Resources for Ricardians: Links

Discussion Lists and Newsgroups | Medieval and Renaissance Studies | Shakespeare and Drama | Ricardian Britain | Historical/Romance Novels and Mysteries | Research Libraries and Booksellers | Steam Railroading | Other Ricardian Sites

This page is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all sites relating to Richard III and topics of interest to Ricardians. Instead, it offers links to a few key sites including, where available, links to major gateway sites for areas of interest.

Discussion Lists and Newsgroups

There are several USENET newsgroups with a focus on medieval topics, including soc.history.medieval and soc.genealogy.medieval. You may or may not find them to your taste. They can be accessed via a newsreader or through Google Groups.

The Richard III Society sponsors a forum, open to all, on Yahoo. Registration is required, but it's free. Select "clubs" from the menu just below the "search" bar, register, and search for Richard III.
http://www.yahoo.com

The American Branch sponsors a closed listserv for Society members worldwide. See our chapters page for additional information.

Discussion Lists and Newsgroups | Medieval and Renaissance Studies | Shakespeare and Drama | Ricardian Britain | Historical/Romance Novels and Mysteries | Research Libraries and Booksellers | Steam Railroading | Other Ricardian Sites

Medieval and Renaissance Studies

• Fifteenth-Century Life. Organized by the Ohio Chapter, this section offers introductory essays and bibliography for a variety of topics in the social and cultural history of Yorkist-era England.

• The Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Based at Fordham University, this is a substantial collection of full texts and excerpts from original documents designed to be used as readings for a variety of courses.

• The Labyrinth. A constantly-evolving World Wide Web resource for medievalists, located at Georgetown University. Full texts in the original languages of many works in the medieval canon, medieval Latin wordlists, bibliographies, links to other resources.

• Medieval Academy of America, 1430 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, 617/491-1622
  
  With approximately 4,000 members, this is the United States' pre- eminent professional association for medievalists. A constituent member of the American Council of Learned Societies, the Medieval Academy of America was founded in 1925 and incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the promotion of research, publication, and instruction in medieval records, art, archaeology, history, law, literature, music, philosophy, science, social and economic institutions, and all other aspects of the Middle Ages. Any person interested in the Middle Ages is eligible for membership.
  
  Of particular interest to members of the Richard III Society may be the Medieval Academy's standing committee on centers and regional associations (CARA); many of the regional associations, as well as the centers, sponsor conferences throughout the year.
  
  
• Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008
  
  Sponsors a variety of activities, perhaps the best known of which is the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies, held on the campus of Western Michigan University the first week in May. This four-day event is attended by over 2,000 medievalists from the United States and abroad, with more than 400 sessions, evening association meetings and cultural events, and six rooms full of booksellers and other exhibitors. Although this is primarily a scholarly conference, the participants have warmly welcomed non-scholarly attendees in the past. Conference programs and registration materials are mailed the first week in February; registration is under $100 and dormitory accommodations and meals are available for a modest fee. Early reservations are advisable.
  
  Medieval Institute Publications offers several series, including Studies in Medieval Culture and Early Drama and Music. MIP also offers special-interest volumes focused on a particular work, author or topic; and proceedings of conferences other than the International Congress on Medieval Studies.
  
  
• TEAMS: The Consortium for Teaching the Middle Ages. c/o the Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008
  TEAMS is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting interest and excellence in the teaching of the Middle Ages in secondary schools, two- and four-year colleges, and universities. To aid teaching, TEAMS sponsors sessions at various converences around the country and sponsores a variety of publications:
  
  
  • Pamphlets on resources -- films and video-cassettes, manuscripts, recordings, slides.
  • Monograph -- The Use of Music and Recordings for Teaching about the Middle Ages, by John W. Barker.
  • Volume -- The Study of Chivalry: Resources and Approaches, by John W. Barker.
  • Middle English Texts Series -- designed to make available texts that occupy an important place in the literary and cultural canon but that have not been readily obtainable in student editions.
  • Commentary Series -- designed to make available for teachers and students, in English translation, examples of the vast tradition of medieval commentary on sacred scripture
  • Documents of Practice Series -- designed for classroom use, each volume introduces a social practice or problem under consideration and the nature of sources offered for its illumination, and includes a bibliography or guide to further reading.
    
    
• NetSERF. Originally based at Catholic University, this site is a broad collection of links to other sites with medieval themes. Its developers have made the decision to be inclusive, so the quality of sites varies widely. They hope to exercise some quality control in the future by including reviews of the better sites.

• ORB: The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies. Originally based at Rhodes College, and now at CUNY, this combines original essays, source documents, bibliographies and teaching tools, grouped by type of resource and by subject area.

• Society for Creative Anachronism. Arguably (and possibly at least partially unjustly) even more academically disreputable than the Richard III Society. Formed spontaneously in Berkeley, California in the mid-Sixties to protest the twentieth century, this 26,000-plus member society is devoted to "recreating the middle ages as it should have been." As might be expected with an organization of this size, its member interests range from beer-and-brawling to meticulous and scholarly recreation of the material culture and life of the mind of a particular time.

• Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York. One of the principal sites for the study of late medieval northern English history and culture (as well as other concentrations. The center's medieval resources include a Gazetteer of the Religious Gilds and Services of Late Medieval Yorkshire and a medieval Yorkshire family history database.
  

  Discussion Lists and Newsgroups | Medieval and Renaissance Studies | Shakespeare and Drama | Ricardian Britain | Historical/Romance Novels and Mysteries | Research Libraries and Booksellers | Steam Railroading | Other Ricardian Sites
  

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  Shakespeare and Drama

  • The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. -- From MIT, public domain texts, with glossary. Search the entire canon for your favorite word or words.
  • Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet -- Better than Yahoo. A comprehensive list of links to other Shakespeare sites, including links to Shakespeare in Education, Shakespearean Criticism, Elements of Elizabethan Theatrical Production, Primary and Secondary Literary Sources, and Related Literary Journals and Renaissance Resources. Maintained by Terry A. Gray. Many worthy sites aren't catalogued on our list because Terry Gray has done it already.
  • Shakespeare: Internet Editions - Site by Michael Best, University of Victoria. A wealth of links.
  • Voice of the Shuttle -- (Good entry to other sites of interest).
  • Shakespeare Oxford Society. -- Many folks enjoy exploring the issue of authorship of the Shakespearean Canon. A link to the site of the most organized challenger to "The Stratford Man".
  • The Shakespeare Authorship Page. Dedicated to the proposition that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare.
  • Lecture text, Strutting and Fretting His Hour upon the Stage: An Analysis of the Characterization in Shakespeare's Richard III and Gordon Daviot's Dickon by Judy Weinsoft, delivered at the 1993 Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
  • Richard III Society Online Shakespeare Resources -- A link to all the resources we've gathered on this server, including our own hypertext edition of the play.
    

    Discussion Lists and Newsgroups | Medieval and Renaissance Studies | Shakespeare and Drama | Ricardian Britain | Historical/Romance Novels and Mysteries | Research Libraries and Booksellers | Steam Railroading | Other Ricardian Sites
    

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    Ricardian Britain

    Links to Ricardian sites in Britain can be found in our travel section, together with general travel and tourism links and member photos. We have a separate section on The Battle of Bosworth.
    

    Historical/Romantic Fiction and Mystery

    There's no point reinventing the wheel here. Go straight to
    • Soon's Historical Fiction Site or
    • The Mysterious Home Page
    for links, information on listservs and newsgroups, etc.

    Also of interest:

    • The Richard III Society is pleased to host a section on the historical novels of Sharon Kay Penman on its web site. See also the new Penman site created by her publisher.
    • Ricardian Fiction -- articles from the Winter 97-98 issue of the Ricardian Register.
    
    

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    Research Libraries and Bookstores

    • The Internet Public Library
    • Library Web -- links to library servers worldwide
    • Amazon, the original online bookstore
    • Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America Web site.
    • Three book search sites:
      • Advanced Booksellers Exchange, www.abebooks.com
      • Bibliofind, www.bibliofind.com (now apparently part of Amazon)
      • eBay -- surprisingly useful
    
    

    Discussion Lists and Newsgroups | Medieval and Renaissance Studies | Shakespeare and Drama | Ricardian Britain | Historical/Romance Novels and Mysteries | Research Libraries and Booksellers | Steam Railroading | Other Ricardian Sites
    

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    Steam Railroading

    Steam railroading, you ask? The connection may not be immediately obvious to some. But as Society historian George Awdry (whose brother wrote the Thomas the Tank Engine series) once observed, "most people who are right-thinking about Richard III are also right-thinking about steam." And, indeed, at any gathering of Society members, more than a few members (or spouses) easily become, shall we say, sidetracked onto a discussion of railroad-related interests. Here are some resources and links for this particular pastime:
    
    • UK Heritage Railroads
    • The Settle-Carlisle
    • Steam at the Bosworth Battlefield. Now you can be right-thinking about Richard III and about steam at the same time! Ride the extension to the Shackerstone Steam Line and get off just a short walk from the Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre.
    • The Queen of Scots Train, used as the Royal Train in the new film version of Richard III starring Sir Ian McKellen.
      
      

    Other Ricardian sites:

    • Ricardian Calendar. Put up by a freelance Ricardian, this monthly calendar shows significant dates (births, deaths, battles, etc.) for the principal characters in the Ricardian drama.
    • Society of the Friends of Richard III--another Ricardian organization founded by former Society members. (The attorney for yet another organization, The Richard III Foundation, has asked that we remove the link to them, but they may be found easily by a Google search.)
      
      Discussion Lists and Newsgroups | Medieval and Renaissance Studies | Shakespeare and Drama | Ricardian Britain | Historical/Romance Novels and Mysteries | Research Libraries and Booksellers | Steam Railroading | Other Ricardian Sites