We welcome submissions of papers for consideration for publication in our journal Foundations. These notes provide guidance for authors on aspects of content and formatting, that will facilitate the editorial process.

General

Contributions for Foundations can be in the form of full articles, short papers, reviews of the literature on a specific subject, or approaches and techniques covering any aspect of medieval (pre-1500) genealogy and prosopography. All contributions will be submitted for expert scrutiny before acceptance, and FMG reserves the right to make editorial and stylistic changes to the text. Submissions are accepted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere and are not pending such publication. We may occasionally consider articles that have been published informally on websites or in other media, but this is at the discretion of the editor. Articles that have been previously published in languages other than English may be considered - please consult the editor.

From 2023, Foundations is published only in electronic format. The overall format, contents and typographical arrangement is copyright © Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Authors retain their personal copyright in material submitted, however it is an express condition that the submission of articles and other contributions confers on the FMG unlimited permission to reproduce and sell the material in any form, printed or electronic in pursuit of the organisation's objectives. No royalties shall be payable.

The work should be the result of original research, offer new opinions or have another appropriate value. It should not have been published previously except as noted above, nor submitted for publication elsewhere.

Format

Papers should be submitted in electronic format, by email to the Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.. The preferred software is Microsoft Word (.docx). For other filetypes please check with the editor before submission.

The best guide to layout is to look at earlier issues of the Journal. Use Arial font bold for headings, and Verdana font for body text. Elaborate layout formatting should be avoided as it is likely to be lost during the editorial process. Word tables may be usefully used to present lists or tabulated data. Abbreviations should be spelt out in full the first time they are used in the text except for recognised standard items. Explanatory footnotes should be used sparingly and referenced by superscript Arabic numerals. Detailed advice on formatting is available from the editor.

Language

Foundations is published in English following British spelling conventions. Selected articles may be translated into other languages for online publication. The editor is also willing to receive contributions in French, German or Spanish. These will be published online together with the English translation. The editor is willing to provide linguistic assistance for authors whose first language is not English.

Papers

Papers should include a title of not more than 15 words, the names of each author (without titles or post-nominals), and an abstract of not more than 200 words at the start, with acknowledgements (where relevant) and a bibliography at the end. Further details of the author(s), including titles, degrees, professional qualifications and affiliation, together with a contact address or email, may be provided if desired in a footnote.

The main text should be divided into sections by use of appropriate subheadings, and should be as concise as possible; the whole length should generally not exceed 10,000 words. Longer papers may exceptionally be accepted by agreement with the editor. Supplementary data that support the main text may be included in one or more appendices, but should be kept as short as possible.

Short Communications

Preliminary accounts of work and other short communications should follow a similar format to papers but may not require separate subheadings. The title should be no more than 10 words in length, the text should not exceed 1500 words and only one figure or table may be included. Please also supply up to five keywords or a brief abstract to accompany the short communication.

Tables and Illustrations

Tables are used for summaries of data that can be laid out in columns and rows. They should be kept to a minimum and presented separately from the text. Complicated formatting should be avoided. Tables should not duplicate information presented in figures. Tables should be numbered in Roman numerals, with a brief but informative heading above the table. The legend should clearly explain the data in the table without the need to refer back to the text.

Illustrations may be included at the discretion of the editor. They should not be embedded, but submitted separately, preferably in high quality (high pixel density) graphics formats such as TIF,  JPEG or PNG, with an indication in the text where they may be best placed. The copyright owner of all illustrations must be given, and where necessary confirmation of permission to reproduce in the printed and online editions.

Genealogical charts are listed as Figures (not tables) and should be formatted for readability on different screen sizes and formats.

Pictures or charts should have a legend, numbered in Arabic numerals with an informative legend above the illustration.

Both tables and illustrations ("Figures") should be cited from the appropriate place in the text of the article.

References and archive sources

Clarity of citation shall be the overriding objective. Citations should provide sufficient information for the reader to consult the source if desired. General reading matter on the topic should not be included in the bibliography unless it is cited in the text to support a specific point.
No reference should be cited unless the author has personally examined it, verified the details referred to, and confirmed the bibliographic reference is correct. References to books should include the relevant page(s) in the footnote citation (not in the bibliography). Primary sources not seen, but cited from other, secondary sources, should be indicated "[primary source] as cited by [secondary source]"

Citations in Text and Bibliography

Foundations citations are based on the Chicago humanities notes & bibliography style. This comprises footnote citations (shortened format including page numbers) for specific elements, together with, at the end of the article, a bibliographic listing of all the published works cited. A short guide to how this applies to Foundations can be viewed here.

Abbreviations used

ed./eds. for editor(s), trans. for translator, comp. for compiler, etc.
For Book editions use the abbreviation "Edn."
Standard abbreviations may be used for certain sources commonly used in Foundations, click for list.