LibGuides: HIST 114: Medieval Europe (Dr. Safstrom): Find Primary Sources

Primary Sources for European History

British and Irish Women's Letters & Diaries
What's included?
*Women's diaries and letters spanning more than 300 years.
Cecil Papers
What's included?
*Contains sixteenth- and seventeenth-century state papers, grants from the Crown, legal documents, treaties, correspondences, and political memoranda
Parliamentary Papers: House of Commons & House of Lords
What's included?
*Papers of the British House of Commons and the 19th Century House of Lords
Revolution and Protest Online
What's included?
*Access to resources related to political revolutions, protests, resistance and social movements from the 18th century through the 21st century

Collections on the Web:

British Museum
Search portal to the British Museum's massive collection. Not all records include digital images of the item, but those that do offer great opportunity for primary source research.
EUI Primary Sources
The European History Primary Sources Database EHPS provides an easily searchable index of scholarly digital repositories that contain primary sources for the history of Europe between the 18th and 20th Century.
EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
From Brigham Young University, this is a portal to open access primary source documents in European history. "Links connect to European primary historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. In addition, you will find video or sound files, maps, photographs or other imagery, databases, and other documentation. The sources cover a broad range of historical happenings (political, economic, social and cultural)."
Europeana
"Europeana works with thousands of European archives, libraries and museums to share cultural heritage for enjoyment, education and research. This website gives you access to millions of books, music, artworks and more – with sophisticated search and filter tools to help you find what you’re looking for."
German History in Documents and Images
“German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) is a comprehensive collection of primary source materials documenting Germany's political, social, and cultural history from 1500 to the present. It comprises original German texts, all of which are accompanied by new English translations, and a wide range of visual imagery. The materials are presented in ten sections, which have been compiled by leading scholars. All of the materials can be used free of charge for teaching, research, and related purposes; the site is strictly intended for individual, non-commercial use.”
Manuscripts Online
"Manuscripts Online enables you to search a diverse body of online primary resources relating to written and early printed culture in Britain during the period 1000 to 1500. The resources include literary manuscripts, historical documents and early printed books which are located on websites owned by libraries, archives, universities and publishers."
World Digital Library
Digitized primary source documents, images, and more from libraries and cultural heritage institutions from across the globe. "Launched in 2009, the World Digital Library (WDL) was a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, with the support of UNESCO, and contributions from libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations around the world."

European Newspapers and Magazines

British Periodicals (1681-2005)

What's included?
*Full access to 500 +British periodicals from the 17th to the 20th century
Guardian and the Observer (1791-2003)
What's included?
*Full coverage from 1791 to 2003
Irish Times & Weekly Irish Times (1859-2022)
What's included?
*Full coverage from 1859 to 2022
Scotsman (1817-1950)
What's included?
*Full coverage from 1817 to 1855
NewspaperArchive
What's included?
*Full access to 16,100+ newspapers and publications from 1607 to the present
*Content from 48 countries
Nexis Uni
What's included?
*Full-text access to over 15,000 news, business, and legal sources
*Company Dossier containing company information
*Shepard's Citations service for all federal and state court cases from 1789 to the present
**To access Nexis Uni from off-campus, you must first register (create an account) while on campus.

OnlineNewspapers.com: European Newspapers
This website collects various European newspaper sources. Click the name of the country you are researching to find a list of newspapers with links to their websites. The language(s) of each paper is indicated.
Historical Worldwide Newspapers Online: Europe
This LibGuide from Bowling Green State University links historical European newspapers that are free online.

United States Newspapers

Historical New York Times (1851-2017)
What's included?
*Full coverage is from 1851 to 2017
*For more recent coverage, go to US Newsstream
Historical Chicago Tribune (1849-1997)
What's included?
*Full coverage is from 1849 to 1997
*For more recent coverage, go to US Newsstream
US Newsstream
What's included?
*Full coverage from national and international newspapers from 1980 to present
*Newspapers include, but limited to:
1. Boston Globe
2. Chicago Tribune
3. Denver Post
4. Los Angeles Times
5. New York Times
6. Washington Post
7. Wall Street Journal

Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg provides free digitized copies of books in the public domain, including some materials published in Middle English.

Early English Books Online
What's included?
*146,000+ early printed eBooks in English, from before 1700

In addition to the digitized books in Early English Books Online (above), Tredway Library and I-Share have a large variety of books--both print and electronic--that you may wish to consult as primary sources. In OneSearch (below), begin at the Advanced Search screen and limit to "Library holdings only" for books at Augustana or "All I-Share libraries" to search across Illinois.

Search by title to find a specific book whose title you know. Example:

Screenshot of a search at the Advanced Search screen. "Candide" is typed in the top box. "Title" is selected in the first drop-down menu.

Search by author to find works by a prominent historical figure. Example:

Screenshot of a search at the Advanced Search screen. "Elizabeth I" is typed in the top box. "Author/Creator" is selected in the first drop-down menu.

To find an edited collection of primary sources on a historical topic, search the topic in one or two boxes (keep the topic broad!) and the word "sources" as a Subject in the other box. Example:

Screenshot of a search at the Advanced Search screen. "Germany" is typed in the top box. "Unification" is typed in the box below. "Sources" is typed in the third box, with "Subject" selected from the second drop-down menu to the left.

For European historical statistics, consult this book in the 2nd-floor reference collection:

International Historical Statistics by B. R. Mitchell; Brian R. Mitchell
Call Number: HA1107 .M5 2007 (2nd floor reference collection)

ISBN: 9780230005143

Publication Date: 2007-11-19

International Historical Statistics; Europe 1750-2005 is the latest edition of the most authoritative collection of statistics available. Updated to 2005 wherever possible, it provides key economic and social indicators for European countries over the last 255 years, serving as an essential reference source.