Accademia Della Crusca - Monosini and The First Vocabolario

Monosini and The First Vocabolario

One of the earliest scholars to influence the work of the Crusca, was Agnolo Monosini. He contributed greatly to the 1612 edition of Vocabolario della lingua italiana, especially with regards to the Greek Etymology, which, he maintained, made a significant contribution to the Fiorentine idiom of the period.

The Accademia thus abandoned the jocular character of its earlier meetings in order to take up the normative role it would assume from then on. The very title of the Accademia came to be interpreted in a new way: the academicians of the Crusca would now work to distinguish the good and pure part of the language (the farina, or whole wheat) from the bad and impure part (the crusca, or bran). From this is derived the symbolism of the Crusca: its device shows a frullone or cheesecloth with the Petrarchan motto Il più bel fior ne coglie (She gathers the most beautiful flower). The members of the Accademia were given nicknames associated with corn and flour, and seats in the form of breadbaskets with backs in the shape of an oven slide were used for their meetings.