Medieval History Websites

Medieval history websites and blogs are among the most interesting and diverse bloggers on the web, with a wide variety of indepth information and resources available. Online medieval projects are being produced by universities, groups and individuals, which allows students and scholars great access to resources. In this section on Medieval History Websites, we will list the latest news about what can be found on the Internet relating to the Middle Ages, including digitization projects, online collections and social networking.

Recent Posts about Medieval Websites

60 Tweeters for Medievalists – our list of people to follow on Twitter that tweet about medieval topics. The list continues to grow – now at 63

Domesday database launched online – An online database which promises to change our understanding of English society on the eve and in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest has been launched online. PASE Domesday, which is released today, links information from the Domesday survey (1086) to maps showing the location of estates throughout England.

Public asked to help created world’s largest archive on Anglo-Saxon England – An Oxford academic has challenged the public to help create the world’s largest archive of online material concerned with the Anglo-Saxons, after being inspired by the considerable interest shown in last year’s discovery of the Staffordshire hoard.

New Online Medieval Manuscript Database has over 7000 pages – Over 7000 pages from medieval and early modern manuscripts have been put online by the University of Texas at Austin. They come from a collection of 215 items from the Harry Ransom Center, which date from the 11th to the 17th centuries.

Virtual Medieval Museum created in Second Life – Local residents and history enthusiasts will now have the opportunity to explore Newport’s medieval past and see how the medieval castle and ship may have looked in the 15th century, by visiting an online virtual museum.

Anglo-Saxon treasures revealed by Parker Library website – One of the most important collections of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts – for centuries kept at Corpus Christi College – has been entirely digitised, making it the first research library to have every page of its collection captured.

Web and Blogger Profiles

Unlocked Wordhoard – the blog belonging to Richard Scott Nokes, professor of medieval literature at Troy University. Considered one of the most influential medievalist bloggers, it was our pleasure to do a video interview about his work (both online and in print).

Anachronistaan interview with Carrie Russell, creator of Anachronista. This popular blog is now over six years old, and is filled with funny and savvy posts (although not always medieval).

The Heptarchy Herald – an interview with the semi-anonymous blogger

About.com’s Medieval History – an interview with Melissa Snell, who has been running About.com’s medieval history section since 1997.

Muhlberger’s Early Historynow called Muhlberger’s World History, this blog belongs to Steven Muhlberger, Professsor of History at Nipissing University

Also, the In the Middle blog has started a project where they have fellow medievalist bloggers discuss their writings: Modern Medieval; Humanities Researcher; The Ruminate; Quod She; A Corner of Tenth Century Europe; Blogenspiel; Got Medieval; and us Medievalists.net. See also the article, Blogging the Middle Ages, by Jeffrey J. Cohen

More Medieval Website News

Museum’s digitization projects offers access to medieval manuscripts – An impressive project in digitizing manuscripts is proving that online resources can be created that will meet the needs of academic scholars and find an audience with the general public. The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, which is completing a database of digitized Islamic manuscripts, has now received funding to begin a new project which will create online versions of dozens of medieval manuscripts.

Canterbury Cathedral to digitise archives – A unique collaboration between the University of Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives and researchers in Rouen has laid the foundations for a new and exciting project through which Canterbury residents and visitors may in the future gain easy access to some of the older and/or more fragile documents held in the Cathedral Archives.

Multimedia and the Middle Ages – Why use multimedia in the medieval literature classroom?

Internet Archive reaches Two Million Free Texts – The Internet Archive has announced that with the posting of the medieval manuscript,Homiliary on Gospels from Easter to first Sunday of Advent, they have now reached their 2,000,000th free digital text. Internet Archive has been scanning books and making them available for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public for free on archive.org since 2005.

Launch of the Online Froissart provides digital access to famous medieval chronicle – A unique website showcasing virtual manuscripts chronicling the Hundred Years´ War was launched online this month thanks to the work of academics from the universities of Sheffield and Liverpool.  The website, which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will offer more than 100 transcriptions from the renowned Chronicles of Jehan Froissart, which provide a unique account of the epic battle between the English and the French.

Google to digitize a million books from Italy – Google and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage today announced a partnership to scan up to a million out-of-copyright Italian books from the National Libraries at Rome and Florence, making them available to readers around the world.

Eastern Art Online: Yousef Jameel Centre of Islamic and Asian Art – The Ashmolean Museum has today launched Eastern Art Online: Yousef Jameel Centre of Islamic and Asian Art. The Online Centre will provide global access to the University of Oxford’s Islamic and Asian Art collections held at the Ashmolean. The collections span the Islamic Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea, and comprise a wide range of media, including ceramics, textiles, sculpture, metalwork, paintings, and prints.

British Library Launches New Virtual History Timeline – Comparing the Peasants’ Revolt with the Punk Revolution or medieval astrology with the Apollo moon landings might appear unconnected at first, but the British Library’s new interactive website Timelines: Sources from History will allow students to get a sense of change, continuity and chronology when studying historical events. Bringing together material from the Library’s vast collections and using cutting-edge technology, users will now be able to discover historical connections and create links in an exciting multimedia experience.

Website Launched on Medieval Monasteries in Wales – A new website was launched last month by the University of Wales Lampeter with information about medieval monasteries and nunneries founded in Wales between the coming of the Normans and the Dissolution of 1530s.

New Online Collection of Medieval Texts – The University of Otago in New Zealand has published online samples of 38 books it owns that were printed before 1501, in a bid to promote greater interest in them. The medieval books are mostly religious texts in European languages, handbound and handprinted on handmade paper, and illustrated with woodcuts.

Hundred Years War Online Database Launched – 250,000 medieval soldier service records published online offer a unique insight into social mobility in the ranks of England’s first professional army. An invaluable new resource for genealogists and people interested in social, political and military history has been launched this week. An online database containing 250,000 service records of soldiers who saw active duty in the latter phases of the Hundred Years War, has been published as part of the Medieval Soldier Research project.

New technology to decipher ancient writings – New imaging systems which will enable a more in-depth study of ancient artefacts will be available within a year.

Homer Multitext project attracts Google’s attention – When Google recently touted its digitization efforts involving millions of books in hundreds of languages, it made reference to a project that Furman University classics professor Christopher Blackwell has worked on for several years

Codex Sinaiticus, the World’s Oldest Bible, now online – The NPR radio program All Things Considered has an interview with Scot McKendrick, curator at the British Library, about the international project to create an online edition of the Codex Sinaiticus, the world’s oldest known Christian Bible

Scotland’s History website launched – A wealth of information about Scotland’s past is now freely available through an online resource developed for the use of pupils, teachers and the wider public.

Scholarship on Ancient and Medieval Middle East Becomes Free Digitally – A wealth of material that documents the ancient Middle East has become available through a new, free online service at the Oriental Institute.

New Shakespeare archive launched – The Shakespeare Quartos Archive has been officially launched this week with a complete digital collection of rare early editions of Hamlet.