Repository of Arcane Knowledge

Historical Research

Research Papers | Source Texts | Writing Tips |Special Features

The Repository of Arcane Knowledge features scholarly essays in historical research and links to valuable collections of primary source texts, useful to amateur and professional historians alike. Additionally, tips and references on historical writing style and methodology are provided.

Essays on modern history, written in a less formal style, can be found in the Politics & Law section of this site.

Several of the essays below have been revised and compiled into the book From Medieval to Modern Man (available at Amazon.com), which includes a new introductory essay.

Research Papers

These are academically reviewed postgraduate research papers on medieval and early modern European history, with the most recent listed first.

• The Reception of Copernicanism in Spain and Italy before 1800 (2004)
  This postgraduate thesis explores how Copernicanism was gradually reconciled with traditional Catholic viewpoints through non-confrontational means.
• Historical Interpretations of Non-Darwinian Evolutionary Theories of the Late Nineteenth Century and their Social and Religious Implications (2004)
  This is an historiography of the several incarnations of "Lamarckism," examining how historians of evolution have framed the discussion according to various paradigms.
• Blaise Pascal: Mechanist and Fideist (2004)
  This treatment of Pascal attempts to understand how the great mathematician integrated his almost mystical religious worldview with the seemingly dry mechanistic philosophy of his day.
• Philosophie and Its Malcontents: Relations between Upper and Lower Class Enlightenment Literature (2003)
  Examines how the "High Enlightenment" intellectuals influenced and informed more radical social revolutionaries in the decades before the French Revolution.
• The Renaissance Concept of Self as Seen in Petrarch, Castiglione and Montaigne (2002)
  Without depicting the great men of the Renaissance as mere precursors to modernity (for in fact they were decidedly traditional in many important aspects), we can nonetheless see the emergence of a new sense of selfhood and individuality that would make possible the modern Western ethos.
• The First Crusade and the Medieval Concept of Holy War (2002)
  This unique treatment attempts to understand the crusaders on their own terms. Critical to understanding how the brutality of war was harmonized with the Gospels is the concept of the crusade as a pilgrimage for the remission of sins, as well as knowledge of how war was normally conducted in the Middle Ages.
• Eros, Agape, and Typological Thought: A Review of Poststructuralist Treatments of Western Sexuality (2002)
  This critical examination of modern deconstructions of sexual norms rehabilitates the historically real distinction between erotic and agapic love, while correcting factual misconceptions regarding Greco-Roman and medieval Christian attitudes toward human sexuality.
• Class as a Social and Historical Construct (2001)
  A commentary on Cannadine's The Rise and Fall of Class in Britain, examining the validity of using class constructs to describe history.

Two undergraduate research papers of exceptional quality are also presented:

• Causes of the Panamanian Revolution of 1903 (1997)
  An examination of the political and financial machinations that wrested sovereignty of the isthmus from Colombia and secured U.S. domination of the canal project.
• The Medieval Concept of Free Will, Human and Divine (1997)
  A detailed look at the application of Platonic and Aristotelian thought to medieval Christian controversies on free will.

Source Texts and Other Historical Resources

Below are links to some extremely valuable source texts for historical research. Only reputable, accurate sources are included here.

Ancient (before AD 400)

• Perseus Digital Library
  Hundreds of Greco-Roman classics and Egyptian papyri.
• The Tertullian Project
  The most complete online collection of the Christian apologist's work, both in Latin and in translation.

Medieval (AD 400-1500)

• Internet Medieval Sourcebook
  The best first stop for online medieval research, edited by Paul Halsall of Fordham University.
• New Advent
  A Catholic website with a fairly comprehensive set of Patristic writings, as well as a user-friendly online Summa Theologica. Better known for its complete online Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Sant'Agostino
  This Italian site (with multilingual introduction) contains an impressive Augustinian corpus in Latin and Italian.
• Augustinian Studies at Villanova
  Villanova University provides extensive Augustinian writings and research tools at this site.
• Decretum Gratiani
  Incredibly, this German site has a complete online copy (Latin text and scanned images) of Gratian's Decretum, as well as other source texts. Essential for historians of canon law.
• Leeds Electronic Text Centre
  Leeds University provides several medieval sources, including French poetry and texts from the age of Gregory VII.
• Islamic Studies
  The Muslim Student Association of the University of Buffalo has links to various hadith collections.

Early Modern (1500-1800)

• Gallica Classique
  Gallica, a digital resource of the French National Library, has an extensive online collection (images of scanned originals) of early modern and medieval French writers, including the more obscure works of famous authors.
• Bologna Science Classics Online
  The University of Bologna is developing a collection of full text classics by Italian scientists.
• Proyecto Amoxcalli
  Scans of Mexican codices and manuscripts from the 16th-18th centuries.
• Autograph of Copernicus' De revolutionibus
  All six books of this priceless autograph of Copernicus' work have been scanned for public use.
• LIBRO: The Library of Iberian Resources Online
  Mostly secondary sources (complete scholarly books with links to chapters) concerning medieval and early modern Spain.
• The Galileo Project
  This site at Rice University is the most comprehensive online English-language source on Galileo. Includes collection of letters from Galileo's daughter.
• Biblioteca Feijoniana
  Digital collection of the works of Feijoo and his contemporaries.

Modern (1800-present)

It is easy to find good sources on modern history, so it would be superfluous to produce a list. Here are a couple of interesting sites for those concerned with the less public side of history:

• The National Security Archive
  Maintained at George Washington University, this site publishes declassified U.S. secret documents.
• Nixon Presidential Materials
  Among other materials, a complete directory of the Nixon tapes may be ordered here. Excerpts of the tapes are online at C-SPAN.

Various Periods

• IntraText Digital Library
  Thousands of source texts in dozens of languages, including special collections of religious writings (papal and conciliar writings, and libraries of religious orders).
• Internet History Sourcebooks
  Sourcebooks in ancient, medieval, and modern history, edited by Paul Halsall of Fordham University. The medieval sourcebook is one of the more comprehensive sources on the web.
• Project Gutenberg
  Thousands of classic books online, including many of historical interest.
• The Archimedes Project
  Hundreds of scanned sources in the history of mechanics from antiquity through early modernity.

As you can see, there are still many hidden treasures on the Internet. If you know of a specialized collection of online historical texts that you would like to see added to this list, please contact me.

Special Features

• Those Misunderstood Puritans (1931) by Samuel Eliot Morison
  This brief essay by one of the great American historians on Puritanism argues that the influence of the Puritans on later American culture has been greatly exaggerated and distorted, and corrects some of the more common misconceptions of Puritan culture.
• The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (1789)
  This riveting account of an African sold into slavery provides fascinating insight into the African encounter with European culture, while detailing the horrors of the English slave trade.

© 2005-2011 Daniel J. Castellano. All rights reserved.