The monograph represents a significant milestone in shaping the patterns of official communication in Poland. The research material comprises office collections originating from Upper Silesia during the 16th to 18th centuries, encompassing multiple towns governed by European municipal law.  Due to the broad jurisdiction of local offices, the extant documents embody two distinct discourses: chancellery discourse, governing legal-social and ownership relations among residents, and court discourse, concerned with arbitrating disputes and maintaining public order. The characteristics of both discourses are related to the description of pragmatic functions typical for them, text categories and genres of statements recorded in written form.