Medieval Studies

Edited by Robert E. Bjork. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 4 volumes.
[For print version locations see UofT Catalogue]
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – D114 .O94 2010]
Up to date, and intended for both novices and specialists, this 4-volume set covers European history, society, religion, and culture between A.D. 500 to 1500. Articles number about 5,000. They range from brief to lengthy, include bibliographies, and often unearth material you can only find elsewhere with difficulty. Women and children, for example, get substantial attention. The set contains a thematic listing of entries, a general index, a list of medieval popes and antipopes, and an index of alternative place names.

Edited by Andre Vauchez. Cambridge: James Clarke, 2000. 2 volumes.
[For print version locations see UofT Catalogue]
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area –CB351 .D5413 2000]
More up-to-date than the Dictionary of the Middle Ages, this source offers brief articles on all aspects of medieval studies.

Brill, 2022
Comprises 4 encyclopedias:
Brill's Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages,
Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles, Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage, and Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle.

Edited by Peter Linehan and Janet L. Nelson. Routledge, 2001.
This encyclopedia--a collaborative of work 38 scholars--presents the reader with a sketch of the medieval past, offering fresh appraisals of historical evidence. Chapters are thematically linked in four sections: identities and beliefs, social values and symbolic order, power and power-structure elites, and organizations and groups.

Edited by Joseph R. Strayer. New York: Scribner's, 1982. 13 volumes.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – D114 .D5]
Including more than 5,000 signed articles ranging in length from 100 to 10,000 words, this 13-volume set is the major scholarly encyclopedia for medieval studies and is intended for all levels, from the high school student to the scholar. All volumes are available online on the Internet Archive, a trusted source, but one for which it is necessary to create a free account and login: V1, AAC-AUG; V2, AUG-BYZ; V3, CAB-CRI; V4, CRO-FAM; V5, FAM-GRO; V6, GRO-ITA; V7, ITA-MAB; V8, MAC-MYS; V9, MYS-POL; V10, POL-SCA; V11, SCA-TEX; V12, THA-ZWA; V13, Index; Supplement 1.

[For print version locations see UofT Catalogue]

Edited by Pam J. Crabtree. New York: Facts on File, 2008. 4 volumes.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – CB351 .E53 2008]
Visit this set for lengthy articles on such topics as seafaring, architecture, employment, health and disease, trade and exchange, astronomy, and religion. Although the articles are thorough and contain bibliographies, the reference lists are skimpy and often refer to several related entries.

Edited by Edward D. English. London: Facts on File, 2005. 2 volumes.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – D114 .E55 2005]
This 2-volume set covers a range of topics on mediaeval life (e.g. people, literature, science, law, institutions). Cross-references and further reading bibliographies, plus a substantial index in the 2nd volume, make the roughly 2000 entries easy to use. The 2nd volume includes 2 appendices (Monarchs and Rulers of the Medieval World and Genealogies), as well as a 50-page bibliography broken down into categories (e.g. encyclopedias and dictionaries, general overviews, and more specific topics such as the British Isles). This source has the advantage of being more up-to-date than the two listed above.

By Christopher Corèdon and Ann Williams. Woodbridge, Suffolk: D.S. Brewer, 2004.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – DA129 .C67 2004]
Brief definitions for over 3,400 terms including Latin, Old English, and Middle English words.

By F.A.C. Mantello and A.G. Rigg. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1996.
[St. Michael’s 2nd Floor – PA2802 .M43 1999]

A list of advanced online resources complied for the Centre for Medieval Studies. Includes language dictionaries, paleography resources, digitized manuscripts, and curated article indexes.

Edited by H.R. Loyn. London: Thames & Hudson, 1989.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – CB351 .M565 1989]
In this brief encyclopedia you'll find paragraph-length articles on individuals, battles, events, and places, usually with at least one bibliographic citation. You will also, however, find longer signed articles on such topics as Jews, Climate, and Handwriting.

Edited by Paul F. Grendler. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999. 6 volumes.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – CB361 .E52 1999]
This source introduces European history between 1300 to 1700. It includes profiles of nations and important cities at the time, as well as maps, genealogies and a chronology of events.

By Aryeh Grabois. London: Octopus, 1980.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – CB353 .G7]
Contains more than 4,000 entries, most with short bibliographies. Numerous black-and-white and colour illustrations.

By R.L. Storey. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – D118 .S855 1994]
A year-by-year arrangement of important events in politics, economics, science, religion, art, literature, and philosophy. Very useful if you need to find the exact date of a medieval event.

Edited by Everett U. Crosby, C. Julian Bishko, and Robert L. Kellogg. New York: Garland, 1983.
[St. Michael’s 1st Floor Reference Area – CB351 .C76 1983]
With briefly annotated citations to more than 9,000 works in more than 100 categories, this guide outlines the key primary and secondary sources for the history and culture of the western European Middle Ages, Byzantium, and medieval Islamic society.