Słownik Bartłomieja z Bydgoszczy. Wersja polsko-łacińska
The Dictionary of Bartholomew of Bydgoszcz. Polish-Latin Version

Part III (N - Pleć)

Author(s): Elżbieta Kędelska, Irena Kwilecka, Arleta Łuczak
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: lexicography; dictionary; Middle Polish language; Latin language
Summary/Abstract: Bartholomew of Bydgoszcz was among the most outstanding early 16th century Bydgoszcz Friars Minor of the Observance. He authored six manuscripts, totalling over 2,600 pages. His Latin-Polish dictionaries of 1532 and 1544 contain Polish material which is so rich that the works are considered the most extensive collections of Polish vocabulary from the first half of the 16th century. The 1532 manuscript (entitled Vocabularius ex Calepino, Breviloquo et Mamotrecto recollectus) counts 257 leaves and contains 4,276 Polish words as equivalents to 4,488 Latin entries. Bartholomew’s second lexicon took on the form of notes on the margins of the famous 600-page-long 15th century Latin dictionary of Johann Reuchlin (Vocabularius breviloquus, Argentine 1488). In this second work, Batholomew lists Polish equivalents for over 11,000 Latin entries. Altogether, this listing covers around 7,000 new words that were absent from the 1532 dictionary. Bartholomew’s lexicons include Polish words from various spheres of life. Apart from basic vocabulary, they feature abundant specialist lexis, represented by philosophical, theological, naturalist and medical, legal, maritime, grammar and biblical terminology. Both dictionaries bring together not only rich Polish and Latin language material but also numerous idiosyncratic entries, not attested in such voluminous works as Słownik polszczyzny XVI wieku [Dictionary of 16th century Polish language] or Słownik łaciny średniowiecznej w Polsce [Dictionary of medieval Latin in Poland]. The dictionaries by Bartholomew of Bydgoszcz were not intended for print. They served as, among other things, textbooks in the school of philosophy at his monastery in Bydgoszcz and an encyclopaedia of his contemporary world, summarising information from various fields of science and of practice, like preparation of medicines. This complete “reversed” Polish-Latin version of Bartholomew's dictionary, published by the Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, in 1999-2019 features more than 10,600 Polish words (entries).

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