Art and Medieval Margins

Preparations for Research

A. Sources for research ideas:
You may get inspiration to research a topic from many sources, including the following

1. Professor’s suggestions; Course Syllabus
2. Textbooks on Course Reserves.

3. Bibliographies found in the above readings;
4. Other sources that inspire or interest you.

B. Survey the sources—list, from the above sources, terms, concepts, and topics you need or want to explore further:
(Be mindful if a line of inquiry might suggest itself.)

Authors, titles (of books and articles) and ideas from the above.
Terms, concepts, methods/approaches/theories you need or want to explore further.
Artists, art works, an art historian’s analysis of a "problem", and so on
The above overlap and relate to each other; state these relationships when you identify them.

If you prefer to start with the visuals to help frame your research; try these sources:

JSTOR

Click on the Images in JStor Tab to view images.

ARTstor (the digital images database)

1. Oxford Art Online

Includes "Grove Art Online"—the online equivalent of the 34 volumes of the print version of The Dictionary of Art, plus updates since the print version.)

2. Oxford Reference Online

Art and Architecture; social, political, religious histories; history of ideas; all periods.

Additionally:
Encyclopaedia Judaica
Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend

Women and Gender in Medieval Europe. Ref. HQ1147 .E85 W66 2006.

Medieval Folklore: an Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs. Ref. GR 35 .M43 2000.

Medieval Art

Encyclopedia of Medieval Church Art. N 7943 .A1 T37 1993
The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture. N7830 .M87 1996

Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. Ref. NA360.Z99 K55 1992
Art and Architecture in Central Europe, 1550-1620: an Annotated Bibliography. N6375.M3 Z999 1988

Subjects and Symbols in Art

Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. Ref. N7560 .H34 1979
Dictionary of Symbols in Western Art. Ref. N7740 .C29 1995
Symbols and Legends in Western Art. Ref N7760 .W53
Iconography of Christian Art. Ref N7830 .S3513 1971
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography. Ref. N7560 .E53 1998
Oriental Art: a Handbook of styles and Forms. Ref. N7260 .G6713 1980

Subject Encyclopedias/dictionaries & Textbooks:

Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary. Ref. N7850 .R67 1996 book cover

1. Overview and summary of the evolution, development, popularity, and transformations of the topics, themes, and symbols that took place in medieval artistic iconography.

2. Examination of a variety of media such as small objects, sculptures, stained glasses, misericords and other decorations and ornaments in shrines and church buildings, wall paintings (fresco , murals), illuminated manuscripts (books of hours).

3. Bibliographic surveys provide sources for further studies.

Readings on Course Reserves.

WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the books found elsewhere.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

Prev Next

Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.

Author	Stokstad, Marilyn.
Title	Medieval Art.
Publisher	Boulder, Colo. : West view Press, c2004.
Subject	Art, Medieval -- History. .

book cover

An introduction to Medieval art -- The early Christian period -- The early Byzantine period -- Early Medieval art in the West -- Carolingian art -- Rivals from the East -- At at the millennium -- Romanesque art -- Origins of Gothic art -- Mature Gothic art -- Rayonnant Gothic and its reverberations -- Late Gothic art.

Oversize: N5970 .S75 2004

The Scope of Your Research Question:

Approach a topic from many contexts/ positions in order to collect sufficient evidence and give your argument and reasoning depth.

If your initial interest is on some images in the margins of “Hours of Simon the Varie”, Expand your scope to include

1. the symbolic significance of the animal and musical instrument imagery; e.g.,

animal* and art and medieval.

2. compare with another book, e.g.,

The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux.

3. discussions of Books of Hours as illuminated manuscripts in general, e.g.,

Illumination of books and manuscripts medieval;
books of hours

4. also the issue of gender and class in medieval art. e.g.,

medieval and art and gender

A Second Example

The sculpture, Luxuria in the Abbaye St-Pierre de Moissac interests you; explore all possible angles such as:

1. the symbolic significance of the animals, especially toads and snakes, e.g.,

grotesque* and art and medieval.
Or, medieval and art and (animal* or beast*)

2. compare with tamer luxuria images in Last Judgment scenes, as in the tympani of St. Foy and Santiago de Compostela, e.g.

sculptur* and "Santiago de Compostela"

3. contextualize the work within the larger sculptural program of the cathedral and its possible reception history. e.g.,

Pierre and Moissac

4. Consider medieval gender theory regarding gender ambiguity, e.g.,

medieval and art and gender

Keyword Search Tip:

medieval and art and (animal* or beast*)

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. animal* for all forms: animal, animals, etc.

1. Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)

2. Collection of Journals

3. Medieval Studies

International Medieval Bibliography (400-1500).

Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400 -1700).

Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index.

Click on the number to pause the slide.

About JSTOR

1. JSTOR provides images in the articles, information which is not conveyed in text alone;

2. Likely to include seminal works on a subject, which are highly original and influential, and central to the development or understanding of a subject.

3. Must check for up-to-date information from other sources when using JSTOR.

Click to browse some major journals in the field:

You are likely to study iconography in medieval art courses— focusing on a particular element that occurs in the object (an object, action, gesture, pose): when that same element occurs in other objects historically and how a particular representation of it is unique; what the element means generally in art or to art historians.

Studies in Iconography. (volume contents) NX1 .S84

An annual that contains original essays that study the visual culture of the period before 1600. Each volume includes an overview of scholarship on a topic of current interest, approached from an interdisciplinary and/or theoretical perspective; five to seven articles that often highlight interdisciplinary concerns; and six to ten in-depth reviews of important recent scholarly books, facsimiles, and catalogues.

Strategy in Selecting a Database

First, run a relatively broad search in them to assess their relevance on a topic;
Next, try out a variety of keyword, subject, and author searches in a chosen database.
Last, use newly learned ideas and words in other databases.

Some Database Characteristics

Each Database is selective

Subject Matter—disciplinary perspective, period, geographical region, and more;
Scope—types, number, and years of publications covered
Depth (of indexing) —citation, abstracts, full texts, which determines their search capabilities.

Evaluation of Search Results:

In what types of journals and publications (besides art history and medieval studies journals) did you find relevant work? What does this suggest about research on your topic?

What sorts of audiences seem to be addressed in works on your topic? How can you tell?

What aspects of the search results surprised you? Why? Did “peripheral materials” lead you anywhere? How?

Based on your search, how would you characterize the main approaches to your topic? What do you think are some of the central debates in the study of your topic? What is your evidence for thinking so?

Reviews of recent books on a subject are likely to summarize the current state of research in an area;

review* and iconograph* and medieval and (fabrics or textiles)

a record

Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. review* searches for or all forms: review, reviews, reviewing, etc.

Find Authors Who Have Recently Cited an Article

1. Not every single article is cited;
2. Influential authors are cited more often;
3. More recent publications take time to be cited.

Therefore, search for seminal works by influential scholars and find out who cited them recently.

Those who cited the article found in Arts & Humanities Citation Index:

Title:	Lost and 'Found' - Once More Fallen Woman.
Author(s):	Nochlin, L.
Source:	Art Bulletin Vol. 60 issue 1, 1978
Times Cited:	14

Read a Couple of Articles Carefully and Identify:

the "problem" addressed (the thesis of the article);

the central debates on this problem;

the major arguments by the author;

the methods applied in making these arguments;

the evidence (e.g., visual/formal details, original documents, or secondary sources);

if the conclusions are based on speculations, are they convincing?

Throughout your reading:

Compare and contrast methods by authors: key points of difference or convergence

Note controversies and weaknesses; explain and clarify gaps

How about the presentation, logic and clarity of the article?

State your own positions; provide your own interpretations and critiques

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the button to these three options:

a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;

b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.

c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:

a.Tufts Library Catalog (including e-journals)
b. Electronic journals list
c. Use ILliad to request your article, if Tufts does not have your journal.

Related Databases:

Women's Studies International

References and Web Sites

Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: a Guide to Technical Terms. Ref. ND2889 .B76 1994

A digital reproduction (with some revisions) of this glossary.

Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts (web site)

Articles on paleography, manuscript transmission, and early textual criticism. Examines process used to study ancient manuscripts. Glossary of manuscript-related terms.

The Making of a Manuscript [video recording] (Medial Center: FVC3548 v. 15)

Discusses in detail the production of medieval manuscripts and how, through the centuries, many have disappeared due to poor care in preservation, fires, and other reasons.

Digital

The Digital Scriptorium

An image database of medieval and renaissance manuscripts from many institutions.

Codices Electronic Sangallenses (CESG) – Virtual Library

The primary goal of "The Virtual Abbey Library of St. Gall" project is to complete digitization and indexing of all the 355 manuscripts held by the Abbey Library of St. Gall produced before the year 1000 A.D. by the end of 2009.

Cary Collection: Medieval Manuscript Leaves, Western Europe: 12th - 16th centuries

Enluminures

80,000+ text images and 4,000+ medieval manuscript images from selected French municipal libraries.

Liber Floridus

A vast collection of digitized manuscripts from research libraries in France

Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Bodleian Library Manuscripts (University of Oxford)

Bodleian Library: Western manuscripts to c. 1500

British Library: Manuscript Collections

Treasures in Full: Gutenberg Bible (British Library)

Parker on the Web

The manuscripts in the historic Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts: National Library of the Netherlands

Medieval Manuscripts in Dutch Collections

Illuminated Hebrew Manuscripts, New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts from Western Europe, New York Public Library Digital Gallery

4000 Years of Miniature Books Project: Early Printed Books Through the 18th Century (Lilly Library, Indiana University.)

Hand Bookbindings: From Special Collections in the Princeton University Library

Heavenly Craft: The Woodcut in Early Printed Books (Library of Congress)

Discover Islamic Art

Miniatures from the Topkapi Museum (Istanbul)

Monastic Matrix

A scholarly resource for the study of women’s religious communities from 400 – 1600 CE

Internet Medieval Sourcebook

Subject browse in the Tufts Library Catalog:

Manuscripts, Medieval
manuscripts renaissance
Illumination of books and manuscripts

WorldCat ( search catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the books found elsewhere.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

In print:

Books and journals with color plates, photographs, and other visuals are excellent sources.

An Advanced Keyword search; limit to print materials, in the Tufts Catalog:

edo and (paint* or print*) and (catalog* or exhibition*)

Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. paint* searches for or all forms: paint, paintings, painters, etc.

Digital Images

JSTOR (a collection of journals with omission of the current years)

Click on the Images in JStor Tab to view images within the journal articles. (The ARTStor Images Tab is not the same as searching ARTstor separately.)

ARTstor (the digital images database)

Artifact (Tufts University)

Using the Chicago Manual of Style:

The Manual presents two basic documentation systems, the humanities style (notes and bibliography) and the author-date system.

Consult Chicago Manual of Style Online for detailed guidance.

Print copy at the Reference Desk: Z253 .U69 2003

Brief samples (the humanities style):

Book Citation in a bibliography:

Steiner, Hadas A. Beyond Archigram: the structure of circulation. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Book Citation in a note:

Fernando Luiz Lara, The rise of popular modernist architecture in Brazil (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, c2008), 35.

Article citation in a bibliography:

Wright, Gwendolyn. "Cultural History: Europeans, Americans, and the Meanings of Space." The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 64, no. 4 (2005), 436-440.

Article citation in a note:

Ralph E. Griswold, "Wright Was Wrong," Landscape Architecture 53 (April 1963), 190-214.

Citation Management Tool: RefWorks

1. Store your records of books, articles, etc.
2. Generate a bibliography in the style of your choice.
3. Format in-text notes/footnotes while you write.

Learn how to use RefWorks

last updated: 24/07/09

A Survival Guide for Art History Students N385 .M37 2005	*Look!: the Fundamentals of Art History* N345 .D26 2006

*A Short Guide to Writing about Art*. N7476 .B37 2008	Writing about Art. N7476 .S29 2006