and about the medieval period. It contains both
primary and secondary resources along with English and Historical pieces. There are
links to a wide variety of pages and some attempt has been made to present these sites
thematically. The presentation of this site is un-adventuous, white background, blue
writing. This site may be useful to English students, for some aspects the Medieval
Studies MA, but will not be suitable for those seeking a historical perspective on the
period.
English Institutions
The British Library
This site is easy to navigate. Pull down menus for: -About Us, Collections,
Catalogues, Services, What’s On, News, Contact Us. There is also a search facility:
over 130 hits for ‘medieval’ including links to primary and secondary sources, in both
book and electronic text form on very wide ranging topics, including maps and
Hungarian studies. The search facility also provides local details of authorship, time
of updating and brief website comments. The appearance of the page is colourful,
clear and unobtrusively sophisticated. Using the site it is possible to book access to
manuscripts which is a useful facility for the Medieval Studies course. Visitor
information is backgrounded suggesting the site is designed for an academic audience.
Institute of Historical Research
The resources section of this site is particularly useful for Medievalists as it allows
access to electronic texts from your chosen time period, or by geographical area, type
of history or type of resource. The Publications menu is also useful for students of
Medieval Studies. The site is designed with an academic audience in mind, and is a
resource suitable only for students and academics, due to its content. It is easy to
navigate and clearly presented.
Public Record Office
In order to use this site it is necessary to know what document you are looking for or
have a topic area to search for documents on. One you know this you enter via the
PRO homepage link, go through catalogues and into Procat. Here one can search the
catalogue and place an order to view a document when visiting the Public Record
Office at Kew. It is not possible to view documents online as the PRO holds so many,
but being able to check if the document is available at the PRO before making a visit
can save valuable time as can reserving it so it is ready upon your arrival.
Westminster Abbey
A site more useful for visitors than academics. There is little historical writing on this
site, a brief history of the Abbey, but this is too basic for MA students. Within the
Abbey tour, panoramic views of the Lady Chapel and the Tower Crossing are worth
looking at. The ‘Library and Archive’ link provides some interesting information but
this is too superficial and if an interest in the abbey were being pursued deeper
investigation would be required.
The British Museum
The homepage alters depending on what special exhibitions are running at the time
you visit. It is a straight-forward page with six options for you to choose from. The
site allows you to look at a few select items from the medieval and later Britain
collection, which are displayed with a small blurb. The site is not suitable for use
alongside the Medieval Studies MA as any educational material is for an earlier
period. However, the online shop may be a useful resource.
The Victoria and Albert Museum
The homepage is relevant to exhibitions running at the time of your visit. Titles along
the top and bottom of the page make it easy to navigate. The ‘Exploring’ link can
lead you to the British Galleries, which are themselves slightly more complicated to
navigate, but has some good pictures of items dating from the reign of Henry VIII.
The site is colourful and well illustrated, but is designed with the visitor in mind.
The Museum of London
A directory along the left-hand side of the page acts as a navigation tool, with options
to visit the galleries, exhibitions and collections. You can search the London
Archaeological Archive and Research Centre which is a useful facility. A very useful
resource for those studying the Archaeology of London as an option on the MA is the
Archaeological Site Manual, which has information on recording articles and
excavation techniques. Although there are no photos of items in the galleries there is
a basic presentation on ‘the Changing Face of London’. The site has been excellently
constructed and although is limited as a resource for the Medieval Studies MA, it is
worth a visit.