Global Medieval and Early Modern Digital Library: Guide for Contributors

The Global Medieval and Early Modern Digital Library provides a platform for publishing original translations of primary sources that have not been previously translated into English, covering a broad range of regions, languages, traditions, and genres from the period between 500 and 1700. A core part of our mission is a deep commitment to interdisciplinarity and intellectual exchange among scholars working across different languages and cultures of the medieval and early modern periods, as well as the promotion of our field and making it more accessible to non-specialists. We hope that this open access resource will help the users to discover the hitherto unnoticed connections between diverse civilizations and religions and to appreciate the global aspects of these formative periods in world history.

We encourage submissions from specialists and beginning scholars alike. In order to assure the accuracy and quality of the translations, we request that all undergraduate and graduate student translators have the approval form (available on the website) signed by a faculty specialist before submitting their translation to the GMEM Digital Library. If you are unable to find a specialist to provide this approval, let us know and we will assist in doing so. Correctly formatted (see below) and faculty-approved translations should be sent as Word documents to upenngmrs@sas.upenn.edu.

Necessary Documents

Formatting Guidelines

See the template example above for guidance. The translation document should include, in this order:

  1. Title

    This should be your English translation of the original document title, or an appropriate English title that summarizes the content of an untitled document. This should be bold, 14pt. type.

  2. Full document citation
    • Original author (or “Anonymous”)
    • Original language title, if known; alternatively, provide the title given by the holding library/archive or printed collection
    • Date and location of production/publication
    • Location: full archive or publication citation of copy/edition used. Use full names for first instance of a given institution, though sigla may be abbreviated:
      • Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale (= Bibl. Naz.) (e.g., Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, MS Magl. [Magliabechiano] 165, fol. 2r)
      • London, British Library (e.g., London, British Library, MS Add. 19587) Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France (= Bib. nat.); Bib. nat. MS Lat. 6064; MS Arabe 384
    • Please use Chicago Style for published editions: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html

    Examples:

    • Taddeo Alderotti, Liber ettichor[um] Aristottelis in vulgari (Italy, 1456). UPenn Ms. Codex 243.
    • Ouyang Xiu, “《新五代史》卷七十二《四夷附錄》第一 (Facscile 72)” in New History of the Five Dynasties (New York : Columbia University Press, 2004), pp. 302-333.

  3. Name of translator and academic affiliation

    i.e. Translator: Eleanor Webb, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania

  4. Introduction

    A general introduction that provides an overview of the contents of the text, its historical context, any significant textual history, any important details about the particular manuscript/edition you have consulted, and the significance of the text for scholars and students. 500 words max.

  5. Language

    State the original language of the text.

  6. Keywords

    Provide at least 3 keywords, to be used as tags. i.e. “Chinese History, Frontier History, Daily Life, Recipes, Food.”

  7. Translation

    You may include footnotes to provide extra information on specific parts of the text. Please limit these in length.

  8. Original text

    Transcribe the original text. You may indicate the expansion of abbreviations using square brackets. Your transcription should otherwise be as close to the original source as possible.

General formatting guidelines