help for medieval imaginations::
This page is intended to address common questions and issues which may arise while using the site. To reach this help page from any part of the site, you may use the link next to the simple search field in the upper right hand corner of the page. If this page fails to answer your question, you may email the webmaster, who will try to assist you.
searching::
instant search
located at the top right-hand corner of most pages, the simple search field may be used for single or multiple search terms. An advanced search option is also available (see below).
advanced search
the advanced search option may be accessed via the 'advanced search' link which is on every page of the site. There are several options you may choose when using the advanced search. The following are brief explanations of those options.
- keywords:
enter a single keyword (i.e. christ), or several to narrow search results (i.e. christ and geneology). You may also view the full list of keywords.
- title:
search the titles of the Mystery Play episodes using keywords in any order (i.e. Mary annunciation) or an exact phrase (i.e. The Annunciation to Mary). You may also access the full list of episode titles.
- cycle:
choose from the cycles Wakefield, York, Chester, N-Town or all
- media:
select a media type from the drop down list
- date:
select a century from drop down list.
- image ID number:
if you know the number of the image, type it in this field and click the go button.
navigation::
general navigation:
Accessing images is generally done using the simple or advanced search options. However, you may also view the five latest additions to the site by choosing the 'latest additions' link on any page or view the collection highlights by choosing that link from any page. To see information about mystery plays, you can choose the 'mystery plays' link from any page. This will take you to a page with general information about medieval mystery plays and provide a drop down list of specific titles. Choosing any title from the drop down menu and pressing the 'go' button will take you to information about that particular play. To read information about medieval England, choose the 'medieval england' link on any page. The 'sitemap' link will take you to a list of all of the major sections of the Medieval Imaginations web site and the 'references' link will display a list of further resources and links to sites that have contributed in one way or another to the Medieval Imaginations project. The 'project history' link will provide information about the background of the project.
viewing image data and image navigation:
After searching for an image, or a set of images, you may view information on a specific image by either clicking on the image's thumbnail at the left-hand side of the list or by choosing to view the image with the java applet (clicking on the image's thumbnail defaults to viewing it with the applet) or without it. The java program will allow you to zoom in on particular parts of the image by clicking at that point with your mouse and then scroll through the magnified version. The java applet may not work well, or at all, on some browsers (For example, I sometimes have to reload the page while holding down the shift key on my keyboard and then click on the area where the image is supposed to be before it will show up properly). If this should happen, or if you would simply prefer not to use the java applet, you may view the image without it by clicking on the text link that specifies 'without applet'.