Literary Research and the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Eras: Strategies and Sources

by Dustin Booher, Kevin B. Gunn

Overview

Literary Research and the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Eras: Strategies and Sources is a guide to scholarly research in the field of medieval English literature covering the period 450 CE to 1500 CE. Graduate students and scholars researching this period face many challenges: working in two distinct literary traditions, comprehending multiple languages (Old English, Middle English, Latin, Anglo-Norman, and French), knowing the manuscript tradition for a particular title and the research methodologies for discovering and locating primary sources in the print and digital realms, and the awareness of the overlap and assimilation of literary themes with religious, historical, cultural, and political perspectives. The volume presents the best practices for building a foundation of sound scholarship practices in the field of medieval English literature.

This volume explores primary and secondary resources, including general literary research guides; types of library catalogs; print and online bibliographies and indexes; scholarly journals and series; manuscripts, archives, and digital collections; genres; tools for understanding Old and Middle English such as dictionaries, lexicons, thesauri, glosses, etymologies, palaeographies, and text mining tools; and Web resources. The final chapter researches the shifting reputation of the poet, Thomas Hoccleve. Given the interdisciplinary nature of medieval studies, an appendix of additional readings in art, history, music, philosophy, religion, science, social sciences, and theater is provided.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538138441
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/20/2020
Series:	Literary Research: Strategies and Sources , #14
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Dustin Booher is the Coordinator of Collection Services for the Fairfax County Public Library in Fairfax, VA. He has a master of arts degree in Biblical Studies from the University of Chicago and a master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.



Kevin B. Gunn is the Coordinator of Digital Scholarship at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC where he is the liaison for English, Drama, Media Studies, Modern Languages, and Philosophy. He has a master of arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, and a master of Library and Information Studies degree from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. His research interests include digital humanities, digital scholarship, emerging technologies, and information ethics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 Basics of Online Searching
2 General Literary Reference Sources
3 Library Catalogs
4 Bibliographies, Indices, and Annual Reviews
5 Journals and Series
6 Manuscripts
7 Genres
8 Dictionaries, Lexicons, Thesauri, Etymologies, Palaeographies, and Text Mining Tools
9 Web Resources
10 Researching a Thorny Problem
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

This reference work will help a generation raised on web searches understand and use library resources (print and digital) on English literature from 450 to 1500. Covering research skills and providing an annotated bibliography of basic to advanced resources, this guide will be useful to veteran scholars as well as students new to the field, and as a textbook for advanced classes. Annotations for materials covering genres, bibliographies/indexes, manuscripts, journals, digital humanities, and so on are very informative. Online resources mentioned are reputable and likely to endure. In the final chapter Booher (Fairfax County Public Library) and Gunn (Catholic Univ. of America) use author Thomas Hoccleve (1368–1426) to exemplify literary research. The authors acknowledge the interdisciplinary nature of medieval studies by providing an appendix of resources for further study.. . As the first literary research guide to the period, this work is excellent.. . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

Choice Reviews

This reference work will help a generation raised on web searches understand and use library resources (print and digital) on English literature from 450 to 1500. Covering research skills and providing an annotated bibliography of basic to advanced resources, this guide will be useful to veteran scholars as well as students new to the field, and as a textbook for advanced classes. Annotations for materials covering genres, bibliographies/indexes, manuscripts, journals, digital humanities, and so on are very informative. Online resources mentioned are reputable and likely to endure. In the final chapter Booher (Fairfax County Public Library) and Gunn (Catholic Univ. of America) use author Thomas Hoccleve (1368–1426) to exemplify literary research. The authors acknowledge the interdisciplinary nature of medieval studies by providing an appendix of resources for further study.. . As the first literary research guide to the period, this work is excellent.. . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

Choice

This reference work will help a generation raised on web searches understand and use library resources (print and digital) on English literature from 450 to 1500. Covering research skills and providing an annotated bibliography of basic to advanced resources, this guide will be useful to veteran scholars as well as students new to the field, and as a textbook for advanced classes. Annotations for materials covering genres, bibliographies/indexes, manuscripts, journals, digital humanities, and so on are very informative. Online resources mentioned are reputable and likely to endure. In the final chapter Booher (Fairfax County Public Library) and Gunn (Catholic Univ. of America) use author Thomas Hoccleve (1368–1426) to exemplify literary research. The authors acknowledge the interdisciplinary nature of medieval studies by providing an appendix of resources for further study.. . As the first literary research guide to the period, this work is excellent.. . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

CHOICE