'Semagrams' in Historical Lexicography and their Applicability for Text Research. The Case of 'Maskeroen'

Historical dictionaries and the digital tools derived from them prove essential for the study of old texts. This article explores whether their performance can be enhanced by means of word sense descriptions that consist of both definitions and sets of conceptual features as used in the Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (a dictionary of contemporary Dutch). It will show that these sets of features or 'semagrams' also provide in-depth insight into both the lexicon of a historical text and its cultural context. The new perspectives this method creates for historical lexicography and for the support of text research, will be demonstrated on a medieval so-called 'trial of Satan', named after its protagonist devil 'Maskeroen'.