French Language and Literature
- Sheridan Libraries
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- French Language and Literature
- Research in Archives
Resources, both online and elsewhere, for the French language and literature.
Web Sites
- Archives de Franceoverview of all French archives from the Ministère de la Culture
- Archives in Francelinks to many French archives
- Archives Portal EuropeInternet Gateway for Documents and Archives in Europe
- British Library: Archives and Manuscriptsmedieval to modern
- Brouillons d'EcrivainsBNF virtual exhibit, highlighting their extensive collection of literary manuscripts
- GallicaThe main digital portal of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
- RetroNewsA digital archive of historical periodicals hosted by the Bibliothèque nationale de France. See also Gallica above.
What are Primary Sources?
Primary sources are created at the time of an historical event or during a particular time period. In literature, they often includes a writer's personal papers, drafts, correspondence, etc. They can also include:
- Diaries, journals, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts.
- Memoirs and autobiographies.
- Records collected by government agencies, such as births, deaths, marriages; permits and licenses issued; census data, etc.).
- Records of organizations connected with a writer.
- Published materials (books, magazine and journal articles, newspaper articles) written at the time about a particular event.
- Photographs, audio and video recordings, and film.
- Artifacts of all kinds: physical objects, buildings, furniture, tools, appliances and household items, clothing, toys.
Selected Resources at MSEL
We have a very rich collection of primary sources in the following areas. Ask the librarian for French for more information:
- The Commune
- Bibliothèque bleue, Causes Célèbres and Canards
- Revolutionary Pamphlets
Guides to Archival Research
- Les sources de l'histoire littéraire aux Archives Nationales.
- Les archives- pourquoi? comment?: la recherche aujourd'hui dans les archives en France.
- La recherche historique en archives: XVIe-XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles.
- Lire et comprendre les archives des XVIe et XVIIe siècles.
- La recherche historique en archives: XIXe et XXe siècles.
- Bibliothèques et archives : comment se documenter? : Guide pratique à l'usage des étudiants, des professeurs, des documentalistes et archivistes, des chercheurs
- Guide de l'utilisateur des inventaires des Archives Nationales.
- Dictionary of archival terminology/Dictionnaire de terminologie archivistique.
Why Archives?
- Working with primary sources sets your research and writing apart from others'.
- Grants are often focused on research using archival sources.
- Manuscripts (of all kinds) do not yield their meaning easily. It's up to the researcher to make sense of them.
- Often what you find is not what you were looking for. Be awake to new discoveries!
Databases
Archive Finder: Indexes US and UK archives
ArchiveGrid: A database for locating special collections worldwide.
WorldCat: Limit your search to "Archival materials". Manuscripts back to the Middle Ages