Collection of digitized French resources. Includes FRANTEXT, a database of literary, philosophical, scientific and technical texts from the 12th through the 20th centuries, as well as digitized versions of important 18th century French encyclopedia and dictionaries.
French Language & Literature
Major Research Tools
Bibliothèque nationale de France digital library of texts and images from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Although the emphasis is on Francophone culture, classic works from other countries are also available, in their original language or in translation. Choose the Recherche button to search the collection by title, author, subject or keyword.
Important French encyclopedia published from 1865-1890. Combines features of a dictionary and encyclopedia, with a substantial number of entries on literature and biography.
Two databases--Literature Resource Center and LitFinder--for researching authors and their works, literary movements and genres. Contains full text of literary works, journal articles, literary criticism, reviews, and biographical information.
Index of scholarly articles, edited books, and dissertations on literature, languages, film studies and folklore. Includes MLA Directory of Periodicals, which provides detailed information on periodicals covering literature and languages. You can also search MLA International Bibliography through the ProQuest interface.
Collection of bilingual dictionaries (Spanish-English, English-French, etc.) from Oxford University Press.
Other Suggested Research Tools
Collection of e-books by French authors as well as links to French dictionaries and other reference sources.
Provides links to medieval manuscripts available on the Web.
Resource on French theater of the 17th and 18th centuries. Includes information on performances, reviews from the time period, images from playbills, title pages, etc., and some key reference works.
Online edition of Huguet's dictionary of Renaissance French.
A biographical dictionary of women who lived in France or had an important connection to the French language from the 5th through the 18th century (up to women born in 1780). Although world-famous women are represented, the dictionary's main value is for its entries of women little-known outside their regions or fields of activity. There are two types of entries ("notices"): the "notices modernes" written by contemporary scholars; and the "notices anciennes", which are reproduced from biographical works published since the 16th century. The editors warn that the information from these older published works is not always reliable. Finding entries by browsing is more efficient than searching names directly.
Index of major journals in the humanities and social sciences
Collection of databases, including Iter Bibliography, a bibliography and index of articles, books, essays, and book reviews on the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700). Includes coverage of art and literature.
Guide to literary critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.