what is contemporary

Every one has heard of the Beauty Bedingfield; but she was my mother’s contemporary.
We do not care for their “ideals” expounded in contemporary histories and eulogies.

In literature, contemporary sources refer to reviews or criticism of a literary work (ex. poem, play, novel) that were written around the same time that the work was published. Contemporary sources reveal whether a work was immediately successful (ex. Harry Potter) or ahead of its time (ex. A Jury of Her Peers).
In history, contemporary sources refer to news stories, journal entries, etc. that were written around the same time that an event happened. Contemporary sources reveal how much the public understood about an event at the time and what they thought about it.

References:

http://libanswer.pstcc.edu/faq/170590
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/international_summer_school/themes/modern-britishness.page