A student-led initiative from the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, University of Kent
MIDDLE ENGLISH
Full Texts Online
Curated by Anna-Nadine Pike
This page brings together a range of digital, online editions of key texts in the study of late-medieval literature written in Middle English.
The resources listed here begin with broader full-text databases, hosting texts by multiple different late-medieval authors. If you are looking for a text by a particular author, you can jump straight to our individual texts online, which are subdivided by author. Many of these resources are landing-pages for academic projects which have produced digital editions of individual texts or particular manuscripts, allowing for close comparative study.
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And if you're in need of some expert advice, join our literature research forum!
Full-text databases
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CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts CELT brings together source materials for the study of Irish literary and historical culture (in Irish, Latin, Anglo-Norman French, and English). Use the Resources page here to access specific manuscript collections, links to current scholarship projects, bibliographic profiles of Irish writers, dictionaries and linguistic corpora.
Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse An electronic collection of 146 Middle English texts, compiled from the University of Michigan faculty, the Oxford Text Archive, and the Humanities Text Initiative. The Corpus is part of the Middle English Compendium by the University of Michigan, which also includes the Middle English Dictionary (see below)
Digital Index of Middle English Verse The online companion to the Index of Middle English Verse, DIMEV compiles searchable Middle English verse texts from manuscripts, printed books and inscriptions. These records are indexed for keyword searching, but can also be browsed by author, title, scribe or verse form.
Early English Books Online Now available through the ProQuest platform, EEBO offers facsimile versions of early printed books in English, searchable and catalogued with reference to the English Short Title Catalogue (see below)
English Short Title Catalogue The English Short Title Catalogue from the British Library. The catalogue is searchable, and can be cross-referenced with Early English Books Online to view digital facsimiles of printed materials.
Luminarium Online, edited, full-text resources of many major works of medieval literature, together with articles and digital resources.
TEAMS Middle English Texts Online access to resources including TEAMS Middle English Texts, a searchable project which makes available many edited versions of Middle English primary materials. The Middle English Texts Series (METS) is published in association with the University of Rochester by Medieval Institute Publications (Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan). An alphabetised list of individual publications is also available through this resource.
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Individual texts online
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Bridget of Sweden: Latin Revelaciones - known otherwise as the Liber celestis, are available online via the Umilta portal. Books I-III and V-VII are adapted from Den Heligas Birgittas, edited by Birger Bergh (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells, 1967). Book IV is adapted from Sancta Birgitta: Revelaciones, Book IV, edited by Hans Aili (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1992).
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Geoffrey Chaucer: The Auchinleck Manuscript - A digitised, searchable edition of the Auchinleck manuscript from the National Library of Scotland (NLS Adv MS 19.2.1), produced in London in the 1330s. The MS provides a valuable insight into the literary lives of Chaucer and his contemporaries.
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Geoffrey Chaucer: The Book of the Duchess - A hypertext edition of the four witness version of Chaucer’s The Book of the Duchess, as recorded in Bodleian MSS Tanner 346, Fairfax 16 and Bodley 638, and the 1573 Thynne edition. The witness texts can be read side by side and are fully annotated. The Book of the Duchess resource has been compiled, edited and annotated by Phoebe Macindoe (University of York).
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Geoffrey Chaucer: The Open Access Companion to The Canterbury Tales - This is a volume of introductory chapters for readers of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
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Julian of Norwich: Umilta - A portal for the study of Julian of Norwich and medieval texts related to her work, including the Carthusian Amherst Manuscript (British Library, Add MS 37790). Julian’s Showing of Love and related online editions of her writings may be found here.
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Julian of Norwich's Showing of Love: Texts and Contexts - Umilta also compiles interactive bibliographies for texts pertinent to studies of Julian’s mysticism, including Julian of Norwich herself, St Bridget of Sweden, St Catherine of Siena, The Cloud of Unknowing, the Ancrene Riwle and Katherine Group, and contexts including the Bridgettine Syon Abbey, the English Benedictine nuns, and the preacher Adam Easton.
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John Gower: The Gower Project - applies newly available technologies and critical perspectives to the poetic works of John Gower. The site is frequently updated with bibliographic materials, and links to the work of its contributors from a consortium of North American and European universities.
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Margery Kempe: The Book of Margery Kempe A new facsimile and documentary edition of The Book of Margery Kempe from MS Additional 61823 (British Library Project, edited by Joel Fredell)
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Thomas Hoccleve: The Hoccleve Society - Access to full-text works, including The Regiment of Princes and a prose translation of the "Complaint", together with news and events relating to the study of Thomas Hoccleve's life and works (1368-1426).
Towards a New Edition of the Wycliffite Bible - An AHRC-funded project at the University of Oxford, led by Elizabeth Solopova, which offered a new edition of the Wycliffite Bible. The site provides bibliographic and contextual detail about the Wycliffite Bible, and will host a digital, interactive version of the new edition itself.
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Can't find what you're looking for? Need some research advice?
Our Middle English Literature forum connects you to an online scholarly community of researchers who will be happy to help with reading recommendations, sourcing texts, and more.
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Page edited by Anna-Nadine Pike
With contributions from Dr Edward Roberts (MEMS), Dr Robert Gallagher (MEMS),
Dr Ryan Perry (MEMS) and Dr Daniel Smith (Kings College London)
Resource page updated by Anna-Nadine Pike - last updated 11/12/21
Resource page updated by Fay West - last updated 24/07/23