Research Guides: HIST 150: The Family in Premodern Europe (Spring 2025): Primary Source Databases

Primary Source Databases

William & Mary Libraries have over 250 databases of primary sources materials, not including another ~150 digitized newspaper databases with historic content. It can be overwhelming, so below are some databases of especial interest.

Medieval Family Life This link opens in a new window
Only five major letter collections exist from fifteenth century England and they are all available online for the first time in this digital resource - the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor and Armburgh Papers. Coverage: 1400-1490

Of especial interest to this class is the Medieval Family Life Database, which contains five major letter collections from fifteenth century England and they are all available online for the first time in this digital resource - the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor and Armburgh Papers. Coverage: 1400-1490

TIPS FOR SEARCHING PRIMARY SOURCE DATABASES

Keep is simple, and only use one or two works at a time.
Use database filters to narrow results.
Read database descriptions to determine which database is best
Use the secondary readings to identify primary sources
There are library materials called "source books" that are translated collection of historic documents. See link below:

Some Notable Primary Source Databases

Medieval Family Life This link opens in a new window
Only five major letter collections exist from fifteenth century England and they are all available online for the first time in this digital resource - the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor and Armburgh Papers. Coverage: 1400-1490
Early European Books: Printed Sources to 1700 This link opens in a new window
Diverse array of printed sources from the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Early European Books includes digitized books from major European libraries including the National Library of France, the National Library of Florence, the National Library of the Netherlands, the Wellcome Library, London, and the Royal Library, Denmark. EEB provides digital access to continental printed texts before 1701 with full-color, high-resolution images scanned directly from the original printed sources. Each item in the collection is captured in its entirety, complete with its binding, edges, endpapers, blank pages, and any loose inserts, providing information about the physical characteristics and provenance histories of the original artefact. There are over 53,000 books included, in languages including French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Dutch, Spanish, Latin, Greek, Icelandic, Swedish, and Danish. Collections 1-19.
Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Books and other items printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America, and works in English printed elsewhere. Coverage: 1473-1700.
Early English Prose Fiction This link opens in a new window
Early English Prose Fiction is a balanced and representative collection of fictional prose works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and many of these important texts are difficult to obtain elsewhere.
Grand Tour This link opens in a new window
Taking the phenomenon of the Grand Tour as a starting point, this resource explores the relationship between Britain and Europe from c.1550 to 1850, exploring the Anglo-European response to continental travel for pleasure, business and diplomacy. This digital collection of manuscript, visual and printed works allows students and researchers to explore and compare a range of sources on the history of travel for the first time, including many from private or neglected collections.
Medieval Travel Writing This link opens in a new window
An extensive collection of manuscript materials for the study of medieval travel writing in fact and in fantasy. A collection of medieval manuscripts from libraries around the world, dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries, with a focus on accounts of journeys to the Holy Land, India and China.

Fordham University Medieval Sourcebook
Welcome to The Internet History Sourcebooks Project, a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use. Primary sources are available here primarily for use in high-school and university/college courses. From the outset the site took a very broad view of the sources that should be available to students and as well as documents long associated with a "western civilization" approach to history also provides much information on Byzantine, Islamic, Jewish, Indian, East Asian, and African history. You will also find many documents especially relevant to women's history and LGBT studies.

Loeb Classical Library This link opens in a new window
A fully searchable, virtual library of Greek and Latin literature with English translations. Includes epic and lyric poetry; tragedy and comedy; history, travel, philosophy, and oratory; the great medical writers and mathematicians; and, those Church Fathers who made particular use of pagan culture.
Perdita Manuscripts, 1500-1700 This link opens in a new window
This resource is produced in association with the Perdita Project based at the University of Warwick and Nottingham Trent University. Their goal was to identify and describe all manner of writing by early modern women from diaries to works of drama in Early Modern Britain.
Witchcraft in Europe and America This link opens in a new window
The theological, legal, and social implications of witchcraft. Printed works, transcripts of trials, eyewitness accounts, court records, dissertations, etc. The majority of texts are in Latin, English, and German. There are also selected documents in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, and Dutch. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1500-1930.