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Archive-name: history/medieval/mini-faq
Posting-Frequency: about monthly URL: http://www4.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/~schulz/medieval_faq.posted URL: http://www.medieval.org/history/faq/medieval.html Maintainer: Stephan Schulz <schulz@eprover.org> See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
[Last changed: Tue Apr 10 18:56:35 MEST 2007
Updated contact address. ]
Welcome to soc.history.medieval (Mini-FAQ)
==========================================
This document is intended as a primer to the newsgroup
soc.history.medieval. It describes the purpose of this group and
contains pointers to interesting resources and general netiquette
documents. It is not intended as a resource on the middle ages in
itself. Only time will tell us what frequently asked questions we will
have to answer in the future.
Please feel free to suggest changes, additional topics and
corrections. Comments and requests are enclosed in [square brackets].
The last posted version of this FAQ will be available on the WWW under
http://www4.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/~schulz/medieval_faq.posted,
and an HTML version (sometimes slightly out of sync) can be found at
http://www.medieval.org/history/faq/medieval.html.
Table of Contents
=================
1 What is the charter of this group?
2 YOU D00DES ARE STOOPID!!! B1FF is c00l!!!
2.1 Suggested Score/KILL file entries
3 Resources about the middle ages on the net
3.1 Related Usenet Newsgroups
3.2 Mailing lists
3.3 Web sites (incomplete)
4 Literature Suggestions
4.1 Individual Suggestions
4.2 Suggested Reading List from the MEDIEV-L mailing list
5 Assorted Topics
5.1 What is the SCA?
5.2 What is a "Crakow Vote"?
5.3 Can you help me answer a genealogical question?
6 Credits
1 What is the charter of this group?
------------------------------------
soc.history.medieval The historic period of the middle ages
soc.history.medieval is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of
the historic period known as the Middle Ages. For the purposes of this
group, the term "Middle Ages" is interpreted broadly as the period of
European History ranging from the fall of the Western Roman Empire up
to the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the beginnings of European
overseas expansion. This corresponds roughly to the thousand years
from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. This broad interpretation is open for
revision if other newsgroups groups dealing e.g. with the Dark Ages or
the Renaissance are added.
It is expected that the geographical range of discussion will focus on
Europe and the Mediterranean. Discussion about European interaction
with other cultures is appropriate as well. Questions on the Crusades,
the Viking voyages to North America, the influence of Arabic
philosophy and science on Europe, the Mongol conquest of Russia,
etc. are welcome on the group, as well as for example the post-Roman
developments in Britain and France, the Byzantine Empire, the empire
of Charlemagne, the development of the Italian city states, the War of
the Roses, the 100 Years War, the Reconquista and so on.
Commercial posts and advertisements, except for short, non-hype
announcements of books and other media on the topic of Medieval
history, are not appropriate. Also, current politics as rooted in past
events are not an appropriate topic. For such topics use either
soc.history (which deals with all of history) or an appropriate
politics newsgroup. However, all factual posts on historic events in
the Middle Ages are welcome.
[Joe Bernstein asked to to clarify on the second paragraph of the
charter. The following is not part of the charter, but rather
explains what I tried to say with it:]
Some people seem to read the first sentence of the second paragraph
above as restricting discussion to European topics. This was not my
intention at all. I am a computer scientist, and a my native language
is not English, but German. Hence I try to use language rather
precisely, and usually take it at its face value. I did not mean to
say "...and you should better conform to this expectation here". Of
course I do not own the group, and the charter has to stand on
itself. However, as far as "original intend" is concerned,
soc.history.medieval should be open to topics from all over the world.
2 YOU D00DES ARE STOOPID!!! B1FF is c00l!!!
-------------------------------------------
Usenet is an entirely open medium. Everybody can read this group and
everybody can post to it. This means that the groups will occasionally
see trolls (strong worded postings intended only to provoke a lot of
replies), flames, and off-topic posts. The best way to deal with this
kind of postings is usually to ignore it. In case of repeated and
significant violation of the charter you can send a polite email to
the offender, perhaps with a copy to the postmaster at his site.
If you personally object to some people or some subjects, most news
readers allow the use of a KILL-file that can be used to filter out
undesirable postings. Check the documentation of your news reader or
look at the FAQ sheets in news.software.readers.
In order to improve the communication on this group you might want to
keep the following in mind:
- Extensive cross-posting (posting to more than one group) often leads
to different threads on the same topic. Consider to use a
Follow-Up header to confine discussion to the most appropriate group.
- People hate to read things again and again. Thus, try to avoid large
quotes. Quote only what you respond to. Mark deletions with three
dots or a short summary of what you deleted, if you think the
context is important. In particular, don't quote large amounts of
text and add "me too" at the bottom. More particularly, don't quote
large amounts of text and add "me too" at the TOP!
- Use descriptive Subject lines. "History", "Test" or "Hi there" are
not particularly useful.
- If you change the topic of a thread, or if it has drifted until it
has nothing to do with the Subject header line, you should consider
a new subject line as well. Add "(was: _old_subject_)" to the new
subject.
- Try to format your lines to 72 characters. Most terminals and
windows are 80 characters wide, and quoting will often indent your
text a couple of times. Lines wrapping around on the screen are very
hard to read.
- Don't try to pass on your homework assignments. Requests like
"Please tell everything about the Crusades, my paper is due
tomorrow!" are usually met with well deserved sarcasm. Try to be
specific and to give enough information to allow the reader to
anticipate your problems.
- Do not post binaries in the group. While the charter does not
explicitly forbid it (it apparently slipped past both me and the
news.groups crowd), binaries belong only in the hierarchies
explicitly intended for them. The reason for this is to allow news
servers with limited resources to avoid these (very expensive)
postings. Post pointers to the Web instead. Web space is now
included with most internet access products, or can be found online
for free.
For more information on the appropriate behaviour on and the structure
of Usenet check out the introductory postings in
news.announce.newusers. This might pay off even if you think you are
an experienced user or if you read them a couple of years ago. You
might also want to check out the excellent alt.atheism FAQ on logical
arguments. It is regularly posted to alt.atheism and
alt.atheism.moderated (and, of course, to news.answers), and a
sligthly reworked copy ("The Atheism Web: Logic and Fallacies") can be
found on the WWW at http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html
2.1 Suggested Score/KILL file entries
-------------------------------------
In recent months, off-topic traffic in soc.history.medieval has been
rather bad. Most of the off-topic threads start as a massive
cross-post, initiated by one of a very small group of
people. Depending on your newsreader, you might be able to filter out
most of the off-topic articles.
In early 2006, the group becomes very readable if you exclude all
articles cross-posted to any off the groups alt.books.tom-clancy,
us.military.*, alt.atheism, and soc.culture.scotish. Especially with
the last group, you may lose some legitimate traffic. But it seems to
be miniscule compared to the amount of off-topic traffic you avoid
If you use slrn, the following entry in your Score file will filter
out most unwanted traffic.
[soc.history.medieval]
Score:: -9999
%Expires:
Newsgroups: alt\.books\.tom-clancy
Newsgroups: us\.military
Newsgroups: alt\.atheism
Newsgroups: soc\.culture\.scottish
I'll gladly include improved versions and instructions for other
newsreaders in future versions of the FAQ.
3 Resources about the middle ages on the net
--------------------------------------------
[Note: This section has been seriously updated and improved by Al
Magary, <almagary@concentric.net>. He is working on further
improvements at the moment.]
3.1 Related Usenet Newsgroups
Some newsreader software allows a search for keywords in your Internet
service provider's database; GNN's news-server at last count had some
23,000 newsgroups. Amazingly, the Internet standard-maker, Netscape
Navigator 2.01 (the latest), does not have a find feature, so users
have to spend some time browsing in the database. The list is
alphabetical and hierarchical, so like a Windows 95 directory, you can
click on + and - to expand and contract headings. The maingroup "soc"
has society, social sciences, etc.
Here is a selection of newsgroups which deal with medieval material.
Some of these, like soc.history, can be very noisy and unruly, but
sometimes deal with medieval topics of current interest
(e.g. the _Braveheart_ movie).
[Perhaps some regular readers could write a short (one or two
paragraphs) introduction to each group?]
alt.legend.king-arthur
This newsgroup deals with all aspects of the Arthurian legend,
from quite complex historical issues relating to both the 5th
century itself and the later transmission of the legend, to
discussions of the latest Arthurian fantasy epic from Stephen
Lawhead. It is moderately quiet, with perhaps 60-65 posts a
week; flame wars are very infrequent. There are enough
knowledgeable people subscribed for questions to be accurately
answered and discussions to be interesting
rec.arts.books.hist-fiction Historical fictions (novels) in
general.
rec.arts.books.hist-fiction deals with all sorts of historical
fiction from Greece and Rome up to the present day. It
specifically does NOT deal with the 'what-if' novels such as
Deighton's SS-GB, Gingrich's 1945 and the ilk or historically
based fantasy novels such as Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series.
With this broad scope it covers quite a bit of medieval
material from the Jean Plaidy historical romances to all kinds
of slush about the Crusades.
rec.heraldry Discussion of coats of arms.
rec.martial-arts Discussion of the various martial art forms.
rec.org.sca Society for Creative Anachronism.
This newsgroup, also called "The Rialto" among its readers, is
intended for use by members of the Society for Creative
Anachronism, a group engaging in re-enacting (medieval) history.
See section 5 for more details.
Note that several Scadians also read soc.history.medieval.
SCA-specific topics should not be discussed on
soc.history.medieval but should be taken to rec.org.sca.
rec.sport.fencing All aspects of swordplay.
sci.archaeology Studying antiquities of the world.
sci.archeoology.moderated All aspects of archaeology. (Moderated)
sci.archaeology.mesoamerican The field of mesoamerican archaeology
sci.classics Studying classical history, languages, art and
more.
humanities.classics Discussion of ancient Greece and Rome
soc.genealogy.medieval Genealogy in the period from roughly
AD500 to AD1600
soc.history Discussions of things historical.
soc.history.ancient Ancient history (up to AD 700).
soc.history.early-modern
soc.history.early-modern is a newsgroup for the discussion of
early-modern history from about 1500 to about 1800. Topical
relevance to early-modern history is more important than the
dates with quite a bit of medieval material being on-topic so
long as it is closely linked to events occurring during the
early-modern period. For example, discussions on the beginnings
of the European Voyages of Discovery, the Italian Renaissance,
or the influence of late Medieval heresy on the Reformation are
encouraged.
soc.history.living Living history and reenactment, issues and
info.
soc.history.moderated All aspects of history. (Moderated)
soc.history.science History of science and related areas.
soc.history.war.misc History & events of wars in general.
soc.history.what-if Alternate history.
alt.history.what-if
soc.history.what-if and alt.history.what-if are newsgroups to
discuss history divergent from that of our own. A very common
example thread would be "What if the South won the U.S. Civil
War?"
In general the what-if newsgroups discuss what might have been
the outcome of history had key events turned out differently;
a favorite topic being how dramatically different the results
might have been had an event we now consider minor have been
different. Alternatively what would have been the effect on
history had key individuals died younger/lived longer. (For
instance how would Victorian England have been different had
Prince Albert survived to the 1880s or "What if Frederick had
been Kaiser longer than 91 days?")
Additionally, the what-if newsgroups discuss literature in the
alternate history genre such as victorious Third Reichs (Dick,
"The Man in the High Castle, Deighton "SS-GB"), failed
Pizarros & Cortes, victorious Spanish Armadas and victorious
Napoleon Bonapartes (usually either against Britain or
Russia). All these are discussed in greater detail in the FAQ
for soc.history.what-if.
The newsgroups do NOT discuss historical revisionism (see
alt.revisionism), future history or alternate history in
fictional 'worlds'.
The original alt.history.what-if group has theoretically been
superseded by the new group in the soc-hierarchy (which, as a
rule, receives wider propagation and has a formal procedure
for the reation and deletion of groups). However, the old
group still receives a lot of traffic. Using the new group
exclusively is strongly encouraged.
Some topical discussion can sometime be found in the following groups:
soc.culture.british
soc.culture.celtic
soc.culture.scottish
soc.culture.welsh
3.2 Mailing lists
[This seems to be quite complete now - thanks to Edwin Duncan for
letting us borrow his pre-compiled list. If you know of any additional
mailing lists, or can contribute more information to one of these,
please let me know. Please note that some entries have been updated
or corrected compared to previous postings.]
The most efficient way to find one of the some 32,000 mailing lists
(email discussion groups) is to use your Web browser and go to
http://www.liszt.com
Those who have access only to email have a workaround to search for
lists; for info, send a blank message to
liszter@bluemarble.net
Liszt is a search engine that will search for keywords in a database
of list names and *one*-line descriptions, electronically compiled by
a bot or spider. My last search for "medieval" found 23 lists, some
very local (Student Medieval Recreation Club, U of Manitoba), some
very specialized (Medieval Feminist List), some transient (class
forums). You may want to search for related words to pick up pre- or
post-medieval (eg, Anglo-Saxon, Renaissance) or more general but
certainly inclusive of medieval (eg, philosophy, language).
A similar list searcher is organized by hierarchical, browsable
directories:
http://tile.net/lists/
Listserver software looks after the routine administrative stuff on
mailing lists, so you have to be accurate in your typing and precise
in command language. In the list below, the addressee--e.g.,
Listserv--is the listserver robot's address. Later, after you
subscribe and want to post, the addressee is the _name of the list_--
e.g., ansax-l; and you will have to be careful not to embarrass
yourself by sending listserver commands to the entire mailing list.
As a starter, it's helpful to get basic info on using mailing list,
subscription commands etc. from at least one computer run by each of
the software bots. Listserv answers to the command
info <listname>
Mailserv, Listproc, Majordomo, and Mailbase answer to the command
help
In email to the listservers, leave the "Subject" line blank, and put
in the message only the commands the listserver understands.
Here is a list of medieval discussion lists (partially taken from the
Texas Medieval Association page on "Medieval Academic Discussion
Groups". You can find the original Web page at
http://www.towson.edu/~duncan/acalists.html). Please note that the
original list and parts of this compilation are the property of Edwin
Duncan and are used with permission. Edwin also maintains an
additional list of groups more loesly related to the topic of this
group and offers a lot of advice on using academic discussion
lists. Portions of the original list are copyrighted by the Medieval
English Newsletter. Al Magary deserves to be mentioned as well - he
checked most addresses and added quite a lot of lists.
Some mailing lists have two distinct addresses - a Bitnet address
(ending in ".bitnet") and an Internet address. If you are not on
Bitnet (and probably if you do not know what Bitnet is) you should use
the Internet address.
Mailing list information does change occosaionally. If you note any
incorrect or incomplete information in the FAQ, please drop me a
note.
List Name List-server Topic
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AARHMS-L listproc@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu Academy of Historians
of Medieval Spain
ANSAX-L listserv@wvnvm.bitnet Anglo-Saxon Studies
listserv@wvnvm.wvnet.edu
ANSAX-L is the discussion group for ANSAXNET, the Anglo- Saxon
Network. It has over 600 members from fifteen or twenty
different countries and, as one would expect from such a large
membership, has a fairly high volume of mail. Discussions
cover not only Old English language and literature, but also
Anglo- Saxon archaeology, history, philosophy, and the arts. As
with other networks, one also runs across calls for papers,
job listings, announcements of new journals, new computer
services, and the like.
ARTHURNET listserv@morgan.ucs.mun.ca Arthurian Studies
ARTHURNET, a network devoted to all subjects relating to King
Arthur and the knights of the round table, has apparently
replaced an older and less successful one called CAMELOT, an
English network. ARTHURNET is based in Canada, and the
commands for setting options with the list-server are slightly
different from most of those based in the U.S. The command for
subscribing is the same, though.
BMMR-L majordomo@cc.brynmawr.edu Medieval Book Reviews
BMMR-L, the Bryn Mawr Medieval Review, is, as its name
implies, devoted to the review of books on medieval
topics. Members are not only automatically sent reviews of new
books as they become available but may also retrieve older
reviews from the archives. They may also contribute their own
reviews to the network.
BYZANS-L listserv@mizzou1.missouri.edu Byzantine Studies
CADUCEUS-L [Address unknown] History of Medicine
CARMED listserv@uncg.edu North Carolina
medieval scholars
discussion list
This is an open, unmoderated discussion list.
CHAUCER listserv@uicvm.bitnet Chaucer and Medieval
listserv@uicvm.uic.edu Literature
CHAUCER, the discussion group for Chaucernet, is, like
Ansaxnet, consistently active in terms of mail. It generally
confines itself to Chaucer studies, although related
fourteenth-century works such as Piers Plowman and Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight also get discussed here. Last fall when I
was teaching a Chaucer course, I found some of the pedagogical
discussions on this network to be especially helpful.
[Normal "subscribe" is insufficient to get on the list. The
listowner at chaucer-request@uicvm.cc.uic.edu needs to approve
your subscription.]
DEREMI-L listserv@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu Medieval Military
History
EARLYM-L listserv@aearn.bitnet Early Music
listserv@helios.edvz.univie.ac.at
EARLYM-L, a discussion group for those interested in early
music, is a relatively high-volume network with postings from
musicians both inside and outside academia.
EARLYMEDNET-L majordomo@cardiff.ac.uk Early Medieval Studies
(300-700 AD )
A network and discussion for information and queries on Early
Medieval historical and archaeological studies in
Europe. (Chronological range late 4th to late 11th centuries
AD). At least in the initial stages of its existence, it
has seemed to have more of an archaeological bent to its
discussions.
EARLYSCIENCE-L listserv@listserv.vt.edu Early Science History
EMEDCH-L listproc@usc.edu Early Medieval China
Studies
GEN-MEDIEVAL listserv@mail.eworld.com Medieval Genealogy
[NB--Apple is giving up eworld so, address may change soon.]
GERLINGL listserv@uiucvmd.bitnet Older Germanic Languages
listserv@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu (to 1500)
GERLINGL, a discussion group for older Germanic language
studies, is a low-volume group, but some good information is
presented on it from time to time. If one has interests in
this area, then one may wish to subscribe to it in addition to
a related higher volume group like Ansax-l.
GERMANIC-L http://pages.ancientsites.com/~Thiudareiks_Flavius/germanic-l.html
GERMANIC-L is an E-group for the discussion of the early
Germanic peoples from Prehistory to circa 800 AD. To
subscribe, and for more information, go to the above web
page.
H-ALBION listserv@uicvm.uic.edu HNET British & Irish
History
[NB -- To subscribe, you have to fill in a brief survey, and
the listowner must approve subscription.]
HEL-L listproc@ebbs.english.vt.edu History of the English
Language
HEL-L, a discussion group devoted to studies in the history of
the English language, is primarily but not exclusively
pedagogical. Postings are infrequent with bursts of activity
(i.e., 3-6 messages per day) followed by periods of relative
silence. There is a WWW page for the list at
http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/hel/hel.html.
INTERSCRIPTA listserr@morgan.ucs.mun.ca Directed Medieval
Discussions
[According to Al Magary, this list is hard to reach. Try mailing to
interscripta-request@morgan.ucs.mun.ca to communicate with the
list owner.]
LT-ANTIQ LISTSERV@VM.SC.EDU Late Antiquity
LT_ANTIQ is an unmoderated list that provides a discussion
forum for topics relating to Late Antiquity (c. AD
260-640). For the purposes of this discussion list, "Late
Antiquity" will cover the Late Roman, Early Byzantine, Early
Medieval, and Early Islamic periods. Geograph-ical coverage
will range from western Europe to the Middle East, and from
the Sahara to Russia.
MDVLPHIL listserv@lsuvm.bitnet Medieval Philosophy
listserv@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu & Political Thought
MDVLPHIL, devoted to medieval philosophy, does not have many
postings. [Note: The new internet address has been confirmed.]
MED-AND-REN-MUSIC mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk Music of the Medieval
and Renaissance
periods
MEDART-L listserv@listserv.utoronto.edu Medieval Art
listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
[According to Al Magary, the bitnet address is reachable by
internet mail, and the internet address only forwards to it. Also
note that the internet address changed recently]
MEDEVLIT listserv@siucvmb.bitnet Medieval Literature
list
[No internet address given]
MEDFEM-L listproc@uwavm.bitnet Medieval Feminist
listproc@u.washington.edu Studies
MEDFEM-L is a fairly high-volume discussion group which covers
a wide range of issues related to medieval feminist studies.
MEDGER-L listproc@csuohio.edu Medieval German Studies
[This list seems to be unaccessible at the moment. Any
more information?]
MEDGER-L is a very low volume discussion group for medieval
German studies on all topics besides linguistics. Messages
here are typically few and far between.
MEDGAY-L listserv@ksuvm.ksu.edu Medieval Gay Studies
MEDIBER listserv@merle.acns.nwu.edu Medieval Iberian Studies
[The listserver at the given address responds with an erro
message. What became of the list?]
MEDIBER is a discussion group devoted to medieval Iberian
literatures, languages, histories, and cultures. It is fairly
active. Many of its postings are in Spanish
MEDIEV-L listproc@listprov.cc.ukans.edu Medieval History
[The address for this list has changed recently!]
MEDIEV-L is a discussion list for medieval history and
topics relating to the teaching of the middle ages,
ca. 500AD-1500AD. Circulation is approximately 2,000,
unmoderated. Anyone with an interest in the middle ages is
welcome to join; most subscribers are faculty or graduate
students.
MEDIEVAL-RELIGION mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk Medieval Religion
MEDIEVAL-RELIGION is a forum for discussions related to
religious life and thought in Europe from late antiquity to
the early modern period. Its mail archives are located at
http://mailbase.ac.uk
MEDIEVALE listproc@uqam.ca Medieval History (in
French)
MEDIEVALE is a new medieval history network from Canada whose
postings are all in French.
MEDLIT-L listproc@bgu.edu Medieval Literature
group
MEDLITERACY-L listserv@uclink.berkeley.edu Medieval Literacy
MEDSCI-L listserv@brownvm.brown.edu Medieval Science
[This list seems to have been closed down.]
MEDTEXTL listserv@uiucvmd.bitnet Medieval Languages &
listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu Literature
MEDTEXTL, the discussion group for medieval languages and
literature, also has a large number of messages. In contrast
to ANSAX-L and CHAUCER, it has more postings for continental
languages, literature, and the arts, and perhaps for that
reason has a rule that any postings or quotations in any
language other than English include translations along with
the originals. This can be a real help for, say, a Germanic
scholar trying to follow a conversation quoting medieval
Italian or for a Romanticist trying to decipher something from
Old Norse.
NUMISM-L listserv@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu
Medieval (& Ancient)
Numismatics
OLDNORSENET listproc@vinga.hum.gu.se Old Norse Studies
The aim of OLDNORSENET is to provide a forum for discussion of
problems that concern the medieval Scandinavian and North
Atlantic societies. The network will be open for contributions
from researchers in all branches of medieval studies
concerning the Nordic area. Our hope is to start a lively and
open discussion of new and old problems within the subject,
and that ideas and suggestions will be presented and discussed
by the members of the network.
PERFORM listserv@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu Medieval Performing
Arts
RENAIS-L listserv@ulkyvm.louisville.edu Renaissance & Early
Modern History
SIEGE listserv@morgan.ucs.mun.ca Medieval Siege
Weaponry
[Please note that this list has moved!]
3.3 Web sites
[To be completed - suggestions welcome. If possible please
include a short text with each suggestion - the transatlantic
links are awful, and checking even a single site can be quite a
trial for me. Please note that Patrick Tingler <tingler.4@osu.edu>
posts a more complete list of sites (organized by topic)
semi-regularly. It is available on the WWW at
http://members.tripod.com/~Tingler/medieval.]
As a complement to the mini-FAQ, you can find "soc.history.medieval's
Question and Answer Pages" at the following link:
http://www.rahul.net/starwolf/shm/
Two places to get going quickly in finding medieval resources on the
Web are Catholic University's NetSERF and Georgetown's Labyrinth:
http://www.cua.edu/www/hist/netserf/
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html
A directory/search homepage that's always on top of what's new in
medieval resources is:
http://www.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/Medieval_Studies/
Labyrinth has hotlinks to some Internet search engines (nowadays many
can search the Web, Usenet newsgroups, and gopher/ftp resources). Good
collections of the 250 or so general and specialized search engines are:
http://www.search.com
http://www.searchallinone.com
Many people consider Google to currently be the best general purpose
search engine. In any case, try one of the following:
http://www.google.com
http://www.altavista.com
http://www.lycos.com
http://www.northernlight.com
Here is a list of some WWW pages with medieval material on it. Some
descriptions have been provided by the page providers or associated
persons, and many have been slightly edited.
Welcome to the Call to Arms Website
http://www.calltoarms.com/
Introductory page for the Call To Arms project. Call to Arms is
an international directory of historical re-enactment. It is
essentially an address book, a telephone directory, a resource
guide, a suppliers list, a recruiting arm, a major events guide and
much more besides.
Classical Resources (J. Ruebel)
http://studentweb.tulane.edu/~rwoods/classics.html
This page tries to give an overview over classical resources
on the net. At the moment it only covers Greek and Roman
material that could be of borderline interest to medieval
historians.
The "Confessio" of Saint Patrick
http://www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/patrick.html
A English translation of the autobiographical confession
written by Patrick himself, in Latin, around the year 450. It
offers a unique record of life in the British Isles during
those times. The page also has some links to Irish and
Celtic culture.
The Decameron Web
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/dweb.shtml
A new Hypertext project at Brown University, dedicated to
Boccaccio's Decameron and to Medieval Studies in general. It
is of general interest to anyone interested in Italian
literature at large and in Medieval society. Further
information about the creation of the project and about the
goals of those in charge of its growth is available at the
site.
Historical Reeneactment in the United Kingdom
http://www.compulink.co.uk/~novar/renact.htm
A page which links to various resources for hitorical reenactment
and reenactment societies, with particular emphasis on the scene in
the United Kingdom.
Historical Reeneactment - Welcome from the Mining Co.
http://reenactment.miningco.com/
A general reenactment site with, among other things, sections on
medieval and ancient history, clothing, crafts, etc.
The Knights Templar Preceptory Portcullis
http://www.trantex.fi/staff/heikkih/knights/portcull.htm
A Finish site with a good introduction to the Templar
military order. Contains a couple of book reviews and a
bibliography.
Labyrinth Home Page at Georgetown University
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html
The Labyrinth is a global information network providing
free, organized access to electronic resources in medieval
studies through a World Wide Web server at Georgetown
University. Highlights include a couple of online
bibliographies and text, image, and archival databases.
Medieval History Resources
http://www.calpoly.edu/~jheinen/medieval.html
This page is a quite complete entry point for medieval
items on the WWW. It contains a lot of link to other sites
with indices.
Medieval Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
The Medieval Sourcebook is a collection of links to public
domain and copy allowed texts of interest to medievalists. It
includes excerpts suitable for use in survey courses as well
as full texts of many works. The site also provides links to
other medieval studies pages as well as sites devoted to
Byzantine and Classical Studies.
Medieval Studies Home Page at Harvard
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~medieval
The site is small but growing. We now have information about
the committee, its professors, and its classes, as well as
about Harvard in general, plus a whole bunch of links to other
medieval Internet resources. Coming soon: Calendars of
upcoming events.
The Medieval Technology Pages
http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/technology.html
The Medieval Technology Pages are an attempt to provide
accurate, referenced information on technological innovation
and related subjects in western Europe during the Middle
Ages.
Medieval Technology -- Reading List
http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/~medtech/medbooks97.html
A quite extensive and commented bibliography on many aspects
of medieval live. Most books are seconday works and
overviews, and most are accessible for a casual reader with
some basic knowledge of the era.
Military history: Medieval
http://www.cfcsc.dnd.ca/links/milhist/med.html
This is a bilingual (English/French), regularly updated guide
to Internet resources on military matters during medieval
times. This page also contains links to separate pages on
wars of the period, currently comprising:
100 Year's War (1339-1453)
Norman Conquest (1066)
ORB--Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
http://orb.rhodes.edu/
ORB is an academic site, written and maintained by medieval
scholars for the benefit of their fellow instructors and serious
students. It offers a large collection of peer-reviewed essays on a
wide variety of medieval topics.
Ramon Llull (Raymond Lull/Lully) resources
http://www.robotwisdom.com/ai/llull.html
A timeline (with links to various sources on the life of a 13th
century philosopher).
Ravensgard Medieaval Homepage
http://www.ravensgard.org/gerekr/medieval.html
The page is a large collection of links and resources
organized by general subject. The major categories include
research resources, arts and crafts including a page on
costume, cultures including a separate page on Old Norse
culture, and cultural background material.
The Realm of Chivalry
http://www.realmofchivalry.org/
The Realm of Chivalry is a social and educational organization
located primarily in the Pacific Northwest which is based on
the precepts of Chivalry and Honour as evidenced in the
History and Legends of the Dark and Middle Ages. We strive to
re-create the times of the Heroes, i.e. Richard the Lion
Heart, King Arthur, Beowulf, and in doing so we take on the
personae of one who might have lived in that era
The Richard III Society Homepage
http://www.r3.org/
This site offers an introduction and aids to Ricardian
studies, links to medieval resources, and information about
the Society, whose members hold diverse opinions on King
Richard III, the Yorkist era and the Wars of the Roses.
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
http://www.sca.org/
A home-page for the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA),
offering a very complete introduction to the society. Please note
that this site has moved again.
Timber-Framed Houses
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~lachlan/timber.html
A web site for "The History and Construction of Medieval
Timber-Framed Houses." This site describes, for the lay
reader, the development from about 1200 AD in England and
Wales of the cruck and box-frame house from the earlier hut
made from earth-fast posts, and the invention of the chimney,
tiles and window glass. A Bibliography is included.
WebPages von potentiellem Interesse auf dem Gebiet "Geistesgeschichte"
http://www.gwdg.de/~hkuhn1/pagehist.html
Geistesgeschichte
http://www.gwdg.de/~hkuhn1/webpages.html#Historia
These two German page try to collect links to resources of
potential interest to people interested in intellectual
history. Their main focus is the renaissance, but there are
links to "truly medieval" material as well. Part of the links
are commented upon. The second page is more up to date.
4 Literature Suggestions
------------------------
4.1 Individual Suggestions
In this section I try to collect a list of interesting books. If
possible, I try to include a short (or even longer) review, however,
individual titles are usually printed as they had been submitted to
me.
I particularly try to compile a list of books that can be read
without formal training in history. If you want to submit
information on a book please try to follow the standard format
and try to provide a text that can be copied to the FAQ
without much editing.
Brown, R. Allen, _The Normans_
Brown gives a good overview on the impact on the Normans from
the time of the establishment of the Normandy as a Duchy under
Rollo and Charles the Simple to the end of the
Crusades. Apart from the well-known invasion in England the
participation of multiple generations of the family Hauteville
in the conquest of southern Italy and the Crusades is
stressed. The book is well researched but does not offer much
detail on the era.
Contamine, Philippe, _War in the Middle Ages_, trans. Michael Jones
(London, Basil Blackwell, 1984) ISBN 0-631-13142-6; xvi+387 pages,
24 b+w illustrations, 10 tables, 7 maps, 4 line-drawn figures.
A welcome translation of the author's "La Guerre au moyen
age" (originally published 1980) this book is the essential
starting place for any serious study of medieval military
institutions and affairs. It is divided into three parts.
"The State of Knowledge," reviews what scholars know about
warfare in the Middle Ages in four chronological chapters: the
"Barbarian" period (500-900), the "Feudal Age" (900-1150), the
High Middle Ages (1150-1325) and the transition to gunpowder
warfare (1325-1500). Chapter 1 is the weakest part of the
book because Contamine does not properly evaluate the survival
of Roman practices in the early Middle Ages. Chapter 4 is the
best, because it covers the era in which Contamine does his
own research. The second part, "Themes and Perspectives",
examines six specific issues like strategic theory and the
'laws of war.' Chapter 9, "Towards a History of Courage" is
the most interesting. The third part is a 51 page
bibliography of work on medieval warfare.
Readers who are looking for narrative accounts of battles
and campaigns will be disappointed -- Contamine emphasizes
institutions, practices, and the nature of the evidence that
medieval military historians have to work with. As a result,
this book works best when it is used as a reference or as a
place from which to start reading on a particular topic. As
such it excells.
DeVries, Kelly, _Medieval Military Technology_, (Lewiston NY,
Broadview, 1992), ISBN: 0-921149-74-3; xi+340 pp., numerous b+w
pictures and line drawings.
This book reviews of technology of warfare in the western
european middle ages. It is divided into four sections: one
on arms and armor, the second on artillery (both
stone-throwing and gunpowder varieties), the third on
fortifications, and the last on warships. In each case,
DeVries describes the chronological development of specific
technologies, with special emphasis on the military and
economic reasons that medieval people chose to develop them.
Since he often uses examples drawn from specific battles and
campaigns to support his points, this book is easy to read and
gives a clear picture of what was going on in each technology
at specific times.
At appropriate points, DeVries interrupts his narrative to
describe what modern historians think about controversial
issues. A good example is his chapter on the great "Did
Stirrups cause Feudalism" debate. DeVries says "No" and his
explanation of why is clearer and easier to read than the
original research he is summarizing. De Vries bibliography is
up-to date and should be preferred over the corresponding
section in Contamine. DeVries also gets credit for properly
emphasizing the continued use of Roman military technology in
the early medieval era.
France, John, _Victory in the East: A Military History of the
First Crusade_, New York, Cambridge University Press,
1994, 425 pages, maps
[No review available yet - *you* are invited to write one ;-)]
Maalouf, Amin, _The Crusades through Arab Eyes_, translated from the
French _Les Cusades vues par les Arabes_ by Jon Rothschild,
Schocken Books, New York, 293 pages, 2 Maps, US$ 16
Maalouf gives us yet another account of the Crusades. While the
book follows the general outline of most overview works on the
era, it adds a new perspective. His book concentrates on the
Crusades as experienced by the Arab inhabitants of the Near
East. The struggles between the different Muslim factions and
rulers are described in unusual detail, as are the social and
religious movements that eventually resulted in a revigouration
of the "Jyhad" concept and thus the destruction of the Frankish
states in Outremer. There is little new material on the
main Frankish/Muslim conflict, but a lot of information about
the dealings behind the scenes. Although Maalouf often cites
long passages by Arab chroniclers verbatim, this book should not
be confused with a collection of original sources. However, the
appendix contains a short and helpful discussion of these
sources. With a price tag of $20 for the paperback edition, this
book should be well worth the price for everybody interested in
the Crusades.
Norwich, J.J., _The Normans in the South_, _Kingdom in the Sun_
In these two volumes the author gives a very readable
introduction to the Norman achievements in southern Italy and
Sicily. The first book describes the deeds of Robert Guiscard
and Roger, Count of Sicily, in some details, including the
conflicts with the German imperator and the Pope. The second
volume describes the Norman history of the Kingdom of
Sicily. While the historic account is less detailed, Norwich
takes some time to describe the remains of Norman buildings on
Sicily.
Strayer, Joseph R., _The Albigensian Crusades_, Ann Arbor Paperbacks,
1992.
A classic. If you think that western Europe was
monolithically Catholic and that crusades were waged only in
the Holy Land, think again. This is the story of the 13th
century destruction of Occitania, an event that has had
repercussions down to our own day.
4.2 Suggested Reading List from the MEDIEV-L mailing list
The following list of influential works on medieval history was
collected on the MEDIEV-L mailing list. Readers were asked for
suggestions, entries which recieved multiple suggestions have the
number of votes recorded right after the title. I have slightly
reformatted the list to make it more readable and to give it a more
uniform look.
Aries, Philippe:
_Centuries of Childhood_
Barraclough, Geoffrey:
_The Medieval Papacy_
Barraclough, Geoffrey:
_The Origins of Modern Germany_
Bloch, Marc:
_Feudal Society_ (5)
Bloch, Marc:
_Royal Touch_
Boswell, John:
_Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality_
Braudel, Ferdinand:
_Structures of Everyday Life_
Brentano, Robert:
_Rome Before Avignon_
Brown, Peter:
_World of Late Antiquity_ (2)
Brown, Peter:
_The Cult of the Saints_
Brown, Peter:
_Augustine of Hippo_ (2)
Brunner, Otto:
_Land and Lordship_ (2)
Burckhardt, Jacob:
_The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy_
Bynum, Caroline Walker:
_Holy Feast and Holy Fast_ (3)
Campbell, James:
_The Anglo-Saxons_
Carruthers, Mary:
_The Book of Memory_
Cheney, C.R.:
_ Hubert Walter_
Cohn, Norman:
_The Pursuit of the Millenium_
de Beauvoir, Simone:
_The Second Sex._
Douglas, David:
_William the Conqueror (2)_
Duby, Georges:
_La societe aux XIe et XIIe siecles dans la region maconnaise_
Duby, Georges:
_Warrior and Peasants_ (2)
Fawtier, Robert:
_The Capetian Kings of France._
Ganshof, Francois:
_Feudalism._
Geary, Patrick:
_Before France and Germany_
Gilson, Etienne:
_Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages_
Grundmann, Herbert:
_Religiose Bewegungen im Mittelalter_ (2)
Hanawalt, Barbara:
_The Ties That Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England _
Haskins, Charles Homer:
_The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century_ (3)
Herlihy, David and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber:
_Tuscans and Their Families_
Hilton, R.H. and T.H. Fagan:
_The English Rising of 1381_
Hodges, Richard and David Whitehouse:
_Mohammed, Charlemagne, and the Origin of Europe._
Huizinga, Johan:
_The Waning of the Middle Ages_ (3)
Kantorowicz, Ernst:
_Frederick II_ (3)
Kantorowitz, Ernst:
_The Kings Two Bodies_ (3)
Keen, Maurice:
_Chivalry_
Kelly, Amy:
_Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings_
Kern, Fritz:
_Kingship and Law in the Middle Ages_
Knowles, David:
_The Monastic Order in England_
Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel:
_Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error_ (2)
Leclercq, Jean:
_Love of Learning and the Desire for God_ (2)
LeGoff, Jacques:
_Time , Work and Culture in the Middle Ages_
Lewis, C.S.:
_The Allegory of Love_
Leyser, Karl:
_Medieval Germany and its Neighbours_
Lopez, Robert:
_The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages_
Lord, Albert:
_The Singer of Tales_
Lovejoy, A. O.:
_The Great Chain of Being_
McFarlane, K. B.:
_The Nobility of Later Medieval England_
Mollat, Guillaume:
_The Popes of Avignon_
Moore, R. I.:
_The Formation of a Persecuting Society_
Nelson, Janet:
_Charles the Bald_
Ostrogorsky, George:
_History of the Byzantine State_
Painter, Sidney:
_William Marshall_
Perroy, Eduoard:
_The Hundred Years War_
Pirenne, Henri:
_Medieval Cities_ (2)
Pirenne, Henri:
_Mohammad and Charlemagne_ (2)
Raby, F. J. E.:
_Secular Latin Poetry_
Raby, F. J. E.:
_Christian Latin Poetry_
Riche, Pierre:
_Education and Culture in the Barbarian West_
Riche, Pierre:
_Daily Life in the Word of Charlemagne_
Runciman, Steven:
_History of the Crusades_
Skinner, Quentin:
_The Foundations of Modern Political Thought_
Southern, R. W.:
_Making of the Middle Ages_ (6)
Southern, R. W.:
_Medieval Humanism_
Southern, R. W.:
_Saint Anselm: Portrait in a Landscape (2)_
Stenton, Frank:
_Anglo-Saxon England_
Straw, Carol:
_Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection_
Strayer, Joseph:
_On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State_
Tellenbach, Gerd:
_Church, State and Christian Society_ (2)
Tierney, Brian:
_Foundations of the Conciliar Theory_
Ullman, Walter:
_A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages_
Ullman, Walter:
_A Shorter History of the Papacy_
Van Dam, Raymond:
_Leadership & Community in Late Antique Gaul_
Wallace-Hadrill, J. M.:
_The Long-Haired Kings_ (2)
Warren, W.L.:
_Henry II_
White, Lynn:
_Medieval Technology and Social Change_
5 Assorted Topics
-----------------
5.1 What is the SCA?
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international
organization interested in the research and recreation of the
Middle Ages and Renaissance. Most (but not all) of the people
involved in the SCA are amateurs who are interested in one or
more areas or topics of the Middle Ages. At a SCA event you
can see many people wearing clothing from different periods of
time (most between 600 and 1600 A.D.) doing different
activities. Activities can include armoured fighting,
fencing, heraldry, spinning, dancing, cooking, etc. (that
list could go on forever). However, because of the long time
period, and wide geographic range, most SCA events are not
accurate recreations of any one time or place.
The SCA does _not_ insist that people dress or act exactly as
someone from the Middle Ages would, they just encourage it.
Thus many Scadians prefer to focus on the "current middle ages"
or the fun they have on the weekends without doing any serious
research. Other Scadians take the recreation aspect very
seriously and can become quite knowledgeable on certain
subjects. Some Scadians have difficulties separating historic
research and experience from the reenactment. This sometimes leads
to frictions in discussions with more serious-minded historians.
If you would like to learn more about the group you should
read the newsgroup rec.org.sca (also called "The Rialto" among
Scadians). People there can tell you how to get in contact
with the Scadians nearest you. There also is a WWW page for
the SCA listed in section 3.3.
5.2 What is a "Crakow Vote"?
The concept of the Crakow (occasionally "Krakow" or "Cracow" --
we are an international group with a flexible approach to
orthography) Vote came up in the second half of 1999 in a thread
on medieval Russia. The Crakow Vote is basically an appeal to
authority ("Argumentum ad verecundiam"), only without the
authority. The classical examples seem to be
"According to a poll taken among Krakow's cab drivers, Europe
ends on Poland's Eastern border".
and
"According to Cracow Vote, The Battle Which Can Not Be Named had
been won by the Fried Templars and/or McWasherwomen".
Crakow Votes can be used both seriously (but risking that people
will stop taking the speaker serious) or humorously (which,
unfortunately, does not automatically confer any special weight to
the speakers opinion).
New research has indicated that the preferred spelling is indeed
"Crakow". It is found in the oldest surviving documents, and has
the added benefit of being equally wrong in all known languages.
5.3 Can you help me answer a genealogical question?
No.
(That's me, Stephan Schulz answering. I have little knowledge
about genealogy, Schulz is about the third most frequent name in
Germany, and, due to the extensive resettlement of my ancestors
after WW2 I have lost nearly all contact to ancestors on the
Schulz side of the family. Someone else in the group probably
can help you, but please check the soc.genealogy.* groups first).
6 Credits
---------
The first version of this FAQ was written and posted by me (Stephan
Schulz). Since then I have received much support. Thanks are due to the
following people for contributing to the FAQ:
Jorn Barger, Laura Blanchard, Edgar De Blieck, Aaron Bradley, Donny
Chan, Lyle Craver, Edwin Duncan, Robert Eikel, Robert Elliot, Curt
Emanuel, Paul J. Gans, Antonio Gonzalez, Kathleen Gorman, Frank
A. Hanincik, Jeff Heinen (and the MEDIEV-L mailing list), Robert
Helmerichs, Bill Kent, Steve Kirkby, Ian Klinck, Heinrich C. Kuhn,
Greg Lindahl, Don MacLachlan, Al Magary, John Massey, Juho Mattila,
Todd M. McComb, Denis McKeon, Alex Milman, Michael Moore, Drew
Nicholson, Bob Peckham, Ninni M. Pettersson, Edward J. Schoenfeld,
Lisa Scovel, Brian M. Scott, Kim Sheraton, Gary Walker, Doug Weller
Section 3 (Net resources) is now partially maintained by Al Magary,
<almagary@concentric.net>. Patrick Tingler maintains a supplemental
FAQ on WWW sites.
-------------------------- It can be done! ---------------------------------
Please email me as schulz@informatik.tu-muenchen.de (Stephan Schulz)
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