Getting Started: Medieval Art
This section provides information on English language resources for topics related to Medieval art, including print books and ebooks, article databases, images, streaming media, and digital resources.
Get started with the Quick Links section of this guide before exploring the resources in this section.
Note:
Print materials on Early Modern art are located in the Music, Art & Architecture Library.
Print materials on related history, aesthetics, and humanities topics can be found at the Koerner Library and/or Rare Books & Special Collections.
Databases
Start your search by looking at the Databases section of the general Art History & Visual Art guide.
Then explore the topic-specific databases below.
- Index of Medieval Art This link opens in a new windowArchive of medieval art, describing and presenting iconographic subjects and images, without geographical limitation, from early apostolic times to the early modern era.
- Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance This link opens in a new windowIter resources include the Iter bibliography (with more than 1,070,000 records), the Iter italicum online, the Medici archive project and other databases.
- International Medieval Bibliography Online This link opens in a new windowCitations to articles in journals and miscellanies (collected essays, conference proceedings and Festschriften) covering all aspects of the European Middle Ages (c450-1500).
- Dyabola This link opens in a new windowDYABOLA provides citations to books, articles, and essays on classical, early Christian, Byzantine, early Medieval, and ancient Middle Eastern antiquities, art, and archaeology
- Medieval Family Life This link opens in a new windowFull-colour images of medieval manuscripts from the Paston, Stonor, Cely, Plumpton and Armburgh Papers. Includes, where available, searchable full-text transcripts from the principal printed editions.
- Patrologia Latina This link opens in a new windowThe first edition of Jacques-Paul Migne's Patrologia Latina in electronic form.
- Patrologiae Graecae This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive electronic version of the Greek portion of Jacques-Paul Migne's massive Patrologiae Cursus Completus, including notes, glosses and indexes.
- Thesaurus Linguae Latinae : TLL This link opens in a new windowThe Thesaurus linguae Latinae is not only the largest Latin dictionary in the world, but also the first to cover all the Latin texts from the classical period up to about 600 A.D.
- Thesaurus Linguae Graecae : TLG This link opens in a new windowThe Thesaurus Linguae Graecae has collected and digitized most literary texts written in Greek from Homer to the fall of Byzantium in AD 1453.
- Medieval Travel Writing This link opens in a new windowAn extensive collection of manuscript materials for the study of medieval travel writing in fact and in fantasy. The main focus is on accounts of journeys to the Holy Land, India and China.
Articles / Journals
Print & Electronic Journals @ UBC Library
To find a specific journal, search by Title here:
For a selective list of print journals related to Medieval art, browse the UBC Library Catalogue with the following subject headings, while using the "Subject begins with" or "Subject contains" search options. Here are a few examples:
Select Art Publications
This is a selection of art journals in UBC Library holdings related to Medieval art:
- Gesta
Online coverage: 1963-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .G488 (1963-2013). - Journal of Medieval History
Online coverage: 1997-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library (ASRS) at: D111.J68 M44 (1975-2003). - Art Bulletin
Online coverage: 1919-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .A4 (1913-Present). - Peregrinations
Online coverage: 2002-2019. - Art History
Online coverage: 1981-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1.A78 H58 (1978-2003). - Architectural History
Online coverage: 1958-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: NA1 .A59 (1958-2009; 2011-2014). - Speculum
Online coverage: 1926-Present.
Also available in print from PARC at: PN661 .S6 (1926-2006). - Word & Image
Online coverage: 1997-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1.W64 I62 (1985-2008). - Studies in Iconography
Online coverage: 1993-2016
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N7810.S78 I26 (1975-Present). - Medievalia et humanistica
Available in print at Koerner Library at: D111 .M5 (1943-2019). - Mediaevalia
Online coverage: 2010-Present.
Also available in print at Koerner Library at: CB351 .M38 (1975-1992; 2001-2019). - Medieval Archaeology
Online coverage: 1957-Present.
Also available in print at from PARC at: D111 .M46 (1957-2000; 2002-2009). - Comitatus
Online coverage: 1970-Present
Also available in print from PARC at: PR251 .C65 (1971-1994;1997-2004). - Antiquaries Journal
Online coverage: 2006-Present.
Also available in print at Koerner Library at: DA20 .S61 (1921-2005; 2008). - Viator
Online coverage: 1970-Present.
Also available in print at Koerner Library at: CB351 .V53 (1970-2016). - Scriptorium
Online coverage: 1946-2012.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library (ASRS) at: Z108 .S35 (1996-2019). - RIHA Journal
Online coverage: 2010-Present. - Peregrinations
Online coverage: 2002-Present. - Bulletin monumental
Online coverage: 1834-2016.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1.B84 M65 (1851-1972 (incomplete); 1973-Present). - Revue des études byzantines
Online coverage: 1943-2019.
Also available in print at Koerner Library at: DF501 .R4 (1946-2018).
Subject Headings & Keywords
Listed below is a selection of art subject headings that can be used for keyword searching in the UBC Library Catalogue.
Click on the links to browse books on specific subjects.
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By general topic or concept: |
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By Peoples or geography: |
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Books on Medieval Art
Highlighted Resources
Re-Assessing the Global Turn in Medieval Art History by Call Number: Online / N5975ISBN: 9781641892278Publication Date: 2018The Oxford handbook of women and gender in medieval Europe by
Call Number: Online / HQ1143ISBN: 9780191749919Publication Date: 2013
Mapping medievalism at the Canadian frontier by Call Number: F1003.5 .M37 2010ISBN: 9781897215302Publication Date: 2010
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Medieval Art: a topical dictionary by Call Number: N7850 .R67 1996 (Reference)ISBN: 0313293295Publication Date: 1996
Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages by Call Number: Online / CB351ISBN: 9780195188172Publication Date: 2000
Encyclopedia of Medieval Church Art by Call Number: N6763 .T37 1993 (Reference)ISBN: 0713468211Publication Date: 1993
Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale by Call Number: N5965 .E5 1993 (Reference)Publication Date: 1993-2002
Classical Myths and Legends in the Middle Ages and Renaissance by Call Number: PN669 .B78 1998ISBN: 0313294518Publication Date: 1998
Handbook of Symbols in Christian Art by Call Number: N8010 .S54 1975ISBN: 0020008503Publication Date: 1975
Sourcebooks & Documents
Elements of Art Historiography in Medieval Texts by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9789401506236Publication Date: 2012
Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: a Sourcebook by Call Number: Online / PN682.W6ISBN: 0415106842Publication Date: 2003
The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 312-1453: sources and documents by Call Number: N6250 .M25 1972 (Reference)ISBN: 0130470279Publication Date: 1972
Gothic Art 1140-1450: sources and documents by Call Number: N6310 .F7 1971 (Reference)ISBN: 0133605450Publication Date: 1986Early Medieval Art, 300-1150: sources and documents by
Call Number: N5975 .D3 1971ISBN: 0132223643Publication Date: 1971
Medieval and Renaissance treatises on the arts of painting: original texts with English translations by Call Number: ND1130 .O747 1999 (Reference)ISBN: 0486404404Publication Date: 1999
Bibliographies
Literature on Byzantine art, 1892-1967 by Call Number: ZN6250 .A459ISBN: 0720102162Publication Date: 1973-76
Chartres Cathedral by Call Number: ZNA555.1.C5 M48 1989 (Reference)ISBN: 0816183465Publication Date: 1989
From Justinian to Charlemagne. European Art, 565-787 by Call Number: ZN7832 .N44 1985ISBN: 0816183287Publication Date: 1985
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture by Call Number: NA360 .K43 1992 (Reference)ISBN: 0816183163Publication Date: 1992
Illuminated Manuscripts
UBC Library has many high quality facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts in its collections. A facsimile is an exact copy of the contents and format of an original manuscript or book. Here are just a few examples at UBC Library:
Image source: UBC Library Communications & Marketing.
- The Book of Kells
A facsimile of this 8th century illuminated Gospel book is housed in a display case in the Ridington Room, on Level 3 of the Music, Art & Architecture Library in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC). The accompanying presentation and commentary book is housed in Rare Books & Special Collections, on Level 1 of the IKBLC. - Codex Vindobonensis
First considered to have been the hour book of Charles the Bold (1433-1477); then of his daughter Marie, Duchess of Burgundy (1457-1482). The illuminations are ascribed in part to the Master of Mary of Burgundy. - The Luttrell Psalter
Commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (1276-1345), a medieval knight and lord of the manor of Irnham in Lincolnshire, ca. 1320-1340. Written and illustrated on parchment in England by anonymous scribes and artists. - The Morgan Crusader Bible
Miniature paintings depict events from the Hebrew Bible, set in the scenery and costumes of 13th century France, depicted from a Christian perspective. The original folios are held in the collections of the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. - Codex Gerundensis
The Gerona Beatus [Sancti Beati a Liebana in Apocalypsin Codex Gerundensis] is a 10th century illustrated manuscript of the Commentary on the Apocalypse -- a reflection on the Book of Revelation -- by Spanish monk Saint Beatus of Liebana (c. 730-800). - Trinity Apocalypse
Produced in England, ca.1255–60, its 75 miniatures depicti scenes from the biblical Book of Revelation in the Anglo-French illustrated Apocalypse tradition. - Vienna Genesis (Weiner Genesis)
Likely produced in Syria in the first half of the 6th century, the text is a fragment of the Book of Genesis from the Greek Old Testament translation with miniatures at the bottom of the folios.
Images
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowA digital image library for the arts and sciences with an unparalleled range of images licensed for educational use at UBC.
- Grove Art Online This link opens in a new windowGrove Art Online is the foremost scholarly art encyclopedia covering both Western and non-Western art. First published as the Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner, Grove Art encompasses all aspects of visual culture.
- Digital ScriptoriumA growing consortium of American libraries and museums committed to free online access to their collections of pre-modern manuscripts.
- CORSAIR: Online collection catalogue of the Morgan LibraryA database providing unified access to over 330,000 records for medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, rare and reference books, literary and historical manuscripts, music scores, ancient seals and tablets, drawings, prints, and other art objects.
Websites
- EuropeanaMillions of items from Europe's leading galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Books and manuscripts, photos and paintings, sculpture and crafts, diaries and maps, and more.
- GallicaFrom the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, millions of documents including digitized historical books, journals, and images.
- British Library: Digitized ManuscriptsView digitised copies of manuscripts and archives in the British Library’s collections, with descriptions of their contents. Highlights include the St Cuthbert Gospel, Harley Golden Gospels, Beowulf, the Silos Apocalypse, Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook, the Petit Livre d’Amour and the Golf Book.
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana: digitized manuscriptsAccess to the Vatican Library's digitized collections, including manuscripts, incunabula, archival materials, and inventory.
- Medieval Academy of America: Digital ResourcesA curated database of peer-reviewed digital materials for the study of the Middle Ages. Users can browse an alphabetical list or search using controlled-vocabulary subject tags to find vetted online resources of many types, including: image banks, bibliographies and reference works, pedagogical tools, editions and translations, music and other multimedia collections, interpretative websites, and new works of digital scholarship.
- Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Saint's LivesSaints' lives are a major resource for anyone concerned with the history of the late ancient world, Byzantium, or the Latin Middle ages. Just as whole genres of ancient literature vanished or diminished, the genre of hagiography became a major form of literary production. Such saint's Lives - or vitae - survive in astonishing numbers. Careful reading of them reveals a great deal about the religious life of the periods that produced them.
- Internet Medieval Sourcebook: High Medieval Church LifeExcerpts texts from Western Monasticism, the Mendicant Orders, and the Secular Clergy. Includes aspects of Christian Spirituality and Medieval Heresy.
- International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA)The ICMA's mission is to promote and support the study, understanding, and preservation of visual and material cultures produced primarily between ca. 300 CE and ca. 1500 CE in every corner of the medieval world. The ICMA facilitates scholarship and education and sponsors public lectures, conferences, publications, and exhibitions.
- ICMA: Resources for Medieval Art & Architecture ResearchIncludes links to: General resources for Medieval Studies, Bibliographic databases, Open source library guides, Geospatial databases, Manuscripts and incunables, Primary texts and research guides, and Full text databases.
- Dumbarton Oaks: Byzantine StudiesThe Byzantine Studies program at Dumbarton Oaks supports historical, philological, art historical, archaeological, and theological research into the civilization of the Byzantine Empire from the fourth to the fifteenth century, together with its interactions with neighboring cultures.
- Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender IndexThe Feminae Index covers journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages.
- Fordham University: Internet Medieval SourcebookThe IMS is organized as three main index pages (Selected Sources, Full Text Sources, and Saint's Lives), with a number of supplementary indices