We welcome submissions to the GMS. Before submitting a proposal, please read through the following information.

Proposals for all new submissions are due by 31 January 2021.

Texts may be in any language, from any region of the world, and in any genre. They must have been composed between 600 and 1600 CE and should not have been previously translated into English. Preference is given to short texts (no more than 5 pages of prose or 500 lines of verse) but excerpts of longer works are also considered, especially when they are relatively self-standing or contribute to one of our thematic areas.

Contributors to the GMS are responsible for providing a transcription or edition of the original text, a new English translation (with explanatory notes, as necessary), and a brief introduction in English. Where digital images of the medieval source exist online or may be readily procured from the holding institution, we ask the contributor to share this information with us. The transcription may have been prepared by the contributor directly from a medieval source, or may be drawn from a published edition. In the latter case, the contributor assumes responsibility for securing permission to republish the edited text. It is therefore preferable to translate from an out-of-copyright edition where possible.

We are currently developing thematic foci and will give preference to texts which speak to one or more of these themes. However, we will certainly consider texts which do not fit easily into one of our thematic groupings, especially if they come from underrepresented language families or regions. The thematic foci are: love poetry, prayer and spiritual practice, gender and sexuality, race and cross-cultural encounters, memory and remembrance, mortality and the afterlife.

To submit a proposal, please write to the General Editor, Mae Velloso-Lyons, at m.velloso-lyons[at]stanford.edu by 31/January 2021. Please include the following information in your message:

• Approximate date of composition
• Region of composition
• Language
• Genre
• Author (where known)
• Length (approximate wordcount or number of lines)
• Main themes
• Source of the transcription (or edition)
• Availability of images of the medieval source

All submissions will be reviewed by our editors and by a specialist in the appropriate language.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to transcribe the text from a manuscript (or medieval print)?

While this is preferred, we understand that it is often not possible to transcribe directly from a medieval source or from a digitization. There are a very large number of out-of-copyright editions of medieval texts, and proposing a translation from one of these is a viable alternative. In some cases, translating from an edition which is still under copyright may be an option, if permission can be secured for the digital reproduction of the relevant material. In this case, the contributor bears the responsibility for securing permission.

What kind of material are you looking for? What kinds of texts are acceptable?

We are particularly interested in material that could fit into an undergraduate course on medieval cultures. This might mean that the text speaks to one of our thematic foci, or it might mean that the text exposes a particular dimension of—or moment in—premodern culture that is worthy of attention (and may not make it into a traditional survey course). Our thematic foci are: love poetry, prayer and spiritual practice, gender and sexuality, race and cross-cultural encounters, memory and remembrance, mortality and the afterlife.

If I contribute work to the GMS, will I be able to put it on my own website/publish it in a book/use it for another purpose later?

Almost certainly yes. The GMS operates under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (more details here). This means that any part of it may be used (in the same form or in an altered form) in any project with the same license or a compatible license, as long as it is appropriately attributed. You may therefore republish your work in any other non-commercial venue. Republishing the work in a commercial venue may require additional permission.