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) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- User Contributions:
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