Research Guides: History 331: Finding Background Information

Research Tip: Use Reference Sources

Use Reference Sources

Begin your research by using reference sources to get:

ideas for your paper
overviews of a topic
a list of recommended resources

Go beyond Wikipedia by using librarian-recommended reference sources.

Encyclopedias

Dictionary of the Middle Ages
Call Number: SAWYER REFERENCE: D114 .D5 1982
Explores every aspect of medieval life in Western Europe, the Scandinavian north, the Byzantine and Slavic east, the Muslim south from A.D. 500 to 1500.
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment
Call Number: ONLINE RESOURCE
Covers the entire range of philosophic and social changes brought about by the Enlightenment. Includes bibliographies for further reading.
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance
Call Number: SAWYER REFERENCE CB361 .E52 1999
Contains biographies and topical entries on culture, literature, philosophy, religion, economics, politics, science, and the arts from 1350 to 1618.

Cambridge Companions and Histories

Cambridge Companions and Cambridge Histories are great resources for overviews of the scholarship on a person, topic, or time period. Below are some recommended ones for this course. To find a companion for a particular author, search the library catalog for "Cambridge Companion" [author's name]. For example "Cambridge Companion" Kant.

The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism
Call Number: SAWYER CB361 .C26 1996
Provides a comprehensive introduction to the humanism movement in the culture of early modern Europe. Contains biographical index and guide for further reading.
The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought C. 350-C. 1450
Call Number: SAWYER JA82 .C27 1988
Offers a comprehensive and authoritative account of the history of medieval political thought. Synthesizes and assesses several decades of scholarship in the field.