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Middle Ages Primary Sources
Middle Ages Primary Sources
Primary sources are the raw materials of history: firsthand documents and artifacts created during the era being studied. Some authors describe their own experiences, while others describe events they learned about or remembered later. In addition to written documents, primary sources can also include photographs, artifacts, video or sound recordings, posters, maps, cartoons and artwork.
Primary Source Analysis Tools from the National Archive
A primary source is not automatically accurate or unbiased. Our job is to ask:
Who created it?
What perspective do they bring?
What evidence does it gives us?
We’re not just asking, “What happened?” We’re also asking, “How did this person understand what happened?”
What can we learn from this account—and what would we miss if it were the only account we had?
Middle Ages Primary Source Materials:
Fordham University’s Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Princeton University's Middle Ages for Educators
Yale Law School's Avalon Project: Medieval Documents
Stanford's Global Medieval Sourcebook
Middle Ages Research Sources
MVHS Database: Gale in Context. Start with searches such as “Middle Ages,” “Black Death,” “Crusades,” “medieval towns,” or “feudalism.”
Fordham University’s Internet Medieval Sourcebook
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