SEARCH INSTRUCTIONS

Simple search
The most comprehensive kind of search is offered by the Simple Search function. This field will find the search term in all the visible fields as well as in the invisible metadata. Truncation is supported with the use of an asterisk (*).

Title
A search in the Title field will bring up not only the precise orthography in the original source, but also common variants. The database will give you the full diplomatic title but also uses a standardized short title.

Author/Editor
This field covers the main author of a work as well as the editor of a collection, where this is known. You may also search alternative names (eg. ‘Frosch’ or ‘Rana’). The main author can, in case of an Einzeldruck, be a composer; composers in anthologies are not found via this function. They can be sought in the Simple Search field, as well as authors of paratexts.

Printer
This field covers only printers, not publishers. However, publishers may be sought in the Simple Search field. You may also search alternative names (eg. ‘Rhau’ or ‘Rhaw’ or ‘Rhauvus‘ etc.).

Place of printing
The names of places of printing may be sought in their English, German or Latin forms, but are displayed only in their English form.

Year
You may search for all books published in a particular year, or between two chronological limits. The results will cover not only exact dates but also approximate dates (e.g. [1501 c.]) and date periods (e.g. [1499−1504], if you search ‘1501’).

Type of source
− Under Broadsheet we have included all sources consisting of a single sheet, which is unfolded and printed only on one side.
− Humanist books include collections of odes, school dramas and grammar books.
− Hymn books are liturgical song books in the vernacular, produced after the beginning of the Reformation and intended for private or congregational use.
− Liturgical books include works intended for the use of the clergy (Roman Catholic or Protestant) during the divine service, such as missals, psalters, antiphoners and so on.
− Under Polyphonic music books we have included all those which are more extensive than a pamphlet, and contain a number of pieces of polyphony (whether sacred or secular) united by a common editorial intention. They do not include for example dramas with a number of polyphonic choruses or odes, which are classified as Humanist books.
− Tablature books contain music for various instruments, notated in the tablature particular to keyboard, plucked or bowed instruments.
− Under Theory books we have included pedagogical music treatises intended for students or professional musicians indiscriminately.
− Under Other we have included sources which do not fit into the above categories, such as books containing individual devotional or exegetical songs, or graphic works that include legible musical notation.

Format
Under this rubric you can search for books according to their format. This is particularly useful since certain kinds of books were associated with different kinds of content.

Printing Technique
This drop-down menu allows you to search for books according to the technique used to impress the notes on the page: woodcut, single impression from type, multiple impression from type (both double and triple), as well as more unusual cases such as the use of individual pieces of music type set within a block of text, or lines printed without any notes.

Notation type
Under this search field you can find printed items that include the following kinds of notation: chant notation (Hufnagel or square notation), mensural notation, or tablatures of different kinds.

Musical layout
This menu allows you to look for two different styles of mise-en-page used for polyphonic music: choir book layout or part books.

Confessional Identity
This drop-down menu permits you to search for books according to their confessional identity: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Swiss Reformed (Zwinglian), Evangelical (by which we mean the mixed style of Protestantism in Strasbourg), or Bohemian Brethren and Calvinist.

Location of copies
This field allows you to search for copies according to their current location. The libraries are indicated according to their RISM sigla. (See http://www.rism.info/en/sigla.html for further information). The filter helps you to restrict the number of choices. You may ask for the country code (e.g. A for Austria) or for a specific city.

vdm number, RISM/VD16 number
Each edition in our database has a number assigned according to the order in which it was entered, its specific vdm number. Although we were reluctant to contribute to the proliferation of catalogue numbers, we realised that this was necessary since our data set overlaps several existing lists, such as RISM and VD16 (see LINKS). The vdm number is not identical with any of them. Some vdm numbers are assigned to editions which have not been included in earlier music bibliographies.

Miscellaneous search fields
These check-boxes allow you to search for books containing a variety of features: printing privileges, printer’s marks, paratexts and legible musical notation in illustrations.

Display of results
Results may be displayed according to year, title, author or type of source.

From the results page of your search you may click on the individual editions to get a detailed record. From there, you can then select an individual copy to obtain further information. Copies which have been inspected by us in the course of this project are marked with an *.