Age of "Brave Heart"

Course Number:

HST 408/548

Instructor:

Usilton, Larry

The library provides a wide variety of resources to assist you in your discovery of this historical period. This guide does not list everything, but provides links to finding aids (e.g., catalogs, article databases) and selected resources (encyclopedias, primary sources) that will be useful for most of your specific topics. Feel free to ask for assistance as you narrow your topic and develop your thesis.

Starting Points

Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages

This specialized encyclopedia for the Middle Ages is available online or in the Reference Collection. The call number for the print edition is Ref D114 .E53 2000.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Extensive biographical articles about prominent personalities in British history. Also available online or in print. The print copy is in Reference-Storage, but is available upon request. Ref-Storage DA28 .O95 2004.

Library Catalog

Search for books and media in Randall Library's collections, or expand your search to the UNC Coastal Library Consortium (UNCW, UNCP, and FSU)

Articles & eResources

Use these databases to identify articles and other resources on your topic. If the full-text of the article is not provided in the database, search the journal title containing the article in the online catalog or on the Articles & eResources main page (Look for the "Already have a citation?" box.)

Iter: gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Indexes journal materials (articles, reviews, etc.) as well as books and conference proceedings.

JSTOR

JSTOR now contains the full text of over 170 journals. Note that the latest 3-5 years are not available.

Project MUSE

Provides full-text for almost 70 history journals among its 300+ titles.

Academic Search Complete

This database is useful for virtually any academic topic, and provides full-text for many of the articles it indexes. If full-text is not available here, search the journal title in the catalog for other access.

Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective

Indexes scholarly humanities and social science journal articles published from 1907 to 1984.

WorldCat

Search for books and other resources at over 9,000 libraries. Request items not available at UNCW through Interlibrary Loan.

Using the Library Catalog

Click here to search the Library Catalog

The library catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. The list of authorized subject headings is available online. However, you can start with keyword searches to gather some relevant titles, then look at their subject headings to discover the official terms to use.

Here are some subject headings related to Medieval history:

Aesthetics, Medieval
Archaeology, Medieval
Architecture, Medieval
Armor, Medieval
Art, Medieval [Also various specific types of art,
e.g., Altarpieces, Medieval
Artists, Medieval
Astronomy, Medieval
Authors, Medieval
Biography -- Middle Ages, 500-1500
Bookbinding, Medieval
Bridges, Medieval
Chivalry
Christian sects, Medieval
Church history -- Middle Ages
Cities and towns, Medieval
Civilization, Medieval
Cookery, Medieval
Cosmology, Medieval
Criticism, Medieval
Drama, Medieval
Education, Medieval
Ethics, Medieval
Etiquette, Medieval
Europe -- History -- 476-1492

Feudalism
Fourteenth Century
Funeral rites and ceremonies, Medieval
Geography, Medieval
Knights and knighthood
Literature, Medieval
Manuscripts, Latin (Medieval and modern)
Manuscripts, Medieval
Marriage customs and rites, Medieval
Medicine, Medieval
Medieval music
Medievalism
Middle Ages
Military art and science -- History -- Medieval, 500-1500
Military history, Medieval
Nobility -- Education, Medieval
Philosophy, Medieval
Rhetoric, Medieval
Rites and ceremonies, Medieval
Satire, Medieval
Science, Medieval
Tales, Medieval
Thirteenth Century
Tournaments, Medieval
Travel, Medieval
Women -- Education, Medieval
[Subdivision] History -- To 1500

More on Subject Searching:

Even if you are doing a keyword search, using phrases from the subject headings typically improves the relevance of your results.
As you search subject topics in the catalog and WorldCat, note that the following subdivisions indicate primary source material: correspondence
diaries
interviews
personal narratives
pictorial works
songs and music
sources
speeches, addresses, etc.
treaties
It can be hard to guess the order of subdivisions and to retrieve all relevant headings. You can, however, do "power searching" in the Advanced Search Options. See the Help page for more details. Example: d:Medieval and d:Sources retrieves "Social history -- Medieval , 500-1500 -- Sources " and "Great Britain -- History -- Medieval period, 1066-1485 -- Sources