1. science
2. social science
3. history

Primary Source List for
HIST 111
Compiled from Bedford/St. Martin’s
The links are arranged in roughly chronological
order
The Epic of Gilgamesh, ca 2500 B.C.E.
Overview: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Mesopotamia's ancient epic poem, is one of the earliest
literary works and relates the saga of Gilgamesh, the mythical king of Uruk and his companion
Enkidu. "Take and read out from the lapis lazuli tablet how Gilgamesh went through every
hardship."
Topic: Mesopotamia, Literature
Date Range: pre 1000 B.C.E.
Pyramid Text of Unas, ca. 2350 B.C.E.
Overview: The Pyramid Text of Unas is a collection of Egyptian religious texts from the Old
Kingdom. "O Osiris King Unas, I have given You the Eye of Horus! May your face be adorned
with it! May the perfume of the Eye of Horus diffuse over You!"
Topic: Religion, Early Civilizations, Egypt
Date Range: pre 1000 B.C.E.
From The Lament for Urim ca. 2000 B.C.E.
Overview: In a poem among the oldest human poetry, a Sumerian poet laments the fate of the
city of Ur. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature is based at the University of
Oxford. "O city, your name exists but you have been destroyed. O city, your wall rises high but
your Land has perished."
Topic: Literature, Mesopotamia, Early Civilizations
Date Range: pre 1000 B.C.E.
Code of Hammurabi, ca. 1760 B.C.E
Overview: The Code of Hammurabi is one of the few surviving early legal codes and explains
the Mesopotamian understanding of crime and justice. This translation, at the Yale Law School
Avalon Project, includes a glossary of Gods and Placenames. "1. If any one ensnare another,
putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death."
Topic: Early Civilizations, Mesopotamia, Legal and Constitutional
Date Range: pre 1000 B.C.E.
When Cyrus the Great Was a Boy
Overview: A story of the great Persian king's youth. "Then Cyrus, taking of the several meats, is
said to have distributed them to the servants about his grandfather, saying to each, 'I give this to
you, because you take pleasure in teaching me to ride; this to you, because you gave me a
javelin, for I have it still; this to you, because you serve my grandfather well; this to you,
because you honor my mother'; and to have proceeded thus, till he had distributed all the meat
that he had received."
Topic: Literature, Greece, Near East, Early Civilizations
Date Range: pre 1000 B.C.E. - 500 B.C.E
2
Greek Reports of Bablyonia, Chaldea, and Assyria
Overview: Excerpts of descriptions of these societies by Herodotus, a Greek historian writing in
the fifth century BCE. "They also declare---but I for my part do not credit it---that the god comes
down in person into this chamber, and sleeps upon the couch. This is like the story told by the
Egyptians of what takes place in their city of Thebes, where a woman always passes the night in
the temple of the Theban Jupiter [Amon-Ra]."
Topic: Early Civilizations, Social and Cultural, Travel Narratives, Near East, Greece
Date Range: pre 1000 B.C.E. - 500 B.C.E
Appian, The Civil Wars--On The Grachhi
Overview: Excerpt from the Roman historian Appian's account of the Roman civil wars. "As the
Romans conquered the Italian tribes, one after another, in war, they seized part of the lands and
founded towns there, or placed colonies of their own in those already established..."
Topic: Roman Republic, Warfare and Military
Date Range: 753 B.C.E - 44 B.C.E
Livy, The History of Rome
Overview: Both the English and Latin versions of this history written in the late first century
BCE. "To begin with, it is generally admitted that after the capture of Troy, whilst the rest of the
Trojans were massacred..."
Topic: Government and Politics, Literature, Warfare and Military, Roman Republic
Date Range: 753 B.C.E - 44 B.C.E
Polybius, Rome at the End of the Punic Wars
Overview: Book 6 of a larger document by what the site calls "the most reliable of Roman
historians." "The three kinds of government, monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, were all
found united in the commonwealth of Rome. And so even was the balance between them all..."
Topic: Government and Politics, Roman Republic, Warfare and Military
Date Range: 753 B.C.E - 44 B.C.E
Polybius, The Constitution of the Roman Republic
Overview: Taken from Polybius's history of Rome. "I have already mentioned the three
divisions of government in control of state affairs. Regarding their respective roles, everything
was so equally and fittingly set out and administered, in all respects, that no one, not even any of
the Romans themselves, could say for certain whether their system of government was
aristocratic in its general nature, or democratic, or monarchical."
Topic: Roman Republic, Legal and Constitutional
Date Range: 753 B.C.E - 44 B.C.E
From Bhagavad Gita, Brahman the Infinite Soul, ca. 500-200 B.C.E
Overview: Excerpt on Brahman from the Bhagavad Gita, the most fundamental and much
beloved of all Hindu religious texts. "The Brahman is the supreme Being, the indestructible. Its
manifestation as an individual self is called the Adhyatma."
Topic: Literature, Hinduism, Religion
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 200 B.C.E
3
The Persian Wars by Herodotus
Overview: Chronicle of the conflict by the Greek historian. "These are the researches of
Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay
the remembrance of what men have done..."
Topic: Literature, Near East, Warfare and Military, Greece, Early Civilizations
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 400 B.C.E
Aristotle, From The Politics: Spartan Women, 350 B.C.E.
Overview: In this excerpt from The Politics, Aristotle censors the disorder of Spartan women
and the consequences of what he judges to be the lawlessness of their lives. "The result proves
the faulty nature of their laws respecting property; for the city sank under a single defeat; the
want of men was their ruin."
Topic: Greece, Women and Feminism
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 500
Arrian, From The Campaigns of Alexander: Speech of Alexander the Great, ca. 330 B.C.E.
Overview: Arrian, a later Greek historian, chronicles a speech of Alexander the Great to his
men. The text is part of the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook. "Our ships will sail round from
the Persian Gulf to Libya as far as the Pillars of Hercules...and to this empire there will be no
boundaries but what God Himself has made for the whole world."
Topic: Hellenistic Period
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 500
King Darius of Persia, Chalouf Stele Inscription, 500-400 B.C.E.
Overview: Darius' Suez Inscriptions includes the text and translation from the Chalouf stele, an
important resource illustrating the authority of the Persian ruler. The site provides links to
additional primary source Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions, including those of Cyrus the Great
and Xerxes. quot;I am Darius the great king, king of kings, king of all kinds of men, king in this
great earth far and wide..."
Topic: Literature, Empires, Early Civilizations
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 400 B.C.E
Sophocles, Antigone (excerpts)
Overview: Extended segments from one of the most acclaimed plays of this Greek tragic poet.
No man, my lord, should make a vow, for if
He ever swears he will not do a thing,
His afterthoughts belie his first resolve.
When from the hail-storm of thy threats I fled
Topic: Social and Cultural, Greece, Literature
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 400 B.C.E
4
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Overview: The complete text written by the Greek historian Thucydides. "The preparations of
both the combatants were in every department in the last state of perfection; and he could see the
rest of the Hellenic race taking sides in the quarrel."
Topic: Warfare and Military, Greece, Literature
Date Range: 500 B.C.E - 400 B.C.E
Confucius, From The Analects: Selections, ca. 479-221 B.C.E.
Overview: Selections from Confucius's principal work compiled by his disciples. Secular in
outlook, it remains a powerful intellectual tradition in China today. "Now the man of perfect
humaneness, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be
enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others. To be able to judge of others by what is nearby
in ourselves, that is what we might call the art of humaneness."
Topic: Literature, Philosophy, Religion, East Asia, China
Date Range: 479 B.C.E - 221 B.C.E
The Twelve Tables, 450 B.C
Overview: The earliest Roman law code, enacted between 451 and 449 BCE. "The penal sum in
an action by solemn deposit shall be either 500 asses or 50 asses. ... It shall be argued by solemn
deposit with 500 asses, when the property is valued at 1,000 asses or more..."
Topic: Roman Republic, Legal and Constitutional
Date Range: 450 B.C.E
Thucydides, From The Peloponnesian War: Pericles' Funeral Oration, 431 B.C.E.
Overview: The great Athenian statesman Pericles celebrates the uniqueness of Athenian
democracy in his Funeral Oration from the Peloponnesian War. The text is part of the Internet
Ancient History Sourcebook compiled and edited by Paul Halsall at Fordham University. 'Our
constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than
imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called
a democracy.'
Topic: Greece, Government and Politics
Date Range: 431 B.C.E
Accounts of Meröe, Kush, and Axum
Overview: Ancient History Sourcebook: Accounts of Meröe, Kush, and Axum, c. 430 BCE–
550 CE, includes classical text sources from Herodotus, among others, who notes, "The
Ethiopians to whom this embassy was sent are said to be the tallest and handsomest men in the
whole world."
Topic: Egypt, Africa, Roman Empire
Date Range: 430 B.C.E - 550
5
Herodotus, On The Customs of the Persians, c. 430 BCE
Overview: The Greek historian Herodotus provides an account of Persian society. The text is
part of the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook compiled and edited by Paul Halsall at Fordham
University. "The customs which I know the Persians to observe are the following: they have no
images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly."
Topic: Greece, Social and Cultural
Date Range: 430 B.C.E
Euripides, The Trojan Women, 415 B.C.E.
Overview: The full text of Euripides' play about the postwar conditions of Trojan women, the
consequences of war, and the fate of the defeated and the victors. "Woe to thee, ill-fated Troy,
thy sun is set; and woe to thy unhappy children, quick and dead alike, who are leaving thee
behind!"
Topic: Greece, Literature
Date Range: 415 B.C.E
Plato, The Republic: The Philosopher-King, 380 B.C.E.
Overview: Plato lays out his concept of the philosopher-king and illustrates Greek thinking
about the design for a good society. "And to men like him, I said, when perfected by years and
education, and to these only you will intrust the State."
Topic: Literature, Monarchy, Social and Cultural, Greece, Philosophy
Date Range: 380 B.C.E
Athanaeus: The Great Spectacle and Procession of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 285 BCE
Overview: Firsthand account of the accession of Ptolemy II. "First of all there went the
procession of Lucifer [the name given to the planet Venus] for the fete began at the time when
that star first appears. Then came processions in honor of the several gods."
Topic: Hellenistic Period, Egypt, Monarchy
Date Range: 285 B.C.E
Ashoka, Rock Edicts, 257 B.C.E.
Overview: Excerpts from Indian Emperor Ashoka's edicts carved on rocks and pillars. The text
is part of the Internet Indian History Sourcebook. "Nor is this to be attained by a great man only,
because even by the small man who chooses to exert himself immense heavenly bliss may be
won."
Topic: Buddhism, Religion, Empires, Early Civilizations
Date Range: 257 B.C.E
Sima Qian, From the Records of the Grand Historian: The Legalist Policies of the Qin, 91 B.C.E.
Overview: Sima Qian, the greatest Chinese historian quotes the inscriptions of the First
Emperor's accomplishments and Legalist policies. 'Great is the virtue of our Emperor / Who
pacifies ail four corners of the earth, / Who punishes traitors, roots out evil men, / And with
profitable measures brings prosperity.'
Topic: East Asia, China
Date Range: 221 B.C.E - 207 B.C.E
6
Plautus, From Pseudolus, Act I, Scene 2: The Conduct and Treatment of Slaves, 201 B.C.E.
Overview: Ancient History Sourcebook: Slavery in the Roman Republic gives a picture by the
Roman playwright, Plautus, of an inconsiderate master, and the kind of treatment his slaves were
likely to get. "Not one of you dreams minding your business, or being a bit of use to me, unless I
carry on thus! [He strikes his whip around on all of them.] Never did I see men more like asses
than you!"
Topic: Roman Republic, Slavery
Date Range: 200 B.C.E - 27
Sima Qian, From The Records of the Grand Historian: The Expedition of Zhang Qian, 91 B.C.E.
Overview: Sima Qian: Grand Historian, wrote The Record of the Grand Historian which was
the first Chinese text to provide information about Central Asia and the Silk Roads. The account
of the return of the Expedition of Zhang Qian to Central Asia records "The emperor honored
Zhang Qian with the post of palace counselor and awarded Kanfu the title of "Lord Who Carries
Out His Mission."
Topic: Literature, Travel Narratives, Asia and Japan
Date Range: 145 B.C.E - 90 B.C.E
Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Spartacus, ca. 100 B.C.E.
Overview: Plutarch's account of the first century Spartacus rebellion. Although written in the
second century CE, it remains an important source on the rising of the gladiators. "They then
occupied a strong position and elected three leaders. The first of these was Spartacus. He was a
Thracian from the nomadic tribes and not only had a great spirit and great physical strength, but
was, much more than one would expect from his condition..."
Topic: Literature, Roman Republic, Warfare and Military
Date Range: 73 B.C.E
Sallust, Life in Rome in the Late Republic, c. 63 BCE
Overview: This excerpt from Sallust's chronicle of the political chaos of the late Roman
Republic describes the Cataline Conspiracy. "After Sulla had recovered the government by force
of arms, everybody became robbers and plunderers. Some set their hearts on houses, some on
lands. "
Topic: Warfare and Military, Roman Republic, Government and Politics
Date Range: 63 B.C.E
Juvenal, Satire VI, The Ways of Women
Overview: A satire from a first-century CE Roman writer. "In the days of Saturn, I believe,
Chastity still lingered on the earth, and was to be seen for a time--days when men were poorly
housed in chilly caves, which under one common shelter enclosed hearth and household gods,
herds and their owners."
Topic: Social and Cultural, Roman Empire, Literature
Date Range: 44 B.C.E - 284
7
Letters of Sailors in the Roman Navy
Overview: Two short excerpts that offer a rare glimpse into the average soldier's life. "Before
all I pray for your health. I myself am well, and make supplication for you before the gods of this
place. I wish you to know, mother, that I arrived in Rome in good health.on the 20th of the
month Pachon, and was posted to Misenum, though I have not let learned the name of my
company (kenturian);"
Topic: Roman Empire, Warfare and Military
Date Range: 44 B.C.E - 284
Macrobius, The Bill of Fare of a Great Roman Banquet
Overview: An interesting insight into the food of the Roman elite. "Before the dinner proper
came sea hedgehogs; fresh oysters, as many as the guests wished; large mussels; sphondyli; field
fares with asparagus; fattened fowls; oyster and mussel pasties."
Topic: Roman Empire, Social and Cultural
Date Range: 44 B.C.E - 284
Suetonius, The Lives of the Caesars--The Deified Augustus
Overview: Excerpts from a biography of Augustus by the Roman historian Suetonius.
"Augustus was born just before sunrise on the ninth day before the Kalends of October in the
consulship of Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius [Sept. 23, 63 BCE]."
Topic: Empires, Roman Empire, Government and Politics
Date Range: 44 B.C.E - 284
A Merchant of the First Century, From The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in
the Indian Ocean, ca. 1-100 C.E.
Overview: The travel and trade account in The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a major
firsthand account of what the Greeks knew about the Indian Ocean. The text describes the ports
visited and commodities exchanged. "There are imported here the same things already
mentioned, also silver plate, a very little iron, and glass. There are shipped from the place a great
quantity of cinnamon, (so that this market-town requires ships of larger size), and fragrant gums,
spices, a little tortoise shell, and mocrotu,. . ."
Topic: Greece, Travel Narratives, Trade and Commerce
Date Range: 1 - 100
Res Gestae Divi Augusti, c. 14 CE
Overview: The Deeds of the Divine Augustus describes the glories of this Roman Emperor's
reign. The text is part of the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook. "I undertook civil and foreign
wars both by land and by sea; as victor therein I showed mercy to all surviving [Roman] citizens.
Foreign nations, that I could safely pardon, I preferred to spare rather than to destroy."
Topic: Roman Empire
Date Range: 14
8
Ban Zhao Pan Chao, Lessons for a Woman, 80 C.E.
Overview: Lessons for a Woman offers a practical guide for a woman's everyday life in Han
China. Written by a noted female scholar the literary work was crafted to address the lack of
attention to women's lives in Confucian texts. "Let a woman modestly yield to others; let her
respect others; let her put others first, herself last."
Topic: Social and Cultural, Religion, Women and Feminism
Date Range: 45 - 116
Pliny the Elder, From The Natural History, 77 C.E.
Overview: Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, locates the cinnamon trade "in the country of
the Aethiopians." Here, "The thinnest parts in the sticks, for about a palm in length, are looked
upon as producing the finest cinnamon; the part that comes next, though not quite so long, is the
next best, and so on downwards."
Topic: Roman Empire, Social and Cultural, Travel Narratives, Literature
Date Range: 77 - 78
Constantine I, Laws for Christians
Overview: Some of Constantine's early edicts recorded by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical
History. "When some began wickedly and perversely to disagree among themselves in regard to
the holy worship and celestial power and Catholic doctrine, wishing to put an end to such
disputes among them, I formerly gave command that certain bishops should be sent from Gaul,
and that the opposing parties 382 who were contending persistently and incessantly with each
other, should be summoned from Africa."
Topic: Christianity, Roman Empire, Religion
Date Range: 284 - 600
Diocletian, Edicts against the Christians
Overview: Two primary sources offer details on an intense period of Christian persecution
under Diocletian. "This was the nineteenth year of the reign of Diocletian in Dystrus (which the
Romans call March), when the feast of the Saviour's passion was near at hand."
Topic: Christianity, Government and Politics, Roman Empire, Religion
Date Range: 284 - 600
The Emperor Julian, Mispogon or "Beard-Hater"
Overview: A satire intended to help restore paganism at the expense of Christianity. "Anacreon
the poet composed many delightful songs; for a luxurious life was allotted to him by the Fates.
But Alcaeus and Archilochus of Paros the god did not permit to devote their muse to mirth and
pleasure."
Topic: Christianity, Literature, Roman Empire, Religion
Date Range: 284 - 600
9
The Visigothic Code
Overview: Legal code of this nomadic people with a helpful introduction. "We, whose duty it is
to afford suitable assistance in the formation of the laws, should, in the execution of this
undertaking, improve upon the methods of the ancients, disclosing as well the excellence of the
law to be framed, as the skill of its artificer."
Topic: Spain and Spanish Empire, Monarchy, Legal and Constitutional
Date Range: 284 - 600
Galerius and Constantine, Edicts of Toleration, 311 and 313 CE
Overview: Edict of Toleration by Galerius in 311 CE and Edict of Milan of 313 CE. "Among
other arrangements which we are always accustomed to make for the prosperity and welfare of
the republic, we had desired formerly to bring all things into harmony with the ancient laws and
public order of the Romans, and to provide that even the Christians who had left the religion of
their fathers should come back to reason."
Topic: Legal and Constitutional, Roman Empire, Religion
Date Range: 311 - 313
Jews and the Later Roman Law, 315-531 CE
Overview: A collection of laws passed by Constantine, Theodosius, and Justinian restricting the
rights of Jews during the later years of the Roman Empire. "We wish to make it known to the
Jews and their elders and their patriarchs that if, after the enactment of this law, any one of them
dares to attack with stones or some other manifestation of anger another who has fled their
dangerous sect and attached himself to the worship of God [Christianity], he must speedily be
given to the flames and burn--together with all his accomplices."
Topic: Judaism, Legislation and Acts, Roman Empire, Religion
Date Range: 315 - 531
Fa-Hien, From A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, ca. 399-414
Overview: A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien is the complete
English translation at Project Gutenberg. In Chapter XXXVII he recounts his journey to Ceylon
and describes the pearl trade: "Most of them produce pearls and precious stones of various kinds;
there is one which produces the pure and brilliant pearl, (5) - an island which would form a
square of about ten le. The king employs men to watch and protect it, and requires three out of
every ten such pearls, which the collectors find."
Topic: Trade and Commerce, Travel Narratives, Buddhism
Date Range: 399 - 414
Procopius, From De Aedificis: On the Great Church, ca. 500
Overview: Procopios on the Great Church, Hagia Sophia: "No one ever became weary of this
spectacle, but those who are in the church delight in what they see, and, when they leave,
magnify it in their talk. Moreover it is impossible accurately to describe the gold, and silver, and
gems, presented by the Emperor Justinian, but by the description of one part, I leave the rest to
be inferred."
Topic: Byzantium, Arts
Date Range: 500 - 1300
10
Procopius: From Secret History: Extracts, ca. 500
Overview: Procopius, 6th century Byzantine historian, wrote a Secret History on the Roman
Emperor Justinian too scandalous for publication. These excerpts are from a 1927 translation. ". .
. his character was something I could not fully describe. For he was at once villainous and
amenable; as people say colloquially, a moron. He was never truthful with anyone, but always
guileful in what he said and did, yet easily hoodwinked by any who wanted to deceive him. His
nature was an unnatural mixture of folly and wickedness."
Topic: Roman Empire, Byzantium, Literature
Date Range: 500 - 1300
Emperor Justinian, The Institutes, 535 CE
Overview: Extensive excerpts from this legal code. "JUSTICE is the constant and perpetual
wish to render every one his due. 1. Jurisprudence is the knowledge of things divine and human;
the science of the just and the unjust."
Topic: Roman Empire, Legal and Constitutional
Date Range: 535
The Pact of Umar
Overview: Treaty that determined the Muslim methods for dealing with non-Muslims (who in
many areas remained a majority for centuries) under their political control. "We shall not build,
in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries, Churches, convents, or monks' cells, nor
shall we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins or are situated in the quarters of
the Muslims."
Topic: Byzantium, Islam, Religion
Date Range: 600 - 750
The Records of Ardashir
Overview: Excerpts from the records of the founder of the Sassanian Empire. "On hearing these
words, Papak dispatched somebody to call Sasan to his presence, and questioned him as follows:
'From what race and family art thou? Out of thy fore-fathers and ancestors was there anybody
who had exercised sovereignty or chieftainship before?'"
Topic: Social and Cultural, Byzantium, Government and Politics
Date Range: 600 - 750
Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
Overview: An abridged translation of Gregory of Tours's history from the sixth century. "King
Clothar had ordered all the churches of his kingdom to pay into his treasury a third of their
revenues. But when all the other bishops, though grudgingly, had agreed to this..."
Topic: Literature, Social and Cultural, Warfare and Military, Middle Ages
Date Range: 600 - 750
11
Ibn Ishaq, From the Life of Muhammad: Excerpts, ca. 700
Overview: Written by Ibn Ishaq, an Arab who lived about a century after Muhammad. "It is
alleged in popular stories (and only God knows the truth) that Amina d. Wahb, the mother of
God's apostle, used to say when she was pregnant with God's apostle that a voice said to her,
'You are pregnant with the lord of this people and when he is born say, "I put him in the care of
the One from the evil of every envier"; then call him Muhammad.'"
Topic: Literature, Middle East, Islam, Religion
Date Range: 600 - 750
Nennius, The History of the Britons (8th Century)
Overview: Excerpts from the source for many of the legends of King Arthur. "But Hengist, in
whom united craft and penetration, perceiving he had to act with an ignorant king, and a
fluctuating people, incapable of opposing much resistance, replied to Vortigern, 'We are, indeed,
few in number; but, if you will give us leave, we will send to our country for an additional
number of forces, with whom we will fight for you and your subjects.'"
Topic: England and British Empire, Literature, Warfare and Military, Monarchy
Date Range: 600 - 750
Rule of St. Columba, 6th Century
Overview: Although set down much later, this document is attributed to one of the leaders of
early Irish monasticism. "Be alone in a separate place near a chief city, if thy conscience is not
prepared to be in common with the crowd. Be always naked in imitation of Christ and the
Evangelists."
Topic: Religion
Date Range: 600 - 700
The Farmer's Law, 7-8th Centuries
Overview: Laws written during the seventh and eighth centuries to regulate the lives of free
peasants during the period of the Macedonian dynasty. "The Farmer who is working his own
field must be just and must not encroach on his neighbor's furrows."
Topic: Economics, Labor, Social and Cultural, Legal and Constitutional, Byzantium
Date Range: 600 - 800
Prophet Muhammad, The Prophet's Farewell Sermon, ca. 632
Overview: The Prophet's Farewell Sermon was delivered during his final Hajj. He described the
outlines of a model Islamic community, "All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no
superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; also a
white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white except
by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim and that
Muslims constitute one brotherhood."
Topic: Islam, Religion
Date Range: 632
12
The Jews of Spain and the Visigothic Code, 654-681, CE
Overview: Part of the laws constructed by the Catholic kings who ruled Spain between 586 and
711. "To our most pious and noble lord and master, King Recceswinth: We, Jews of the city of
Toledo, who have hereto attached our signatures or seals, call your attention to the fact that
formerly we were compelled to present a memorial to King Chintila, of holy memory by which
we bound ourselves to uphold the Catholic faith, as, in like manner, we do now."
Topic: Religion, Spain and Spanish Empire, Middle Ages, Government and Politics
Date Range: 654 - 681
Ibn Ishaq (d. c. 773 CE): Selections from the Life of Muhammad
Overview: This excerpt is from a biography of Muhammad written by Ibn Ishag soon after his
death. It represents one of the few full biographies of the Prophet. "It is alleged in popular stories
(and only God knows the truth) that Amina d. Wahb, the mother of God's apostle, used to say
when she was pregnant with God's apostle that a voice said to her, "You are pregnant with the
lord of this people and when he is born say, "I put him in the care of the One from the evil of
every envier; then call him Muhammad."
Topic: Islam, Religion
Date Range: 733 - 734
Li Po, With the Moon and His Shadow, ca. 700
Overview: Li Po is one of the most popular Tang dynasty poets. His poem "With the Moon and
His Shadow," among his most famous, is included in many world literature anthologies and
illustrates the power of his imagination. "I sing, the wild moon wanders the sky.| I dance, my
shadow goes tumbling about.| While we're awake, let us join in carousal;| Only sweet
drunkenness shall ever part us."
Topic: Arts, Literature, East Asia
Date Range: 742 - 762
An Arab Ambassador in Constantinople, late 10th century
Overview: An account that reflects the diplomatic interactions between the Abbasid Empire and
Byzantium, two of the most powerful states of the period. "So I proceeded to Constantinople and
made my entry after I had been met and most courteously escorted by court officials. I was
honourably lodged in the palace of the Kanikleios N'cephorus (the envoy come with me) who
stood in favour with the Sovereign."
Topic: Economics, Government and Politics, Middle East, Social and Cultural, Travel
Narratives, Byzantium, Middle Ages
Date Range: 750 - 1050
The Donation of Constantine
Overview: The Medieval Sourcebook calls this document "perhaps the most famous forgery in
history." This document served as the basis for papal claims of territory and jurisdiction in Italy.
"Wherefore we have perceived it to be fitting that our empire and the power of our kingdom
should be transferred and changed to the regions of the East; and that, in the province of
Byzantium, in a most fitting place, a city should be built in our name."
Topic: Middle Ages, Government and Politics, Religion
Date Range: 750 - 800
13
The Life of King Alfred
Overview: Biography probably written during the tenth century by Asser, bishop of Sherborne,
although some scholars claim it was written much later by an unknown author. "In the same
year, king Ethelwulf sent his son Alfred, above-named, to Rome, with an honourable escort both
of nobles and commoners. Pope Leo [the fourth] at that time presided over the apostolic see, and
he anointed for king the aforesaid Alfred, and adopted him as his spiritual son."
Topic: International Affairs and Treaties, Monarchy, Religion, Middle Ages, Literature
Date Range: 750 - 1050
Einhard, From Life of Charlemagne, c. 817-836
Overview: The site Life of Charlemagne has excerpts from an account of his life written by
Einhard, his friend and courtier. "He was so careful of the training of his sons and daughters that
he never took his meals without them when he was at home, and never made a journey without
them; his sons would ride at his side, and his daughters follow him, while a number of his bodyguard, detailed for their protection, brought up the rear."
Topic: Empires, Middle Ages, Literature
Date Range: 768 - 814
Nestor, The Russian Primary Chronicle: The Christianization of Russia, 988
Overview: "The Christianisation of Russia" is an excerpt from The Russian Primary Chronicle
and recounts the decision of Prince Vladimir of Kiev to establish a religious affiliation and his
selection of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. "When the people were baptised, they returned each
to his own abode. Vladimir, rejoicing that he and his subjects now knew God himself, looked up
to heaven and said: O God, who hast created heaven and earth, look down, I beseech thee, on this
thy new people, and grant them, O Lord, to know thee as the true God. . ."
Topic: Religion, Middle Ages, Russia and the Soviet Union
Date Range: 988
Baghdad under the Abbasids, c. 1000 CE
Overview: An eyewitness account of the city during its period as the crown of medieval Muslim
civilization. "The city of Baghdad formed two vast semicircles on the right and left banks of the
Tigris, twelve miles in diameter. The numerous suburbs, covered with parks, gardens, villas, and
beautiful promenades, and plentifully supplied with rich bazaars, and finely built mosques and
baths, stretched for a considerable distance on both sides of the river."
Topic: Middle Ages, Travel Narratives, Social and Cultural, Middle East, Empires
Date Range: 1000 - 1050
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (973-1037), On Medicine
Overview: Written in 1020 CE by Avicenna, a physician who was also known as a "sort of
universal genius" with exceptional skills in the fields of mathematics, poetry, and philosophy.
"Medicine considers the human body as to the means by which it is cured and by which it is
driven away from health."
Topic: Health and Disease, Science and Technology, Middle East, Middle Ages
Date Range: 1020
14
Bruno of Segni: A Pamphlet on Simoniacs, Late 11th Century
Overview: A pamphlet by the founder of the Carthusian monastic order on the sin of buying
and selling church preferments and benefices. "The whole world was placed in wickedness,
sanctity had failed, justice had perished, and truth lay buried. Iniquity was king, avarice was lord,
Simon magus held the Church, bishops and priests were given over to pleasure and fornication."
Topic: Middle Ages, Religion
Date Range: 1050 - 1150
Peter Abelard, Historia Calamitatum or The Story of My Misfortunes
Overview: Translation of this self-portrait of one of the great intellectuals of the twelfth century
(who is now more famous as the lover of Heloise). "Often the hearts of men and women are
stirred, as likewise they are soothed in their sorrows more by example than by words."
Topic: Social and Cultural, Middle Ages, Literature
Date Range: 1050 - 1150
Pope Urban II, Speech at Council of Clermont according to Fulcher of Chartres, 1095
Overview: The medieval chronicler Fulcher of Chartres provides one of the four accounts of the
speech of Pope Urban II calling for Crusade and promising "All who die by the way, whether by
land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I
grant them through the power of God with which I am invested."
Topic: Crusades, Middle Ages, Religion
Date Range: 1093 - 1094
Usmah Ibn Munqidh, Autobiography, 1175
Overview: Autobiography, excerpts on the Franks is an account by Usmah Ibn Munqidh, a
Muslim warrior and courtier who fought with Salah al-Din against the Franks. This excerpt
illustrates his impressions of the Franks. When a Frankish knight invites Usmah's son to Europe,
he thinks there could be no greater misfortune, but replies, 'By thy life, this has exactly been my
idea. But the only thing that prevented me from carrying it out was the fact that his grandmother,
my mother, is so fond of him and did not this time let him come out with me until she exacted an
oath from me to the effect that I would return him to her.'
Topic: Middle Ages, Social and Cultural
Date Range: 1095 - 1188
Fulk of Chartres, The Capture of Jerusalem, 1099
Overview: Fulk of Chartres participated in the First Crusade's siege on Jerusalem which fell in
July, 1099. He wrote, "A great fight took place in the court and porch of the temples, where they
were unable to escape from our gladiators. Many fled to the roof of the temple of Solomon, and
were shot with arrows, so that they fell to the ground dead. In this temple almost ten thousand
were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles
with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither
women nor children were spared."
Topic: Warfare and Military, Middle Ages, Literature
Date Range: 1099
15
The Song of Roland
Overview: Full text of one of the earliest chansons de geste. The Song of Roland is an epic
poem that is also one of the earliest poems to celebrate the idea of nationhood.
The king our Emperor Carlemaine,
Hath been for seven full years in Spain.
From highland to sea hath he won the land;
City was none might his arm withstand;
Topic: Social and Cultural, Middle Ages, Literature
Date Range: 1150 - 1215
Hadia Dajani-Shakeel, Some Medieval Accounts of Salah al-Din's Recovery of Jerusalem (AlQuds)
Overview: Hadia Dajani-Shakeel, 'Some Medieval Accounts of Salah al-Din's Recovery of
Jerusalem (Al-Quds)' includes brief excerpts from several Arabic accounts of the liberation of
Jerusalem and the Muslim response. 'If God blesses us by enabling us to drive His enemies out
of Jerusalem, how fortunate and happy we would be! For Jerusalem has been controlled by the
enemy for ninety-one years. . . . Now God has reserved the merit of its recovery for one house,
the house of the sons of Ayyub, in order to unite all hearts in appreciation of its members.'
Topic: Judaism, Warfare and Military, Islam, Middle Ages, Religion
Date Range: 1187
Innocent III, Summons to a Crusade, 1215
Overview: Primary sources from the most powerful of the medieval popes. The letters deal with
issues including usury, heresy, tithes, and the Jews. "Aspiring with ardent desire to liberate the
Holy Land from the hands of the ungodly, by the counsel of prudent men."
Topic: Christianity, Government and Politics, Judaism, Middle Ages, Religion
Date Range: 1215
The Canons of the Fourth Lateran Council, 1215
Overview: A complete text of the canons issued by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215,
convened by Pope Innocent III. The decrees of this large gathering of church officials reflect the
concerns and priorities of the medieval church as seen by Pope Innocent. "We firmly believe and
openly confess that there is only one true God, eternal and immense, omnipotent, unchangeable,
incomprehensible, and ineffable, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; three Persons indeed but one
essense, substance, or nature absolutely simple; the Father (proceeding) from no one, but the Son
from the Father only, and the Holy Ghost equally from both, always without beginning and end."
Topic: Middle Ages, Religion
Date Range: 1215
16
John of Pian de Carpine, From The Journey of Friar John of Pian de Carpine to the Court of
Kuyuk Khan, ca. 1245-1247
Overview: John of Plano Carpine, a Franciscan monk, served as an envoy of Pope Innocent IV
to the Mongol Khan. He provides one of the earliest accounts of the Mongols in the 13th century.
". . . we entered the country of the Mongals, whom we call Tartars. And we journeyed through
that country for three weeks, I think riding hard. . . Along all this (part of the) route we travelled
very fast, for our Tartars had been ordered to take us quickly to the solemn court which had
already been convened for several years for the election of an emperor, so that we might be
present at it."
Topic: Far East, Empires, Travel Narratives
Date Range: 1245 - 1247
Marco Polo, From The Travels of Marco Polo: On the Tartars, ca. 1300
Overview: The Venetian trader Marco Polo traveled through Mongol lands in the thirteenth
century and produced an account that has never been out of print. "It has been an invariable
custom that all the grand khans and chiefs of the race of Chingis-khan should be carried for
interment to a certain lofty mountain named Altai, and in whatever place they may happen to die,
even if it should be at the distance of a hundred days' journey, they are nevertheless conveyed
there."
Topic: Far East, Empires, Travel Narratives
Date Range: 1271 - 1295
Three Summons to the Parliament, 1295
Overview: Royal summons of a bishop, a baron, and representatives of shires and towns to
Parliament. "Because we wish to have a consultation and meeting with you and with the rest of
the principal men of our kingdom, as to provision for remedies against the dangers which in
these days are threatening our whole kingdom . . . "
Topic: Government and Politics, Middle Ages, England and British Empire
Date Range: 1295
Marco Polo, From The Travels of Marco Polo: The Glories of Kinsay, ca. 1300
Overview: Marco Polo: The Glories of Kinsay, is an account of Polo's travels to Hangchow,
called Kinsay, written soon after his return to Venice in 1295. The text is part of the Internet
Medieval Source Book by Paul Halsall at Fordham University. "When you have left the city of
Changan and have travelled for three days through a splendid country, passing a number of
towns and villages, you arrive at the most noble city of Kinsay, a name which is as much as to
say in our tongue "The City of Heaven," as I told you before."
Topic: Travel Narratives, Far East
Date Range: 1295
17
Black Death and the Jews, 1348-1349 CE
Overview: These two documents describe the results of a rumor that the Jews had brought on
the Black Death to destroy Christianity. "Agimet the Jew, who lived at Geneva and was arrested
at Châtel, was there put to the torture a little and then he was released from it. And after a long
time, having been subjected again to torture a little, he confessed in the presence of a great many
trustworthy persons, who are later mentioned."
Topic: Health and Disease, Judaism, Middle Ages, Religion
Date Range: 1320 - 1430
Ibn Battuta, From Travels in Asia and Africa: Excerpts, ca. 1325-1354
Overview: Battuta describes his arrival in Cairo: "I arrived at length at Cairo, mother of cities
and seat of Pharaoh the tyrant, mistress of broad regions and fruitful lands, boundless in
multitude of buildings, peerless in beauty and splendour, the meeting-place of comer and goer,
the halting-place of feeble and mighty, whose throngs surge as the waves of the sea, and can
scarce be contained in her for all her size and capacity."
Topic: Far East, Middle East, Travelers Accounts, Egypt
Date Range: 1325 - 1354
Jean de Venette, From the Chronicle of Jean de Venette: On the Progress of the Black Death, ca.
1350
Overview: Jean de Venette, a Carmelite friar who witnessed the Black Death in France,
provides a first-hand account of its devastation. "Then it spread, unforeseen, to France, through
Gascony and Spain, little by little, from town to town, from village to village, from house to
house, and finally from person to person. It even crossed over to Germany, though it was not so
bad there as with us. During the epidemic, God of His accustomed goodness deigned to grant this
grace, that however suddenly men died, almost all awaited death joyfully. Nor was there anyone
who died without confessing his sins and receiving the holy viaticum. . . ."
Topic: Literature, Health and Disease, Middle Ages
Date Range: 1345 - 1350
Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron: Introduction, ca. 1350
Overview: This site displays the introduction from Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio's
Decameron. The introduction describes the early symptoms and onset of the Black Death. "...but
in men and women alike it first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumors in the groin or
the armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg, some more, some
less, which the common folk called gavoccioli."
Topic: Middle Ages, Health and Disease, Literature
Date Range: 1350 - 1353
18
English Peasants' Revolt, 1381
Overview: A contemporary account of an uprising against the corruption of government and the
king's continued demands for financial support for the Hundred Years' War. "But the other
answered, with a great oath, that neither he nor his fellows would depart until they had got their
charter such as they wished to have it, and had certain points rehearsed and added to their charter
which they wished to demand."
Topic: Protest and Rebellion, Middle Ages, Government and Politics
Date Range: 1381
The Papal Bulls as Pertaining to the Americas
Overview: These documents are edicts that sanctioned the conquest of the New World with the
blessing of the Catholic Church and in which the Holy See granted the monarchs of Spain and
Portugal the lands discovered by Columbus: "Among other works well pleasing to the Divine
Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially the
Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that
the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith
itself." These links are from the World History Archives, a collection of documents intended to
critique world history from the "bottom up."
Topic: Christianity, Empires, Spain and Spanish Empire, Exploration and Colonization
Date Range: 1481 - 1493
Christopher Columbus, Extracts from Journal, 1492
Overview: Exploration narrative written by the man who effectively discovered the Americas
for Europe. "It appears to me, that the people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I
am of opinion that they would very readily become Christians, as they appear to have no
religion."
Topic: Renaissance, Spain and Spanish Empire, Exploration and Colonization, Travel
Narratives
Date Range: 1492
Privileges and Prerogatives Granted by Their Catholic Majesties to Christopher Columbus, 1492
Overview: Outline of rewards offered by the king and queen of Spain for anticipated
discoveries. "For as much of you,Christopher Columbus , are going by our command, with some
of our vessels and men, to discover and subdue some Islands and Continent in the ocean, and it is
hoped that by God's assistance, some of the said Islands and Continent in the ocean will be
discovered and conquered by your means and conduct, therefore it is but just and reasonable, that
since you expose yourself to such danger to serve us, you should be rewarded for it."
Topic: Exploration and Colonization, Spain and Spanish Empire
Date Range: 1492
19
Erasmus, "The Praise of Folly"
Overview: Text of one of the most influential essays of the Renaissance period. Part of the
Internet Modern History Sourcebook, the essay was written by Desiderius Erasmus, a learned
Dutch humanist and theologian. "But to come to the purpose: I have given you my name, but
what epithet shall I add? What but that of the most foolish? For by what more proper name can
so great a goddess as Folly be known to her disciples?"
Topic: Philosophy, Religion, Literature, Renaissance
Date Range: 1500 - 1560
Matteo Ricci, From The Diary of Matteo Ricci: The Art of Printing>, ca. 1550
Overview: The Art of Printing is an excerpt from the Diary of Matthew Ricci the Jesu who
found much to admire in Chinese civilization. He wrote, "The art of printing was practiced in
China at a date somewhat earlier than that assigned to the beginning to printing in Europe, which
was about 1405. It is quite certain that the Chinese knew the art of printing at least five centuries
ago, and some of them assert that printing was known to their people before the beginning of the
Christian era, about 50 BCE."
Topic: China, East Asia, Arts
Date Range: 1500 - 1600
Sidi Ali Reis, From Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), ca. 1557
Overview: The Turkish Admiral Sidi Ali Reis describes his travels to India and the hope if will
become part of the Ottoman Empire. His account illustrates the power of the Ottoman Empire
and the lure of India. 'Great was the joy of the Mohammedans at Surat when they saw us come;
they hailed us as their deliverers, . . .You have come to Gujarat in troublous times; . . .We
fervently hoped that God in his mercy would soon send an Ottoman fleet to Gujarat, to save this
land for the Ottoman Empire and to deliver us from the Indian unbelievers.'
Topic: Travel Narratives, Ottoman Empire
Date Range: 1500 - 1600
St. Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises
Overview: This site displays the rules of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. Many of
his rules protest the principles of the Protestant Reformation. "First Rule. The first: All judgment
laid aside, we ought to have our mind ready and prompt to obey, in all, the true Spouse of Christ
our Lord, which is our holy Mother the Church Hierarchical."
Topic: Protestant Reformation, Religion
Date Range: 1500 - 1560
Martin Luther, 95 Theses, 1517
Overview: This site provides the full text of the Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the
Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, known as the Ninety-five Theses, in which Luther invited
debate of the abuses of the Roman Church. "Number 65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel
are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches. Number 66. The treasures
of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men."
Topic: Protestant Reformation, Religion
Date Range: 1517
20
Huexotzinco Codex, 1531 (Top Treasure)
Overview: The 1531 Huexotzinco Codex, one of the Top Treasures of the Library of Congress
represents plaintiff testimony in a legal case by the Nahua Indian people against the colonial
government in Mexico. Each page of the eight-sheet document is offered as a high-resolution
image and a key to the tribute items is provided.
Topic: Legal and Constitutional, Exploration and Colonization, Early Civilizations
Date Range: 1531
All over the Land Nothing Else Was Spoken Of: Cabeza de Vaca Takes up Residence as a
Medicine Man in the Southwest, 1540
Overview: "Early the next day many Indians came and brought five people who were paralyzed
and very ill, and they came for Castillo to cure them. Every one of the patients offered him his
bow and arrows, which he accepted, and by sunset he made the sign of the cross over each of the
sick, recommending them to God, Our Lord, and we all prayed to Him as well as we could to
restore them to health."
Topic: Travel Narratives, Exploration and Colonization, American West, Native
Americans, Spain and Spanish Empire
Date Range: 1540
Bernardino de Sahagún, The Florentine Codex, ca. 1550
Overview: The Florentine Codex is a major resource on Aztec society prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards. Written primarily in a Nahuatl language it was translated into Spanish under the
supervision of Fray Bernadino de Sahagun. "And when Moteucçoma went out to meet them at
Huitzillan, thereupon he gave various things to the war leader, the commander of the warriors; he
gave him flowers, he put necklaces on him, he put flower necklaces on him, he girded him with
flowers, he put flower wreaths on his head. Then he laid before him the golden necklaces, all the
different things for greeting people."
Topic: Pre-Columbian America, Literature
Date Range: 1540 - 1585
Pedro de Casteneda, The Journey of Coronado, 1540
Overview: Account of the Spanish expedition through western North America in 1540. "To me
it seems very certain, my very noble lord, that it is a worthy ambition for great men to desire to
know and wish to preserve for posterity correct information concerning the things that have
happened in distant parts, about which little is known."
Topic: Exploration and Colonization, Travel Narratives, Native Americans, Spain and Spanish
Empire
Date Range: 1540
21
Pedro de Cieza de Léon: Chronicles of the Incas, 1540
Overview: Pedro de Cieza de Léon: Chronicles of the Incas provides a Conquistadore's account
of Incan history, particularly economic life. 'As this kingdom was so vast, in each of the many
provinces there were many storehouses filled with supplies and other needful things; thus, in
times of war, wherever the armies went they drew upon the contents of these storehouses,
without ever touching the supplies of their confederates or laying a finger on what they had in
their settlements....'
Topic: Exploration and Colonization, Travel Narratives
Date Range: 1540
The Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, 1542
Overview: A Spanish explorer's account of his ten-year journey through the New World. "We
inquired of the Indians (by signs) whence they had obtained these things and they gave us to
understand that, very far from there, was a province called Apalachen in which there was much
gold. They also signified to us that in that province we would find everything we held in esteem.
They said that in Apalachen there was plenty."
Topic: Exploration and Colonization, Travel Narratives, Native Americans, Spain and Spanish
Empire
Date Range: 1542
The New Laws of the Indies, 1542
Overview: The stunning Spanish conquests of the Aztec and Inca Empires prompted the
creation of a set of pro-Indian laws, The New Laws of the Indies, 1542, regulating the
encomienda. The laws met with settler opposition. "The said Audiencias are to inform
themselves how the Indians have been treated by the persons who have held them in
encomienda, and if it be clear that in justice they ought to be deprived of the said Indians for
their excesses and the ill-usage to which they have subjected them, We ordain that they take
away and place such Indians under our Royal Crown"
Topic: Legislation and Acts, Exploration and Colonization, Empires
Date Range: 1542
Bartolome de las Casas, Preface to A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
Overview: Las Casas was a Spanish priest who condemned the Spanish crown for allowing
abuses against the indigenous people of the Americas. His agitation, unusual for its time, led to
the passage of the New Laws of the Indies, which sought to reform the treatment of Native
Peoples. "... the Spanish fell like ravening wolves upon the fold, or like tigers and savage lions
who have not eaten meat for days. The pattern established at the outset has remained unchanged
to this day, and the Spaniards still do nothing save tear the natives to shreds, murder them, and
inflict upon them untold misery, suffering, and distress, tormenting, harrying, and persecuting
them mercilessly."
Topic: Native Americans, Spain and Spanish Empire, Exploration and Colonization
Date Range: 1542
22
The Council of Trent: The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent,
ca. 1563
Overview: The Council of Trent meeting from 1545 to 1563 clarified and reaffirmed the
doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church "for the increase and exaltation of the
Christian faith and religion; for the extirpation of heresies; for the peace and union of the
Church; for the reformation of the Clergy and Christian people; for the depression and extinction
of the enemies of the Christian name,—to decree and declare that the sacred and general council
of Trent do begin. . . "
Topic: Christianity, Protestant Reformation, Religion
Date Range: 1545 - 1563
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, From The Turkish Letters, 1555-1562
Overview: Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, a Hapsburg diplomat at the court of Sulieman, wrote
The Turkish Letters an important resource for understanding sixteenth-century Ottoman politics.
"Each man in Turkey carries in his own hand his ancestry and his position in life, which he may
make or mar as he will. . . honours, high posts, and judgeships are the rewards of great ability
and good service. This is the reason that they are successful in their undertakings, that they lord
it over others, and are daily extending the bounds of their empire."
Topic: Ottoman Empire
Date Range: 1555 - 1562
The Beginnings of the Dutch Republic
Overview: A chapter from History of Holland by George Edmundson, a leading Dutch historian
of the early twentieth century. "At the moment of the assassination of William the Silent it might
well have seemed to an impartial observer that the restoration of the authority of the Spanish
king over the whole of the Netherlands was only a question of time."
Topic: Empires, Revolutions, Spain and Spanish Empire, Warfare and Military, Government
and Politics, Exploration
Date Range: 1560 - 1648
Carried Thence for Trafficke of the West Indies Five Hundred Negroes: Job Hortop and the
British Enter the Slave Trade, 1567
Overview: "Our Generall made a breach, entered, and valiantlie tooke the towne, wherein were
founde five Portugals, which yeelded themselves to his mercie, and hee saved their lives, we
tooke and carried thence for trafficke of the West Indies five hundred Negroes. The three kings
drove seven thousand Negros into the sea at low water, at the point of the land, where they were
all drowned in the oze, for that they could not take their canowes to save themselves."
Topic: Trade and Commerce, Slavery, Africa, England and British Empire
Date Range: 1567
23
Auguste de Thou, The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day. 1572
Overview: An eyewitness account by the historian De Thou. "So it was determined to
exterminate all the Protestants, and the plan was approved by the queen. They discussed for
some time whether they should make an exception of the king of Navarre and the prince of
Conde."
Topic: Government and Politics, Protest and Rebellion, Protestant Reformation, Religion
Date Range: 1572
The Edict of Nantes
Overview: The document in which French king Henry IV granted measures of religious
toleration to the Protestant Huguenots. "Henry, By the Grace of God, King of France, and
Navarre, To all Present, and to Come, greeteth. Among the infinite Mercies that God hath
pleased to bestow upon us, that most Signal and Remarkable is, his having given us Power and
Strength not to yield to the dreadful Troubles, Confusions, and Disorders, which were found at
our coming to this Kingdom, divided into so many Parties and Factions...
Topic: Legislation and Acts, Protestant Reformation, Religion
Date Range: 1598
John Smith, The Colony of Jamestown, 1607
Overview: Participant account of the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, by its most prominent
leader. "It might well be thought, a country so fair (as Virginia is) and a people so tractable,
would long ere this have been quietly possessed, to the satisfaction of the adventurers, and the
eternizing of the memory of those that effected it. But because all the world do see a failure; this
following treatise shall give satisfaction to all indifferent readers, how the business has been
carried: where no doubt they will easily understand and answer to their question, how it came to
pass there was no better speed and success in those proceedings."
Topic: Travel Narratives, England and British Empire, Exploration and Colonization, Colonial
America
Date Range: 1607
An Ordinance and Constitution of the Virginia Company in England, 1621
Overview: A plan for the reorganization of Virginia's government. "Provided, that no law or
ordinance, made in the said general assembly, shall be or continue in force or validity, unless the
same shall be solemnly ratified and confirmed, in a general quarter court of the said company
here in England, and so ratified, be returned to them under our seal."
Topic: England and British Empire, Colonial America, International Affairs and Treaties
Date Range: 1621
24
Charter of the Dutch West India Company, 1621
Overview: As the 1621 Charter of the Dutch West India Company indicates, trade and the
profits reaped by the great trading companies were considered essential to the prosperity and
success of the nation. "Be it known, that we knowing the prosperity of these countries, and the
welfare of their inhabitants depends principally on navigation and trade. . . that the navigation,
trade, and commerce, in the parts of the West-Indies, and Africa, and other places hereafter
described, should not henceforth be carried on any otherwise than by the common united
strength of the merchants and inhabitants of these countries; and for that end there shall be
erected one General Company."
Topic: Trade and Commerce, Economics, Exploration and Colonization
Date Range: 1621
The Charter of Massachusetts Bay, 1629
Overview: The British launched settler colonies in North America as ventures in the
seventeenth century. Royal patents, like the 1629 Charter of Massachusetts Bay, clearly stated
the benefits for settlers to use the land. ". . . they, and every, or any of them shall have full and
free Power and Liberty to continue and vse their said Trade of Fishing vpon the said Coast, in
any the Seas therevnto adioyning, or any Armes of the Seas or Saltwater Rivers where they have
byn wont to fishe, and to build and sett vp vpon the Landes by theis Presents graunted, such
Wharfes, Stages, and Workehouses as shalbe necessarie for the salting, drying, keeping, and
packing vp of their Fish. . . "
Topic: Colonial America, Exploration and Colonization, England and British Empire
Date Range: 1629
Tartuffe
Overview: Complete translation of one of Moliére's most acclaimed plays.
Because I can't endure your carryings-on,
And no one takes the slightest pains to please me.
I leave your house, I tell you, quite disgusted;
You do the opposite of my instructions;
Topic: Social and Cultural, Literature, Arts
Date Range: 1648
The Princess of Cleves
Overview: Online version of the popular French romance by Marie-Madeleine de La Vergne.
"Grandeur and gallantry never appeared with more lustre in France, than in the last years of
Henry the Second's reign. This Prince was amorous and handsome, and though his passion for
Diana of Poitiers Duchess of Valentinois, was of above twenty years standing, it was not the less
violent, nor did he give less distinguishing proofs of it."
Topic: Arts, Literature, Social and Cultural
Date Range: 1648 - 1690
25