In 1620 the English translation of Boccaccio’s Decameron was published anonymously in London by John Florio. The handsome folio was printed in two volumes, adorned with woodcut illustrations of French origin. The printer was Isaac Jaggard, and the dedicatee Sir Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery, to whom is also addressed an ‘epistle dedicatory’, supposedly by […]
Florio’s magnum opus as lexicographer was his augmented dictionary Queen Anna’s New World of Words, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English tongues (London 1611), embracing nearly 74,000 definitions. Not only was the volume almost twice larger than its predecessor, containing about 75.000 definitions, but in the preparing of it he had consulted 249 books […]
Montaigne’s Essays by John Florio is highly regarded as a work of art as well as one of the most popular and influential Elizabethan translations. The Publication June 4th, 1600 is the day that saw the publication of one of the most popular and influential Elizabethan translations. John Florio’s rendering of Michel de Montaigne’s Essays […]
While he was engaged in the service of Henry Wriothesley, Florio produced a work which remains a landmark in the history of Italian scholarship in England. A Worlde of Wordes, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English tongues (London, 1598) is an Italian-English Dictionary, and, as such, only the second of its kind in England and much […]
Second Fruits is John Florio’s second work. Entitled Second Frutes to be gathered of twelve trees, of diverse but delightful tastes to the tongues of Italian and English (1591), it appeared thirteen years after the publication of the First Fruits, and is a product of perhaps the most interesting period of his life. Second Fruits: a new literary […]
First Fruits is John Florio’s first work, published in London in 1578 at 25 years old. Entitled “Florio his firste fruites which yeelde familiar speech, merie prouerbes, wittie sentences, and golden sayings. Also a perfect induction to the Italian, and English tongues, as in the table appeareth. The like heretofore, neuer by any man published.” this work […]
John Florio: Portrait by William Hole A portrait of John Florio is printed in his second and increased edition of his Italian-English vocabulary Queen’s Anna New World of Words. It’s an engraving made by William Hole that appears on the first pages of the dictionary. Here we see Florio at the mature age of 58 […]
The death of Queen Anne on March 2nd 1619 marks the end of Florio’s active career. He was residing in Fulham, which was at that time a separate village connected with the City by a very bad country road frequently impassable on foot on account of the mud, and by river. Old-age and poverty slowly […]
With the accession of James I John Florio’s life at court begins a new chapter. His best patrons were now in favour, and Sir Robert Cecil now exercised greater influence than before. Most certainly, he may possible have been instrumental in obtaining John Florio his court appointment. John Florio was now living at court, holding […]
From 1585 John Florio seems to have disappeared from the scenes. There is no mention of him previous to 1591, with four exceptions. Two are in connection with the christening of his children in 1588 and 1589. The third is a letter dated May 26, 1587 in which a certain Alexander Teregli refers to John […]
