Disclaimer 1: I do not like to refer to the Middle Ages as such, especially in reference to areas outside of Italy, but I do so here because...well...I don't really know what else to call them.
Disclaimer 2: The dates here are approximate and hotly debated. I've chosen to give the starting date of the Middle Ages as the year after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and end it with the fall of Constantinople, but it could be argued that the Renaissance had already begun in Italy as early as late 14th century.
Disclaimer 2: The dates here are approximate and hotly debated. I've chosen to give the starting date of the Middle Ages as the year after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and end it with the fall of Constantinople, but it could be argued that the Renaissance had already begun in Italy as early as late 14th century.
Byzantine Empire (330 - 1453)
Byzantine Sources in Translation - A bibliography by New York's Fordham University of original Byzantine documents which have been translated. Many of these are available on the website through their fantastic Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
Digital Collections of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism - Artifacts from all of Greek history.
Dumbarton Oaks
- Byzantine Online Publications - Essays available to read online. A PDF reader is required.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Lady Tauna Aelswith's Medieval Sources
- A Clothing How-To for Garments of the Byzantine Empire - Information about men's and women's clothing plus costuming instructions.
- Bibliography of a Byzantine Nature - A bibliography of books related to Byzantine costume.
The Laurel Sovereign of Arms for the Society for Creative Anachronism
- Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th and 7th Centuries - Masculine and feminine names alphabetically and by frequency.
- Personal Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the Later Byzantine Era - First names and family names of the aristocracy as well as information on naming practices.
Scott R Robinson - An overview of Byzantine and "Romanesque" dress and a short glossary of terms. Covers the years 400 through 1200.
General Middle Ages (447 - 1453)
Articles on SCA - Garb - Costuming-related articles aimed at members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group which focuses on pre-17th century life worldwide. Their article on costuming for larger figures should be helpful to some.
Footwear of the Middle Ages - A thorough guide about Medieval shoes, including a glossary and detailed lineart based off of extant examples. There is also some information about Bronze Age, Roman and Renaissance shoes.
House Marsvin - Articles mostly related to Northern Europe.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook - A library of original Medieval documents translated into English and available to the masses through Fordham University. This resource has been my savior when writing papers. It covers the fall of the Western Roman Empire all the way through the Reformation.
Joseph Strutt's A Complete View of Dress and Habits of the People of England - Plates scanned from said book, covering English dress from the 8th through early 17th centuries, made available by DragonBear. Individual plates are for sale.
Karen Larsdatter's Medieval Material Culture Page - A wealth of information covering all aspects of Medieval and Renaissance life. Highly recommended.
Medieval Names Archive - An excellent resource with much research put into it. I never realized how much the spelling of names varied in the Middle Ages until browsing through this site. There is also a section on "problem" names which are often cited as ancient or Medieval in origin but may be more recent.
Scott R Robinson
- Romanesque/Byzantine - An overview of Byzantine and "Romanesque" dress and a short glossary of terms. Covers the years 400 through 1200.
- Gothic - An overview of "Gothic" dress and a short glossary of terms. Covers the years 1200 through 1450.
Some Clothing of the Middle Ages - Studies of various clothing fragments.
Stefan's Florilegium Archive - A database full of information related to the middle ages.
Virtue Ventures - Useful how-to articles.
Early Middle Ages (477 - 999)
A (much) smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland - Descriptions of ancient Irish clothing with a couple pictures.
Regia Anglorum - A reenactment group which mainly focuses on the British Isles during the early Middle Ages.
- Basic Clothing Guide - Tips for reenactors.
- The Estate of Wichamstow - The parts of an early Medieval village in the British Isles.
- The Manor of Drengham - Weapons and warfare.
The Textiles of the Oseberg Ship - An analysis of the textiles found accompanying the Oseberg Ship: a well-preserved karv ship discovered in a Norwegian burial mound dating to 834 AD, although the ship itself is thought to have been made in the 8th century or earlier.
Þóra's Viking Resources for the Reenactor - Articles about Viking life and culture by an SCA member.
The Viking Answer Lady - Articles about all aspects of "Viking" life and culture.
The Viking Apron-Dress: A New Reconstruction - Construction of the "Viking apron dress" and the history of its reconstruction theories.
High Middle Ages (1000 - 1299)
Late Middle Ages (1300 - 1453)
Links about both the fashion and culture of the period from 1301 to 1453.
La cotte simple - Tutorials and articles about clothing in the 14th century.
Le Poulet Gauche - A page dedicated to history, culture and daily life in 16th century France.
La cotte simple - Tutorials and articles about clothing in the 14th century.
Le Poulet Gauche - A page dedicated to history, culture and daily life in 16th century France.