Pride 2023

Happy Pride Month! To celebrate Pride, from 1st to 30th June, we have created a display using a range of e-books which focuses on the history and experiences of the LGBT+ community.

All of these e-books are available for Oxford University members to read remotely – just make sure you sign into SOLO with your ‘Single Sign On’ first. By clicking on the book covers below you can access the SOLO records of a few of the texts featured on our display.

For more information about upcoming events in Oxford celebrating Pride click here.

History Thesis Fair for undergraduates on 4 May (week 2): explore – discover – meet specialists

We are delighted to run the History Thesis Fair for second-year undergraduates this year. Come and meet over 50 specialists to talk about resources for your dissertation topic.

Thursday 4 May afternoon (week 2)

Colleges B-N: 2-3pm & College O-W: 3-4pm

North Writing School, Examination Schools

A collage of different archival materials to advertise the History Thesis Fair on Thurs 4 May 2023, afternoon. Colleges B-N 2-3pm. Colleges O-W 3-4pm. It's an opportunity to explpre, be curious, meet, network, and learn.

The Fair is an excellent opportunity for students to gain a wider perspective on the wealth and riches of research sources available for your field of study.

At the Fair you can learn about resources you may not yet have yet considered and meet the curators of collections who can guide you towards relevant material or useful finding tools.

Over 30 stalls will cover many areas:

  • Special Collections, libraries and archives, e.g.
    • Archives and Manuscripts 1500-1800
    • Archives and Modern Manuscripts 1800-
    • College Libraries (Special Collections)
    • College Archives’ Collections
    • Early Printed Books
    • Institute of Historical Research Library / Senate House Library
    • Oxford Brookes University Special Collections and Archives
    • Oxfordshire History Centre
    • UK Government and International Intergovernmental Publications
  • Topical stalls, e.g.
    • Biography
    • Community History
    • Digital Scholarship
    • Disability History
    • Legal History
    • LGBTQ+ History
    • History of Science & Medicine
    • Oxford and Empire
    • and more
  • Geographical stalls, e.g.
    • Africa & Commonwealth
    • East Asia & South Asia
    • Eastern Europe and Russia
    • Great Britain & West Europe
    • Middle East, Hebrew & Judaica, Caucus & Central Asia
    • Latin America
    • United States

You will also have an opportunity to speak to other students who have previously written dissertations and learn about their TOP 10 TIPS.

The format of the Fair encourages you to explore and discover new materials at your own pace, to be curious, to network and to make connections to experts and their peers while also learning about creative use of sources in Digital Scholarship.

Accessibility

The main entrance to the Examination Schools is stepped. There is a ramped entrance immediately to the left of the main entrance. There is lift access throughout the building, two wheelchair accessible toilets and hearing support systems that can be deployed where needed throughout the building. Most areas of the building have level access.

The accessible toilet is gender neutral and is at the bottom of the staircase opp. Room 8.

If you have any queries, please email library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Get yourself kitted out for your research 

Hand cupping a seedling.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Doing research on your thesis also means that you will need to learn new skills, deepening your knowledge of resources and sources and how to go about locating and using them.

To help you on this exciting journey, the library has organised a series of talks, classes, and workshops which are designed to

  1. Upskill your information searching and research skills;
  2. Learn about the rich sources available to them in Oxford (and beyond) and know how to access them;
  3. Learn how to handle the material, incl. archives, correct citation practices, ethical research practice, etc.;
  4. Get to know relevant experts in Oxford libraries and archives.

Check out the classes and workshops set up for you to help you learn the skills you will need.

Re-trial until 25 April: Early Modern England: Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700

We decided to repeat a trial of Early Modern England: Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700. The trial ends 25 April.

This resource offers access to rare and invaluable sources for examining the lived experience of people in England between 1500 and 1700. From ‘ordinary’ people through to more prominent individuals and families, these documents show how everyday working, family, religious and administrative life was experienced across England.

Rather than dealing specifically with the great political and religious upheavals of these years, the project aims to look at the everyday happenings of people in different parts of England.

What topics can you research?

The sources are useful for the study of many aspects of life in early modern England. They include:

  • Agriculture
  • Arts, literature and culture
  • Births, marriages and deaths
  • Family life and relationships
  • Finance
  • Foreign affairs
  • Health and medicine
  • Land and property
  • Law and order
  • Monarchy
  • Politics and government
  • Possessions
  • Poverty
  • Religion
  • Scholarship: science and humanities
  • Trade and economics
  • Travel
  • War
  • Women’s history
  • Work and employment

What type of documents are included?

These experiences are revealed through a wide range of materials including legal records, family correspondence, tax records, administrative records, wills, inventories, petitions, military papers and commonplace books and more.

There is a strong material culture element to this project with the inclusion of images of everyday objects used in early modern households. Many can be viewed in 360-degree rotation.3 early modern objects: cream coloured cap, a chamberpot, a fire bellowsWhich regions are covered?

The different collections of documents enable a regional comparison, for example with court records from the South East, London, the West Midlands and the North West.A guide to the different collections incl. Commonplace books, local legal documents, quarter sessions, archives, etc.Searching

You can browse or search in many different ways. Useful are, for instance, indices for names, themes, regions and places.

The resource also offers searching of manuscripts using Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology. This is still a developing area and results may not always be perfect.

Tell us what you think

The trial ends on 25 April. While there currently is no funding for this resource, your feedback is still helpful to gauge interest amongst the scholarly community. Please email  isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to comment on the usefulness of the content, who would benefit from it and whether the searching functionality is adequate.

Bibliographie de l’histoire de France (BHF) now in Databases A-Z

Snippted from Eugène Delacroix's La Liberté guidant le peuple (1830): A woman of the people with a Phrygian cap personifying the concept of Liberty leads a varied group of people forward over a barricade and the bodies of the fallen.

Snippet from Eugène Delacroix’s La Liberté guidant le peuple (1830)

Are you looking for critical readings on French history? The Bibliographie de l’histoire de France (formerly Bibliographie annuelle de l‘histoire de France) will be able to help you.

BHF is a freely accessible bibliographic and historiographical tool for anyone interested in the history of France. It indexes a large number of French and foreign journals and lists articles, monographs, collective works (whose content is systematically detailed) and theses as well as websites relating to the history of France from the fifth century to 1995.

Please note that this is a work in progress. The paper volumes (1953 to 2012) will be gradually added online.

You can browse by author, quoted person / organisation, subject, period and geographical location:

screenshot from BHF showing advanced search: quoted person/ organisation, author, language, subject, geographical location, period.This resource is now listed in Databases A-Z > History > Finding Critical Literature and will very shortly be in SOLO also.

While you are here:

Check out our guides to

New: Africa and the New Imperialism

Faded image of a black person superimposed over a manuscript excerpts and photo of a small steam boat.We are delighted to report that Oxford researchers now have access to Africa and the New Imperialism.

This Adam Matthew Digital resource documents the period of rapid colonial expansion by European powers across the African continent during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many documents come from the Bodleian Libraries collections, esp. the Papers of Frederick Dealtry Lugard, Baron Lugard of Abinger.

As well as digitised archives, diaries, logbooks, minutes, official records, petitions, reports, telegrams, and more, the resource has rich visual resources, such as maps, photographs, artwork, and film.

[From the Adam Matthew Digital: Nature and Scope]
From the accounts of missionaries and European explorers navigating the interior of the continent in the early nineteenth century; to the rise in European desire for increased power, empire and wealth culminating in the Berlin Conference 1885-1886; to the subsequent power struggles, negotiations and conflicts that raged across the continent at the turn of the twentieth century, the documents within Africa and the New Imperialism charts Africa’s encounters with European imperialist regimes and their impact on the lives of peoples across the continent.

Some collection highlights:

  • Diaries, journals and sketch books from key figures including David Livingstone, John Kirk and James Augustus Grant, whose sketchbooks from his Nile expedition are illustrated with watercolours of landscapes and peoples he encountered.
  • The journals of British soldier Major General Charles Gordon, which includes his final journal written before the fall of Khartoum to the Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad of Sudan.
  • Correspondence from Roger Casement and the resulting Casement Report which investigated, and confirmed, the atrocities committed in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II.
  • British Foreign Office files for the Berlin Conference, the event which ignited the spark of late-nineteenth century European imperialist efforts across Africa, including papers relating to European intervention in the Congo, the involvement of Belgium and Germany, and the Malet papers which include the private correspondence of Sir Edward Baldwin Malet who was the British Ambassador to the German court, 1884-1895.
  • The papers, photographs and correspondence of Frederick Lugard, a British soldier and administrator in Africa, covering British involvement in East Africa and West Africa from the 1870s to the early twentieth century. These are along with the papers of journalist and colonial commentator, Flora Shaw, Lugard’s wife.
  • Correspondence, journals and reports from French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza that provide insight into his expeditions to the Congo Basin; the establishment of the French Congo; de Brazza’s administration of the French Congo as Commissioner General; and de Brazza’s 1904 investigation into injustice, forced labour and brutality within the French Congo.
  • London Missionary Society correspondence from Central Africa and Matabeleland, including first-hand accounts of audiences with King Lobengula of the Ndebele people and the activities of the British South Africa Company controlled by Cecil Rhodes.
  • Imperialism
  • Slavery and forced labour
  • Diplomacy
  • Religion and missionaries
  • Race and ethnicity
  • War and violence
  • Resistance to colonialism
  • Technology and infrastructure

Each document within Africa and the New Imperialism has been tagged with a region. These regions have been designated in consultation with our editorial board, they are broad and are intended to provide support in browsing and navigating the documents presented within this resource. However, due to the nature of the material, many documents cover several regions and where this is the case, the most relevant regions have been added; there may be more regions covered by events within documents.

  • Central Africa
  • East Africa
  • Horn of Africa
  • North Africa
  • Southern Africa
  • West Africa
  • Rest of the World

Source libraries and archives

  • Archives nationales d’outre-mer
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France
  • Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
  • British Film Institute
  • British Library
  • National Library of Scotland
  • Sanford Museum, Florida
  • School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
  • Senate House Library, University of London
  • The National Archives, UK
  • University of Birmingham Library

A variety of research tools provide further contextual information or guidance for teaching and research. From Essays and Biographies to Guide to Regions and Places and Guide to the Archival Collections, explore the options under Research Tools or view the full list in Teaching Tools.

Also of interest:

Finding critical readings on colonial history:

Key source databases

See Databases A-Z for more and our LibGuides on African newspapers.

The Royal College of Physicians – Part I (Wiley Digital Archives)

Search screen of Wiley Digital Archive Royal College of Physician Part 1.Great news! Wiley is making the The Royal College of Physicians – Part I (Wiley Digital Archives) available to Jisc members in perpetuity as a gesture of thanks for participating in the Wiley transitional agreement in 2022. History of medicine researchers can now benefit from access to this resource.

The Royal College of Physicians – Part I (Wiley Digital Archives) will be of most interest to those studying history of Western medicine covering the 12th century to 1862. The archive is useful for researchers studying the history of anatomy, folk medicine, herbal medicine, healers and domestic medicine, medical law and policy, medical research (disease/treatment), medical and biological Illustration, and health education during the early modern and parts of the modern period.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) was founded so that physicians could be formally licensed to practise and those who were not qualified could be exposed and punished. There are many archive records defining the RCP’s changing role in setting standards in medical practice. RCP members have always collected manuscripts and papers on a wide range of medical and non-medical topics.

The Royal College of Physicians – Part I includes content from the 12th century to 1862, though some papers are dated later. Most of the collections are from British sources. A notable exception is the (Arthur Stanley) Tritton Oriental Manuscripts collection, which contains early Arabic medical manuscripts.

Important papers relate to William Harvey, Edward Jenner, John Latham, Thomas Lawrence, and other physicians. Papers will typically include notebooks containing medical extracts and observations, prescriptions, lecture notes, admissions tickets, diaries, correspondence, treatises, etc. Collections of 17th and 18th century polymaths may also include history of science material (e.g. John Dee on astronomy or mathematics).

The rest of Part I contains papers relating to the founding and running of the RCP itself and throw light on the history of the professionalisation of the medical profession. There are records relating to college officers & staff, education, examination, finance, events, legal status, estates records, trusts & bequests, membership, professional affairs, Regulation of Clinical Practice and Standards, and the college library.

Also of interest:

Trial until 31 March: State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782

Screenshot showing part of an 18th century manuscript from State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782. The blurb reads: "Behind the scenes in Georgian Britain. State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782 gives researchers and students unprecedented access to British government records during the Age of Enlightenment." We are re-trialling State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782 and invite students and researchers to give us feedback. The trial ends on 31 March. Please send any comments to isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. While there is no funding for any of the four parts, your feedback is valuable in assessing priority purchases should funds become available.

What is State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782?

This resource extends Gale’s State Papers Online programme into the eighteenth century. Oxford researchers already have access to State Papers Online I – IV: The Tudors, Stuarts & Commonwealth 1509-1714 (Foreign & Domestic).

State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782 represents the final collection of the State Papers series from The National Archives before the series was closed and replaced by the Home Office and Foreign Office series in 1782. It covers the reigns of the Hanoverians George I (1714-1727), George II (1727-1760) and part of the reign of George III (up to 1782). The resource provides online access thousands of manuscripts relevant for the study of eighteenth century British government of internal and foreign affairs.

The documents provide evidence of the extent and nature of decisions taken by government and, more importantly, who was making those decisions. The records also illustrate the personal style of the secretaries of state who, with the chancellor of the Exchequer, controlled almost the entire life of the nation.

Researchers can examine the different ways in which the three Hanover monarchs conducted the business of monarchy and develop perspectives on the king’s changing role in political and administrative history.

Part I: State Papers Domestic, Military and Naval and the Registers of the Privy Council

This part includes documents on British internal political history during the reigns of the three Georges, including behind-the-scenes accounts of the turbulent events of George I’s reign (the Jacobite uprisings); the development of cabinet government; the ascension of George II and the consolidation of Whig supremacy; the riots surrounding libertarian politician John Wilkes; and the inept handling of the colonies that marred the early years of George III’s reign.

Along with the many internal and external threats to Hanoverian rule, users can also search and browse across a rich range of reports, petitions, and correspondence relating to the general administration and constitution of England; law and order; trade and shipping; and the founding of an empire abroad that extended to North America in the west and the Indian subcontinent in the east.

Part II: State Papers Foreign: Low Countries and Germany

The part documents the relationship of the Hanoverian reign with Flanders, Holland, and Germany, with particular focus on European powers such as the Holy Roman Empire and German states and towns. It also includes the Military Expedition series and the Archives of British Legations.

The papers include correspondence with English diplomats abroad and foreign diplomats in England, original and draft treaties, letters between heads of state, intercepted dispatches and other intelligence, working papers of the secretaries, and material relating to military, naval, and colonial policy.

Part III: State Papers Foreign: Western Europe

Papers in this part include documents relating to France, Dunkirk, Portugal, Spain, Malta, the Italian States and Rome, Genoa, Tuscany, Venice, Savoy and Sardinia, Sicily and Naples, as well as supplementary records of the Levant Company in Aleppo and the Aleppo consulate. It also includes the Royal Letters and Treaties series.

The majority of the papers are those written or received by the Secretaries of State for the Southern Department in the course of British diplomacy and intelligence gathering by British ambassadors and envoys abroad.

Part IV: State Papers Foreign: Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Turkey

The papers in this part includes the letters, memorials and treaties pertaining to Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Saxony, Prussia, Russia, Turkey and the Barbary States. It also includes papers sent to the British Secretaries of State from foreign ministers in England, as well as ‘confidential’ and intercepted letters between key figures in international politics.

Part IV covers nations and events at the borders of Europe and European power, from Russia emerging as an imperial force in the North as Sweden’s power declined after the Great Northern War (1700-1721), to piracy and conflict in the Mediterranean, wars and treaties with the Ottoman Empire at the outer reaches of Russia and Austria, and the constant building up of armies and fleets to bolster status and secure territories.

Also of interest:

Subscription resources are accessible to staff and students of Oxford University (use SSO for remote access) and Bodleian Library card holders (access in reading rooms).

New Books Display – February 2023

Currently on our New Books Display for the month of February, you can find a wide selection of the latest additions to the History Faculty Library’s collection, covering a range of historical periods and subject matter. Several items are featured below, along with a short summary of their contents. Click the photo to be taken to the item’s SOLO record. All NBD items can be borrowed at the Circulation desk in the Lower Camera reading room.

The Mughals and the Sufis: Islam and Political Imagination in India, 1500-1750 by University of Chicago Professor Muzaffar Alam, presents the author’s findings through a critical study of a large number of contemporary Persian texts, court chronicles, epistolary collections, and biographies of Sufi mystics. Professor Alam examines the complexities in the relationship between Mughal political culture and the two dominant strains of Islam’s Sufi traditions in South Asia. Muzaffar Alam analyses the interplay of these elements, their negotiation and struggle for resolution via conflict and coordination, and their longer-term outcomes as the empire followed its own political and cultural trajectory as it shifted from the more liberal outlook of Emperor Akbar “The Great” (r. 1556-1605) to the more rigid attitudes of his great-grandson, Aurangzeb Alamgir (r. 1658-1701). Alam brings to light many new and underutilized sources relevant to the religious and cultural history of the Mughals and reinterprets well-known sources from a new perspective to provide one of the most detailed and nuanced portraits of Indian Islam under the Mughal Empire available today.

The Persistence of Party: Ideas of Harmonious discord in Eighteenth-Century Britain by Dr Max Skjönsberg examines the development of how the idea of a political party was viewed in the eighteenth century, at a time when some of the core components of modern, representative politics were being trialled. From Bolingbroke to Burke, political thinkers regarded party as a fundamental concept of politics, especially in the parliamentary system of Britain. In the eighteenth century, the concept of a political party was usually understood as a set of flexible and evolving principles, associated with names and traditions, which categorised and managed political actors, voters, and commentators. This book seeks to demonstrate that the idea of party as ideological unity is not purely a nineteenth- or twentieth-century phenomenon, but can be traced to its roots in the eighteenth century. Also available as an eBook through Cambridge Core, accessible once you are signed into SOLO via your Single Sign On.

 From Near and Far: a Transnational History of France by historian Tyler Stovall relates the history of modern France from the French Revolution to the present. The work considers how the history of France interacts with both the broader history of the world and the local histories of French communities, examining the impacts of such figures as Karl Marx, Ho Chi Minh, Paul Gauguin, and Josephine Baker, alongside the rise of haute couture and contemporary art movements. Particularly, the nation’s relationship with Europe, the United States, and the French colonial empire is contextualized and examined in depth. This ‘transnational’ approach to the history of modern France allows Dr. Stovall to explain how the theme of universalism, so central to modern French culture, has manifested itself in different ways over the last few centuries. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of historical narrative both within and outside the boundaries of the nation. From Near and Far therefore situates the reader in a vision of France that is simultaneously global and local.

The Dutch Overseas Empire: 1600-1800 by Pieter C. Emmer and Jos J. L. Gommans is a new work that attempts to answer the question of how the Dutch empire compared to other imperial enterprises, and how it was experienced by the indigenous peoples who became a part of its colonial power. Beginning in the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic emerged at the centre of a global empire that stretched along the edges of continents. In this empire, ideas of religious tolerance and scientific curiosity went hand in hand with severe political and economic exploitation of the local populations through violence and slavery. This pioneering history of the early modern Dutch Empire, encompassing two centuries, provides for the first time a comparative and indigenous perspective on Dutch overseas expansion. As well as the impact of the empire on the economy and society in the Dutch Republic itself, it also offers a fascinating window into the contemporary societies of Asia, Africa and the Americas: through their interactions, we see the effect of the Dutch overseas empire on processes of early modern globalization. Also available electronically through Cambridge Core, accessed via SOLO.

The Witches of St. Osyth: persecution, betrayal and murder in Elizabethan England by University of Exeter historian Marion Gibson is an account of witch trials in Essex (1581-2). Despite the history of English witchcraft and documented witch hunts and trials being studied extensively, the events are St. Osyth have been overlooked in previous scholarship. These accusations caused a destructive wave of persecution which tore apart this Essex community. Using fresh archival sources that pertain not only to the village of St. Osyth itself, but also its neighbouring hamlets, Gibson offers a comprehensive exploration into the sixteen women and one man who were accusd of practicing sorcery in addition to posing provocative and relevant questions about the way history is recollected and interpreted. Combining landscape fieldwork and readings of crucial documents, the author skilfully unlocks the poignant personal histories of those whose voices have been lost to history. Also available electronically through Cambridge Core, accessible through your SOLO account.

Queens of the age of Chivalry: England’s fourteenth-century Consorts, 1299-1409 by Alison Weir is the newest work by well-known public historian Weir, whose expertise lies in both medieval and post-medieval biography and historical fiction of the royalty of England, particularly when it comes to the lesser documented lives of female figures. Medieval queens were seen as mere dynastic trophies and political pawns, yet many of the Plantagenet queens of the High Middle Ages dramatically broke away from the restrictions imposed on them and wielded considerable influence over the male courtly figures who surrounded them, as well as the kingdom as a whole. Using personal letters and other vivid primary sources, Weir evokes the lives of five of these remarkable queens of the chivalric age: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. Each of these women lived through a period which oversaw some of the most environmentally and politically turbulent events in English and wider European history, including the Black Death, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Hundred Years War against France and baronial civil wars against their own monarchy. The turbulence of the fourteenth-century, and these Queen’s role in it, set the stage for the later dramatic events of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to unfold as the Middle Ages drew to a close and Europe entered the early modern period.

On Savage Shores: how Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by University of Sheffield historian Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock. This work has grown out of her cutting edge researches into the transatlantic journeys and exploration of Indigenous Mesoamerican and North American peoples during the sixteenth century. Although the reason for this was often due to the slave trade, Pennock documents other reasons for these individual’s travels to Europe – as diplomats, merchants and explorers. Pennock presents the story of the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII; the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub; the children of Indigenous American mothers and Spanish fathers who then returned to Spain – as well as the many servants employed by Europeans of every rank. The people of the Americas were regarded as exotic and were marginalised by European society; but their interactions, worldviews, and cultures still had a profound impact on European civilisation. Drawing on first-hand account of their surviving literature and poetry, as well as European eyewitness accounts, Pennock gives us a sweeping and monumental presentation of Indigenous American presence in early modern Europe.

Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Northern Europe 1080-1350: A Sourcebook is an edited collection with contributions by several social historians, designed to introduce researchers to the everyday lives of Jewish people living in the German Empire, northern France, and England from the 11th to the mid-14th centuries. The volume consists of translations of primary sources written by or about medieval Jews. Each source is accompanied by an introduction that provides it’s historical context. Through the sources, readers can become familiar with the spaces frequented by medieval Jewish Europeans, their daily practices and rituals, and their worldview and wider culture. The subject matter ranges from culinary preferences, garments, objects, and communal buildings and relationships. The documents testify to how Sabbath and holidays were enacted, weddings and births celebrated, and the mourning of the dead. Some of the sources focus on the relationships they had with their Christian neighbours, local authorities, and the Christian Church, while others shed light on their economic activities and professional life.

Trial until 15 February: Early Modern England Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700

Oxford researchers are warmly invited to trial Early Modern England: Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700 [access via SOLO.]

This resource offers access to rare and invaluable sources for examining the lived experience of people in England between 1500 and 1700. From ‘ordinary’ people through to more prominent individuals and families, these documents show how everyday working, family, religious and administrative life was experienced across England.

Rather than dealing specifically with the great political and religious upheavals of these years, the project aims to look at the everyday happenings of people in different parts of England.

What topics can you research?

The sources are useful for the study of many aspects of life in early modern England. They include:

  • Agriculture
  • Arts, literature and culture
  • Births, marriages and deaths
  • Family life and relationships
  • Finance
  • Foreign affairs
  • Health and medicine
  • Land and property
  • Law and order
  • Monarchy
  • Politics and government
  • Possessions
  • Poverty
  • Religion
  • Scholarship: science and humanities
  • Trade and economics
  • Travel
  • War
  • Women’s history
  • Work and employment

What type of documents are included?

These experiences are revealed through a wide range of materials including legal records, family correspondence, tax records, administrative records, wills, inventories, petitions, military papers and commonplace books and more.

There is a strong material culture element to this project with the inclusion of images of everyday objects used in early modern households. Many can be viewed in 360-degree rotation.3 early modern objects: cream coloured cap, a chamberpot, a fire bellowsWhich regions are covered?

The different collections of documents enable a regional comparison, for example with court records from the South East, London, the West Midlands and the North West.A guide to the different collections incl. Commonplace books, local legal documents, quarter sessions, archives, etc.Searching

You can browse or search in many different ways. Useful are, for instance, indices for names, themes, regions and places.

The resource also offers searching of manuscripts using Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology. This is still a developing area and results may not always be perfect.

Tell us what you think

The trial ends on 15 February. While there currently is no funding for this resource, your feedback is still helpful to gauge interest amongst the scholarly community. Please email  isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to comment on the usefulness of the content, who would benefit from it and whether the searching functionality is adequate.

New Books Display – January 2023

Happy New Year to all returning and new readers! Currently on our New Books Display for the beginning of 2023, you can find a varied selection of the library’s latest additions.

Several of our newest books are featured below, along with a short summary of their contents. Please click on each title to be taken to its SOLO record.

On Revolution by political theorist Hannah Arendt presents a comparison of the French and American revolutions of the eighteenth century and the impact of these revolutions on our modern world. Underpinning this comparison is an in-depth exploration of the concept of revolution itself, as it has manifested throughout human history.

Next up we have a new English translation of Autumntide of the Middle Ages: A study of forms of life and thought of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in France and the Low Countries by the renowned Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. This influential book is considered a monumental work in its discussion of the ritual, culture, and thought of late medieval society in France and the Netherlands.

Here, There and Everywhere: The Foreign Politics of American Popular Culture is an edited anthology of articles exploring the impact of American popular culture on the wider world. In five sections, 23 authors from around the globe examine the historical background of American culture, the impact of Hollywood, popular music from jazz to rock ‘n’ roll and rap, and the popularity of as well as resistance to American popular culture in particular countries.

These items and many more can be found on the display located in the Upper Gladstone Link, and can be checked out at the Lower Camera Circulation Desk.

New eBooks are also available, several of which are featured below. Click to be taken to the SOLO link.