Zamek a miasto. Analiza semantyczna terminu castrum w polskiej łacinie średniowiecznej
Castle and City. A Semantic Analysis of the Word castrum in Polish Medieval Latin

Summary/Abstract: In his article, Michał Rzepiela discusses the semantic distribution of the noun castrum, the most common term in Polish medieval Latin to refer to castles and castle-town complexes. The material basis for the research presented here has consisted of two corpora of Polish medieval Latin, the corpus of the general language eFontes and the corpus of works by Jan Długosz, developed in the Laboratory of Medieval Latin of the Institute of Polish Language of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In the first part of the article, after introductory remarks devoted to the specificity of the corpora of ancient languages, Rzepiela quotes comparative data on the frequency in the sources of the noun castrum and other nouns related to the study of castles, and raises the issue of the semantic precision of this kind of vocabulary. Next, he discusses the relationships between the castle and the city when the two function within one architectural complex. Rzepiela argues that a study of these relationships must be alert to the collocations co-created by the noun castrum. Based on the list of ten most common words – “partners” in colocations with castrum, identified in the corpora – he describes the most important functions of the castle in the urban space. The analysis points to the following uses of the castle: its the judicial function, its function in determining objects in the urban topography, its role as an employer for the inhabitants of the city.

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