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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 1335: What Really Was a Castle?: Tightening the Borders of Elusive Interpretation, II

Wednesday 8 July 2020, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków / University of Chester
Organisers:Michał Rzepiela, Institute of Polish Language, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków
Rachel Elizabeth Swallow, Department of History & Archaeology, University of Chester
Moderator/Chair:Rachel Elizabeth Swallow, Department of History & Archaeology, University of Chester
Paper 1335-aThe Relationship between Castle and Town in Medieval Poland in the Light of Linguistic Examination
(Language: English)
Michał Rzepiela, Institute of Polish Language, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków
Index terms: Architecture - General, Geography and Settlement Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Social History
Abstract

Scholars still debate the unresolved contemporary definition of 'castle', generally resorting to the ill-defined 'private fortified residence of a lord' for a variety of elite residences, fortified buildings and associated landscapes - including earthwork, timber and masonry fortifications, palaces, manor houses, crenellated church towers, and hunting lodges. By crossing both medieval geographical borders and current research disciplines, this session aims to tighten current unnuanced definitional boundaries. Through innovative research, new interpretations will be proposed for the contemporary meaning(s) of scribed Medieval Latin words such as castrum, castellum, and domus defensibilis, all commonly translated by later international generations as simply 'castle'.