Antonio Francesco Grazzini or Antonfrancisco Grazzini (March 22, 1503February 18, 1584) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

author."

Biography

He was born at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

or in Staggia Senese (he wrote of himself: '''Rime di Antonfrancesco detto il Lasca'', parte prima, Stamperia di Francesco Moucke, Firenze 1741, pag. XXI.) of a good family, but there is no record of his upbringing and education. He probably began to practise as an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

as a youth; and owned the then famous Farmacia del Moro near the Cathedral. In 1540 he was among the founders of the Accademia degli Umidi, which was soon renamed Accademia Fiorentina. He later took a leading role in the establishment of the more famous

Accademia della Crusca The Accademia della Crusca (; "Academy of the Bran"), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language ...

, which published his ''Vocabulario'' of words accepted as the purest Italian. To both societies he was known as Il Lasca or Leuciscus, a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

which is still frequently substituted for his proper name. Grazzini was temperamental, his life consequently enlivened or disturbed by various literary quarrels. His Umidi brethren expelled him for a time, because of his ruthless criticism of the Arameans, a party of academicians who maintained that the Florentine language was derived from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

, or some other branch of the Semitic. He was readmitted in 1566, when his friend Salviati was consul. II Lasca ranks as one of the great masters of Tuscan prose. His style is flexible and abundantly idiomatic, but without affectation. It has the force and freshness of popular speech, whilst retaining a flavour of academic culture.

Main works

*''Le Cene'' (1549), a collection of stories in the manner of

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...

, and a number of prose comedies. One of the stories is ''The Story of Doctor Manente'', translated and with an introduction by

D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

(G. Orioli, 1929). *''La Spiritata'' (1561) *''I Parentadi'' *''La Arenga'' *''La Sibilla'' *''La Pinzochera'' *''L'Arzigogolo'' A number of miscellaneous poems, a few letters and ''Four Orations to the Cross'' complete the list of Grazzini's works. He also edited the works of

Francesco Berni Francesco Berni Francesco Berni (1497/98 – 26 May 1535) was an Italian poet. He is credited for beginning what is now known as " Bernesque poetry", a serio-comedic type of poetry with elements of satire. Biography Life Berni was born 1497 o ...

, and collected ''Tutti I trionfi, larri, mascherate o canti carnascialeschi, andati per Firenze dal tempo del Magnifico Lorenzo vecchio de 'Medici fino all'anno 1559'' (the latter influenced

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's "

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

"). In 1868

Adamo Rossi Adamo Rossi (March 5, 1821 in Petrignano – February 22, 1891 in Perugia) was an Italian clergyman, revolutionary patriot, scholar and librarian. Career After studying at the archdiocesan seminary of Perugia, Rossi took part in the First Italian ...

published in his ''Ricerche per le biblioteche di Perugia'' three novelle by Grazzini, from a manuscript of the 16th century in the Comunale of Perugia; and in 1870 a small collection of those poems which have been left unpublished by previous editors appeared at Poggibonsi, ''Alcune poesie inedite''.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grazzini, Antonio Francesco 1503 births 1584 deaths Writers from Florence Italian male writers