Online Collections of Medieval Texts
Most of the digitized medieval primary source collections available are in their original languages (mostly Latin). Here are a few that include English translations (or searchable transcripts) of at least some of the content:
- Medieval Travel Writing This link opens in a new windowProvides an extensive collection of manuscript materials for the study of medieval travel writing. The core is a collection of medieval manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The main focus is accounts of journeys to the Holy Land, India and China. The manuscripts are from the British Library; Bodleian Library; Bibliothèque nationale de France; Cambridge University Library; Trinity College, Cambridge; Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg; Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek; Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen; the Beinecke Library at Yale University and about 15 other Libraries and Archives.
- Internet Medieval SourcebookEnglish-language translations of selections of medieval primary sources.
- Medieval Family Life This link opens in a new windowMedieval Family Life contains full-color images of the original medieval manuscripts that comprise the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor, and Armburgh family letter collections, along with full-text searchable transcripts from printed editions. Also includes family trees, chronology, a map, and a glossary.
Selected medieval primary source collections in English (print)
Medieval Worlds: A Sourcebook by ISBN: 9780415253086Publication Date: 2003A wide range of documents, from chronicles, legal, state, and church documents, to biographies, poems, and letters from all over Europe. Also features a glossary of medieval terms
Women's Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook by ISBN: 9780415466844Publication Date: 2010Includes brief introductions both to the period and to the individual documents, study questions to accompany each reading, a glossary of terms and a fully updated bibliography. Focuses not just on the Christian majority, but also present material about women in minority groups in Europe, such as Jews, Muslims, and those considered to be heretics. Incorporating both the laws, regulations and religious texts that shaped the way women lived their lives, and personal narratives by and about medieval women, examining women's lives through the lens of daily activities, and in doing so as far as possible through the voices of women themselves.
Discovering the Medieval Past: A Look at the Evidence by ISBN: 9780618246687Publication Date: 2002Primary source collection aimed at students.
The Later Middle Ages: A Sourcebook by ISBN: 9780230551367Publication Date: 2011This substantial anthology of documents offers students of later medieval English literature, society and history a range of interdisciplinary perspectives through which to understand the literary texts from the period 1350-1550.
The Voice of the Middle Ages In Personal Letters 1100-1500 by Publication Date: 1989Over 200 letters are presented within such categories as the church, war, trade and travel, love, medicine, and death. The writers include the famous such as Thomas a Becket, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Dante, and Durer as well as the less known and people of all (literate) classes.
Find more English-language medieval primary sources
To find more medieval primary sources translated into English, you will need to search the library catalog. Here is a link to a generic search for medieval primary sources in English:
- Search for medieval primary sources in EnglishThis is a broad search in the library catalog. Customize the search results to narrow in on your topic.