ARHS 234 Assignment 5 Primary and Antiquarian Sources

Primary Sources

Nothing is more important to high-level historical research than the use of primary documents. Primary documents are those which were produced at the same historical period in which the object or topic you are studying was made or occurred. In some ways, it is like having an eye-witness account, making primary sources one of the most reliable foundations for research.

Types of Primary Written Sources for Medieval Art

Since art history did not exist as such in the Middle Ages, one must look for commentary and information on artwork in a wide variety of written documents which survive from the Middle Ages.

These include:

  • wills
  • legal cases including legislation from ecclesiastical courts
  • contracts
  • church records including registers, accounts, annals, and letters
  • proclamations from those running your church, from the papacy, from the royal government, etc.
  • biographies
  • miracle stories
  • literature including poems

Where to Find Primary Written Sources

Start by examining the footnotes in your secondary sources. Good scholarly articles always rely on primary sources (always suspect scholarship that asserts without using primary sources). Some of the documents listed you may not have access to, such as special documents held only in Cathedral libraries which have not been published elsewhere. Luckily, a large number of these have been published and many of these have been translated into English, making them easily accessible.

Regarding the history of the Middle Ages in England, Victorian scholars published many volumes which reproduce the documents with learned commentary.

Some of the most important include:

  • Rolls Series
  • Society publications such as the Surtees Society (v. 32 is Bishop Hatfield's survey, a record of the possessions of the see of Durham, made by order of Thomas de Hatfield, bishop of Durham. With an appendix of original documents, and a glossary. By the Rev. William Greenwell, M. A.---conduct a word search for the county in which your building may be found & the word 'society')
  • University archaeological reports (i.e. Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological Series)
  • Translations and reprints from the original sources of European History Series
  • Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptories

Also look on these internet sites:

Possible Methodological Problems

Although primary written sources are some of the best evidence we have for what occurred in the past, they must be handled carefully. They are not without exception absolutely accurate. They were written with a particular purpose in mind that might have affected their veracity. Whenever you use a primary source, you must consider its original context and try to adjust your thinking. For example, legal records are concerned with judicial proceedings and may only mention a work of art in passing without describing it in any way. Yet it exists as evidence that artwork existed at that time and that it was somehow subject to a legal dispute. Miracle stories were written to promote a particular person for candidacy for canonization. Therefore, not everything will have been verified. The document is a piece of propaganda with a particular goal in mind. Still, in its descriptions of miracles, it may casually mention an art object, what that object looks like, and how people responded to it. Learn to mine these documents for gems like this.

Pictorial Primary Sources

Medieval artwork is primary source in and of itself. It comes from the Middle Ages and has something to communicate as to its original function and history. Because deciphering artwork is an entire profession (i.e. art history), this will take more work to use properly . The best way to use artwork is by comparison. What was made prior to your work of art? What was made at the same time? What came afterwards? Can you explain why it might have changed? If you are examining a tomb of an archbishop, what do other tombs of archbishops look like? What about royal tombs? Obviously, the best way would be to fly to England and examine these monuments yourself. However, since time and money won't allow this, you'll need instead access art history books and articles that are rich in pictures. Make photocopies of pieces you think will be relevant and keep them in a file in order to facilitate your comparative discussion in your paper.

Here are other sources for pictorial primary sources:

  • Iconography encyclopedias
  • Image Databases
  • Use of Google Images

Antiquarian Sources

Though not as important as primary sources, these are not to be over-looked. They stand as intermediaries between primary sources and secondary sources. After the Reformation ended in England (1530s) and much artwork of the Middle Ages had been swept away, slowly people began to become interested in what had once been and what still survived. Some of the earliest antiquarian sources date from the sixteenth century and they continue up through the nineteenth century. They range in quality from an amateur tourist's account of a dilapidated church to some of the best scholarly work ever done. One of the best antiquarians was William Dugdale, who published many volumes concerning ancient documents and ancient works of art. He employed one of the finest print artists (Wenceslaus Hollar) to make engravings of some of the most important works of art.

Kenyon's special collections owns Dugdale's Monasticon. This set of books includes information from a wide variety of original documents on the histories of abbies, churches and cathedrals. You must have your student ID in order to access materials in the special collections room (1st floor of Olin Library) and you will be asked to follow a series of rules not unlike those in every other special collections room around the world. These rules include: using only pencils, no bringing in of backpacks (you will be asked to leave these by the front of the room), no gum chewing, etc.

Also look at these two series: Victoria history of the counties of England and Historical Memorials through Consort and Ohiolink online catalogs.

ASSIGNMENT:

  • Find two primary source documents associated with your topic and list those below:

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  • What type of documents are these materials and what sorts of problems do they present to your research?

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  • Find one antiquarian source book associated with your topic and list it below:

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  • Are you able to locate a copy in Ohio? Can a copy be sent to you for your research?

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  • Check Monasticon for your building. What new information were you able to find in the text?

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