bancalis
Forms
bancālis m (genitive bancālis); third declension; more often bancāle n[1] Spellings with ⟨p⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ (panchale, banchale) are common in the glossaries and inventories.[1][2]
Etymology
It is a derivative of Medieval Latin bancus (“bench”).[2][3] Köbler, however, calls its origin unclear.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The earliest dated record is a will of 907 from Catalonia, which leaves among other furnishings a bench cover of many colours to a church.[2]
Semantic evolution
It named a cover or cushion laid over a bench.[1][2] A capitulary of the Frankish kings orders every royal estate to keep bedding, tablecloths and bench covers,[1] the Old High German glosses translate it with words for a bench cloth,[1][3] and church inventories list it beside tapestries.[1] From the market bench it also came to mean the fee paid for a stall, a sales tax, in an imperial charter from after 1186.[1] It is continued in Catalan bancal.[2]
Timeline
- 907 – A Catalan will leaves a bench cover to a church.[2]
- 948 – Another Catalan will speaks of two bench covers in a house.[2]
- after 1186 – An imperial charter uses it of fees for market stalls.[1]
Meanings
Noun
- (Medieval Latin) A bench cover or cushion.[1][2][3]
- (Medieval Latin) A fee for a market stall; a sales tax.[1][3]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e f g h Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de