The spread of the COVID-19 virus in 2020 has presented unique challenges to students, professors, researchers, and professionals around the world. Conferences have been cancelled, classes have been shifted to taking place online, and access to libraries is now limited for many in affected countries. We at Cerae will continue to work on creating Volume 7 now that our call for papers has closed. We thank everyone for the submissions and continue to wish everyone good health and safety.
Due to the impact social distancing and lock downs have had around the world, I have decided to compile a short list of digital resources for our readers who are either settling into a new way of doing research and jobs with social distancing measures, or simply trying to occupy their time constructively. With the help of several committee members, here are some online databases and resources that have been open to the public for free or are free for a limited time due to current circumstances. I have attempted to list sources with larger amounts of content rather than an exhaustive list of dozens of individual organizations. And as always, all Ceræ volumes are available for free in addition to this list. Enjoy.
Dain Swenson
Archaeologist, Social Media Manager at Ceræ: An Australasion Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies.
Archaeology and History
Archaeology Magazine.
This is an American magazine aimed at the general public as well as researchers. Their back catalogue of digitized issues has been made available online. You can find articles on dig sites and cultures, and travel destinations.
https://www.archaeology.org/
The Council for British Archaeology
For a limited time, the organization has offered free access to its publications, which includes field reports, practical handbooks, occasional papers, and more.
https://new.archaeologyuk.org/books-and-publications
Lewis Bork’s Crowdsourced Spreadsheet of Archaeology and Historic Content for Educators
This is an open source spread sheet of archaeology or history themed blogs, podcasts, magazines, databases, and more.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1aGq85WU70SVjx22OJXqwA2mwzq2fMS5sVghlzvTlb5I/htmlview
Art
The National Gallery of Art
The United States National Gallery of Art offers virtual tours of its art exhibitions, videos, and recorded lectures online for free viewing.
https://www.nga.gov/
The Google Art Project
Google has partnered with museums and art galleries from across the world and compiled photos and information on art galleries, vaulted ceilings, exhibitions, and more for viewing. Virtual tours are available as well as information on many different art movements through the centuries.
https://artsandculture.google.com/
The International Center of Medieval Art
The ICMA online has a database of resources related to manuscripts and artwork from dozens of organizations. Dictionaries, texts, artwork, and more can be browsed.
https://www.medievalart.org/the-medieval-web/
Literature Databases
JSTOR
The research database JSTOR has made a larger section of it’s collection free for use until June 30th due to COVID 19 disruptions.
https://about.jstor.org/covid19/?utm_source=jstor&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=dsp_jstor_home_right_covid19_03_2020
Penn Press
The University of Pennsylvania Press has made its digital library available for free until June 30th.
https://pennpress.typepad.com/pennpresslog/2020/03/penn-press-offers-free-digital-access-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.html
Manuscripts
DMMap: Digitized Medieval Manuscripts
A powerful tool that compiles collections of digitized manuscripts from around the world and presents them on both a map and a list, and links you directly to the manuscript collections.
https://digitizedmedievalmanuscripts.org/
Museums
The British Museum Online Collection
The British Museum has recently revamped its online database. Browse the vast collection of artifacts and art online, with photos, descriptions, and original locations of the artifacts.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection
The Louvre Online Database
The Louvre offers a comprehensive research section on its website. Artifacts and artwork are available online for viewing.
https://www.louvre.fr/en/study-research
The Met Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City offers an impressive content selection online. Lectures, blogs, virtual tours, and full book publications are available for viewing or download.
https://www.metmuseum.org/
National Museum of Denmark
Virtual tours are available for viewing of the Medieval Period and Renaissance galleries contained within the museum due to it’s temporary closure.
https://en.natmus.dk/museums-and-palaces/the-national-museum-of-denmark/exhibitions/danish-middle-ages-and-renaissance/virtual-tour/
Smithsonian Open Access Online
For a limited time the Smithsonian database of photographs and 3d models is available for viewing for free. This collection includes artwork, artifacts, and more.
https://www.si.edu/OpenAccess
Podcasts
Medievalists.net
Medievalists put together a list of several good podcasts on medieval topics that include sagas, medieval warfare, philosopy, and other topics.
https://www.medievalists.net/2012/10/ten-medieval-podcasts/
Player FM
Player FM has an extensive list of podcasts with medieval subjects.
https://player.fm/podcasts/Medieval-History