Lexikon des Mittelalters

Lexikon des Mittelalters

The Lexikon des Mittelalters (lit. 'Lexicon of the Middle Ages'; LMA or LexMA) is a German encyclopedia on the history and culture of the Middle Ages. Written by authors from all over the world, it comprises more than 36,000 articles in 9 volumes. Historically the works range from Late Antiquity to about 1500, covering the Byzantine Empire and the Arab world .

The first six volumes were published by Artemis (later Artemis & Winkler), Munich and Zürich; volumes seven through nine by LexMA, Munich. In 2000, an electronic (standalone) edition of the Lexikon was published on CD-ROM by Brepols.

Reception

The first volume was widely praised upon publication; G.A. Holmes, in The English Historical Review, foresaw that the entire encyclopedia would be "a valuable reference work of a kind which medievalists hitherto lacked."[1] H. Chadwick, in The Journal of Theological Studies, called the lexicon "a necessary and valuable work of reference."[2] Its coverage of subjects related to Islam was praised,[3] though the same reviewer called the coverage of topics related to Judaism "comparatively modest."[4]

The CD-ROM edition was chosen as one of the "Selected Reference Books of 2001-2002" by College & Research Libraries.[5]

Editions

• Lexikon des Mittelalters. 10 vols. Munich: Artemis, 1980–1999. ISBN 3-423-59057-2. Full edition, vol. 10 contains indices. Vols. 7–9 published by LexMA.
• Lexikon des Mittelalters. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1999. ISBN 3-476-01742-7. Abridged "study" or "pocket" edition, no separate index volume. Reprinted by Deutschen Taschenbuch, 2003.
• Lexikon des Mittelalters Online. Turnhout: Brepols, 2009. ISBN 978-2-503-52415-3.

See also

• Dictionary of the Middle Ages
• List of encyclopedias by branch of knowledge

References

1. Holmes, G.A. (1979). "Rev. of Lexikon des Mittelalters". The English Historical Review. 94 (371). Oxford University Press: 440–41. doi:10.1093/ehr/xciv.ccclxxi.440. ISSN 0013-8266. JSTOR 566881.
2. Chadwick, H. (Apr 1997). "Rev. of Lexicon des Mittelalters". The Journal of Theological Studies. 48 (1): 304. doi:10.1093/jts/48.1.304-a. ISSN 0022-5185.
3. Koningsveld, P.Sj. van (Dec 1983). "Rev. of Lexikon des Mittelalters. I: Islam". Numen. 30 (2). Leiden: Brill: 265–68. doi:10.2307/3270066. ISSN 0029-5973. JSTOR 3270066.
4. Koningsveld, P.Sj. van (Dec 1990). "Rev. of Lexikon des Mittelalters. II: Judaism". Numen. 37 (2). Leiden: Brill: 277–79. doi:10.2307/3269868. ISSN 0029-5973. JSTOR 3269868.
5. Green, Karen; Eileen McIlvaine (March 2008). "Selected Reference Books of 2001/2002" (PDF). College & Research Libraries. 64 (2). Association of College and Research Libraries: 151–62. ISSN 0010-0870. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-24.

External links

• Christian Heitzmann: Discussion, in: Information Media for Libraries (IFB) 7(1999) 1/4.
• Review
• Review of the CD-ROM edition
• Artikel in GenWiki