Hwaet?

For those non-hardened scholars in the community:

Over at The Naked Philologist, I just posted a guide to finding, using and citing reliable online sources in Medieval Studies, explaining all the things I wish my teachers had explained in first year.

I've attempted to answer the questions
*Why can't I use everything I find on the Internet? (ie, the sacred principles of Peer Review.)
*What can I use on the Internet?
*How do I cite a reliable online source once I've found it?
*What use are blogs and personal websites to scholars, if no one can cite them?

I've also included links to all my favourite online resources for medieval studies, and an example citation.

I hope the self-promotion is ok by the community- I figured I might be able to help out some of the undergrads lurking around in the comm :)

For the hardened scholarly types- do tell me if I've managed to articulate the Sacred Principles of Peer Review correctly?

Is it all right for a plebian to link to some icons?  I made a mood theme recently and these are some icons based on the same manuscript illustrations.  All entirely silly.

Teasers:
  

Here be icons!  (17 of 'em)

I don't remember anyone asking about this recently, but it feels like the sort of question that would get asked all the time. Anyone know any good medievalist blogs? I'm thinking along the lines of In The Middle, but blogs like Geoffrey Chaucer Hath A Blog are cool too. Any favorites?

Does anyone know if any of the old 'bawdy court' (properly known as "Consistory Court Records") records for medieval London are available electronically or online anywhere? So far I've only been able to find consistory court wills, which isn't what I'm looking for.

In fact if anyone can even recommend a published source of Consistory Court Records for medieval London I'd be really grateful. I have heard a lot about them and I've seen references to them in other work I'm looking at, but beyond knowing some of the original manuscripts are at the Guildhall Library (very, very far from Adelaide, Australia) I've been unable to locate any copies, electronically or published.

Wanted to say "thank you" for all the Old French grammar recommendations. I've recently purchased both the Kibler and the Einhorn; they should be in my greedy little paws this week. Interestingly enough, my prof was unfamiliar with the Einhorn, so I'll be sharing that with her as well.

Just goes to show what a good resource this community can be.

I'll let you know how it goes! Cheers.

Query for a student: If you wanted to pursue advanced study in manuscript art in North America, where would you go and with whom would you study? JJG Alexander at IFA and Herb Kessler at Hopkins are the people who come to mind, though Alexander must be near retirement. Anyone else?

Thanks!

Hi all--

Quick question -- well, two related questions.

1. Is there particular etiquette involved if you need to use material from someone else's masters' or doctoral dissertation? Do you need the original author's permission first (since these are technically unpublished works), or can it just be cited like any other source?

2. If permission is required, does anyone have any idea how to contact Dr Joanna Laynesmith (nee Chamberlayne)? I know she did both her degrees at York, published a book with OUP in 2004, and gave a talk at a conference on medieval queenship two years ago in Canterbury, but I can't find any contact details for her.

(In fact, even if it's not necessary, if anybody knows how to get in touch with her, I'd really appreciate it. She's done a lot of research that overlaps with my own work.)

Thanks!

A rare visit by archaeologists to a fifth-century imperial tomb offers hope that other closely guarded graves in Japan might soon be open to independent study.

I am writing this post to let you all know about the recent DVD release of "Sorceress". The film, which was first released in 1987, tells the suspenseful tale of how a Dominican friar, who is also Church inquisitor, comes to a small French village searching for heretics. In the town the friar encounters a beautiful and mysterious forest woman who is a healer. Driven by an inquisitor's vocation to purge his Christian flock of false beliefs, the friar suspects heresy. The friar and the woman ultimately become entwined in a confrontation between communal custom and Church dogma, between human sympathy and institutional authority.

When this film first opened it received a lot of praise for its historical accuracy and rich detail. It is a wonderful film, subtle and engaging. I highly recommend checking it out on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Sorceress-French-English-Subtitles-Tcheky/dp/B00119PN06/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1209246018&sr=8-1

Just wanted to try here before I go and try the article request community...

I'm trying to find two specific journal articles, and despite having access to two different university library online databases, neither university seems to subscribe to any databases with said articles.

I'm looking for GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 1 (1994), 'Interrogation of a male transvestite prostitute in London' by Ruth Mazo Karras (pages 459-65),

and Journal of Medieval Latin, 2 (1990), 'Latin Vocabulary of Illicit Sex in English Ecclesiastical Court Records', Ruth Mazo Karras (pages 9-13).

I haven't been able to find the Journal of Medieval Latin at all, whereas with GLQ haven't been able to find editions dating back to 1994. Um, I don't suppose anyone has a copy of either article sitting around unused?

I'm teaching my first Chaucer course this fall--all Chaucer all the time. I've taught the Prologue and some of the tales many times in lit surveys and other classes, but never a whole class on Chaucer. So...you Chaucerians out there, what texts do you use or did you have as a student in addition to the Chaucer text (i. e. I'm using the Riverside as our Chaucer edition): looking at things like Cambridge Companion to Chaucer and that sort of thing. Suggestions? Evaluations? Any help is appreciated.

In honor of its 40th anniversary, the International Medieval Bibliography is giving free trial subscriptions! You can get one month of free access!

If your institution (like mine) doesn't have a subscription, check out the free trial here.

Writing my Kalamazoo paper just got a whole lot easier :)

Painting with oils was taking place in what is now Afghanistan centuries before such techniques were known to Europeans, researchers say.

NY Times Op Ed: Writers like C. S. Lewis and John Ruskin seized on medieval culture as an antidote to industrialism — to mass manufacturing, secularization and urbanization.

A modern Islamic banker would readily recognize a contractum trinius, a structured, 13th-century financial product designed to circumvent the medieval Catholic Church's proscription of usury.

Trading across medieval Europe revealed in cod bones more than a metre in length.

'Hoodies' were the scourge of Medieval London.

Court Explains Why Medieval Murder Doesn't Apply to Princess Diana's Inquest.

Hello. Thank you all for your comments to my last post about graduate schools. Now I am wondering if any of you know of any military historians-- the history of warfare from the classical ages is a passion of mine, and although I've had little exposure to medieval warfare, what I have seen sounds just as fascinating. So, can any of you point out professors who have done research into warfare in the Middle Ages, and where they teach?

Many, many thanks!

(edit) Since it's come up. I am a senior undergraduate located in Boulder CO, USA, and probably won't be able to finagle my way out of North America for Graduate work.

Thanks for everyone's responses so far!

Does anyone have any recommendations of Scandinavian/Germanic or even Anglo-Saxon texts which describe the arming of a warrior before battle? I'm trying to find something to compare Gudrun's arming of herself in Atlamal and Saga of the Volsungs with, but I'm having a hard time finding some scenes. I'm already comparing it with how Thor is dressed in a bride's clothing in Thrymskvida, which is perhaps kind of a parody of the dressing of a warrior. I'm going to look in Beowulf right now, I'm pretty sure there are some examples in there. But! Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Feudal Island Brings in Democracy

The ruling body of the Channel Island of Sark, Europe's last feudal state, has voted to introduce a fully democratic government.</blockquote

Hi everyone! I am new to the community, which I found through an LJ friend. I am thrilled to have found it!

I was hoping to receive a bit of advice regarding graduate programs. I have my undergraduate degree in Medieval Studies, but, due to life being unpredictable, was unable to continue onto graduate school straight after graduation.

Life has now changed and I am looking at graduate programs in the United Kingdom. My undergraduate degree is from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (through the BDIC program) and I finished with a very strong GPA. I am looking to apply for programs starting in 2010 (yes, I am thinking that far ahead). For reference, I currently live and work in the UK as my husband is British.

The questions:

- What are the best programs for studying literature, art, and culture (I am particularly interested in women's roles and how they are defined/viewed in literature and art)?

- What should I do to prepare for the application since I have been out of school since 2001 and have not worked in the field? I have been reading anything I can get my hands on, but, would love suggestions.

If needed, I can provide more information regarding the courses I took while at UMass (the degree was self-created through a special program).

Any Old French people out there? I'm wanting to learn Old French this summer, so I can do some work on Anglo-Norman England. (I'm an Old English person, but decided to do something newer.) Any suggestions for grammars? I've had William Kibler's recommended to me.

Any other ideas? (Oh, and I already know modern French.)

In light of a particularly interesting comment thread, I think that we need a post dedicated to all the wonderful databases at our disposal, many of which are now online.

If you know of a helpful database for your particular field, or a general one overall, please comment in this post! After everyone weighs in, I'll post a link to this thread on the info. page for easy access.

**In order to make topics easier to find on the thread, please give your response a useful title.**

It has come to my attention that we as a community are not being as welcoming as we should be. I agree that I don't want to do someone's homework for him/her, but some of the responses to perfectly legitimate questions have gotten downright rude. Here are some things I think we should keep in mind:

1. Not everyone knows what you think they should. For example, as an graduate student in English, I didn't know about many of the standard historical databases out there until I started taking graduate classes in history. Telling people that they should already know things just makes them feel stupid.

2. While this is a community for those already pursuing academic study in medieval studies, those just starting out should feel welcome to post questions about standard books, bibliographies, and other queries. Being snarky in your comments just makes you look like an ass.

So please keep in mind when you're commenting that this community is here to provide help, support, and information, not a forum for academic-snobbery.