Depending on the purpose of your paper you may use on-line web sources. By applying these five criteria you can decide if they are sources to use. Ask yourself the following questions:
Authority - Is the document author or site sponsor clearly identified? Does the site provide contact information for the author or sponsor?
Objectivity or clear disclosure of advocacy - Is the site's purpose clear (for example, to inform, entertain or persuade). Is the site explicit about declaring its point of view? Does the site indicate whether it is directed toward a specific audience?
Coverage - Are the topics covered by the site clear? Does the site exhibit a suitable depth and comprehensiveness for its purpose? Is sufficient evidence provides to support the ideas and options presented?
Accuracy - Are the sources of information stated? Do the facts appear to be accurate? Can you verify this information by comparing this source with other sources in the field?
Currency - Are the dates included in the website? Is the information current, or at least still relevant for the site's purpose? For you purpose?
Criteria list taken in whole from: Ramage, Bean and Johnson. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. 5th Ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009: 602.
The Internet is filled with an enormous quantity of information. Remember, search engines only index a small part of the world wide web. To find more results search in a variety of sources.
References and General History Websites
British History: Middle Ages - This BBC website is a valuable online resource devoted to the topic of Britain's Medieval history. Topical subdivisions include: Henry II, King John and Richard I, Invasion and Conquest, The Black Death, Richard II, Lancaster and York, Art and Architecture.
Goodspeed Manuscript Collection - The Edgar J. Goodspeed Manuscript Collection comprises 68 early Greek, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, Arabic, and Latin manuscripts ranging in date from the 5th to the 19th centuries.
Monastic Manuscript Project - The Monastic Manuscript Project is a database of descriptions of manuscripts that contain texts relevant for the study of early medieval monasticism, especially monastic rules, ascetic treatises, vitae patrum-texts and texts related to monastic reforms.
Monastic Matrix - This extensive database website explores the role of Christian women in the religion and society of medieval Europe. Its content includes profiles of women’s religious communities in medieval Europe; dozens of primary source texts; brief biographies of religious women; hundreds of images of architecture, sculpture, and book illumination and other objects. It also features a glossary and a listing of secondary sources.
The Medieval Bestiary - This web site deals with any and all aspects of the general topic "animals in the Middle Ages", though there is an emphasis on the manuscript tradition, particularly of the bestiaries, and mostly in western Europe.