Print Resources

Cambridge Medieval History. 8 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1911-1936.
REFERENCE D117 .C3

A comprehensive work on the medieval world with long scholarly articles.  Somewhat daunting as a background source, but extensive bibliographies (of course, now somewhat dated) and detailed indexes to ech volume make it an excellent source for the art historian.

Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. New York: Grove Dictionaries, 1996.
REFERENCE N31 .D5 1996

In-depth scholarly articles on art, artists and architecture.  Many illustrations, floor plans, maps, sketches, etc.  Each article has a list of sources, some are extensive.  There is a very good index.

Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 13 vols. New York: Scribner's, 1982-1989.
REFERENCE D114 .D5 1982

A comprehensive encyclopedia (despite the name) of scholarly articles containing references to and lists of primary sources on the people, culture and events of the medieval world.  European topics predominate, but other cultures and regions are also covered.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Fifteenth Edition. 32 vols. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2002.
REFERENCE AE5 .E36 2002
http://www.eb.com

A general encyclopedia is particularly valuable for providing chronology and overview--for providing context.  Britannica is considered the most scholarly, but many find it difficult to find the articles they want in it.  Tip: use the index volume!  A Web version is also available.

The Encyclopedia of Religion. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan, 2005.
REFERENCE BL31 .E46 2005

Scholarly articles on world religions.  Historical and contemporary treatment of religious figures and leaders as well as ideas related to religion.  Bibliographies are included with each article.

Encyclopedia of World Art. 17 vols. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959-1987.
REFERENCE N31 .E56

For many years the standard work in the field, this encyclopedia contains extensive articles on all aspects of art and artists.  Each entry contains valuable references and cross references.  Almost half of each volume is made up of leaves of plates making it a tremendous source for reproductions.  The index is very useful.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Art. 5 vols. New York: McGraw Hill, 1969.
REFERENCE N33 .M23

Shorter articles on artists, cities, movements, etc.  Many illustrations, some bibliographical material.

New Catholic Encyclopedia. 14 vols. 2nd ed. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2002.
REFERENCE BX 841 .N44 2002

Medieval Europe was Catholic Europe.  This encyclopedia is useful for church history, biographical and historical information on individuals, the development of religious ideas, liturgy, religious iconography etc.

Osborne, Harold, ed. The Oxford Companion to Art. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.
REFERENCE N33 .o9 1971

One volume handbook of terms, concepts, people, etc., in art and art history.  Illustrated.

Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
REFERENCE DE5 .o9 1996

Authoritative articles on the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds.  Useful for classical allusions and antecedents.  The articles are brief, as are the bibliographies.

There are also several dictionaries in the reference collection which are country specific, such as Medieval Iberia, Medieval Germany, Medieval France , which include biographical information on artists and patrons, and describe events and locations.

Specialized Sources:

Charles, R.H. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1963.
REFERENCE BS1692 1913

A wonderful resource on apocryphal works.  Each book contains a short account, explanation, and interpretation, discussion of influence, and text of the book.  These are followed by bibliographies.

Ferguson, George. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art. New York: Oxford, 1966.
N7839 .F35 1966

Emphasis is on renaissance art, but useful for interpreting religious art in general.  Chapters are organized by type, e.g. "Animals, Birds, and Insects."

Hall, James. Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art. New York: Icon Editions, 1996, 1974.
REFERENCE N7740 .H35 1996

Brief discussions of meaning and sources of recurrent symbols in art.  References to biblical, classical and literary texts.

Laymon, Charles, ed. The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1971.
REFERENCE BS491.2 .I57

Interpretation and commentary on the Bible.  Arranged by book, then chapter and verse, it analyses the text in modern language. (Note:  There are several interpretation of, and commentaries on the Bible.  They can be found at approximately the same call number in REFERENCE.)

Murray, Peter and Linda Murray. Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
REFERENCE N7830 .M87 1996

Standard Oxford format: short articles on subjects and themes of Christian art and architecture.

Nelson's Complete Concordance of the Revised Standard Bible. New York: Nelson and Sons, 1957.
REFERENCE BS425 .E4 1957

The words found in the Bible (each and every one of them) are given alphabetically, followed by a phrase of context in which they are found and the citation.  Useful for locating specific verses used in a work of art, or for finding references to a particular idea or image.

Roberts, Helene E. Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.
REFERENCE N7560 .E53 1998

Discussion of themes (from Abandonment to Virtue) revealed in art history. Includes listings of representative works.

Ross, Leslie. Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996.
REFERENCE N7850 .R67 1996

Short entries on the subjects, stories, themes etc., of early Christian, medieval and Byzantine art.  Cross-referencing and index, but limited bibliography.  Useful for identification.

Schiller, Gertrude. Iconography of Christian Art. Trans. Janet Seligman. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1971.
N7830 .S35132

A discussion of Christian iconography arranged in broad themes with numerous illustrations.  A classic.

Databases and Indexes

Academic Search Premier. A general index to scholarly publications.

AHSearch

Art Index.  New York: Wilson, 1929-
REFERENCE INDEXES  N1 .A1 A78

Medieval Sources Online. Images of original medieval documents .

Web Sites

A large number of Web sites of highly varying degrees of qualiy exist for the study of Art History and Medieval History.  Many contain excellent reproductions and hard to find medieval texts.  It is essential to be as critical, if not more so, of Web sites than of printed materials, paying attention to the credentials of the publishers, their affiliations, supporting institutions and associations and the like.  Some examples:

Bowen, Jonathan. Virtual Library Museums Pages. (Supported by the International Council of Museums)
http://www.icom.org/vlmp/

LABYRINTH: Resources for Medieval Studies
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html

New York Carver
http://www.newyorkcarver.com/museum.htm

WWW Medieval Resources
http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/medieval/medieval.ebbs.html
 

Citation Handbooks/Style Manuals

APA Style http://www.psywww.com/resource/apacrib.htm

Columbia Guide to Online Style http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html

MLA Style http://webster.commnet.edu/mla.htm

Research and Documentation Online (Hacker)  http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/resdoc/

RefWorks is a wonderful tool for keeping track of citations. The Web-based system allows you to save citations for future reference, to file saved citations in folders and to create bibliographies in a number of styles. Initial set-up of an account takes a few minutes and the method of saving citations varies among the differing databases, but it is worth it! 

DM 4/2006