Caterina Sforza and Experimenti Translation into English and historical-linguistic analysis of some of her recipes

Caterina Sforza, Countess of Forlì from 1480 to 1500, was an intrepid and shrewd ruler, a mother, a lover, a woman with an eager interest in every field of knowledge, especially in science and experiments. Throughout her whole life, she devoted herself to experimenting and collecting hundreds of alchemical, cosmetic and medical recipes in a manuscript today known as “Experimenti”. This paper will include two chapters: in the first one, a biography of Caterina Sforza will be presented, together with a paragraph dedicated to her passion for botany and chemistry, which represent the foundation for her collection of recipes. Then, the reader will find a narration of the many changes of ownership and adventurous vicissitudes her manuscript experienced, thanks to which it is today possible to access Caterina’s remedies. The second chapter will contain the translation into present-day English of six recipes found in “Experimenti”. Each translation will be followed by the historical-linguistic analysis of some key words extracted from the original recipes: the analysis will base on the comparison between their Renaissance Italian translation and their current English meaning and spelling. An essential tool for this will be John Florio’s dictionary, first published in 1598 and considered the first extensive Italian-English dictionary. The aim of this paper is not only to make Caterina’s experiments accessible to an English public, but also to explore the development of the English language on different levels. Firstly, its evolution in time, from Early Modern English to today’s English. Secondly, its evolution in space, taking into consideration its immense spread all over the world through colonization (which, at the time Caterina Sforza and John Florio were alive, had only just begun), and the consequent many varieties of English existing now. Thirdly, its evolution with regard to the Italian language and culture.