Multimedia Medievalia

The Fate of Traditional Scholarship in a Post-Modern World

Dianne Tillotson

Abstract

Computers and the internet have the potential to radically change the modes of access to and dissemination of knowledge. In an area like medieval studies, where understanding has been gained, not only from written texts, but from art, architecture, music and archaeology, these new media have the capability to produce an enriched educational experience. There is, however, some possibility of it becoming a fragmented experience, as the structure of cybermedia allows users with many diverse interests to take little bites from what is presented rather than work through an extended line of reasoning. On the other hand, the tendency towards scholarship in smaller segments has been going on for some time, with seminal articles rather than multi-volume tomes providing the basis for academic reputations of renown. It is possible that new technology can reintroduce students to material which has been gathering dust on library shelves for decades by recontextualising it and improving methods of access.

Web Links

The World of the Vikings CD-ROM An advertising and information page for a CD-ROM project involving the York Archaeological Trust and the National Museum of Denmark.

The British Museum Official web site of that institution.

Medieval Sourcebook From Fordham University, offering access to primary and secondary textual source material.

The Online Medieval and Classical Library From Berkeley University, linking to medieval and Classical works of literature.

Eurodocs Links to a range of texts of primary source material of documentary form from Europe.

English Heritage The official web site of that organisation.

Archaeological Research Guide to Europe A link site to archaeological web sites.

CBA Guide to UK Archaeology Online A link page to British archaeological projects and reports on the web.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France Official web site of that institution.

British Library Official web site of that institution.

Amiens Cathedral A multimedia project from Columbia University.

The Aberdeen Bestiary A detailed examination of a 13th century illustrated bestiary, from Aberdeen University.

Cyber-psalter A detailed examination of one particular psalter, with much contextual material, currently offline but supposedly being relocated. This link will be updated when that happens.

Glenn Gunhouse's Resource Page An academic's personal web site, with many medieval resources.

English Calendar A site which allows the user to calculate various forms of medieval dating.

Medieval Calendar Calculator A site which will generate calendar sheets for any medieval date.

The Geoffrey Chaucer Website From Harvard, a site with the works of Chaucer set in their historic, social and linguistic context.

Digital Dante From Columbia University, a similarly multifacetted site on Dante and his works.

Mapping Margery Kempe From Holy Cross University, a site exploring the life, works and religious and social environment of Margery Kempe.

Medieval Writing The author's own attempt to build a multilayered website on the history of handwriting and literacy, and to teach the skills of paleography.

Google A cunning search engine that can do terrible things to your web site.

Anglo-Saxon Charters A collaborative project between the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society to present indexes and transcripts of all known Anglo-Saxon charters.

ORB A set of interlinked web sites providing access to medieval historical resourcce material, from Rhodes University.

The Labyrinth From Georgetown University, a guide to medieval web sites.

NetSERF Another fairly comprehensive guide to medieval web sites.

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