Welcome to the Course

Welcome to 'Medieval Primary Sources—Genre, Rhetoric and Transmission'! On this website you will find detailed guidance as to the issues and materials that will be covered in the seminars and links to online facsimiles/images of the manuscripts which we will be discussing in class—and much more. The site has been conceived, not just as a guide to the course, but also as a repository of useful information and resources that will take you forward as you undertake your own research in medieval history. For general matters concerning postgraduate studies, you should refer to the History Department's Handbook for the MA in History.

Paul Antony Hayward (Course Convenor).

Contents

Introductory Matter

1. Rationale and Learning Outcomes
2. Teaching and Learning
3. Recommended Textbooks
4. Assessment

Seminar Index

1. Introduction—General Principles
2. Charters, Cartularies and Other Administrative Records
   • London, British Library, Harley Charter 43, C.2
   • London, British Library, MS Additional 15350 / Codex Wintoniensis
   • Magdeburg, Landeshauptarchiv Sachsen Anhalt, Rep. U. 1, Tit. I, Nr. 31
3. Letters and Letter Collections
   • The Letters of Arnulf of Lisieux
   • The Letters of the Nuns of Admont
   • The Letters of Peter of Celle
4. Annals and Chronicles—Origins and Early Development
   • Oxford, Merton College, MS 315
   • Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 173
   • London, British Library, MSS Cotton Caligula A.XV, fols. 120r–153v + Egerton 3314, fols. 1r–44v
   • Oxford, St John’s College, MS 17 + London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero C. VII, fols. 80r–84v
5. Rhetorical Histories
   • Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
   • Liudprand of Cremona, Antapadosis
   • William of Malmesbury, Gesta pontificum Anglorum
   • Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum
6. Later Medieval Chronicles and Histories
   • Marianus Scotus / John of Worcester, Chronica chronicarum
   • Gervase of Canterbury, Chronica
   • William of Newburgh, Historia rerum Anglicarum
   • Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum historiale
   • Matthew Paris, Chronica maior
7. Hagiography
   • Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliothek, GKS 1588
   • St Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 567
   • Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 161
   • Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 209
   • Cambridge, University Library, MS Ee.3.59
8. The Medieval Miscellany
   • Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Auct. F.4.32 / St Dunstan’s Classbook
   • Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139
   • London, British Library, MS Harley 2253
9. Liturgical Books
   • London, British Library, Additional MS 49598 / The Benedictional of Æthelwold
   • Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 579 / The Leofric Missal
   • Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 422 / The Red Book of Darley
   • Sées, Archives Diocesaine, MS 3 / The Lancaster Missal
10. Poetry and Song
    • Gregorian Chant
    • The [Earlier] Cambridge Songs
    
    • The Later Cambridge Songs
    • Solage and the Smokers
    • The Old Hall Manuscript
    • The Agincourt Carol

Electronic Resources

1. Technical Stuff / Online Palaeography Training
2. Search Engines and Overarching Databases
3. Online Collections of Manuscripts
4. Virtual Libraries—that is, Medieval Libraries Reconstructed on the Web—and Other Projects
5. Online Facsimiles of Individual Manuscripts

General Reading

1. Important Catalogues and Finding-Aids
2. Guides to the Principles of Medieval Palaeography
3. Collections of Material in Facsimile
4. Abbreviations, Dates, Editing, and Similar Complexities
5. Codicology and Book History
6. Libraries, Book Collectors and Marks of Ownership