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Early Modern Works in Special Collections

A guide to works between 1500 and 1700 in Rare Books and Special Collections.

Welcome to the Special Collections Guide to Early Modern Works

This guide provides a list of materials from the Early Modern period in Europe.  While the exact parameters of the early modern period are contested, we have defined the period as lasting from 1500 to 1700.  The Early Modern era was a time of political and religious upheaval.  Catholics and Protestants battled with one another for power, and both France and England experienced bloody civil wars.  It was also a time of innovation.  Advancements in science and technology changed how people saw the world and writers such as Shakespeare contributed the period's developing literary culture.  

The works in this guide are available in the Literary and Rare Book collections in Special Collections and University Archives, located in Hornbake Library. For more information about our holdings contact us!

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