Medieval History
Librarian
Databases
-
Artstor This link opens in a new windowAn amazing collection of digital images. Note that in Advanced Search, you can limit by country and range of dates (say 400 to 1400 C.E.). Or try the Illuminated Manuscript or Paintings Collection.
-
JSTOR This link opens in a new windowA bit difficult to search, but worth the effort. Use quotation marks around your search terms, and limit the "Type" to "Article." and History journals.
Books in the Library's First Floor Reference Section (Cannot be borrowed)
-
Dictionary of National Biography
Call Number:Library First Floor - Reference Collection - DA 28 D47If you have identified the figure on seal as a Brit, this set of books will probably have a biography of your person -
Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture
Call Number:Library First Floor - Reference Collection: N7830 .M87 1996Publication Date: 1996A useful source for short biographies and definitions. -
A dictionary of medieval terms and phrases
by
Call Number: DA129 .C67 2004Publication Date: 2004This book, as the title implies will help you decipher phrases on your seal. -
The complete dictionary of symbols
by
Call Number: AZ108 .T74 2005Publication Date: 2005Describes the origins, history, and meaning of a variety of signs and symbols that appear in art, literature, mythology, and religion, covering more than two thousand symbols, figures, and themes and drawing from classical myth, biblical text, and other traditional and cultural items. -
"Those of my blood" : constructing noble families in medieval Francia
by
Publication Date: 2001Focusing on the Frankish realm between the eighth and twelfth centuries, Constance Brittain Bouchard outlines the operative definitions of "family" in this period when there existed various and flexible ways by which individuals were or were not incorporated into the family group. Even in medieval patriarchal society, women of the aristocracy, who were considered outsiders by their husbands and their husbands' siblings and elders, were never completely marginalized and paradoxically represented the very essence of "family" to their male children. -
Oxford Latin dictionary
by
Call Number: PA2365.E5 O9 2012Publication Date: 2012A Latin Dictionary that can be consulted to define words found on a seal.
Ebooks and Other Online Resources
-
Durham University Library-Medieval Seals
Call Number:This site might be helpful in determine what type of seal you have: royal, municipal, religious, etc. The Durham Cathedral Muniments, now in the care of Durham University Library Archives & Special Collections, are one the richest British archives for surviving medieval seals. -
The Handbook to English Heraldry by
Call Number:Publication Date: 1914This online source contains over 500 illustrations of coats of arms and their histories. -
Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals
Call Number:Publication Date: 2008Good Impressions is an exhibition catalog for the show at the British Museum that showcased its collection of seals. The essays in this catalog address why and who used seal from 1100-1540 AD. -
The Oxford dictionary of the Middle Ages
by
Call Number: D114 .O94 2010Publication Date: 2010An essential new reference work covering all aspects of European history, society, and culture from AD 500 to 1500.
Books in the Library's Circulating (Borrowable) Section
-
Arms and armour of the crusading era, 1050-1350. Western Europe and the crusader states
by
Call Number: U810 .N523 1999Publication Date: 1999Useful book for identifying arms, armory, and those who used them. -
Gardner's art through the ages
by
Call Number: N5300 .G25 1959Publication Date: 2001This text provides an overview of Medieval art and includes references that help you focus more directly on a specific time period. It is also a beautiful book to look at!