Medieval Women

Background Sources | Books | Journal Articles

This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.

Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock . To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.

Have questions or need research help? Please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian via email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.

Background Sources

Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms when searching research databases and catalogs. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subject, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.

Dictionary of the Middle Ages    Suzzallo Reference -- D114 .D5 1982 Encyclopedia of the medieval world    Suzzallo Reference -- D114 .E55 2005 Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages    Suzzallo Reference -- CB351 .E53 2000 Medieval Ireland: an encyclopedia    Suzzallo Reference -- DA933 .M43 2005 Women in the Middle Ages: an encyclopedia    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ1143 .W643 2004

Books

Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.

Books dealing with the Arthurian legend typically have one of these Library of Congress Subject Headings: arthur king or arthurian romances.

UW Libraries Catalog A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries. Summit Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. Especially useful when the book you need is checked-out. Beta Catalog/WorldCat Local Beta version of the catalog that simultaneously searches the UW Libraries Catalog, Summit and libraries worldwide plus an article database. Best used for topical searches; facilitates requesting books from other libraries.

Journal Articles

Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the UW Libraries Homepage.

To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.

Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.

Annual Bibliography of British and Irish History Good database for finding articles and books on all periods of British & Irish history. Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index Good database for finding articles and book chapters dealing with women, sexuality and gender during the Middle Ages. Historical Abstracts This is the best database to find articles dealing with modern world history (1450 onward) excluding American and Canadian history. Use for the late middle ages. International Medieval Bibliography This is the best database to find articles and book chapters on medieval studies. Another database to try is Iter. JSTOR JSTOR is a collection of back issues of more than 50 full-text history-related journals including The English Historical Review, Past and Present and Speculum.

Image: Detail of an illuminated manuscript Courtesy of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek.