Some Basic Terminology


There are several basic terms and concepts which are essential to understanding how all of this works. Many software packages can be downloaded from the UConn FTP site, as noted below, free-of-charge. The UConn Software Distribution Server page can give you a great deal of information about which software is available in addition to instructions for downloading.

  • Internet: refers to the worldwide network of computers connected through telephone data lines. No one "runs" the Internet, making it either completely democratic or completely anarchic, depending upon your point of view. Internet locations are designated by the ends of their addresses (.com .edu .org and .gov are most often used).

  • LAN: or Local Area Network, refers to a network of computers operating in a somewhat- closed environment such as a classroom, library, or other fixed space.

  • World Wide Web (WWW): refers to the "universe of network-accessible information, the embodiment of human knowledge" (W3C, The World Wide Web Consortium).

  • Hypertext: refers to a special type of database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, in which objects (text, pictures, music, programs, and so on) can be creatively linked to each other. When you select an object, you can see all the other objects that are linked to it (from PC Webpedia). In web browsers, hyperlinks are coded in a color (usually blue) that change to another color (usually red) to indicate that you have already visited that link.

  • Web Browsers: the two most popular graphical browsers are Netscape and Internet Explorer (from Microsoft). Explorer has always been free, and Netscape may be downloaded free from the UConn ftp site. Both programs are currently on version 4 with one or two updates per year. Additionally, there are text-only browsers such as Charlotte, which is the text browser on the UConn Mainframe system.

  • HTTP: stands for "hypertext transfer protocol" and is the "method" used to transfer files using a graphical web browser.

  • FTP: stands for "file transfer protocol," a way of transfering files over the Internet. Download a FTP software from the UConn ftp site.

  • Telnet: a program which allows remote connection to a site. When you go to the Yale library on your mainframe account, you are using a telnet program. Download Telnet software from the UConn ftp site.

  • Eudora, Pegasus: two e-mail programs which may be used through a PPP connection or the university's backbone. Both can be downloaded from the UConn ftp site.

  • Backbone: the UConn backbone is an on-campus system allowing connection to the Internet and local networks. Connection to the backbone is only available through use of an Ethernet card and a special hookup. Most office computers are connected to the backbone as are the computers in the department's computer lab.

  • Usenet or Newsgroups: "a public place where messages are posted for public consumption and response. The most available distribution of newsgroups is USENET which contains over ten thousand unique newsgroups covering practically every human proclivity. The names of newsgroups are comprised of a string of words separated by periods, such as "rec.humor.funny" or "misc.jobs.offered". The first word (i.e. "rec" or "misc") represents the top level category of newsgroups. The second word (in these examples "humor" and "jobs") represents a subcategory of the first level, and the third word a subcategory of the second" (from NetDictionary).

  • PPP Connection: a PPP or Point-to-Point Protocol connection is the way one accesses the Internet through a modem. You may acquire a PPP account through the University's Computer Center for a nominal fee, or you can get a PPP account through an outside vendor (such as AOL or NECA); remember, however, that connection through an outside vendor may hinder your access to certain UConn-subscribed sites such as the MLA Bibliography. PPP connections are available for both the PC and the Mac, but you must have a modem with a speed of at least 9600 bps (14.4 or 28.8 recommended).

  • Virus Software: you can download McAfee Virus Protection Software free of charge as long as you are affiliated with UConn (faculty, staff, students). The software is available at the McAfee page of the UConn Software Distribution Page.

    I also have written another page, Information on the Internet and How-tos, which you might find helpful (N.B. this page has not been updated). Still confused? Don't know your Java from your Pegasus? Check the PC Webopedia, a site devoted to definitions of popular and obscure computer-related terminology. The NetDictionary is a similar resource.

    Basic Starting Points
  • UConn's Main Site
  • The Homer Babbidge Library Main Site
  • The UConn Medieval Studies Program HomePage
  • The UConn English Department HomePage
  • Engelonde: Resources for 14th Century English Studies
    Search Engines

    How to Use Search Engines

  • Understanding and Comparing Web Search Tools

    Selected Engines

  • Search.com
  • Yahoo
  • AltaVista
  • Lycos
  • Webcrawler
  • Hotbot
  • Excite
  • Infoseek
  • A fee-based search service --if you are completely lost and are prone to saying "I can't find anything on the net."
    How to Find People
  • InfoSpace
  • Four11
    The Online Sources for Everything
  • Cnet.com
  • Also check MSNBC's The Site
    Finding and Using Online Library Catalogues

    • Almost every university library now has its library catalogue available online. This can be one of your most useful online tools.
    1) If you are planning to visit a library, you can do your catalogue searches ahead of time.
    2) You can search other library catalogues for new titles in your research interest. Then the item can either be requested on Interlibrary Loan, or you can ask Homer Babbidge to purchase it (Richard Bleiler is the liason for English).

    Finding these catalogues is one issue, and using them is another. If you can find the university's home page, you can probably find a link to its library from there. There are several online lists of university home pages:

  • American Universities
  • International Universities
  • Colleges and Universities by Country

    Once you've found the link to the library's home page, you have to figure out how to connect to it. Some libraries (not many at this point) allow searching directly from the web, so no other software will be necessary. Most, however, require that you "telnet" to the library's catalogue. This is accomplished by using Telnet software (described in "Some Basic Terminology" above). In order to configure your web browser so that you can link to the library catalogue directly from the web page, go to "Options" in your web browser. In Netscape, click on the tab for "Apps," and in the "Telnet Applicaton" and "TN3270 Application" boxes, you will put the commands for your Telnet software. Most often that command will be c:\tcp3270\programs telnet.exe for the Telnet application, and c:\tcp3270\programs\ tn3270.exe for the TN3270 application. If you are using the Telnet software package to connect to the UConn mainframe system, you must use the TN3270 executable part of the program, not the Telnet part. The Telnet software can be downloaded directly from the UConn FTP Site.

    One place that might be of particular interest is the new COPAC system in Britain. COPAC is an internationally accessible catalogue giving unified free access to some of the largest university research library collections in the UK and Ireland. In the recent past there has been a time restriction on this system, i.e., it was only available at certain hours; that restriction appears to have been lifted. Access is available two ways:

  • World Wide Web COPAC
  • Telnet Access via copac.ac.uk

    Limited Searching through the UConn Mainframe

    It is possible to do some searches from your mainframe account. The following databases are accessible \ via your mainframe account. Remember, this is done through your mainframe account, not the World Wide Web. Use the instructions below, and follow them exactly:

    9002 WorldCat/OCLC Database
    9003 A&H Search/Arts & Humanities Search. A citation index.
    9004 BookRevDigst/Reviews of fiction and nonfiction books.
    9005 BooksInPrint/R. R. Bowker's Books In Print.
    9006 Diss/Dissertation Abstracts Online.
    9009 RILM/RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

    From your mainframe prompt, type:

    tnvt100 kugebunko.lib.uconn.edu 900X where the X is the last number of the database you wish to search. Hit enter and wait for instructions.

    Finding and Participating in Online Discussions

     Online discussions lists are one of the most useful resources on the Internet. These lists operate almost as mini-conferences on a particular subject. It is true--much of the time the discussions can be banal, and finding the right list for your interest is often difficult. These discussions are sometimes misnamed "listservs." Actually, "listserv" refers to one of the software programs which run an online discussion; others include "majordomo" and "listproc." Sometimes finding the discussion is the most laborious part. Here are a few places at which you might search for discussion lists on a particular subject of interest.

  • Medieval Discussion Lists-- incomplete
  • Liszt
  • Search the Online Catalog
    Reference Links
  • WWWebster Dictionary
  • OneLook Dictionaries
  • Foreign Languages for Travelers
  • Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
  • The Quotation Pages
  • Roget's Thesaurus
  • Old Farmer's Almanac
  • Britannica Online
  • The Oxford English Dictionary Online--impressive but pricy

    Medieval Culture Resources-- Interdisciplinary
  • The Labyrinth
  • NetSerf: Internet Connection for Medieval Resources
  • Voice of the Shuttle: Classical Studies
  • Medieval Studies Links
  • Early British Kingdoms and the Matter of Britain
  • HUMBUL Gateway Medieval Studies Resources--at Oxford

    Museums and Library Exhibitions
  • The British Library
  • La Bibliothèque nationale
  • DScriptorium-- digital images of Medieval MSS
  • British Library Illuminated MSS
  • The Louvre
  • The Koninklijke Bibliotheek

    Medieval Literature and Language Resources
  • The Voice of the Shuttle Old English and Medieval
  • Old English Corpus
  • Glossarial Database of Middle English
  • The York Corpus Christi Play Simulator
  • Internet Medieval Sourcebook-- invaluable source for online texts
  • Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
  • Medieval Drama HomePage
  • REED
  • The Electronic Beowulf Project-- at the British Library
  • The Electronic Beowulf-- Kentucky Mirror Site
  • Anglo-Saxon Manuscript Images
  • Old English Audio
  • Old English Aerobics-- feel the burn
  • History of the English Language HomePage
  • The Complete Corpus of Old English
  • The York Doomsday Project

    Medieval History Resources
  • The Canterbury Archaeological Trust
  • Map of Anglo-Saxon England
  • The Battle of Hastings Reenactment
  • The Domesday Survey
  • The Magna Carta
  • Tower of London Virtual Tour
  • Exploring Ancient World Cultures: Medieval Europe
  • Notes on Fourteenth-Century History
  • Converting Calendar--converts dates from Medieval calendars to modern
  • Roman Scotland
  • Roman Britain
  • The Rune Typology Project
  • The Paris Underground Catacombs
  • More Parisian Catacombs
  • The Christian Catacombs of Rome A Virtual Tour

    Medieval Art and Art History Resources
  • The English Heritage Archaeology Division
  • Virtual Stonehenge
  • Gothic Painting (1280-1515)
  • Medieval Studies, Art and Architecture Links
  • NetSERF: Medieval Art
  • The Earth and Heavens: The Art of Mapmaking
  • Inventory Catalogue of the Drawings in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan
  • Sutton Hoo Research Project
  • The Sutton Hoo Room
  • The Bayeux Tapestry
  • Virtual Tour of Durham Cathedral
  • The Castles of Wales
  • Medieval English Architecture
  • Archaeology in York
  • The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The Vatican Museums
  • Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
  • The International Center of Medieval Art
  • The Book of Kells
  • How to Make Your Own Illuminated Manuscript

    Medieval Theology and Philosophy Resources
  • ARTFL Project: Multilingual Bibles-- impressive, searchable
  • Vulgate Daniel and Esther
  • Postmodern Bible-Amos-- very interesting hypertext experiment
  • St. Augustine
  • Old English Biblical Texts
  • 7000 Year Biblical Timeline
  • The Ecole Initiative--hypertext encyclopedia of the early Church
  • Two Thousand Years of Church Writing
  • Early Church Fathers--a 38-volume collection of writings from the first 800 years of the Church
  • Mysticism in World Religions
  • Islam Links
  • Project Genesis: Torah on the Information Superhighway
  • The Douai-Rheims Bible
  • The Latin Vulgate Bible
  • Polyglot Gospel of Luke
  • Mystic-L Home Page
  • The Gregory of Nyssa Home Page
  • Gnostic Texts
  • The Vatican
  • On Loving God, Bernard of Clairvaux
  • Evelyn Underhill's Mysticism
  • William of Ockham

    Medieval Music Resources
  • Gregorian Chant HomePage
  • CANTUS: Database of Divine Office Gregorian Chant
  • Thesaurus Musicarum Latinarum
  • Elvis in Latin?
  • Gregorian Association (UK)

    Celtic and Scandanavian Links
  • Welsh History
  • Book of Kells Links
  • The Celts and Saxons HomePage
  • CELT--Celtic Corpus of Electronic Texts
  • The Viking HomePage
  • Scandanavian Cultures
  • Medieval Scandanavia
  • Medieval Welsh Authors

    Online Latin Aids
  • Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar
  • The Electronic Thesaurus Linguae Latinae
  • Study Guide for Wheelock's Latin Grammar--very long file
  • Medieval Latin Wordlist

    Miscellaneous Links
  • Anglo-Saxon Recipes
  • Anglo-Saxon Clothing
  • Sources of Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture/ SASLC
  • Byzantine Studies
  • Paleography and Codicology: Introductory Bibliography
  • Medieval Sciences
  • Anglo-Saxonists, 16th-20th Centuries
  • Medieval and Renaissance Wedding Information
  • The Bible in Pig Latin
  • Medieval Feminist Index
  • Your Name in Runes
  • SASLC, Sources of Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture
    General Research Tools
  • UConn Resources By Title
  • The MLA Bibliography--UConn Access Only
  • WorldCat/OCLC--UConn Access Only
  • JSTOR: Electronic Journals--UConn Access Only
  • What do you want to know today?--an all-purpose site that lets you search a wide array of research tools including: Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, A Glossary of Literary Terms, Lewis & Short Latin Dictionary, and much, much more; an especially excellent resource for Medievalists: A Must See
  • UConn InterLibrary Loan--UConn Access Only
  • Richard Bleiler's English Links Page
  • Limited Dissertation Searches through UMI
  • Project Muse--UConn Access Only
  • Carl UnCover
  • The British Library
  • Introduction to E-text
  • Library of Congress
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Scholarly Societies, Literature
  • Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Directory of International Universities
  • Yahoo Directory of American Universities
  • Calls For Papers: Medieval--the archive for the online mailing list
    Authors and Texts of the Middle Ages Online--A Sampling

    (Alphabetical, kinda)

  • Ancrene Wisse
  • Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica --entire text, searchable
  • Arthurian Art
  • The Decameron Web--Boccaccio
  • Boethius, Consolatio Philosophiae
  • The Canterbury Tales Project
  • Chaucer HomePage
  • Online Chaucer Bibliography--Telnet access, instructions here
  • Everyman
  • Sir Gawain and the Greek Knight
  • Hildegard von Bingen
  • Julian of Norwich
  • Margery Kempe
  • William Langland HomePage
  • The Middle English Collection at the Electronic Text Center, Univ. of Virginia
  • Piers Plowman-- detailed outline of the B Text
  • John Lydgate Canon Project
  • Sir Thomas Malory
  • Medieval Latin Texts
  • Project Gutenberg
  • Richard Rolle Home Page
  • The Towneley Cycle
  • The York Plays

    Medieval Studies Electronic Journals and Societies
  • Arthuriana
  • Bryn Mawr Medieval Review--searchable
  • Exemplaria
  • Speculum--UConn Access Only
  • Traditio
  • Old English Newsletter
  • Anglo-Saxon England
  • The Medieval Academy of America

    Downloadable Fonts for Old and Middle English
  • English Fonts for MACs only
  • Freeware and Shareware Fonts
  • Medieval and Fantasy Fonts
  • Assorted Fonts

    Questions? Suggestions? Broken Links? Problems?
    Send e-mail to medstu1@uconnvm.uconn.edu/Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby.
    This page last updated August 9, 1999.