This tab contains resources that may be helpful in finding primary sources for your research. Primary sources are first-hand or contemporary accounts of an event or topic from the people who had direct experience with them. This can include photographs, diaries and journals, various artifacts, and more. Use the GALILEO search box below to search all of the Lewis Library digital resources or search the boxes below for both general databases and archives and collections on the history of the Renaissance and Renascences in Europe.
For bibliographic reference, please see the Bibliographical Resources page of the Reference Guide, linked here.
For more reference guidance on art history, please refer to the reference section of the Art and Design LibGuide, linked here.
Europe, 1450-1789 by
This detailed set explores European history from 1450-1789, from the print revolution to the French Revolution. The sets 1, 082 articles, written by eminent scholars, cover major topics in art, government and education as well as providing biographical entries on key figures of the period. In addition, the set covers topics specific to the era, such as apocalypticism, guilds, food riots, royal mistresses and lovers, the Spanish inquisition, Utopia and others. Each volume includes an eight-page color insert. Features include approximately 575 black-and-white photographs, 60 maps, a year-by-year chronology, a topical outline, and a comprehensive index.
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelle, Cesare Boria, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, and Juan de Herrera - figures great and small, famous and little known, all contributed to the outpouring of genius known as the Renaissance. This set of volumes treats the full period of the Renaissance, from 1350 to 1650, encompassing Italy and the rest of Europe in the context of the broader world. It contains topical entries and biographies, and alphabetically arranged articles on culture, literature, philosophy, religion, economics, politics, science, and the arts, - revealing how people thought, what they believed and how they lived."
Dictionary of the Middle Ages by 
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (4 Volume Set) by
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages is a major new reference resource for all key aspects of European history, society, religion, and culture from circa 500 CE to circa 1500 CE. During this time, neighboring areas of Asia and North Africa greatly influenced and helped shape the civilization of the West. Relevant aspects of the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples such as the Avars and the Mongols are also included in this comprehensive work. Coverage spanning the whole geographical extent of the European Middle Ages and balanced treatments of sixteen topics centrally important to the study of the period distinguish The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages from all other resources on the subject. Over 800 scholars, guided by a five-member international advisory board and an international editorial board of twenty-six, have written the over 5,000 entries that make up this extraordinary four-volume set. These entries have been lavishly supplemented by more than 500 illustrations and 40 maps. This dictionary will appeal to both medievalists needing a detailed and reliable reference tool for their own research and teaching, and non-specialists needing an accessible guide to the study of the Middle Ages. 2011 Booklist Editors' Choice
Medieval Italy by
This Encyclopedia gathers together the most recent scholarship on Medieval Italy, while offering a sweeping view of all aspects of life in Italy during the Middle Ages. This two volume, illustrated, A-Z reference is a cross-disciplinary resource for information on literature, history, the arts, science, philosophy, and religion in Italy between A.D. 450 and 1375. For more information including the introduction, a full list of entries and contributors, a generous selection of sample pages, and more, visit the Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia website.
Medieval France by
The first single-volume reference work on the history and culture of medieval France, this information-filled Encyclopedia of over 2,400 entries covers the political, intellectual, literary, and musical history of the country from the early fifth century to the late 15th. The shorter entries offer succinct summaries of the lives of individuals, events, works, cities, monuments, and other important subjects, followed by essential bibliographies. Longer essay-length articles provide interpretive comments about significant institutions and important periods or events. The Encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced and includes a generous selection of illustrations, maps, charts, and genealogies
Medieval Germany by
This A-Z encyclopedia covers the Middle Ages in Germany. It offers the most recent scholarship available, while also providing details on the daily life of medieval Germans.
Medieval England by
This valuable reference work offers concise, expert answers to questions on all aspects of life and culture in medieval England-art, architecture, law, literature, kings, commoners, women, music, commerce, technology, warfare, religion, and many others. It takes as its scope English social, cultural, and political life from the Anglo-Saxon invasions in the fifth century to the turn of the sixteenth century. To make it even more useful to information seekers, the Encyclopedia also traces England's ties to the Celtic world of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, to the French and Anglo-Norman world of the Continent, to the Viking and Scandinavian world of the North Sea, and to the world of medieval Christendom. The result is a detailed portrait of the English Middle Ages and their key historical events, personages, and cultural contexts.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance by
Beginning in the early 14th century and continuing into the 15th and 16th centuries, the Renaissance was a period of intense intellectual and cultural activity, the fruits of which have had a profound impact on the thought, culture, philosophy, painting and sculpture, and writing of Europe and the wider world ever since. Gordon Campbell, with the help of his team of distinguished consultant and advisory editors, has created a unique new A-Z reference surveying all aspects of the Renaissance in Europe. From da Vinci to Dutch law, from gypsies to geometry, this volume contains an immense breadth of information with over 3,000 entries covering an extensive spectrum of topics including art, literature, science, culture, philosophy, religion, economics, history, and conflict. Over half of the entries are biographical, covering artists, architects, garden designers, philosophers, explorers, royalty, cardinals, reformers, statesman, writers, poets, playwrights, soldiers, rebels, woodcarvers, silversmiths, mystics, mathematicians, sculptors, and composers. With 100 stunning black-and-white illustrations, this elegant dictionary is an ideal referenc to a period that has had an enduring and important cultural influence.
Handbook of European History 1400-1600: Late Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation (2 Vols) by
The Handbook of European History 1400-1600 brings together the best scholarship into an array of topical chapters that present current knowledge and thinking in ways useful to the specialist and accessible to students and to the educated non-specialist. Forty-one leading scholars in this field of history present the state of knowledge about the grand themes, main controversies and fruitful directions for research of European history in this era. Volume 1 (Structures and Assertions) describes the people, lands, religions and political structures which define the setting for this historical period. Volume 2 (Visions, Programs, Outcomes) covers the early stages of the process by which newly established confessional structures began to work their way among the populace.
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