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HISTORY 269 Tudor/Stuart Britain: Primary Sources

course guide

Finding Primary sources in the Library

Go to Advanced Search in the online catalog
Under Subject  enter "sources," "personal narratives" or "diaries"
Under Keywords enter terms related to your topic 
Find Subject Headings related to your topic that include words such as "-diaries" or "-personal narratives"

Parish registers: Look in online catalog under:
REGISTERS OF BIRTHS, ETC. -- COUNTY, ENGLAND

Local record society publications: in catalog under:
COUNTY NAME, ENGLAND--HISTORY (e.g., Essex, England--History)

Primary sources:
Use SOURCES as sub-heading, eg:
Great Britain -- History – Civil War, 1642-1649 -- Sources
Diaries:
Use DIARIES as a sub-heading or keyword (or see Matthews, British Diaries, in Reference)

Other useful keywords:  Papers, correspondence, biography, pamphlets, manuscripts, maps,

Examples of Primary Sources in Perkins Library:

Record Society Publications, including the Camden Series, the Harleian Society and the County Records Societies   These are all indexed now in the RHS Bibliography of British and Irish History.

English Historical Documents.   Perkins/Bostock Library | Stacks  | DA26 .E555 1953 
 v. 1 c.500-1042  -- v. 2. 1042-1189 . -- v. 3. 1189-1327. -- v. 4. 1327-1485 . -- v. 5 1485-1558 -- v. 8. 1660-1714. -- v. 9. American colonial documents to 1776 . -- v. 10. 1714-1783 -- v. 11. 1783-1832 -- v. 12. pt. 1. 1833-1874 . pt. 2. 1874-1914 . (v. 6 1588-1603 and v. 7. 1603-1660 were never published).
 
Calendars of State Papers Domestic and Foreign: Check the online catalog under State Papers and the reign or country, e.g.,  State Papers and Henry VIII.  Many of the State Papers are now available full text at British History Online.

Victoria History of the Counties of England.   Look in the online catalog for specific counties  (most are in DA670) Also available full text online in British History Online

   See also: the Rubenstein Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library which has extensive holdings in British History

 

Websites

  • British History Online
    The digital library of text and information about people, places and businesses from the medieval and early modern period, built by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust.
  •  IBIS Links
    From the Institute of British and Irish Studies, University of Southern California. The web's premier site for electronic resources in British and Irish Studies
  • Renascence Editions
    Works printed in English between 1477 and 1799.