Using Article Databases
Finding scholarly articles in library databases is a multi-step process:
1. Decide which database to use.
2. There is no single database devoted to Medieval and Early Modern English literature. Because you will likely be approaching the topic from various disciplines, you will want to explore databases in fields such as Feminist Studies, History, Sociology, Religious Studies, and others. The databases listed on this page should give you a good start. You can also browse a list of the Library's databases organized by subject or alphabetically.
3. Always use the Advanced Search option.
4. Databases don't like full sentences! Build your search using a few words that best describe the main concepts of your topic. These are your "keywords." Avoid adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and any other terms that are not considered essential to your topic.
5. Select whichever filters are appropriate but do not click "full text" as one of the filters because this will severely limit your results. See #6 below.
6. If the full text of an article is not available in the database itself, use the 
link. This will take you to the online article on another platform or, if we don't have access to the online version, it will offer you an option to order it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
7. Most article databases allow you to save, email, cite, download, or export citations or full articles.
Article & Research Databases. Hover over the title to learn more.
- Chaucer Bibliography Online This link opens in a new window
- Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index This link opens in a new window
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Indexes books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. Coverage includes journal articles, series, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies.
- ORB: Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies This link opens in a new window
An academic site, with peer-reviewed texts by modern scholars on medieval studies. Authors are held to high standards of accuracy, currency, and relevance to the field of medieval studies.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowFull-text articles in the humanities and social sciences from hundreds of university press and other journals. From the orange Browse tab at the top, you can scroll to the S section and choose "Studies by Time Period," then limit to "Medieval and Renaissance Studies."
- Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
Provides criticism and commentary on authors and their literary works written by contemporary and modern scholars. Includes the following series: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism 1400-1800, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespeare Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.
Which One Should I Use?
Because Medieval Studies covers a wide range of academic subjects, you'll want to explore a number of different article databases. Below is a select list, arranged alphabetically, that will be particularly useful for research in Medieval Studies.
Note that not all article databases provide the full text of articles; if you do not see a PDF or a link to full text, text, use the link to find a different access point or to order a copy through Interlibrary Loan.
The complete A-Z list of databases is here.