Sytuacja językowa Żydów w sądach miejskich XVI wieku

Abstract

Polish codifications of the Magdeburg Law from the 16th century are mainly of a legal nature, however, these normative regulations also determined the matter of language interaction occurring when legal norms were used, especially during trials. Therefore, German‑origin laws also related to verbal communication used by Jews in Polish towns and municipal courts which adopted the Magdeburg Law. These regulations were used by municipal courts during legal proceedings, which is documented in archival resources. The regulations of the Magdeburg Law excluded the Jews as high‑ranking members of judiciary from participating in legal proceedings. Therefore, they were ex cluded from language interaction, in which they would be able to use legal norms and then pass sentences on their basis. As far as courtroom communication between the Christian and the Jewish parties is concerned, the interlocutors’ statements were not treated equally. The Jews were given a lower communication status compared to Christian burghers, which shows in the oaths they swore, preferences for Christians in presenting evidence and the fact that fewer people had to confirm the testimonies given by Christians. In trade transactions Jewish statements were considered unreliable and they were not given evidential value. Their statements could be accepted as evidence on condition that a Jew changed their legal status. According to the Magdeburg Law, Jews who used speech acts in order to encourage Christians to convert to Judaism could be given criminal sanctions. Restrictions imposed by the Magdeburg Law on the Jewish population living in Polish towns limited the possibilities of language interaction between the Jews and the local community and that led to a language separation of these two bilingual nations. Legal regulations included in Porządek sądów and in Tytuły prawa magdeburskiego by B. Groicki as well as in Ius municipale by P. Szczerbic shaped not only the legal status and language situation of Jews living in Polish towns and judged by 16th century Polish courts, but also, from today’s point of view, they discriminated against Jews and institutionally created a negative stereotype of a Jew, which has lasted in different social circles until the present day