Classical Studies : Byzantine Studies:
a guide to Library Resources

STARTING POINTS

Atlases are available on the following topics:

Palgrave atlas of Byzantine history (2005) [print]

Atlas of medieval Europe (1997 [print]

Atlas of the Crusades (1991) [print]

Atlas of the early Christian world (1966) [print]

Cambridge illustrated atlas : warfare, the Middle Ages, 768-1487 (1996) [print]

Historical atlas of East Central Europe (1990) [print]

Historical atlas of Islam (2002) [print & CD-ROM]

Dictionaries and encyclopedias are excellent starting points for getting overviews of topics. The following are recommended:

A to Z of Byzantium (2001) [print]

Oxford dictionary of Byzantium (1991) 3 volumes [print]

Blackwell dictionary of Eastern Christianity (1999) [print]

Cambridge medieval history 2nd edition [print]
[Volume 4 surveys the Byzantine world from the 8th century onwards]

Crusades encylopedia [web access]

Crusades: an encyclopedia (2006) 4 volumes [print]

Early Church On-Line Encyclopedia (Ecole) Initiative [web access]

Encyclopedia of early Christianity (1999) [print]

Encyclopedia of the early church (1992) [print]

Encyclopedia of the Crusades (2003) [print]

Historical dictionary of the Crusades (2003) [print]

Larousse encyclopedia of Byzantine and medieval art (1963 ) [print]

Late antiquity : a guide to the postclassical world (1999) [print]

Trade, travel, and exploration in the Middle Ages : an encyclopedia (2000) [print]

Researchers undertaking a literature survey may also want to consult the following:

American Historical Association's guide to historical literature (3rd edition, 1995) [print]
[See section 8 for Byzantium]

Annual bulletin of historical literature [electronic access from 1997; print access for earlier volumes]
[Provides an annual survey of recent books, journals & journal articles]

Geschichte der byzantinischen Volksliteratur [print]
[A survey of Byzantine literature including bibliographic references to both primary & secondary publications. Published as part of the Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft]

Guide to the study of medieval history [print]
[Guide to bibliographies, printed sources and secondary works. Supplemented by the publication Literature of medieval history 1930-1975]

Die Hochsprachliche profane Literatur der Byzantiner [print]
[A standard reference book on Byzantine literature with copious bibliographic references. Published as part of the Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft]

Literary aspects of Greek Byzantine hagiography : a bibliographical survey [print]
[Published in vol.72 (1997) of Symbolae Osloenses]

Medieval narrative sources : a chronological guide [print]
[Lists a selection of narrative sources (sometimes called 'traditio') by genre & region in a roughly chronological sequence. It includes critical edition details & the language of translations]

Repertorium fontium historiae Medii Aevi [print]
[The most comprehensive guide to printed sources (excluding records) for the history of medieval Europe]

FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

Books on Byzantine topics can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option

Architecture, Byzantine
Art, Byzantine
Byzantine antiquities
Byzantine Empire Civilization
Byzantine Empire Economic conditions
Byzantine Empire Foreign relations
Byzantine Empire Historiography
Byzantine Empire History
Byzantine Empire History Sources
Byzantine Empire Politics and Government
Byzantine literature
Byzantine poetry
Church history Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
Church history Middle Ages, 600-1500
Coins, Byzantine
Icons, Byzantine
Inscriptions, Byzantine
Numismatics Byzantine Empire
Painting, Byzantine
Women Byzantine Empire

Or construct your own keyword searches. Here are some examples:

topic: the impact of the Crusades on Byzantium
suggested search: crusades and byzant?

topic: the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia
suggested search:"hagia sophia" or "ayasofya muzesi"

topic: women and children in the Byzantium Empire
"byzantine empire" and (women or children or family)

Click here if you need help with constructing searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES USING DATABASES & BIBLIOGRAPHIES

For most topics the databases listed in the Databases for Classics guide should be sufficient, but the following individual bibliographies may be helpful:

Bibliographies for the study of Medieval Art [web access]
[Four individual bibliographies - Early Christian Art (c.250-c.500); Early Medieval Art (c.500-c.1000); Later Medieval Art (c.1000-c.1500); Byzantine Art and Architecture]

Bibliography on women and the family in late antiquity [web access]
[Compiled by Dr. Arjava at the University of Helsinki, this bibliography includes books & journal articles]

Bibliography on women in Byzantium [web access]
[Includes Primary Sources Available in Translation, Secondary Sources & Web Sites]

Byzantine Studies Bibliographies [web access]
[Links to a series of basic Byzantine bibliographies. Part of the web site Byzantium : Byzantine studies on the Internet]

Crusades bibliography [web access]
[Presents a number of web-based bibliographies on Crusading and the Crusades. Part of the Crusades Encyclopedia]

Early Christian and Byzantine architecture : an annotated bibliography and historiography (1992) [print]
[Covers architecture in Europe & relevant parts of Africa & Asia over the whole period of the Byzantine Empire]

The fall of Rome : a reference guide [print]
[An annotated bibliography of twentieth century literature in English up to 1982]

Feminae : Medieval Women and Gender Index [web access]
[Citations for journal articles, book reviews, and essays relating to women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages (450 CE to 1500 CE). Has some Byzantine coverage]

Rome in the fourth century A.D : an annotated bibliography [print]
[An annotated bibliography of twentieth century English language literature up to 1988]

Women in Society, Politics and Religion in Late Antiquity [web access]
[A brief introductory bibliography compiled by Jim Terry, University of Missouri. Part of the ORB Online Encyclopedia website]

Researchers should note the following major print-based scholarly bibliographies for Byzantine Studies:

Byzantinische Zeitschrift
[The library holds from vol.1 (1892) to vol.95 (2002). Bibliography is located in section III Abteilung and is organised by broad subject headings.There is also an author index to both the primary & secondary authors published in this journal from 1892 to 1981]

L'Annee philologique
[The premier index for Classics - if it's unfamiliar, read this description before attempting to use it]

Bibliographie byzantine : publications des byzantinistes grecs
[Arranged by broad subject coverage - History (1980-1990), Art & Archaeology (1974-1990), Law (1980-1990), Philosophy & Religion (1949-1990]

International Medieval Bibliography
[A more general index to journal articles of the Medieval period. Its coverage includes all aspects of medieval studies within the date range 450 to 1500].

Literature in various Byzantine disciplines, 1892-1977 : Volume 1 Epigraphy
[Gathers together all the information in any way relevant to Byzantine epigraphy that appeared in bibliographies, articles and some book reviews published in Byzantinische Zeitschrift between 1892 & 1977]

Literature on Byzantine art
[This index extracts all entries on art contained in volumes 1-60 (1892-1967) of Byzantinische Zeitschrift]

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

This section includes references to hagiography and prosopography.

Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina antiquae et mediae. [print]
[Hagiography of the early Christian saints]

Biographical dictionary of the Byzantine empire [print]
[Includes a chronological table of events & a genealogical table of Byzantine Imperial families]

Dumbarton Oaks Hagiography Database [web access]
[A searchable database to each of the saints of the 8th-10th centuries]

Personal names of the aristocracy in the Roman Empire during the later Byzantine era [web access]
[Provides an explanation of personal names in the Byzantine era]

Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit [print]
[Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period centred on Byzantium, but also takes account of neighbouring regions]

Prosopography of the later Roman empire (3 volumes) [print]
[Detailed information on the officials who ruled the later Roman empire from AD260 to AD641. A web-based publication called Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th & 7th Centuries provides a quick reference & guide to names in the third volume (covering AD 527 to AD 641)

Other biographical sources will be found in the Encyclopedias (listed earlier in this document under Starting Points), or through the following catalogue searches:

Byzantine Empire Biography
Christian hagiography
Christian saints Biography
Prosopography Byzantine Empire

SOURCEBOOKS

The following provide translations of primary sources

Art of the Byzantine Empire, 312-1453 : sources & documents [print]

Byzantine sources in translation [web access]
[A preliminary bibliography of Byzantine sources and editions]

Byzantium : church, society, and civilization seen through contemporary eyes [print]

Byzantium in the iconoclast era (ca 680-850) [print]
[A survey of the original sources on Iconoclasm in Byzantium]

Christian chronicles and Byzantine history, 5th-6th centuries [print]

Documents on the later Crusades, 1274-1580 [print]

Early Church and the state [print]
[Translations of significant literature & documents on the subject of church & state relations in the first 5 centuries of the Christian era]

Internet Medieval Sourcebook : Byzantium : Selected Sources [web access]
[Part of the Internet Medieval Sourcebook website]

Medieval trade in the Mediterranean world [print]
[Translated documents which illustrate Mediterranean commerce. Includes Byzantine sources]

Readings in late antiquity : a sourcebook [print]

Select historical documents of the Middle Ages [print]
[Although primarily concerned with the Medieval West, there are some documents which are of interest including Liutprand of Cremona's report of his mission to Constantinople in 968]

Social and political thought in Byzantium [print]
[Passages from Byzantine writers and documents from Justinian I to the last Palaeologus]

Additional material can be identified through the following catalogue searches:

Byzantine Empire History Sources
Byzantine Empire History 527-1081 Sources
Byzantine Empire Civilization To 527 Sources
Church history Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600 Sources
Crusades Sources
Literature, Medieval Translations into English
Middle Ages History Sources

Researchers should note the following scholarly bibliographies & textual sources:

Annotated bibliography of Byzantine sources in English translation [print]

Bibliography of English translations from medieval sources [print]
[Two print publications which cover bibliography up to 1967 & are supplemented by a web-based publication covering the period from 1968 to 1991]

Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae [print]
[A collection of texts with Latin translations]

Early Church fathers [web access]
[A 38-volume collection of writings from the first 800 years of the Church]

Patrologiae cursus completus [print]
[Critical editions of the works of the early church leaders. The Barr Smith Library has only a few volumes, but The Adelaide Theological Library has a near complete edition of both the Latin & Greek sections & the State Library of S.A. has a complete set of the Latin section of the work]

Thesaurus Linguae Graecae: TLG [CD-ROM format - available only in the Barr Smith Library]
[TLG is a computerised database of ancient Greek literature containing virtually all extant Greek literary texts from Homer (eighth century B.C.) to A.D. 600, as well as the texts of many Byzantine historiographical, lexicographical and scholastic writers. Documentary texts (most inscriptions and papyri) are not included in the database.
At present, TLG functions as a concordance to Greek literature referencing all occurrences of a particular word or phrase. Definitions and lexicographical information are not provided. A printed version of the literary-historical & bibliographic substructure entitled Thesaurus Linguae Graecae : Canon of Greek authors and works is available]

WEB RESOURCES

Some starting points for exploring resources on the Web

Australian Association for Byzantine Studies
[Formed in 1977, the Australian Association for Byzantine Studies is a non-profit organisation that aims to foster links between scholars, students and laypersons within Australia and New Zealand who are interested in Byzantium and related fields]

Byzantium : Byzantium studies on the Internet
[This fabulous resource is maintained by Paul Halsall at Fordham University]

Dumbarton Oaks : Byzantine Studies
[The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection has important research resources in the area of Byzantine studies, some of which are available from this site]

EarlyChurch.org.uk
[Covers the history of the Church from its foundation until c.600 CE.]

Labyrinth
[Medieval studies but mainly focussed on Western Europe]

Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
[The Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies (SPBS) was established in 1983, with the object of furthering study and knowledge of the history and culture, language and literature of the Byzantine Empire and its neighbours]

Web Sites Related to the Study of the Eastern Churches
[Links from the Gregorian Chant Home Page at Princeton Music Department]

This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn

Last update: 28 November 2007