English Pathfinder: Medieval Literature

The following lists are not comprehensive. The items listed on this page are representative of some of the most frequently used research materials on this topic. To find more material, consult the library catalog or contact your librarian for assistance.


Indexes
An index is a specialized database that organizes information about the locations of articles in journals/magazines, reports and newspapers; and book chapters, papers in conference proceedings, and book reviews. Indexes provide the complete bibliographic citation of an article, including the title of the article, author, name of the journal, volume number, the pages of the journal in which the article can be found, and a short summary, or abstract, of the article. Some indexes are in book form, and some are electronic databases. Some electronic databases, including MLA, do NOT provide the complete text of articles. For tips on how to effectively search databases, and how to find journals that are not available on-line, contact your librarian, or consult How to Find Materials on English in the Waidner-Spahr Library.

MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
The premier scholarly index for literature, language, linguistics, and folklore.

Essay and General Literature Index
Indexes chapters and essays contained in books of collected works.

Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
Covers nearly 500 journals as well as many essay collections devoted in large part to topics dealing with women, sexuality, or gender.

Historical Abstracts
Historical Abstracts covers materials treating all aspects of world history, except the United States and Canada, from 1450 to the present.

Humanities Full Text
Covers journal articles in the humanities, archaeology, art, classics, film, folklore, history, journalism and communications, linguistics, literature, music, performing arts, and religion.

Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective
A bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language periodicals. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields covered in a broad array of humanities and social sciences journals.

ITER: Gateway to the Middle Ages & Renaissance
Literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700 C.E.). Includes citations for books, journal articles, and essays in books.

JSTOR
An interdisciplinary archive of over 600 journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Literary Index
Gale's Literary Index is a master index to the major literature products published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Critisicm, and Poetry Criticism.

Literature Criticism Online
This index includes several literary criticism series including Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism.

Project Muse
Search journals published by Johns Hopkins University Press.



Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
Dictionaries and encyclopedias are helpful in finding basic information about your topic area. They may also serve as sources of inspiration to you as you search for new topics to research. The following list is not comprehensive. Search the library catalog for more encyclopedias and dictionaries. Refer to How to Find Materials on English in the Waidner-Spahr Library for tips on how to best perform a search, or contact your librarian for assistance.

Medieval Studies: An Introduction
REF D116. M4 1992

Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature
REF PN669. E53 1998

Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
REF PR19. O95 2006

Classical Myths and Legends in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
REF PN669. B78 1998

Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
REF PR19. C66 2002

Oxford Companion to English Literature
REF PR19. D73 1985

Larousse Dictionary of Literary Characters
REF PR19. L37 1994

St. James Reference Guide to English Literature
REF PR106. S7 1985

Reference Guide to English Literature
REF PR106. S7 1991

Guide to British Poetry Explication (Medieval through Contemporary)
REF PR 311. M34 1991

The Columbia History of the British Novel
REF PR821. C65 1994

Biographies

Dictionary of National Biography
Biographies of people who shaped the British Isles.

Contemporary Authors

A database that includes biographic details on approximately 100,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters. Featured are current writers, the most-studied literary figures of the early 20th Century and authors from around the world whose works have been translated into English or published in the United States. Included are the author's writings, media adaptations, works in progress sidelights and interviews.

 

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Biography and Genealogy Master Index is the first place you should look when seeking biographical information on any living or deceased person worldwide. It is an electronic index to over 13 million biographical entries in 3,400+ biographical reference works.

Dictionary of Literary Biography
The Dictionary of Literary Biography presents career biographies and criticism of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.


Bibliographies

Literature of Medieval History, 1930-1975
REF D117. P25 1981

Medieval Arthurian Literature: A Guide to Recent Research
REF PN685. M43 1996

Arthurian Legends
REF Pn685. R45 1984

Bibliography of English Translations from Medieval Sources, 1943-1967
REF Z6517. F47

 

Criticism

Print:

The Critical Perspective (Medieval through 1904)
REF PR85. C76

 

Electronic:

Literary Index
Gale's Literary Index is a master index to the major literature products published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Critisicm, and Poetry Criticism.

Literature Criticism Online
This index includes several literary criticism series including Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism.

 

Primary Resources

Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts - Beinecke Library, Yale University
REF Z6621. B4213 1984

 

Websites

Literary Resources on the Net
A "meta" site maintained by Rutgers University — Newark.