Understanding Medieval Primary Sources

Using Historical Sources to Discover Medieval Europe
2. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-75181-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 440 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Guides to Using Historical Sources

Medieval society has left us many kinds of written and visual material, such as last wills, sermons, frescoes, weapons, and jewellery. This collection of essays introduces students to this impressive range and offers a better understanding of how such sources can be used to reveal fascinating details about medieval Europe.

As medieval studies have continued to evolve, the second edition of Understanding Medieval Primary Sources has been duly updated to reflect these recent approaches and methodologies. Readers will find the original essays refreshed in the form of thoughtful additions, revised bibliographies, and postscripts, whilst four new chapters stretch the chronological, geographical, and methodological boundaries of the field. Two of these new papers explore ‘the global Middle Ages’, turning to central Eurasia and the Islamic world, bringing readers into some spaces previously left untouched. Another essay challenges the old scholarly barriers drawn between late antiquity and the early medieval period, whilst the fourth examines digital approaches to medieval sources. Taken together, this collection offers the tools to discover a far richer and less parochial medieval Europe.

Understanding Medieval Primary Sources remains an invaluable resource for any student or scholar embarking on medieval historical research.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rosenthal, Joel T.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Geschichte der Pädagogik, Richtungen in der Pädagogik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures

List of Contributors

Introduction to Second Edition

Introduction to First Edition

Part I Generic Sources.

1. Royal and Secular Biography Ralph A. Griffiths

2. Vernacular Chronicles and Narrative Sources in Medieval England Lister M. Matheson (updated by Lisa M. Ruch)

3. The Medieval Sermon: Text, Performance, and Insight Anne T. Thayer

4. Wills as Primary Sources Shona Kelly Wray and Roisin Cossar

5. Letters and Letter Collections Joel T. Rosenthal

Part II Topical Sources.

6. Writing Military History from Narrative Sources: Norman Battlefield Tactics, ca. 1000 Bernard Bachrach (updated by David Bachrach)

7. Historians and Inquisitors: Testimonies from the Early Inquisitions into Heretical Depravity Mark G. Pegg

8. Sources of Royal Rituals and King-Making Jinty Nelson (updated by Ralph A. Griffiths )

9. The Sources for Manorial and Rural History Philip Slavin

10. Sources for Medieval Maritime History Maryanne Kowaleski

11. The Sources of Urban History Caroline M. Barron

12. Sources for the Study of Public Health in the Medieval City Carole Rawcliffe

13.  Women’s History: Sources and Issues Katherine L. French

14. Sources for Representative Institutions Hannes Kleineke

15. The Documentary Sources for Late Antiquity Gregory Halfond

16. Empires and Networks: Sources for Medieval Central Eurasia Anya King

17. The Medieval Islamic World: A Critical Introduction to Primary Sources Mohamad Ballan and Rosabel P. Ansari

18. Digital Approaches to Medieval Sources John McEwan

Part III The Visual and the Material.

19. Images and Objects as Sources for Medieval History Sara Lipton

20. Archaeology and History (in the United Kingdom) David Hinton

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Joel T. Rosenthal spent his academic career teaching medieval history at Stony Brook University. As a productive medievalist, he has published on social history, was a founding co-editor of Medieval Prosopography, and remains a fellow of the Medieval Academy.