An Annotated Bibliography of Printed and Online Primary Sources for the Middle Ages
Search the bibliography
Home | Codebook | Compilers | Contents | Acknowledgements | Feedback
Because the number of primary sources available in modern French translations or in editions of some variant of medieval French is immense, we have concentrated on entering texts most likely to be available in college libraries in Phase I of the project. We have also prioritized the more well-known sources in terms of how often they are cited and the quality of their transcription or translation.
In selecting English translations of French sources, we have tried to include a wide variety of genres, but those that are most common in Phase I of the project tend to deal with religious life, saints, the Carolingians, philosophy, theology, and literature, and thus work to give the student a general understanding of cultural, intellectual and religious developments in France during the middle ages. In selecting French language sources, we focused more on the sources for administrative, legal, economic, and social history, such as royal ordinances, taxes, cartularies, inventories, and collections of synodal statutes, few of which have been translated into English.
Many of the French language entries are from the series, Collection de documents inedits sur l’histoire de France, although we have not yet completed entering all the relevant sources in this series. For a list of other series that include medieval French sources, see the Contents page. For tips on finding sources about France in the database, see Search Tips.
--Chris Beck, August 2004