The Maniculum Library

Looking for our sources? Want some reading, watching, and gaming recommendations? Here's a list of all the resources we've compiled or made reference to in the podcast!

Medieval Primary Sources

• Bald's Leechbook: The British Library has now digitized the Leechbook manuscript so you can take a look at the original Old English text of remedies and charms.

• The Tournament of Tottenham: from the University of Rochester's "Middle English Text Series." Featured in episode one.

• The Death of Muircertach mac Erca: from The Celtic Literature Collective. Also featured in episode two, with reference to the translation found in Cross' Ancient Irish Tales.

• The Gesta Romanorum: an easily accessible translation provided by Project Gutenberg. Featured in episodes three and six.

• The True Judgement of Niall Frossach: a free translation provided by the Celtic Reconstructionist Forum, and featured in episode four.

• Bisclavert: an easily downloadable version, featured in episode five.

• Tiodel's Saga: Alaric Hall's new translation, used in episode five.

• The Saga of Eirik the Red: J. Sephton's 1880 translation, featured in episodes 6-8.

• The Second Shepard's Play: in Middle English, from the Bibliotheca Augustana, featured in episode nine.

Medieval Secondary Sources

• Bosworth Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online: this online dictionary provide detailed entries for Old English words and their usage. An incredibly useful tool for translators, students, or world builders looking to increase their vocabulary.

• BREPOLiS International Medieval Bibliography: an invaluable tool for medievalists everywhere, this compendium houses a worldwide collection of bibliographies from medieval journals and lists topic areas including history, literature, archaeology, classics, theology, Islamic studies, music, rhetoric, and theatre.

• Dictionary of Old English Plant Names: an online compendium of Old English plants, this tool will allow you to explore medieval plants based upon their Old English, Latin, English, German, or botanical names. Entries include the plan name's meaning and related research literature.

• Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Fordham University's excellent compendium of primary source texts, all online for your perusal! The site has a variety of topic areas, including Byzantium, the Crusades, Islam, Judaism, Late Antiquity, Saint's Lives, Sex and Gender, along with geographically organized texts.

• Old English Newsletter Bibliography Database: looking for scholarly work on various Old English topics like archaeology or literature? The OEN Bibliography Database is a good place to look! This resource currently lists works published between 1973 - 2009.

• The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts: written by Graham Robb, this book dives into the culture and science of the Celts and their cosmology.

• The Middle English Compendium: the University of Michigan's Middle English lexicon. We love this site because you can search on the exact Middle English spelling, various versions of the word, or find a Middle English word based on its Modern English equivalent (among other ways to sort).

• Medieval Torches and Lighting: for a more accurate representation of medieval lighting options and myth debunking, see Shadiversity's excellent video!

• Robins Library Digital Projects: University of Rochester's superb online resource medieval scholars, including other resources such as: The Camelot Project, The Crusades Project, TEAMS Middle English Texts, The Cinderella Bibliography, The Robin Hood Project, and Visualizing Chaucer.

• William Whittaker's Words: hosted by the University of Notre Dame, Whittaker's Words is an English-to-Latin and Latin-to-English dictionary that also parses each Latin word. A great resource for struggling Latin students and translators alike.

Scholarly Articles

(Note: the sources listed here are accessible by clicking on their titles; for more limited articles, please look at the references listed at the bottom of each episode's post for selected topics!)

• "A Reassessment of the Efficacy of Anglo-Saxon Medicine": a reply to Cameron's work, this brief article tests several of the leech book's remedies. Written by Barbara Brennessel, Michael D. C. Drout, and Robyn Gravel.

• "Anglo-Saxon Medicine and Magic": M. L. Cameron's brief look at several of the potentially viable remedies in the Anglo-Saxon leech books.

• "Queer Conceptions and Calculations: Niall Frossach and the Easter Controversy": a look at conceptions of queerness in the text of Niall Frossach's True Judgement, written by Philip A. Bernhardt-House.

• "Niall Frossach's True Judgement": a critical reading of the Book of Leinster's account of the saga by Dan M. Wiley.

• "The Black Death, Economic and Social Change and the Great Rising of 1381 in Hertfordshire:" a fantastic primer on the causes and events of the English Peasant's Revolt.

Book, Show, and Gaming Recommendations

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: a children's fantasy show inspired by the martial arts of East Asia, Avatar features Aang, an airbender who must master the use of all four elements to defeat the tyranny of the Fire Nation. Applauded for its sublime characterization and storytelling, this show is a great example for Dungeon Masters and creative writers.

• Blackadder: a TV show featuring Rowan Atkinson and set in the middle ages. This show takes a humorous approach to villainous and scheming English nobles.

• Game of Thrones: a book series and many-seasoned TV show, Game of Thrones is loosely based on the English War of the Roses and European history more broadly. Known for its gruesome characterization and continent-spanning plot, this series reflects a darker side of its medieval inspiration. While we can't comment on the TV show, Mac especially recommends the books.

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame: a Disney film, this movie pokes fun at some of the tropes in medieval storytelling, and considers the question of what does it mean to be a monster?

• Raging Swan Press: A great online resource for Dungeon Masters and players of all kinds, we recommend checking out their works to add to your home game.

• The Utopia of Rules and Bullshit Jobs: two books by antrhopologist David Graeber which detail the failures of bureaucracy and the rise of "managerial feudalism." Mac especially believes the ideas in his books apply to the world of academia.

• The Witcher: a Polish fantasy book series, game series, and now a TV show, The Witcher was inspired by Polish folklore. The story features Geralt, a genetically enhanced monster-hunter called a Witcher, who must face the monstrosities of humankind and supernatural alike. CD Projekt Red quickly expanded its base of folklore to include Arthurian legends and even Grimm's fairy tales in the video game's conception. We recommend all three variations.

We do our best to accurately research, source, and cite the works we use, and make them available to you, too! Each episode has a corresponding blog post which includes further breakdowns of the big ideas in each text as well as cites our sources and references. We also have the Maniculum Library, which actively collects resources and recommendations for writers, scholars, and geeks alike! We update our collection of Master Lists after each new episode, so be sure subscribe and stay updated!

Are we missing something? Let us know! We'd love to add more knowledge to our ever-growing compendium. Chat with us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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