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Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Release 1 (1996)

There is an instruction booklet (in English and in German) that accompanies this CD-ROM; if you need further assistance after reviewing this helpsheet, please ask an Etext staffer for the booklet.

I. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURE AND CONTENT:

This CD-ROM contains a selection of texts from all five divisions of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores, Leges, Diplomata, Epistolae, Antiquitates), primarily those which have appeared in the last few years.

The program allows you to perform Boolean searches for words or phrases within the entire database or subsections of it (Series, Collectio, Auctor or Titulus).

II. STARTING UP THE MONUMENTA GERMANIAE HISTORICA:

Place the CD-ROM in the computer's CD carrier by pressing the button outside of the CD-ROM drive to open and close it. Next, locate a folder icon on the desktop that reads "Etext CDs" and double-click it. In the folder window that opens, double-click on the icon for "eMGH."

You will arrive at an opening screen that prompts you to select a language for your session. Make the appropriate selection and press any key to continue. You will then arrive at the main search page.

III. USING THE MONUMENTA GERMANIAE HISTORICA:

At the top of the window, you will see a tookit menu bar listing the program's basic commands. Here's an overview of these commands:

  • Help: Displays help information concerning the current screen and shows how to perform all the operations that can be executed in this environment.
  • Browse: Displays the complete index of all words or entries you can search for within the current field
    • You may browse by either 'entry' or 'form'.
    • Choosing 'entry' will give you an alphabetical list of titles contained within the search zone in which you are located. You may choose any title from the list as your search term.
    • Choosing 'word' will let you browse alphabetically by individual words contained within the search zone in which you are located. You may choose any word from the list as your search term.
    • Hit Enter after selecting a search term. You will see a green screen highlighting your search term - hit Enter again. At this point you will see the main screen, with the number of "hits" for your term listed next to the search box. You may view these hits by hitting Display. See the next item for more information.
  • Display: Displays the sentence or sentences corresponding to the query. Sentences are listed in alphabetical order.
    • Each sentence description gives you the title of the work and the volume in which it is contained, as well as the Latin text in which your search term appears.
    • To move between sentences, use the Page Up and Page Down keys.
    • To see the full text surrounding a sentence, move it to the top of the screen and then press Enter.
    • To move to the top of the list, press Home.
    • To move to the bottom of the list, press End.
  • List: Displays a list of forms corresponding to the query. Use the Space Bar to select or deselect forms.
  • Output: Allows you to save search results.
    • To save search results, select this command while you are at the screen displaying individual hits.
    • A green screen will appear, providing you with options. Use the arrow keys to move between options. Use the space bar to toggle options.
    • Save your results here: c:\data\[file name].txt
  • (Memento): Displays bibliographic information about a work.
    • Select this command to see full bibliographic data for each hit. If you see "Diese Ausgabe ersetzt..." at the bottom of the record, that means that this new edition replaces an older edition (which is identified at the end of the record.
  • Exit: Exits the program.
  • Options: Allows you to set the Boolean operators for your search. Use the space bar to toggle operators. The program recognizes the following operators:
    + (and)
    , (or)
    # (not)
    ? (wildcard character)
    * (wildcard string)

How to perform direct searches for specific words or phrases

  • You may enter specific words into the search fields rather than choosing from the browse list. Some basic commands will facilitate your searching:
    • To navigate between search fields, use the Page Up/Page Down commands.
    • Use the Escape key to cancel a command.
  • You may search by series, collection, author, title, or keyword (formae).
    • To search for the phrase "videtur mihi", for example, enter "videtur mihi" in the formae field and then press Enter. Press F3 to display your search results.
  • Use the Boolean operators for performing more complex searches.
    • For example, if you wanted to search for either Boniface or Hincmar as an author, you would do the following:
      • In the Titulus field, enter Bonifatius,Hincmarus (you must use the Latinized spelling).
      • Press Enter. A green screen will appear, listing all available authors. Next to each entry is a yellow check mark, indicating that this entry is selected for inclusion in your hit results. To remove an entry, highlight that entry by moving to it with the arrow keys, then hit the spacebar. The space bar serves a toggling function for this CD ROM.
      • When you are satisfied with your selection, hit return. You will return to the main search screen. Next to the search field will appear the number of hits. To view these hits, hit F3.
    • To search for all entries containing variations of a word form, you may choose to use the wildcard (*) symbol. To find all the entries with variations of the form civitas, you would do the following:
      • Enter civita* in the formae search field.
      • Press Enter. The number of hits will appear on the right side of the search field. To narrow your search by choosing some forms but not others, hit F4. This command will bring up a green screen which will let you select by toggling with the space bar which forms of the word you would like to include in your search and which you prefer to omit.
      • You may also use the wildcard symbol at the beginning of a word. Typing *aliter and hitting F4, for example, brings up a list of all words ending in -aliter.
  • For more complex searching, such as words within close proximity of but not necessarily next to each other, please see page 15 of the manual or ask an Etext staffer for additional assistance.

IV. EXITING THE MONUMENTA GERMANIAE HISTORICA AND REMOVING THE CD-ROM:

To exit the program, you may either click on the "Exit" menu button (the furthermost right button in the tookit menu) at the top of the screen, or select "File" and then "Exit" from the top menu bar. You will be asked if you want to exit the program; click "Yes." You should find yourself back at the Windows desktop. You can then eject the CD-ROM by pressing the button below and to the right of the CD carrier. Please place the CD-ROM back in its case and return it to an Etext Center assistant.