Research Guides: Late Antique-Medieval Studies (LAMS): Primary Resources

Primary Sources in Library Catalogs

Primary sources of all types can also be found in our regular, circulating books, in special collections, and beyond. Here are few ways to find primary texts and sources by using our own Library Search.

1. Use the author search to find books we have by a particular author, politician, journalist or another type of historical witness

2. Do an advanced keyword search in The Library Search and then limit by publication year under “limit your search”) (note: you can also limit by language and many other ways)

3. . Do an advanced keyword in Library Search and then limit to the word "sources" in the subject field (by using the dropdown menu), for example:

"early modern and England and women" in the keyword field

"sources" in the subject field.

(this brings us the Library of Congress Subject subheading “sources” which is sometimes used to designate primary source collections of different kinds — as in

Monastic and religious life England History Middle Ages, 600-1500 Sources.

A rich source of primary materials is The Claremont Colleges Library Special Collections and its librarians.

Primary Resources in Late Antique-Medieval Studies (LAMS)

Manchester Medieval Sources This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Find primary sources translated into English on many aspects of medieval European life, events, and culture, many with accompanying scholarly commentary.
Content type: Primary sources, books, bibliographies
Coverage dates: 600s-1500s
Extensive bibliographies available for most content. Metrics available for seeing total views and downloads of content.
Language: English
Keywords: Manchesterhive
Translated Texts for Historians E-Library This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Access primary sources from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, 300-800 AD, translated into English.
Content type: Primary sources
Each volume includes a scholarly introduction on the author and the text. Includes texts from translated from ancient Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Georgian, Armenian and other languages.
Language: English

Medieval Travel Writing This link opens in a new window
Access to a widely scattered collection of original medieval manuscripts that describe travel, real and imaginary, in the Middle Ages. Access to a widely scattered collection of original medieval manuscripts that describe travel, real and imaginary, in the Middle Ages.
Includes a number of medieval maps, manuscript illuminations, and some modern translations of key travel texts. Browse by traveler to see a brief biography and a list of relevant documents.
Language: English, Latin, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish
Keywords: AM Explorer

Online Medieval Sources Bibliography
"An Annotated Bibliography of Printed and Online Primary Sources for the Middle Ages"

Digital Loeb Classical Library This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Full collection of Greek and Latin texts in the original languages side-by-side with English translations.
Content type: Primary sources
Including epic and lyric poetry, tragedy, comedy, history, travel, philosophy, oratory, medical writers, mathematicians, and Church Fathers.
Language: Ancient Greek, Latin, English
Keywords: classics ancient
Making of the Modern World This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Explore primary sources related to the history of western trade with a focus on the coal, iron, and steel industries, the railway industry, the cotton industry, banking and finance, and the modern corporation.
Content type: Primary sources, eBooks, reports, maps, diagrams, photographs, paintings, etc.
Coverage dates: 1400s-1940s
Additionally, there are sources discussing the history of the working class, the history of slavery and colonization, the labor movement, as well as other topics that relate to and challenge capitalism.
Language: English, French, Spanish, German, Latin, Italian, and other European languages.

The International Medieval Sourcebook
a free website, has excerpts from older English translations. It is a good place to start for names and sources, for which there may be better translations.
The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies
provides a thorough listing of detailed resources and includes a search query box with a drop down menu to limit by categories, subcategories and types of materials.

ARTFL (The Project for American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language) This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Search here to find a variety of texts, from classic works of French literature to various kinds of non-fiction prose and technical writing from the 17th to the 20th century.
Content type: Novels, verse, theater, journalism, essays, correspondence, treatises
Coverage dates: 1100s-2000s
Additional public databases available from the ARTFL homepage. Find works by author last name or date of publication. Search for keywords found in the text with the search feature.
Language: French
Keywords: FRANTEXT

Eurodocs History of Medieval and Renaissance Europe Primary Documents
TEAMS Middle English Texts
is a free site from The Medieval Text Institute and The University of Rochester.
The Avalon Project
is a very rich resource hosted by the Yale University Law School with special emphasis on law and diplomacy from ancient to modern.
Special Collections at The Claremont Colleges Library
Special Collections is a treasure trove of primary sources covering a wide range of formats and time periods. Visit the Special Collections homepage to search and discover materials. Contact Special Collections for additional guidance.
BASE
is a search engine at the University of Bielefeld at Germany that searches a growing number of digital repositories.

Patrologia Latina This link opens in a new window
Electronic version of the first edition of Jacques-Paul Migne's Patrologia Latina, comprising the works of the Church Fathers from Tertullian in 200 AD to the death of Pope Innocent III in 1216.
Online access to 1st ed. of Jacques-Paul Migne's text (1844-1855) and indexes (1862-1865).
Language: Latin
Keywords: Christianity Classics
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae This link opens in a new window
Virtually all ancient Greek texts surviving from the period between Homer (8th century B.C.) and A.D. 600, and a large number of texts deriving from the period between A.D. 600 and 1453.
Includes links to English translations.
Language: English, Ancient Greek, Medieval Greek
Past Masters Full Text Humanities This link opens in a new window
Selected Western Religion, Philosophy, and Literature classics in full text. Includes Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Anselm.
Language: English