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HISTORY LINKS TO    

THE "DARK" AND MIDDLE AGES

General Vikings Anglo-Saxon Medieval Britain
Reenactment

Pardon the clutter.

 

General

Feudal Life -- a beginner's guide to the Middle Ages.

Medieval Studies: a huge site with tons of links.

NetSerf is a comprehensive site indexing nearly any topic you can think of in the Dark and Middle Ages.

The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies (ORB)  is an academic site, written and maintained by medieval scholars for the benefit of their fellow instructors and serious students. All articles have been judged by at least two peer reviewers.  

Internet Medieval Sourcebook include a number of medieval texts and related sites; participates in ORB.

Check out About.com's links to Medieval History.

The Labyrinth: a resource for medieval studies, sponsored by the Georgetown University Medieval Studies Program.
The Center for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto has an extensive links page. [Frames, dammit]
Shadowed Realm: Medieval resources.
Dark Age Web
Medieval and Early Modern Databank: Monetary databases.
Teresa's Medieval History Page
Odin's Castle of Dreams & Legends: an archive of history and historical resources.  Impressive.

Subjects medieval from the New York Carver Shop.

Montanaro's Medieval Period

Ancient Northwest Europe covers Celts, Anglo-Saxons and Norse culture. DEAD LINK

GodeCookery.com: Tales, stories and information from and about the Middle Ages.

Images from the Book of Kells.

Yahoo's list of Castle sites.
Castles on the Web
Links from Dark Ages to Renaissance  from a huge list of Social Studies Links.
Stefan's Florilegium, a collection of links, articles, pasted-together emails and other things related to the SCA period.
An impressive Library of articles and sites on many and varied topics of medieval life at Gavvin's Keep.
Occupations and Trades in a Medieval and Renaissance town.
Go to my Religion Page for more on Gothic Architecture
Dr. Vess' class outlines: World Civilization to 1550, Middle Ages, and Medieval Monasticism
Essays in Medieval Studies: from the Illinois Medieval Assn.
Gode Cookery: a collection of websites about medieval food and cooking.
A site about the Holy Roman Empire (which, of course, was neither holy, Roman, or imperial).
Rook Family Heritage page, with numerous European nationalities and cultures. 
An essay entitled Swords of Iron, Swords of Steel which discusses pattern-welding and other topics.
A web site with links about Mead, nectar of the gods.  
 Marc Carlson's Homepage, with discussions ranging from footwear to horn carving, among a great many other things.
Medieval Technology Pages
An essay outlining Oakeshott's sword type classification
Another page on Oakeshott's classification, this time from the Oakeshott Institute
Mediaeval Sword Resource Site
Mediaeval Sword Virtual Museum
Internet Sword and Medieval Weapons Discussion Group.
myArmoury.com: Resources for historic arms and armour collectors.
Collection of sample Oaths of Fealty and Acceptances, from 7th c to 15c.  Includes links to respective sources.  
Images of early medieval manuscripts, from a project at Oxford.
Manuscripts from the Bodleian Library
Medieval Writing: History, Heritage and Data Source.
The Digital Medievalist Project is an international web-based Community of Practice for medievalists working with digital media.
Mostly Medieval: Exploring the Middle Ages
Corpus of Early Medieval Coin Finds.
England in the Middle Ages.
Kingdoms of the British Isles

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Vikings

Viking Home Page: enough links to sink a knorr.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, a presentation of the Smithsonian.

Viking Network 
A dozen essays about the Vikings.
Bunch o' Viking links.
Rhiannon's Viking Links Page. Includes an Introduction to Viking Garb
Have a question? Ask the Viking Answer Lady.
Viking resources for the reenactor.

Hnefatafl - the Strategic Board Game of the Vikings.

Vinland via Cyberspace.
The Viking Experience 
Northvegr: includes links to texts and articles pertaining to the old northern European cultures.
A review of a Viking Clothing book.
Old Norse Language
The Old Norse Language Institute 
Old Norse for Beginners
The Prose Edda, written around 1200, is a good source of lore for the aspiring skald of the time.
A page about constructing  Nordic poetry, and an overview of Skaldic poetry.
Rise and Fall of the Vikings, and the Little Ice Age 
Compilation of Ship Finds 
BBC reports on a modern Viking voyage from Denmark to Dublin.
Articles: Norway's earliest known church, High-status Viking site in Cubria.

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Anglo-Saxon 

This section has become so unwieldy I've had to subdivide it.

General

Language Places Clothes Arms and Armor
Music Bibliographies Miscellaneous
  General

A page on Anglo-Saxon England, with links.

Life in Anglo-Saxon England: a brief writeup.
About.com's Anglo Saxon links.
A very nice Anglo Saxon link page from the Barony of the South Downs. 
Anglo Saxon Web Ring has some great links, several of which I already located for this page.
Anglo-Saxons.net: England circa 450-1066 in a nutshell.

Venerable Bede Page: Another Anglo-Saxon Links Page.

Bede's World: Museum of early medieval Northumberland.
Short writeup of the Anglo Saxons; the Dark Ages Web site also covers numerous Germanic peoples from the Alamanni to the Vandals.  
Inglewyck Hall: site with some pertinent stuff and links.
Considerable Anglo-Saxon links page from Ravensgard
Medieval England and the Anglo Saxons
A few things you might like to know for your journey to Anglo-Saxon England.
Anglo-Saxon Age Resource Page. Slow to load, at least on my machine.
Anglo Saxon Culture: an Online Guide.
BBCi links to the Anglo Saxons.
Post-Roman focuses on Britain, Ireland and their offshore islands between 350AD and 850AD.
Anglo-Saxon Archeology links.

Various aspects of 9th Century life.

A handful of essays on the Anglo-Saxons, from coinage to swordmaking to bridegroom attire.
S.D. Keynes Homepage has a large number of academic links on the Saxons.
A collection of books and essays on Anglo Saxon England. They preview the works, but you have to subscribe to the service to get full access.
Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England was created in a join effort by King's College London and University of Cambridge " to provide a comprehensive biographical register of recorded inhabitants of Anglo-Saxon England (c. 450-1066)"
Web Page for Anglo Saxon Books, a publishing company specializing in. . . well, you figure it out.
A site devoted to King Alfred, called the Great.
Matheliende: Online journal of medieval studies at the University of Georgia
Maeldune: Light on Maldon's Distant Past.  Features and exploration on the Battle of Maldon.
Boar's Helm Pub: a board for Anglo Saxon enthusiasts.
Wišowinde Online: a sampling of articles from the periodical from Ša Engliscan Gesišas.
Links to various educational sites from the Anglo-Saxon Imports page.
 
  Language
Old English overview from the Cunnan/wiki site. Includes a comparison of the Lord's Prayer in early NE, ME, and OE.
Another, slightly more detailed Old English overview, from Absolute Astronomy. 
Electronic Introduction to Old English
First Steps in Old English.
Old English Made Easy
Old English site at U. Va.  Includes sound files from the Battle of Maldon.
Cathy Ball's Old English Pages.
Hwęt!  Old English in Context, from the above author.
Old English at the University of Calgary, including Norse and Saxon links.  Includes pronunciation sound files.
Learning Old English, Tony Jebson's way.
Conversational Old English.
Questions about Anglo-Saxon and Influences of Old English.
Folcspręc dedicated to all things Anglo-Saxon.
Awritan on Englisc: Englisc List Website--A Forum for Composition in Old Englisc

Modern English to Old English. And Another English to Old English site.

Carl Berkhout's web page of Anglo-Saxon scholarship.
Bright's Old English Glossary to An Anglo-Saxon Reader
Scanned images of the pages of Clark Hall's A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Second Edition (1916).
Free downloadable Anglo Saxon dictionary, from FreeLang.
A page on the Futhark script, including the Anglo Saxon Futhorc and other derivatives.  From Ancient Scripts.com
A page on Old English pronunciation, from Omniglot.
Words of the Week: Dryhten, gedryht, žegn, etc, an essay from the Beowulf Hall.
     Poetry

Want all the structure with none of the rhyme? Look at this website about Alliterative and Accentual Poetry.  Also,  Readings of old English PoetryBuilding Blocks of Old English Poetry and Anglo-Saxon Accentual Meter. And a Lexicon of Kennings.

A more up-to-date collection of Early Period Poetry Links.

Old English Poetry and Literature: A nicely-done encyclopedic background overview of the subject.

Meter and  Poetic Style in Saxon poetry, from Baker's Introduction to Old English.
Complete corpus of Anglo Saxon Poetry
Anglo-Saxon Aloud: A daily reading of the Anglo-Saxon poetic records.
A site dedicated to the scop, the Saxon equivalent of the bard.
Middangeard: Anthology of Old English texts in translations into Modern English. . . a Slovakian website!
Sites dealing with the Battle of Maldon: One with background historical information, one with commentary and a translation, and in Saxon.
The Wanderer Project: a closer look at the Wanderer.
Here is a very close translation of Beowulf. From the Beowulf on Steorarume .
Guide to the Electronic Beowulf.
Syd Allan's impressive Beowulf site. Compares nearly a hundred translations, plus numerous other books on related topics.
A study of kennings in Beowulf from Syd Allan's site.
More Resources for the study of Beowulf.
Old English in Middle-Earth: Tolkien as a gateway to the Anglo Saxons. And Part 2: Old English Words and Influences.  From the Tolkien Society.
Yes, I know it's from the movie The Two Towers.  But the Eowyn's lament (heard in the Extended Edition) is in Rohirric (Rohirrian, actually), which is some brand of Old English.  You can hear it here, and see it here (both transcribed and translated).  If that translation doesn't work, here is another one: Bealocwealm hafaš fréone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende on Meduselde Žęt he ma nowere is, žurh niedig rest. And męgen deorost Bealo...

In Modern English, more or less: 'An evil death has set forth the noble warrior A song shall sing sorrowing minstrels in Meduseld That he is nowhere anymore, for his necessary rest. And [that he is] the dearest kinsman.  Killing [took him]...'

More Tolkien: an Old English translation of the Ring Verse.
Just for fun: Beocat and The Ballad of Bowie Gizzardbane.
Verbal Dueling: Comparing Unferth's sparing and rap.  Hwaet, yo.
     Writing and Manuscripts
Anglo Saxon Manuscripts online.
Richard Rawlinson Center For Anglo-Saxon Studies and Manuscript Research.
Links to images in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts.
A short writeup on Beowulf, and a photo of the first page of the surviving manuscript, from the British Library.
Also from the BL, the Lindisfarne Gospels
More links to Anglo-Saxon manuscripts.
British Academy - Royal Historical Society Joint Committee on Anglo-Saxon Charters.
Article on Anglo-Saxon literacy.
A guide to books for learning Old English and finding your inner Anglo-Saxon.
'Their Present Miserable State of Cremation': the Restoration of the Cotton Library.
  Places

Elements of English Place names and their origins. 

Survey of English place names by Kristine Elliott
Anglo-Saxon place names with modern equivalents. 
UK English Place Name Information Service: learn the scoop for a couple quid.
This link goes to a section on the Anglo Saxon Church and church architecture on my website.
Anglo Saxon Architecture
A fairly detailed interactive site showing Yeavering saxon royal palace, as well as earlier and later structures in Durham and Northumberland.
  Clothes
Documentation of an Anglo-Saxon Dress, for an SCA project.
Articles on textiles, colors, tents, and making your Saxon garb more authentic clothing, from Wynmerestow, the Regia branch in Ontario.
A article on basic Saxon clothes, also for SCA.  And another one, this time from Octavia's Great Hall.
Short bit on Frankish Clothes.
11th Century Anglo-Saxon men's garb.
Images of 10th and 11th century clothes in England.
Reenactor guide for clothes and equipment for Battle of Hastings.
Dark-age stitch types.
  Arms and Armor
Article on pattern-welding.
Armor of a Wealthy 7th Century Northern European Warrior
"Pre Viking Helms" from Halvgrimr's Page
Prices of weapons and armor in the Early Middle Ages.
    Sutton Hoo
The helm, from the Wuffings Website
    Benty Grange 
Images of the reconstructed  helm.
    Northampton/Pioneer 
Article on the helm
    Coppergate 
The helm.
Music
Anglo-Saxon lyres: extrapolations based on extrapolation and experimentation.
The Saxon Lyre: History, Construction, and Playing Techniques
Anglo-Saxon lyre project by George Cavender.

For Anglo Saxon music, check out this and Simon's AS music page. And Preliminary Approaches to Anglo Saxon Music and Dance.

Music in Anglo Saxon England from Literary Encyclopedia, and Music and Verse from Regia Anglorum.
Another article on Anglo Saxon Music, by Jessica Lovett
Hexachords and medieval music.
Bibliographies
Anglo Saxon Studies: a select bibliography.
Simon Keynes' Anglo-Saxon bibliography.  And where you can order an updated version.
Bibliography of the Battle of Maldon.
Anglo-Saxonists from the 16th through the 20th centuries.
Select bibliography from Ravensgard.
Bibliography from SULAIR.
  Miscellaneous
Numerous sources for Anglo-Saxon Names.
A brief page on the Sutton Hoo burial, with some pictures of choice artifacts.
Sutton Hoo: Burial-Ground of the Wuffings
Coinage and the Economy in Anglo-Saxon England.
The Anglo-Saxon Plant Name Survey.
The Anglo-Saxon Church
Datasets for Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries
A list of medieval measures 
Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Recipes.
"Words of the Unpeople" from the Brain Rummager; just for fun, look at the Brain Rummager Too for more Saxon language goodness.
More detail from selected monsters in Words of the Unpeople.
Zoologically applied terms in the Beowulf Epic
The Avalon Project: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, listed by Yale Law School.
Ure Tida (Our Times): This site tracks recent references to Anglo-Saxon topics in the mass media and pop culture. 
The New Anglo Saxon Chronicles: Old English recounting of our current times.
 Uncleftish Beholding: Written by Poul Anderson, it is an essay on atomic theory written as if the language evolved without contamination by non-Germanic words.  The Wiki explanation
A compilation of extant Saxon law codes, from the 6th to the 10th centuries.

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Medieval Britain

Britannia History Page

GENUKI.  I just discovered this genealogy page; it looks like it has some nice details, including maps. 

CADW (Heritage Trust of Wales), National Trust of Scotland, English Heritage, Ireland Heritage and the Irish Heritage Council are helpful for finding historical and prehistorical sites in the British Isles.

The Battle of Hastings website goes into great detail about one of most important battles in Britain's history.  This site also details other aspects of England's early history.  A graphic-heavy site, so bring a lunch.  

And check out the companion site, detailing the  Bayeux Tapestry.

Speaking of Hastings, Nick Austin spent considerable time trying to pinpoint the locations involved in the events from William's landing to Hastings. 

More stuff on 1066.
The Essential Norman Conquest, by Osprey Publishing.
Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub.

Skyelander's Highlands and Islands History website.

Information on Medieval English Towns.

A page on Medieval Domestic Life.

Normannorum Marche: "This is the beginning of a resource for those of us on the frontier (Western US) with an interest in early Norman history.

This site includes miscellaneous information, including a timeline and 3-D renderings of abbeys. 

Domesday Book Online 
You can buy the writeup of a village, or a map of a shire, based on the Domesday report.

The Royal Armories web site. 

The Medieval Technology Pages 
A history of the British monarchy, from the Royal Website

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Reenactment, Research  and Living History Groups

The Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts aims to "resurrect the combat skills, philosophies and principles of the accomplished European Medieval martial artist and to achieve a state which would be consistent with that of the medieval warrior in both technology and ideal."

TheAssociation for Renaissance Martial Arts  (formerly the Historical Armed Combat Association) is a group of arms and armor enthusiasts and practitioners dedicated to exploring and reconstructing Western martial arts of Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

The Oakeshott Institute has been founded as a nonprofit education and research center with the purpose of furthering the study of ancient arms and armor.

The Barony of Bryn Madoc is the Athens, Georgia contingent of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international organization dedicated to researching the Dark and Middle Ages, and reliving the better aspects.  Or check out Bryn Madoc's western holdings, the Barony of the South Downs. Or the Consortium of the Southern Marches. Or the Incipient Shire of Drakenmere. Or our friends at Halfdan Hall . Or the Augusta Salient (aka Border Vale Keep). See also my SCA Webpage.

International Society of Anglo-Saxonists
The Heroic Age  is dedicated to uniting professionals, students, and amateurs on a quest to explore all aspects of early medieval Northwestern Europe.
Viking Age Club & Society
Early Period: "A place for all things pre-1066."
Lanista Ancient Warfare Academy.  Page hasn't been updated in two years.
Lothene Experimental Archeology is a Scottish living history group.
"The Sutton Hoo Society focuses on promoting research and education relating to the Anglo Saxon Royal Cemetary at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk."
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto
      Living History Parks
Near York is the Danelaw Dark Age Village
North of Bury St. Edmunds is West Stow Country Park and Anglo-Saxon Village, and Friends of West Stow.
Near Canterbury is the Wychurst Project: reconstructing a lord's hall.  And photos of the construction.
Dark Ages Charitable Trust: building a site to produce a landscape similar to how much of England was 1000 years ago. 
Find out how to live in the Danish past at the  Lejre Experimental Centre.
     Living History Groups

Angelcynn is a living history group re-creating Anglo Saxon life from 400-900AD.

Angelcynn: The History of Anglo Saxon England. A message board for all things Anglo Saxon.

Regia Anglorum attempts to recreate a cross section of English life around the turn of the first millennium, including Viking, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman culture.  It's pretty much a British organization that's serious about "getting it right." Lots of resources.  See also the North American branch, Geforthian Strand.

Ša Engliscan Gesižas (The English Companions) "aims to bridge the gap between scholars and non-experts, and to bring together all those with an interest in the Anglo-Saxon period. Also check the American branch, Winlandes Scir.
The Dark Ages Society focuses on late-9th century Britain.
Dark Ages Re-creation Company
The Anglo-Saxons.  The living history group with the catchy name.
Theod-- Early Anglo-Saxon Living History
ERA: a UK-based Dark Ages reenactment society.
Wulfingas: Anglian Settlers in the Fifth or Sixth Century A.D.
The Vikings: Celtic, Viking, and Saxon re-enacting
The Viking Experience includes a section on authenticity for various Gaelic, Viking and Saxon kits.
Ulfhednir: Viking Age living history in Denmark.
Jomsvikings: 10th century living history.
Hurstwic: A loose affiliation based in New England, and dealing with Viking Age northern Europe.
Nordhere: 11th century reenactors in Canada.
The Huscarls: Australian Dark Age group.

The Ravens Warband is a re-enactment society of the early Anglo-Saxon period (circa 500AD).  They also conduct research and make reproduction equipment. 

Wychwood Warriors: Oxford University Historical Re-enactment Society.
Combrogi: recreate society of Britain between the Roman withdrawal and the Norman Conquest.
Ancient Arts Fellowship: Dark-Age reenactment based in Canberra, Australia. 
Formed in the mid-1980s, the Adrian Empire re-creates history from the time frame of 1066 through 1603 AD.
The Grey Company is a pageantry group that focuses on early medieval Europe from 600-1100 AD. Includes a page on trebuchets and other artillery. 
Photo collections of the Hastings 2000 battle reenactment.
Novae Militiae is a living history group portraying knights and related figures in the late 12th and early 13th centuries
De Re Militari: the society for Medieval military history.
     Armor, Gear and Costume
The Armoury at Gavvin's Keep lists nearly 200 armourers and the how-to's to constructing various armors and weapons for reenactors. 
Armour Research Society
The Arador Armory, "a hub for education, information and camaraderie to those in the Internet community with an interest in armour and armour-related subjects."
The Way of the Warrior: articles on SCA combat.
Costuming Links
Crafts page
     Misc

 Noble Titles -- lists of comparable noble titles from around the world.  Developed by gamers, with links to SCA lists.

Costuming, Artifacts, and other stuff to buy
For collections of merchants, look to Merchants-medieval.com, Sutler's Webring, League of Renaissance Merchants, and  Peddler's Village
Medieval Auction and Merchant Shops
The SCA Stockroom, where you can order back issues of Complete Anachronist and other publications.
Historical Enterprises -- Clothes, armor, and other reenactment gear. 

Pewter Replicas -- makes authentic replicas for a wide variety of periods.

"Ancient Britons is an online collection of Roman, Celtic, Saxon and Medieval coins and Artifacts from Britain."

Raymond's Quiet Press sells impressive jewelry, weapons, etc. based on Dark Age and medieval styles.

VikingsandSaxons.com sells primarily Viking and Anglo-Saxon artifacts, most of which have
been found in England.

Ancient Battle Crafts: Early period armor, clothes, weapons.
Manning Imperial is a fine manufacturer of authentic historical reproductions. If you want to get on my good side, gimme an Anglo Saxon pattern-welded sword.
Mandrake Armory and Windrose Armory: for SCA and other uses 
New World Arbalest: Makers of Medieval and Renaissance pattern crossbows.
Elk Ridge Archery: Longbows, etc.
Therion Arms: antique and fine reproduction arms and armor.
Silvermane Reproductions
Pillaged Village: Various SCA type gear.
Mercia Sveiter: Cast bronze, maille, helms, etc.
Anglo-Saxon Imports
Corridors of Time 
Crafty Celts: Handcrafted Jewelry
GriffinWorks: Interesting leather things
SwordMoon: Nice leather work
Armlann: Boots, shoes, etc.
Sodhoppers: Costly, but look very durable and well made. Customized to
fit your foot and preferences.
Boots by Bohemond
Medieval Moccasins
Merlion's Tail: Historical patterns and trim.
Panther Primitives: Historical tents and more.
Grunal Moneta: Home of historical money. Not only do they make replicas, they can custom-make dies so you can stamp your own coins.
Albion: Attractive furniture
Cockeral Woodworks: Where we'll buy furniture for our meadhall (hey, everybody needs a dream). COSTLY, but beautiful.
Oxbow Books/David Brown Book Company feature a very nice collection of books on everything from writing to culture to textiles, from Neanderthals to Egypt to Victorian England.
Armor Archive includes discussion and articles on fighting and armor making, and  links to armory websites, reenactor equipment dealers, and websites for modern armorers. 

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