Italian school of swordsmanship
Encyclopedia
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 (1409) to the days of Classical Fencing (up to 1900).
Although the weapons and the reason for their use changed dramatically throughout these five centuries, a few fundamental traits have remained constant in the Italian school. Some of these are the preference for certain guards, the preoccupation with time (or "tempo") in fencing as well as many of the defensive actions.
Of especial influence was the Dardi school of fencing with the spada da lato in the 16th to early 17th centuries, which gave rise to the classical early modern of fencing with the rapier
, including Elizabethan Fencing in England and the French school of fencing in the 18th century (which in turn developed into modern sport fencing).
around 1409. Fiore's treatise describes an advanced martial arts system of grappling
, dagger
, short sword, longsword
, pollaxe
, and spear
. Another important treatise, De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
, was written by Filippo Vadi sometime between 1482 and 1487. Although different, Vadi's work appears to be based upon Fiore's earlier work.
The most significant group of authors from this time were those from the Bolognese school and it included such masters as Achille Marozzo
, Antonio Manciolino, Angelo Viggiani and Giovanni dall'Agocchie
. However, there were other Italian authors not directly associated with the Bolognese school including Camillo Agrippa
(who has the distinction of codifying the four guards—prima, seconda, terza and quarta—that survive to this day), Giacomo di Grassi
who wrote a manual in 1570 which was translated into English in the 1590s.
With the 17th century came the popularity of the rapier and a new century of masters, including Salvator Fabris
, Ridolfo Capoferro
, and Francesco Antonio Marcelli. Unlike the manuals of the previous century, those written for in the 17th century were generally restricted to covering only the rapier being used alone or with a companion arm (such as the dagger, cloak or rotella). By the end of the 17th century, the manuals begin to take on a more classical character in both the terminology and the presentation of the techniques.
-Scorza and Pietro Grisetti). Even at the beginning of 19th century techniques for coming to grips were still being taught and the use of the dagger as an accompanying weapon was still discussed (although not as a prominent and popular choice).
By the end of the 19th century, the immediate ancestor of modern fencing had developed with its familiar pedagogy and collection of techniques and theory. At this time, the two predominant schools within the Italian tradition are the Radaellian (after Maestro G. Radaelli) and the Neapolitan. In 1883 the Italian Ministry of War selects the treatise by Neapolitan Masaniello Parise to be the official syllabus of the newly-founded Scuola Magistrale of fencing; now called Classical Italian Fencing, Parise's teachings survive to this day almost unchanged, although many of Radaelli's saber teachings were incorporated.
The Historical European martial arts
(HEMA) and the Western Martial Arts
(WMA) communities in Europe and the United States have a large number of researchers reconstructing the grappling
, dagger
, rapier
, short sword, sword & buckler
, longsword
, pollaxe
, and spear
systems of ancient masters, such as that of Fiore dei Liberi
, Filippo Vadi, Achille Marozzo
, Salvator Fabris
, Ridolfo Capoferro
, Francesco Alfieri
, etc. In the United States, scholarship and reconstruction of the techniques of the Italian fencing masters was initiated by the founders of various HEMA schools and academies, such as Brian R. Price
of the Schola Saint George and Bob Charron of St. Martin's Academy (both studying Fiore dei Liberi
), and Gregory Mele of the Chicago Swordplay Guild
(studying Vadi
). Similar study has been carried out by Matt Easton, founder of London
's Schola Gladiatoria and Guy Windsor, of Finland
's School of European Swordsmanship. The reconstruction efforts of these scholars give the martial arts community a chance to learn fencing with full-size, full-weight weapons such as the longsword, the single-handed sword, the spadone
, the rapier
and many others.
by Italian masters:
Medieval/Early Renaissance
Renaissance/Baroque
Classical
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...
is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of Classical Fencing (up to 1900).
Although the weapons and the reason for their use changed dramatically throughout these five centuries, a few fundamental traits have remained constant in the Italian school. Some of these are the preference for certain guards, the preoccupation with time (or "tempo") in fencing as well as many of the defensive actions.
Of especial influence was the Dardi school of fencing with the spada da lato in the 16th to early 17th centuries, which gave rise to the classical early modern of fencing with the 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:...
, including Elizabethan Fencing in England and the French school of fencing in the 18th century (which in turn developed into modern sport fencing).
Late Medieval/Renaissance
The earliest known Italian treatise on swordsmanship and other martial arts is the Flos Duellatorum (Fior Di Battaglia/The Flower of Battle) written by 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...
around 1409. Fiore's treatise describes an advanced martial arts system of grappling
Kampfringen
Ringen is the German language term for grappling .In the context of the German school of historical European martial arts during the Late Middle Ages and the German Renaissance, ringen refers to unarmed combat in general, including grappling techniques used as part of swordsmanship.The German...
, dagger
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...
, short sword, 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...
, pollaxe
Pollaxe
The pollaxe is a type of European polearm which was widely used by medieval infantry. It is also known by the names poleaxe, pole-axe, pole axe, polax, and Hache ....
, and 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...
. Another important treatise, 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...
, was written by Filippo Vadi sometime between 1482 and 1487. Although different, Vadi's work appears to be based upon Fiore's earlier work.
Renaissance/Baroque/Pre-classical
The 16th century saw the publication of various works generally focused on the so-called cut & thrust sword, although these works often contained significant instruction on other weapons. A general survey of the 16th century Italian manuals shows instruction for the following weapon or weapon combinations in at least one published manual:- Sword alone
- Sword and DaggerDaggerA 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...
- Sword and Small BucklerBucklerA buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
- Sword and Broad Buckler
- Sword and Targa
- Sword and Rotella
- Sword and CapeCapeCape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
- Sword and Gauntlet
- Two Swords
- Sword for Two Hands (also referred to as the Spadone by some masters)
- Dagger
- Dagger and Cape
- HalberdHalberdA halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on...
- SpetumSpetumA spetum was a pole weapon of Europe during the 13th century. It consisted of a long pole some 6-8 feet long which was mounted with a spear head with two projections at its base. Many variations of this design flourished over time; some feel that the ranseur is a variation of the spetum...
- Ronca (weapon)
- Partisan (weapon)Partisan (weapon)A partisan is a type of polearm that was used in Europe during the middle ages. It consisted of a spearhead mounted on a long shaft with protrusions on the sides which aided the user in parrying sword thrusts...
- Partisan and Shield
- LanceLanceA Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
- PikePike (weapon)A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
- Unarmed against Dagger
The most significant group of authors from this time were those from the Bolognese school and it included such masters as 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...
, Antonio Manciolino, Angelo Viggiani and Giovanni dall'Agocchie
Giovanni Dall'Agocchie
Giovanni Dall’Agocchie was an Italian fencer and author who published his text in 1572....
. However, there were other Italian authors not directly associated with the Bolognese school including Camillo Agrippa
Camillo Agrippa
Camillo Agrippa was a noted fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time.-Biography:...
(who has the distinction of codifying the four guards—prima, seconda, terza and quarta—that survive to this day), Giacomo di Grassi
Giacomo di Grassi
Giacomo di Grassi was an Italian fencing master who wrote the fencing manual Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme, si da offesa come da difesa in 1570. The text was later translated into English and published again in 1594, as DiGrassi, His True Arte of Defence...
who wrote a manual in 1570 which was translated into English in the 1590s.
With the 17th century came the popularity of the rapier and a new century of masters, including 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,...
, Ridolfo Capoferro
Ridolfo Capo Ferro
Ridolfo Capoferro or Capo Ferro of Cagli was a fencing master in the city of Siena best known for his rapier fencing manual published in 1610....
, and Francesco Antonio Marcelli. Unlike the manuals of the previous century, those written for in the 17th century were generally restricted to covering only the rapier being used alone or with a companion arm (such as the dagger, cloak or rotella). By the end of the 17th century, the manuals begin to take on a more classical character in both the terminology and the presentation of the techniques.
Classical
Although there is a considerable gap in extant Italian treatises, between 1696 and 1800, we can see from the earliest 19th Century treatises that the style had changed very little during that period. The only changes were the addition of certain techniques suitable for the somewhat lighter blades of the dueling swords typically used in 1800 as compared to the rapiers typical for the end of the 17th century (compare the techniques presented by Bondì di Mazo in his 1696 manual with those in the 1803 manual of Giuseppe RosarollGiuseppe Rosaroll
Giuseppe Maria Rosaroll-Scorza was a general, a patriot and an Italian essayist. General in the Army of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies he was killed in action fighting for the independence of Greece...
-Scorza and Pietro Grisetti). Even at the beginning of 19th century techniques for coming to grips were still being taught and the use of the dagger as an accompanying weapon was still discussed (although not as a prominent and popular choice).
By the end of the 19th century, the immediate ancestor of modern fencing had developed with its familiar pedagogy and collection of techniques and theory. At this time, the two predominant schools within the Italian tradition are the Radaellian (after Maestro G. Radaelli) and the Neapolitan. In 1883 the Italian Ministry of War selects the treatise by Neapolitan Masaniello Parise to be the official syllabus of the newly-founded Scuola Magistrale of fencing; now called Classical Italian Fencing, Parise's teachings survive to this day almost unchanged, although many of Radaelli's saber teachings were incorporated.
Modern
Today, the Italian school of swordsmanship is carefully preserved both in Italy and abroad. In Italy, official fencing schools such as the National Academy (Accademia Nazionale) certify masters in both historical fencing and modern fencing based on careful adherence to the principles of Italian swordsmanship. Abroad, the Italian style is cultivated by professional institutions such as the San Jose State fencing program (California, USA), where Maestro William Gaugler runs a program largely based on the Classical style of Parise. The Italian style is also being taught by a few independent classical fencing schools throughout the USA. Some fencing schools and clubs are looking to revive it, and some instructors have the Italian school of fencing in their lineage, such as Maestro Ramon Martinez, whose own teacher learned from Maestro's Greco and Barbasetti.The Historical European martial arts
Historical European martial arts
Historical 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...
(HEMA) and the 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....
(WMA) communities in Europe and the United States have a large number of researchers reconstructing the grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...
, dagger
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...
, 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:...
, short sword, sword & buckler
Buckler
A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
, 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...
, pollaxe
Pollaxe
The pollaxe is a type of European polearm which was widely used by medieval infantry. It is also known by the names poleaxe, pole-axe, pole axe, polax, and Hache ....
, and 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...
systems of ancient masters, such as that of 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...
, Filippo Vadi, 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...
, 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,...
, Ridolfo Capoferro
Ridolfo Capo Ferro
Ridolfo Capoferro or Capo Ferro of Cagli was a fencing master in the city of Siena best known for his rapier fencing manual published in 1610....
, Francesco Alfieri
Francesco Alfieri
Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri of Padova was a 17th century master of the Italian school of swordsmanship and “Maestro D’Arme” to the Accademia Delia in Padua in 1640.-Works:Several manuals by Alfieri are known:...
, etc. In the United States, scholarship and reconstruction of the techniques of the Italian fencing masters was initiated by the founders of various HEMA schools and academies, such as Brian R. Price
Brian R. Price
Brian R. Price is an American author, editor, publisher, martial arts instructor of the Italian school of swordsmanship, reconstructive armorer, and member of the Society for Creative Anachronism...
of the Schola Saint George and Bob Charron of St. Martin's Academy (both studying 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...
), and Gregory Mele of the Chicago Swordplay Guild
Chicago Swordplay Guild
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...
(studying Vadi
Vadi
Vadi may refer to:* Vadi , musical note of special significance in Indian classical music* "Vadi" or Wadi, an Arabic term for valley or a dry riverbed* Fillipo Vado, author of De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi, an Italian treatise on fighting...
). Similar study has been carried out by Matt Easton, founder of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Schola Gladiatoria and Guy Windsor, of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's School of European Swordsmanship. The reconstruction efforts of these scholars give the martial arts community a chance to learn fencing with full-size, full-weight weapons such as the longsword, the single-handed sword, the spadone
Spadone
Spadone may refer to:* in Italian, a longsword* in Latin, a eunuch...
, the 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:...
and many others.
Lineages
Although Classical Italian fencing is practiced and preserved in several places around the world (see above), there are no masters who can trace their maestro-pupil lineage to earlier than the second half of the 18th century. There are marked similarities and an obvious consistency between what was taught in the late 17th Century and the early 19th, but it is impossible to trace and call out a direct master-student relationship.Treatises
Some treatisesFechtbuch
Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, detailing specific techniques of martial arts.Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the history of literature, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating...
by Italian masters:
Medieval/Early Renaissance
- 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...
, Flos Duellatorum in armis, sine armis, equester et pedester - 1409 - Filippo Vadi, De Arte Gladiatoria DimicandiDe Arte Gladiatoria DimicandiDe 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...
- 1482-1487 - Pietro MontePietro MontePietro Monte was a Spanish master of arms who lived in Italy in the late 15th century. He was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, and is said to have taught da Vinci to play darts. Monte was versed in many fields; he was a warrior, a scholar, and a theologian who wrote numerous books,...
, Exercitiorum Atque Artis Militaris Collectanea in Tris Libros Distincta - 1509
Renaissance/Baroque
- Antonio Manciolino, Dardi school, Opera Nova per Imparare a Combattere, & Schermire d'ogni sorte Armi - 1531
- Achille MarozzoAchille MarozzoAchille 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...
, Dardi school, Opera Nova Chiamata Duello, O Vero Fiore dell'Armi de Singulari Abattimenti Offensivi, & Diffensivi - 1536 - Anonimo Bolognese, Dardi school, L'Arte della Spada (M-345/M-346 Manuscripts) - (early or mid 16th century)
- Francesco Altoni, Monomachia: Trattato dell'Arte di Scherma - c. 1550
- Camillo AgrippaCamillo AgrippaCamillo Agrippa was a noted fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time.-Biography:...
, Trattato di Scientia d'Arme con un Dialogo di Filosofia - 1553 - Giacomo di GrassiGiacomo di GrassiGiacomo di Grassi was an Italian fencing master who wrote the fencing manual Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme, si da offesa come da difesa in 1570. The text was later translated into English and published again in 1594, as DiGrassi, His True Arte of Defence...
, Ragion di Adoprar Sicuramente l'Arme si da Offesa, come da Difesa - 1570 - Giovanni dall'AgocchieGiovanni Dall'AgocchieGiovanni Dall’Agocchie was an Italian fencer and author who published his text in 1572....
, Dardi school, Dell'Arte di Scrimia - 1572 - Angelo Viggiani dal Montone, Dardi school, Trattato dello Schermo - 1575
- Giovanni Antonio Lovino, Prattica e theorica del bene adoperare tutte le sorti di arme c. 1580
- Marco Docciolini, Trattato in Materia di Scherma - 1601
- 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,...
, De lo Schermo ovvero Scienza d'Armi - 1606 - Nicoletto GigantiNicoletto GigantiNicoletto Giganti was a fencing master in the city of Venice who published a rapier fencing manual in Italian in 1606, entitledThis manual was reprinted in 1608, with 3 additional reprints in both German and French between 1608 and 1619...
, Scola overo Teatro - 1606 - Ridolfo CapoferroRidolfo Capo FerroRidolfo Capoferro or Capo Ferro of Cagli was a fencing master in the city of Siena best known for his rapier fencing manual published in 1610....
, Gran Simulacro dell'Arte e dell'Uso della Scherma - 1610 - Francesco AlfieriFrancesco AlfieriFrancesco Ferdinando Alfieri of Padova was a 17th century master of the Italian school of swordsmanship and “Maestro D’Arme” to the Accademia Delia in Padua in 1640.-Works:Several manuals by Alfieri are known:...
, La Scherma di Francesco Alfieri - 1640 - Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini, La Scherma Illustrata - 1670
- Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini, La seconda parte della Scherma Illustrata - 1673
- Francesco Antonio Marcelli, Regole della Scherma - 1686
- Bondì di Mazo, La Spada Maestra - 1696
Classical
- Giuseppe RosarollGiuseppe RosarollGiuseppe Maria Rosaroll-Scorza was a general, a patriot and an Italian essayist. General in the Army of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies he was killed in action fighting for the independence of Greece...
-Scorza and Pietro Grisetti, La Scienza della Scherma - 1803 - 1871 3rd ed. - Giuseppe RadaelliGiuseppe RadaelliGiuseppe Radaelli, a 19th century Milanese fencer of the Italian school of swordsmanship, is noted for the development of modern sabre play with a light, narrow-bladed weapon. Radaelli was a teacher of mounted troops and was concerned exclusively with the military use of the sabre...
, La Scherma di Sciabola e di Spada - 1876 - Masaniello Parise, Trattato della Scherma di Spada e Sciabola - 1883 1st ed. - 1904 5th ed.
- Masiello, Ferdinando, Trato teorico-pratico della scherma di spada e sciabola - 1884
- Masiello, Ferdinando, and Ciullini The Broadsword - 1889
- Masiello, Ferdinando, La Scherma di Fioretto. 2nd ed. - 1902
- Masiello, Ferdinando, La Scherma di Sciabola. 3rd ed. - 1902
- Pecoraro, Salvatoree Pessina, Carlo. La Sciabola - 1910
- William M. Gaugler "The Science of Fencing. Revised ed." - 2004 ISBN 1-884528-05-8
See also
- German school of swordsmanshipGerman school of swordsmanshipThe German school of fencing is the historical system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods , as described in the Fechtbücher written at the time...
- Spanish school of fencingDestrezaLa Verdadera Destreza is a Spanish system of fencing. The word "destreza" literally means "skill." However, the full name is perhaps best translated as "the true art."...
- 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...
- Italian martial artsItalian martial artsItalian Martial Arts focus on the use of weapons . Each weapon is the product of a specific historical era. The swords used in Italian Martial Arts range from the gladius of the roman legionaries to swords which were developed during the renaissance, the baroque era and later...
Literature
- Battistini, A., J. Venni and M. Rubboli, eds. Monomachia - Trattato dell'Arte della Scherma di Sandro Altoni Francesco. Rimini: Il Cerchio, 2007. Print. ISBN 88-8474-147-5
- Leoni, Tomasso. The Art of Dueling: Salvator Fabris' Fencing Treatise of 1606. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2004. Print. ISBN 978-1-981448-23-2
- Leoni, Tomasso, tr. The Complete Renaissance Swordsman: A Guide to the Use of All Manner of Weapons ~ Antonio Manciolino’s Opera Nova (1531). Wheaton, IL: Freelance Academy Press, 2010. Print. ISBN 978-0-9825911-3-0
- Leoni, Tomasso, tr. Venetian Rapier: The School, or Salle ~ Nicoletto Giganti's 1606 Rapier Fencing Curriculum. Wheaton, IL: Freelance Academy Press, 2010. Print. ISBN 978-0-9825911-2-3
- Mele, Gregory D., ed. In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop 1999–2009, Volume I. Freelance Academy Press, 2010. Print. ISBN 978-0-9825911-5-4
- Porzio, Luca, tr., and Gregory D. Mele. Arte Gladitoria: 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2002. Print. ISBN 1-891448-16-1
- Rubboli, Marco, and Luca Cesari, eds. L'Arte Cavalleresca del Combattimento - De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi di Filippo Vadi. Rimini: Il Cerchio, 2001. Print. ISBN 88-8474-023-1
- Rubboli, Marco, and Luca Cesari, eds. Flos Duellatorum - Manuale di Arte del Combattimento del XV secolo di Fiore dei Liberi. Rimini: Il Cerchio, 2002. Print. ISBN 88-8474-079-7
- Rubboli, Marco, and Luca Cesari, eds. Anonimo Bolognese - L'Arte della Spada, Trattato di scherma dell'inizio del XVI secolo. Rimini: Il Cerchio, 2005. Print. ISBN 88-8474-093-2.
- Rubboli, Marco and A. Battistini, eds. Opera Nova di Antonio Manciolino. Rimini: Il Cerchio, 2008. Print. ISBN 88-8474-176-9
- Windsor, Guy. The Swordsman's Companion: A Modern Training Manual for Medieval Longsword. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2004. Print. ISBN 1-891448-41-2
- Windsor, Guy. The Duellist's Companion: a Training Manual for 17th Century Italian Rapier. Highland Village, TX.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. Print. ISBN 1891448-32-3