Encyclopedias & More - History - European - Guides at Middlebury College

Why Use Reference Works?

Reference works include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, directories, and other succinct background or factual materials to aid in research.

Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
A collection of subject-specific encyclopedias published by Gale. Search across the whole collection or narrow your search by subject area or title of reference work.
Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
Online access to over 300 volumes published since 1960, over 196,000 pages and over 15 different academic subjects from ancient history, economic history, history of music, language and linguistics, theatre studies and performing arts, and religious studies.

Oxford Handbooks Online
Oxford Handbooks Online (OHO) includes in-depth articles and ebooks. Middlebury has access to the following handbook collections: Philosophy, Religion, Economics and Finance, Music, Literature, History, and Political Science.

The Oxford Companion to British History by John Cannon (Editor); Robert Crowcroft (Editor)
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2015
Over 4,500 entries, including social, political, military, cultural, economic, scientific, and feminist topics. Useful appendices include maps and genealogies.
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment by Alan Charles Kors (Editor)
Call Number: Davis Family Ref B802 .E53 2003 (4 volumes)
Publication Date: 2003
Defining the Enlightenment as the "long eighteenth century," it covers France, England, Scotland, the Low Countries, Italy, English-speaking North America, the German states, Hapsburg Austria, as well as the cultures of these areas.
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance
Call Number: Davis Family Library Ref CB361 .E52 1999 (6 volumes)
Publication Date: 1999
Treats the full period of the Renaissance, from 1350 to 1650, encompassing Italy and the rest of Europe in the context of the broader world.
The Cambridge Ancient History
Call Number: Davis Family Library stacks D57 .C252 (14 volumes)
Publication Date: 1970 (3rd edition)
Individual volumes may be checked out.

Cambridge Medieval History
I. The Christian Roman empire and the foundation of the Teutonic kingdoms. 1911. --II. The rise of the Saracens and the foundation of the Western empire. 1913. --III. Germany and the Western empire. 1922. --IV. The eastern Roman empire (717-1453). 1923. --V. Contest of empire and papacy. 1926. --VI. Victory of the papacy. 1929. --VII. Decline of empire and papacy. 1932. --VIII. The close of the middle ages. 1936. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1964-67. D117 C3 1964
New Cambridge Modern History
v. 1. The Renaissance, 1493-1520.--v. 2. The Reformation, 1520-1559.--v. 3. The counter-reformation and price revolution, 1559-1610.--v. 4. The decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 1609-48/59.--v. 5. The ascendancy of France, 1648-88.--v. 6. The rise of Great Britain and Russia, 1688-1715/25.--v. 7. The old regime, 1713-63.--v. 8. The American and French Revolutions, 1763-93.--v. 9. War and peace in an age of upheaval, 1793-1830.--v. 10. The zenith of European power, 1830-70.--v. 11. Material progress and world-wide problems, 1870-1898.--v. 12. The era of violence, 1898-1945.--v. 13. Companion volume.--v. 14. Atlas. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1957-79. D208 N4

Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture by James S. Donnelly
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2004
It spans prehistoric times to the present, and examines both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It offers articles on politics, economics, religion, the arts, and society; key movements, periods, institutions, and cities; and specific people, groups, and events.
Encyclopedia of Russian History by James R. Millar
Call Number: E-Book
Publication Date: 2003
This four-volume set includes important biographical figures, geographical areas, ethnographic groups, cultural landmarks, military campaigns, and social issues.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Cultures (series by region)
Call Number: Print & E-book (see Midcat record for each title)
London, New York: Routledge.
Includes individual titles for British, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian culture.

Holocaust Encyclopedia
Part of the larger United States Holocaust Memorial Museum site.

Historical Atlas of the World
Rand McNally. Skokie, Il : Rand McNally, 1997.
G1030 .R35 199
Shepherd's Historical Atlas
By William R. Shepherd. NY: Barnes & Noble, 1976. Ref G1030 S4 1976.
Concise Historical Atlas of Eastern Europe

Historical Atlas of Central Europe
Call Number: Armstrong Science Library stacks G1881.S1 M32 2002
Publication Date: 2003
Covers the area from Poland, Lithuania, and the eastern part of Germany to Greece and western Turkey.
The Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia by John Channon; Robert B. Hudson
Call Number: Print: Davis Family Library G2111.S1 C4 1995b
Publication Date: 1995
Includes timeline of the Russian state from 6th cent. AD to 1993.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Covers major worldwide leaders (particularly the UK) who are now deceased.
Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
600,000+ biographies covering more than 525,000 individuals. Includes 170+ Gale reference titles, periodical information and multimedia content.

The Kings and Queens of Britain
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2009
Illustrated with maps, photos, paintings, and genealogies, it contains information on the rulers of Britain, including their policies, personalities, key dates, and legacies.

ADB/NDB: Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, Neue deutsche Biographie
Searchable biographical database of 90,000 Germanic individuals, from the Middle Ages to the present, in all sectors of the public, scientific, economic and cultural life. ADB contains the digitized print edition (55 volumes and index, 1875-1912, Fraktur typeface). NDB contains citations only, no full text, for its 23 volumes, 1953-present.

Statesman's Year-book
Basic country information (similar to Europa) including background, statistics, recent election results, government officials, etc.
Print: Davis Family Library Reference JA51 .S7 (latest). Earlier volumes in Stacks (back to 1866 with some gaps).

Abstract of British Historical Statistics
(2 vol).
Davis Family Library Ref HA1135 .M5
Davis Family Library Ref HA1135 .M52 1971
Dictionary of Statistics
Common and unusual 19th century statistics, worldwide. 4th ed., rev. to Nov., 1898. London, G. Routledge, 1899;
REF HA17 M8 1969
International Historical Statistics: Europe 1750-2000
Main Library Reference HA1107 M5 2003 (earlier editions in stacks)
State, Economy and Society in Western Europe, 1815-1975: a Data Handbook in Two Volumes
v.1. The growth of mass democracies and welfare states -- v.2 The growth of industrial societies and capitalist economies.
REF JN94 A58 F55 1983