Chicago Swordplay Guild
Encyclopedia
The Chicago Swordplay Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship
and Western martial arts
, and non-profit organization
based in Chicago, IL USA. It provides organized instruction in the serious study and practice of historical European swordplay, with a principal focus on the Italian school of swordsmanship
and other martial arts of the 14th–17th centuries.
Co-founded in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector, the Chicago Swordplay Guild seeks to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical Masters, with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling and fencing. Since techniques are taught in reference to how effective they would be in a real encounter, the Guild practices with an absolute emphasis on safety, control, competence, and skill at arms.
facility located at Pulaski Park Field House in Chicago, Illinois. The Guild is a designated Arts Partner in Residence of the Chicago Park District
. The Chicago Swordplay Guild also has sister schools operating in Milwaukee WI (Chicago Swordplay Guild North) and Denver CO (Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild).
of the 14th–17th centuries. This curriculum is divided into three courses of study; medieval swordsmanship, or armizare, Bolognese fencing
, and late Renaissance rapier fencing
.
(1350?-1410?). Maestro dei Liberi gave no formal name to his school or his martial art, simply calling it l’arte dell’armi or armizare (“the art of arms”). His art is preserved in the manuscripts he left behind, all entitled il Fior di Battaglia (the Flower of Battle).
The style of Dei Liberi outlived the founder due to the surviving manuscript of another master-at-arms, separated from dei Liberi by two to three generations of time. This later master, Filippo Vadi, is known through the treatise he penned c. 1482 entitled De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
(also “the art of arms”). Between these two men, we have today a complete martial art of a richness and complexity to stand beside any other in the world.
training come from five works from the 16th Century: an Anonymous text of c.1550, Antonio Manciolino (Opera Nova, 1531), Achille Marozzo
(Opera Nova, 1536), Angelo Viggiani (Lo Schermo, written c. 1550 and published posthumously in 1575) and Giovanni Dall'Agocchie
(Dell’arte di Scrimia, 1575). All of these texts share a consistency of terminology and curriculum that is traced to the most famed teacher of the tradition, Guido Antonio de Luca, from whose school came masters Antonio Manciolino and Achille Marozzo
, and the famed condottiero, Giovanni de Medici.
curriculum is drawn from the great Italian masters of the turn of the 17th century, particularly the work of Grand Master Salvator Fabris
(1544-1618) from Padua, Italy. The roster of Fabris’ notable students included Prince-Archbishop John Frederick of Bremen and Christian IV, King of Denmark
, under whose patronage he published his exceptional rapier-fencing manual Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme (“on fencing, or martial knowledge”).
and Italian Renaissance rapier
, Chicago Swordplay Guild members move into the study of historical Italian combat techniques such as medieval grappling (close quarters combat), dagger combat
, arming sword
, spear
and pollaxe. Members of the medieval arts also train in armored combat. Two female members of the Guild currently study the art of medieval mounted combat as taught by the 15th century master at arms, Fiore dei Liberi
.
, including Introduction to the medieval Longsword
and Introduction to the Renaissance Rapier
, year-round through the Chicago Park District
, the College Of DuPage
and other locations in the Chicago metropolitan area.
community. Beginning in fall 1999, the Guild has hosted the biannual Western Martial Arts Workshop), an ever-growing weekend symposium of researchers, instructors and students from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
organizations. The following organizations are those with whom the Guild collaborates to share resources and research and to cross-pollinate curriculum and methodology.
Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...
and Western martial arts
Western Martial Arts
Western Martial Arts refers to formalized fighting techniques and skills of European or generally Western origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia....
, and non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
based in Chicago, IL USA. It provides organized instruction in the serious study and practice of historical European swordplay, with a principal focus on the Italian school of swordsmanship
Italian school of swordsmanship
The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise to the days of Classical Fencing ....
and other martial arts of the 14th–17th centuries.
Co-founded in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector, the Chicago Swordplay Guild seeks to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical Masters, with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling and fencing. Since techniques are taught in reference to how effective they would be in a real encounter, the Guild practices with an absolute emphasis on safety, control, competence, and skill at arms.
Membership
Beginning with a small but dedicated group of people interested in swordplay the Chicago Swordplay Guild today has more than 50 active, diverse members, with dues-paying individuals ranging in age from their late teens to their mid-fifties, and of which 30% are women. A cross-section of the membership includes people in fields such as law, nursing, acting, civil engineering, ichthyology, computer programming, fitness training, paleontology, library science, Renaissance clothing design, publishing, education and the fine arts.Location
The principal training venue is the Chicago Park DistrictChicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
facility located at Pulaski Park Field House in Chicago, Illinois. The Guild is a designated Arts Partner in Residence of the Chicago Park District
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
. The Chicago Swordplay Guild also has sister schools operating in Milwaukee WI (Chicago Swordplay Guild North) and Denver CO (Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild).
Curriculum
The Guild has a detailed, structured curriculum that focuses on the Italian school of swordsmanshipItalian school of swordsmanship
The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise to the days of Classical Fencing ....
of the 14th–17th centuries. This curriculum is divided into three courses of study; medieval swordsmanship, or armizare, Bolognese fencing
Bolognese Swordsmanship
Bolognese Swordsmanship, also sometimes known as the Dardi school, is a tradition within the Italian school of swordsmanship which is based on the surviving fencing treatises published by several 16th century fencing masters of Bologna, although records indicate that as early as the 14th century...
, and late Renaissance rapier fencing
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
.
The Medieval Italian Tradition
The medieval martial arts curriculum is primarily based upon the surviving records of the tradition founded by the Friuli master at arms, Fiore dei LiberiFiore dei Liberi
Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an martial arts manual...
(1350?-1410?). Maestro dei Liberi gave no formal name to his school or his martial art, simply calling it l’arte dell’armi or armizare (“the art of arms”). His art is preserved in the manuscripts he left behind, all entitled il Fior di Battaglia (the Flower of Battle).
The style of Dei Liberi outlived the founder due to the surviving manuscript of another master-at-arms, separated from dei Liberi by two to three generations of time. This later master, Filippo Vadi, is known through the treatise he penned c. 1482 entitled De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi was written by Italian fencing master Filippo Vadi at some time between 1482 and 1487. It consists of an opening prologue describing the art of fencing followed by colored plates illustrating specific techniques for the longsword, dagger, pollaxe, spear and club...
(also “the art of arms”). Between these two men, we have today a complete martial art of a richness and complexity to stand beside any other in the world.
(Early Renaissance) Bolognese Swordsmanship
The primary sources for the Guild’s Bolognese SwordsmanshipBolognese Swordsmanship
Bolognese Swordsmanship, also sometimes known as the Dardi school, is a tradition within the Italian school of swordsmanship which is based on the surviving fencing treatises published by several 16th century fencing masters of Bologna, although records indicate that as early as the 14th century...
training come from five works from the 16th Century: an Anonymous text of c.1550, Antonio Manciolino (Opera Nova, 1531), Achille Marozzo
Achille Marozzo
Achille Marozzo was an Italian fencing master teaching in the Dardi or Bolognese tradition.Marozzo was probably born in Bologna. His text Opera Nova dell'Arte delle Armi was published in 1536 in Modena, dedicated to Count Rangoni, then reprinted several times all the way into the next century...
(Opera Nova, 1536), Angelo Viggiani (Lo Schermo, written c. 1550 and published posthumously in 1575) and Giovanni Dall'Agocchie
Giovanni Dall'Agocchie
Giovanni Dall’Agocchie was an Italian fencer and author who published his text in 1572....
(Dell’arte di Scrimia, 1575). All of these texts share a consistency of terminology and curriculum that is traced to the most famed teacher of the tradition, Guido Antonio de Luca, from whose school came masters Antonio Manciolino and Achille Marozzo
Achille Marozzo
Achille Marozzo was an Italian fencing master teaching in the Dardi or Bolognese tradition.Marozzo was probably born in Bologna. His text Opera Nova dell'Arte delle Armi was published in 1536 in Modena, dedicated to Count Rangoni, then reprinted several times all the way into the next century...
, and the famed condottiero, Giovanni de Medici.
The Late Renaissance Italian Tradition
The Chicago Swordplay Guild’s rapierRapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
curriculum is drawn from the great Italian masters of the turn of the 17th century, particularly the work of Grand Master Salvator Fabris
Salvator Fabris
Salvator Fabris was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen that he published his treatise on rapier fencing, Lo Schermo,...
(1544-1618) from Padua, Italy. The roster of Fabris’ notable students included Prince-Archbishop John Frederick of Bremen and Christian IV, King of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
, under whose patronage he published his exceptional rapier-fencing manual Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme (“on fencing, or martial knowledge”).
Member Training
After completing two introductory classes in their weapon of choice, candidates are invited to join the Chicago Swordplay Guild. In addition to intermediate to advanced techniques in the Italian medieval longswordLongsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
and Italian Renaissance rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
, Chicago Swordplay Guild members move into the study of historical Italian combat techniques such as medieval grappling (close quarters combat), dagger combat
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
, arming sword
Arming sword
The arming sword is the single handed cruciform sword of the High Middle Ages, in common use between ca. 1000 and 1500, possibly remaining in rare use into the 16th century...
, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
and pollaxe. Members of the medieval arts also train in armored combat. Two female members of the Guild currently study the art of medieval mounted combat as taught by the 15th century master at arms, Fiore dei Liberi
Fiore dei Liberi
Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an martial arts manual...
.
Introductory Classes
The Chicago Swordplay Guild offers 12-week class sessions in swordsmanshipSwordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...
, including Introduction to the medieval Longsword
Longsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
and Introduction to the Renaissance Rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
, year-round through the Chicago Park District
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
, the College Of DuPage
College of DuPage
College of DuPage, or COD, is a two-year community college in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Naperville, West Chicago, and Westmont...
and other locations in the Chicago metropolitan area.
WMAW
The Guild and its founders have been active in growing and educating the international western martial artsWestern Martial Arts
Western Martial Arts refers to formalized fighting techniques and skills of European or generally Western origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia....
community. Beginning in fall 1999, the Guild has hosted the biannual Western Martial Arts Workshop), an ever-growing weekend symposium of researchers, instructors and students from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Publications
The Chicago Swordplay Guild has also been in the forefront of new publications in the Historical European Swordsmanship movement. Co-founders Gregory Mele and Mark Rector have been prolific researchers and have published a number of books and essays on European swordplay.- Arte Gladitoria Dimicandi: The 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi ISBN 1891448161
- Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Manual of Swordfighting and Close Quarter Combat ISBN 1853675822
- Highland Swordsmanship: Techniques of the Scottish Sword Masters ISBN 1891448153
- In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop 1999-2009 ISBN 9780982591154
Affiliates and Sister Schools
The Chicago Swordplay Guild maintains close fraternal ties to many different Western martial artsWestern Martial Arts
Western Martial Arts refers to formalized fighting techniques and skills of European or generally Western origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia....
organizations. The following organizations are those with whom the Guild collaborates to share resources and research and to cross-pollinate curriculum and methodology.
- Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Alliance Martial Arts Ithaca, New York, U.S.A.
- Maitres des Armes, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Northwest Academy of Arms Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.
- Order of the Seven Hearts Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.A.
- Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
- Selohaar Fechtschule Oxford, Connecticut, U.S.A.
See also
- Fiore dei LiberiFiore dei LiberiFiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an martial arts manual...
- Salvator FabrisSalvator FabrisSalvator Fabris was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen that he published his treatise on rapier fencing, Lo Schermo,...
- SwordsmanshipSwordsmanshipSwordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...
- Italian school of swordsmanshipItalian school of swordsmanshipThe term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise to the days of Classical Fencing ....
- Historical European martial artsHistorical European martial artsHistorical European martial arts is a neologism describing martial arts of European origin, used particularly to refer to arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms...