Due-Dates:
 a. Statement of topic, along with one secondary source: Thursday, October 14, in class
 b. Final bibliography: Friday, December 3, by Noon in my office

Purpose and Goals: One of the basic components of the historian's craft is research.  To give you a taste for part of the process of research, and to expose you to some of the topics and methods that engage current historians of medieval women, I will ask you to prepare a bibliography on an aspect of the history of medieval women, family, or gender issues.  I will ask you to annotate the bibliography by providing one or two sentences of clarification and/or explication; you need not read thoroughly each item in the bibliography, merely become familiar with it so as to be able to provide the 1 or 2 sentences of annotation.  Finally, you will include with your bibliography a one-page analysis of the "state of the topic" that you have chosen; that is, you will in your own words describe how historians are approaching that topic, what sources they tend to use, and what seems to be the general outlook for your topic.

Requirements: An annotated bibliography including 5-10 primary sources and 15-20 secondary sources pertaining to your topic; included with this should be a one-page typed analysis of the "state of the topic".  At least 5 of the secondary sources must be articles; although it may seem more difficult to find articles, your diligence will pay off: for many topics the best and most interesting discussions take place in scholarly articles.  Remember that articles can be found in two places: journals or collections of articles (ie., books that contain several articles written by different people on a common subject).
 Note: I will require you to inform me officially of your topic by October 14.  On that date please turn in a sheet listing your topic and at least one secondary source.

Potential Topics:
The range of possible topics is almost infinite. You will undoubtedly want to explore something that engages or interest you, but you should keep in mind that you must take care in choosing a topic - some might be too broad, others too narrow.  Suggestions in choosing topics:

a. Use the syllabus. A good first resource would be any of the lecture titles for this course; in preparing the
syllabus I have had to do exactly what I'm asking of you, that is, select a topic, find books relevant to that topic, and then synthesize them.

b. Use the bibliographies provided in the books assigned for the course; Amt has a bibliography, as do the
Gieses. I have even provided a starting point on the last page of the syllabus. Read over these bibliographies for topics that interest you; if you find an interesting-sounding topic, go to the library and try to get ahold of that book/article.  Then, use the bibliography and/or notes in the first book you've located to point yourself in the direction of other sources.  Many historians will confess that they read other historians' work primarily for footnotes and bibliography; you will want to learn how to do this.

c. If you have interest in a topic that isn't on the syllabus, or doesn't seem present in the bibliographies
assigned for the course, please come and talk to me about it. I may well be able to point you towards a useful work (or works).

d. Make use of the resources of Jackson Library:
                1. Talk to the Reference Librarians about locating articles
                2. Consult the list of bibliographic guides provided below. Note: some of these will not be appropriate
                            for some topics. I provide the list simply to show you what major specialized bibliographies
                            are available.
                3. Make use of Jackson Library's "Virtual Reference Desk", an on-line guide designed to help direct
                            students towards the materials they need [accessible from the Jackson Library Web-page, or
                            directly at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/ref/virtual.html]
                4. Locate journals that may well include articles of interest to you (by figuring out the usual content of
                            that journal); then consult the annual indices for articles of interest.  Journals that may prove
                            useful:
                                    Journal of Medieval History.  Call number: D111 .J67
                                    Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies.  Call number: PN661 .S6
                                                Can also be accessed on line, through j-stor:
                                                       http://www.jstor.org/journals/00387134.html
                                    Journal of Family History. Call number: HQ503 .J67
                                    Journal of Social History. Call number: HN1 .J6
                                    Past and Present: a Journal of Historical Studies.  Call number: D1.P37
                                    Signs. Call number: HQ1101 .S5
                                                This influential journal is devoted to the history of women (of all periods),
                                                sexuality, and gender.
                                    Social History. Call number: HN1 .S56
                5. Try to come up with key words that will help you to find those elusive first few sources. "Women" is
                                obviously too general; but "Merovingian" is not.  It may help to limit your topic to a particular
                                period (Early Middle Ages [500-1000], High Middle ages [1000-1300], or Late Middle
                                Ages [1300-1500]).

  Merovingian queens
  Queenship in the Early Middle Ages
  Early Medieval Female Saints (or Sanctity and Gender)
  Marriage practice between 500 and 1000
  Family Structure in the Early Middle Ages
  Eleanor of Aquitaine
  Joan of Arc
  Margery Kempe
  Female Mystics of the 13th or 14th Centuries
  Heresy and Gender
  Women and literacy
  Women and work
  Peasant families before the Black Death (or after ...)

Stanford University Medieval Studies Web-Page
            Perhaps the most comprehensive on-line guide to the sources and bibliographies of medieval studies.  Truly
            indispensable and deeply impressive.
                         On-Line: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/medieval/medieval.html

International Medieval Bibliography.
            Jackson Library holdings: 1970-1990
            Call number: D111.I630
            Note: an extremely useful way to find articles on a given subject.  Each annual volume is divided into categories
            (government, law, literature, social history, etc); the editors have compiled for each category a list of all the articles
            published during that year.  Note, too, that each volume has a more specific index which may help with more
            specialized topics.

Bibliography of English translations from Medieval Sources, by Clarissa P. Farrar and A.P. Evans
                    (New York, Columbia university press, 1946)
            Jackson Library, Call number: Z6517.F3
            An extremely useful list of major medieval texts that have been translated into English.
            Includes material up to 1943.  The only problem may be finding the translations included in this bibliography.

Bibliography of English translations from medieval sources, 1943-1967, by Mary Anne Heyward Ferguson.
                    (New York, Columbia University Press, 1974)
            Jackson Library, call number: Z6517.F47
            Note: A supplement Farrar and Evans, bringing the guide up to 1967.

Preliminary Bibliography of English Translations from Medieval Sources (1968-1991),
            Compiled at Green Library, Stanford University, 1991-1992.
            On-Line: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/medieval/engtrans.html
            A very useful update of Farrar and Evans and Heyward.  Note that call numbers refer to the Stanford Library;
            Jackson Library may not have these texts.

Guide to the Sources of Medieval History. Ed. Raoul C. Van Caenegem and François L. Ganshof. Europe in the
                    Middle Ages, Selected Studies, 12. Amsterdam, 1978.
            Jackson Library, call number: D117 .C2213
            Note: This is the English version of the editors' Encyclopedie van de geschiedenis der middeleeuwen (Ghent,
            1962).  It is a handbook on where to find and how to use the major collections of primary sources dealing with
            Medieval Europe.

Guide to the Study of Medieval History. Ed. Louis Paetow. Rev. edition, New York, 1931.
            Jackson Library has two copies: Z6203 .P19 1931
                and the revised edition: D117 .P2870 1980
            Note: A classic bibliographic guide, if a bit dated. See the supplement by Boyce

Literature of Medieval History, 1930-1975. Ed. G. C. Boyce. 5 vols. Millwood, N.J., 1980.
            Jackson Library: Reference Room, D117.P2870 1980 Suppl.
            Note: A revision and expansion of Paetow's Guide. While still useful to the modern scholar, it is already outdated
            (and was when it appeared).

International Guide to Medieval Studies. A Quarterly Index to Periodical Literature. 12 vols.  Darien, CT: 1961-1973.
            Jackson Library: D111 .I60
            This is an index to articles appearing in periodicals and festschriften.  There is a lag time of two to three years between
            publication and appearance in the index.  The Guide lists articles alphabetically by author.  It has a subject index and a
            cumulative author index at the end of each volume.

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