European History
Use this list of usernames and passwords to access our databases from home.
Primary Sources
A primary source is a piece of information about a historical event or period in which the creator of the source was an actual participant in or a contemporary of a historical moment. The purpose of primary sources is to capture the words, the thoughts and the intentions of the past. Primary sources help you to interpret what happened and why it happened.
Examples of primary sources include documents, artifacts, historic sites, songs, or other written and tangible items created during the historical period you are studying.
Secondary Sources
A secondary source is a source that was not created first-hand by someone who participated in the historical era. Secondary sources are usually created by historians, but based on the historian's reading of primary sources. Secondary sources are usually written decades, if not centuries, after the event occurred by people who did not live through or participate in the event or issue. The purpose of a secondary source is to help build the story of your research from multiple perspectives and to give your research historical context.
An example of a secondary source is Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson, published in 1988. They are a great starting point in helping you see the big picture. Understanding the context of your topic will help you make sense of the primary sources that you find.
Tertiary Sources
Tertiary sources are based on a collection of primary and secondary sources and may or may not be written by an expert. Tertiary sources should never appear in your bibliography but are only used as exploratory sources, to give you ideas about what to research. Wikipedia is not a reliable source and should not be utilized or appear in your bibliography.
Examples are dictionaries, encyclopedias, fact books, and guidebooks.
Content © 2009 National History Day
To access the traditional Destiny Search screen with Resource Lists, click the link below:
European History (General)
British History
German History
(Hassenfeld Library at University School of Nashville)
Daily Life in Medieval Europe
Renaissance People: Lives that Shaped the Modern Age
Portrays the Renaissance experience through brief biographies of the lives and work of ninety-four people who represent the full spectrum of Renaissance culture, and includes Leonardo da Vinci, Charles V, St. Teresa of Avila, and more.
The European Renaissance and Reformation
Examines aspects of the daily life and social history of Europe in the years between 1350 and 1600, looking at world events, geography, the arts, politics, leisure, religion, science, health, and other topics; and includes biographical profiles, a time line, documentary sources, and indexes.
Encyclopedia of World Biography
Presents brief biographical sketches which provide vital statistics as well as information on the importance of the person listed. 17 v.
American National Biography
Contains alphabetically arranged articles that provide biographical information about men and women whose lives and careers have influenced the course of American history, focusing on the key achievements of individuals who died before 1996; each with a descriptive bibliography.
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance, vol. 6
The Encyclopedia of Political Revolutions
Contains alphabetically arranged essays that provide information about events, leaders, and key concepts in political revolutions around the globe, covering a period that ranges from 1500 A.D. through the twentieth century.
World Eras: Medieval Europe, 814-1350. v.4