Czechs Described Truffles as Mushrooms as Early as the 14th Century, 200 Years Before the Italians

The Czechs may have described truffles as mushrooms as early as the 14th century, roughly 200 years before the Italians. The term “lanyss” appears in Master Klaret’s Glossary, dating to around 1360, in a section devoted to mushrooms.

If the word truly referred to a truffle, it would be an exceptionally early European record. Until now, the oldest known classification of truffles as mushrooms was attributed to the Italian scholar Andrea Cesalpino, who made the description more than two centuries later.