This Rough Magic

A Peer-Reviewed, Academic, Online Journal
Dedicated to the Teaching of Medieval & Renaissance Literature

~Texts and Contexts~

Internet Shakespeare Editions is an amazing resource. Yes, you will find digital texts for all of Shakespeare's plays -- but you will also find a great deal more. Texts come with interesting introductory materials, selections of criticism, and performance history. The site also provides visitors with historical background on a variety of topics pertinent to the plays in question.

The Book of Common Prayer

Use this site to brush up on your Elizabethan and Jacobean Church services. Multiple copies of The Book of Common Prayer may be found here, as well as information pertaining to: King James' Proclamation for Uniformity; the Litany; Morning and Evening Prayer Service; and the prayers associated with Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony, Visitation of the Sick, Communion of the Sick, and Burial.

John Foxe's Actes and Monuments

Looking for the accounts of your favorite Protestant martyrs? If so, check out the above link. Published by researchers from the University of Sheffield, this website offers its visitors a full transcription of Foxe's work as published (1563, 1570, 1576, and 1583) in his own lifetime.

The Malory Project

This is more than simply a digital copy of Malory's text, Morte Darthur. The site provides readers with a facsimile of the Winchester Manuscript and Caxton's first edition. An amazing resource for those looking to do research with original text.

Shakespearean Alternatives

The following list of authors and play-texts is by no means complete. It does, however, prove that hard to find titles and authors are digitally accessible in their entirety. Check these links out, especially if you are looking for some alternatives to Shakespeare.

Francis Beaumont (1584-1616) and John Fletcher (1579-1625):