Italian Food at the Elizabethan and Jacobean Courts. A Lexicographic and Morphosynctactic Analysis of John Florio’s Dictionaries

This paper delves into the Italian culinary lexicon embedded within John Florio’s dictionaries, A World of Words (1598) and Queen Anna’s New World of Worlds (1611). In an era marked by the burgeoning cultural exchange between England and Italy, Florio’s lexical compilations stand as vital linguistic artifacts, also providing a unique window into the Italian culinary landscape of the late Renaissance. Focusing on the Italian culinary vocabulary preserved in Florio’s works, this study employs a lexicographic analysis to unravel the intricate web of gastronomic terms, uncovering their semantic nuances and cultural resonances. The investigation traces the evolution and expansion of the Italian culinary lexicon within Florio’s dictionaries, shedding light on the linguistic choices made to convey the flavours, ingredients, and culinary practices prevalent during this period in Italy. This paper aims to identify key culinary terms, explore their contextual usage, and illuminate the cross-cultural exchanges that contributed to the culinary discourse in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Furthermore, the study endeavours to contextualize Florio’s dictionaries within the broader historical and sociocultural milieu, highlighting the impact of Italian culinary diplomacy on the English language and cuisine, based on bigger corpora such as EEBO. By exploring the intersections between language and gastronomy, this research contributes to our understanding of how culinary terms were assimilated and adapted, shaping the linguistic landscape of early modern England.