A short who's who in Western Martial Arts (WMA): Biographies and bibliographies. Time: From Medieval to Renaissance to the 1800s to now. Nationalities: Predominantly German, Italian, Spanish, French, English, and American.
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Fechtbuch: Manuscript I.33 (1300) [W]. Aka Ms. I.33; Tower Fechtbuch; The Tower Manuscript; British Museum No. 14 E iii, No. 20, D. vi. Frequently pronounced as "one thirty-three" rather than "eye-thirty-three".
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Fiore dei Liberi (1350s/1420s). Aka "Flower of the free".
- An Italian master of arms best known for authoring Flower of Battle (1409) [W], a complete and systematic training manual of the martial arts of his time with over 100 techniques. Fiore was born in Cividale del Friuli, Italy. He wrote his manual while in the employ of Niccolo III, Marquise of Ferrara.
- The Flower of Battle exists as three main copies:
- Flos Duellatorum. Pisani-Dossi MS. Survived by the Italian historian Francesco Novati in 1902.
- Fior di Battaglia: MS M.383. At the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City, New York, USA.
- Fior di Battaglia: MS Ludwig XV 13. At the J.P. Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, USA. The longest copy and most detailed.
- Its sections include:
- Abrazare. Upright grappling/wrestling with strikes. 4 posta, 16 plays.
- Bastoncello. Short baton. 4 plays.
- Daga. Dagger, typically a rondel. 4 posta, 4 colpi, 4 masters, 9 remedies. Some section shows its basic guards, its basic attacks or "remedii", counters, counter-counters, and (rarely) counter-counter-counters. For example, the dagger section has 5 basic guards, 9 basic attacks, followed by variants of counters, counter-counters, and counter-counter-counters.
- Spada a una mano. Sword of one hand, i.e. an arming sword.
- Spada a dui mano. Sword of 2 hands, i.e. a longsword. 6/7 guards, 6 cuts, thrusts, 12 posta, 20 plays gioco largo/far, 23 plays gioco stretto/close.
- Bastone e daga. Staff and dagger. 2 comments, 3 plays.
- Azza. Pollaxe.
- Lanza Spear.
- Lanza e di Spada a Cavallo. Lance and sword on horseback.
- The Segno is the sette spade (seven swords) diagram which has these animals:
- Lynx. Prudentia (prudence/judgement).
- Elephant. Fortitudo (fortitude/strength).
- Tiger Celeritas (celerity/speed).
- Lion Audatia (audacity/courage).
- aemma.org/onlineResources/liberi/liberiHome.htm. Italian, English translations, scans, audio files of some of the Italian words, and explanatory notes.
- thehaca.com/Manuals/Liberi.htm
- The Exiles Fiore Project [http://www.the-exiles.org.uk/fioreproject/]. The Getty MS is the default but you can see the others too. Show Italian, English translation, and scans. Just the dagger section so far.
- fioredeiliberi.org/fiore/. Getty, Morgan, and discussion forum.

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Liechtenauer, Johannes (1300s) [W]. Aka Hans Lecküchner; Lichtenaur; Lichtenauer.
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Johannes Liechtenauer was a German who is credited with setting the foundation for German fencing, including close quarters combat (CQC), dagger, longsword, polearms, and mounted combat.
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His treatise remains as Manuscript 3227a (1389) [W]. Aka Cod.HS.3227a; Hanko Döbringer's Fechtbuch; Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a, 169 folia. The earliest known period manual dealing with the longsword. The Liechtenauer system is 18r - 40r within the Codex Ms. 3227a (which actually covers many other topics).
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Liechtenauer's teachings were repeated by masters (some who left period manauls) well into the 1500s. Here are the 16 members of the "society of Johannes Liechtenauer" as listed by Kal, Paulus [W] in 1460:
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Wildhans von Glass, Peter
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Peter von Danzig [W].
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Peter von Danzig wrote the fechtbuch Cod. 44 A8 (1452) [W]. Aka MS 1449. Wrote about Liechtenauer, Lignitzer, Hundfeld, and Jud. Draws upon Ringeck's work.
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schielhau.org/von.danzig.html
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Schindler von Zwayen, Hans
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Lamprecht von Prag
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Hans von Erfurt
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Lignitzer, Andres [W]
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Lignitzer, Jacob. Brother to Andres.
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Ringeck, Sigmund(1440) [W]
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Hartmann von Nürnberg
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Huntzfeld, Martin [W]. Aka Hundfeld, Martin; Hundsfeld, Martin.
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Pägnitzer, Hans
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Perger, Philip
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Virgil von Krakau
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Degen von Braunschweig, Dietrich
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Jud, Ott. Ott Jun was an Austrian known for his kampfringen = combat wrestling.
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Stettner. Paulus Kal's teacher.
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Talhoffer, Hans (1400s) [W]. Aka Talhofer.
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Hans Talhoffer was a German martial artist who wrote a manuscript that was probably the first (of the pre-modern Western martial arts manuscripts) to become popular in modern times. It covers judicial duels too! (The husband fights the wife from a hole in the ground)
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Talhoffer is considered to be part of the Liechtenauer tradition.
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Talhoffer is credited with writing seven fechtbuch:
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MS Chart. A 558, Gotha, 151 folia, 178 drawings, 41 pages of text (1443).
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HS XIX. 17-3, Königsegg, 73 folia (1450).
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P 5342 B (Cod. Nr. 55 Ambras). Copy of HS XIX. 17-3.
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78 A 15, Berlin, 77 folia (before 1459).
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Thott 290 2, Kongelige Bibliothek, Copenhagen, Hans Talhoffers Alte Armatur und Ringkunst (Old Armament and Art of Fight), 150 folia (1459).
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Cod. icon. 394, 137 folia (1467).
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Cod. Vindob. Ser. Nov. 2978, 276 folia, 16th century copy of Cod. icon. 394.
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The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe (2000) [amazon.com/...]
. By Anglo, Sydney.
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MEDIEVAL COMBAT: A Fifteenth-Century Manual of Swordfighting and Close Quarter Combat (2000) [amazon.com/...]. Translated and edited by Rector, Mark.
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talhoffer.de
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That's supposedly Talhoffer on the left and his coat of arms.
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Gladiatoria (Mid 1400s).
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Le Jeu de la Hache (1400s). Aka The Art of Axeplay.
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A French work on the pollaxe (from Old English "head axe"): A "short-staff" (man-height pole) with a head that was a combination axe (taillant), hammer (maillet; mail), and spear or spike point (dague dessus; point de dessus). The staff would often also be reinforced with metal straps (languets). The butt end (bout d'embas; queue; dague d'embas; dague dessoubz; point d'embas) could be plain or also have a spike.
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thearma.org/spotlight/lejeudelahache.htm
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Dardi, Lippo di Bartolomeo Dardi (1400s/1464). Aka Dardi, Filippo Bartolomeo.
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Lippo di Bartolomeo Dardi was the Italian founder of the "Bolognese school" which focused on a single-handed sword (often accompanied), the two-handed sword, and pole arms. The Bolognese single-handed swords ranged from the broad to the basket-hilted schiavona to the more rapier like. He showed the geometrical relationships in fencing. While his treatise is lost, Dardi is often mentioned in later works.
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Vadi, Fillipo (1400s)
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Fillipo Vadi was master of arms from Pisa, Italy who built up on Fiore dei Liberi's work, covering the long sword, pollaxe, spear, and dagger. The Signo of Fillipo Vadi has a bear, a dragon, a ram, and a greyhound. In a very simple way Vadi is Fiore plus guards such as Guardia Falcone (a ward with both hands raising the sword up) and Coda Longa ("tail long", a ward with the sword down and behind).
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Liber de Arte Gladitoria Dimicandi (ca 1482-1487) [W]. Aka Book on the Art of Fighting with Swords.
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Monte, Pietro (Late 1400s) [W]
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Antonio di Luca, Guido (1400s)
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An Italian first or second generation student of Dardi. His students included Manciolino, Antonio and Marozzo, Achille.
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Marozzo, Achille (1484/1553) [W]
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MS 862 (ca 1500) [W]
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A German fecthbuch with dozens of illustrations of a variety combat: Armoured, unarmoured, armed, unarmed, and some judicial duels.
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Goliath (Late 1400s but the manuscript is dated ca 1510).
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Art of the sword (1515). Aka M-345/M-346 Manuscripts.
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A period manual of the "Bolognese school".
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Manciolino, Antonio (1500s) [W]
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Antonio Manciolino wrote Opera Nova per Imparare a Combattere, & Schermire d'ogni forte Armi (1531, but possibly published as far back as 1509), a period manual of the "Bolognese school".
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"The players who make many blows without tempo or measure, although these may connect their enemies, are nonetheless censurable, and sooner are said to be children of luck than of art, but those are called grave and well-positioned players who seek to strike their adversary with tempo and grace."
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Mair, Paulus Hector (1515/1579) [W]
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Paulus Hector Mair was a fairly affluent German who spent considerable time and money in an attempt to document the martial arts of his time. His Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica or Ultimate Book of Athletics provides a transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
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Viggiani dal Montone, Angelo (1517/1555) [W]. Aka Vizani dal Monte, Angelo; Viggiani, Angelo.
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Angelo Viggiani dal Montone was of the "Bolognese school" and wrote Trattato dello Schermo (1575 Venice, 1588 Bologna). Aka Fencing. His brother was instructed to publish his work at least 15 years after his death. His work was meant to be a short seminal lesson with the essence of fencing. Points include: Seven guards for the single-handed sword; his rovescio ascendente (a contratempo parry), and his punta supramano (a high lunge).
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A User's Guide to the Schermo of Angelo Viggiani [drizzle.com/~celyn/jherek/practicalviggiani.pdf]. By W. Jherek Swanger.
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Meyer, Joachim (1537/1571) [W].
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Joachim Meyer was a self described Friefechter = "free fighter" living in Strassburg (now Strasbourg, France), but possibly from Basel, Switzerland.
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Gründtliche Beschreibung der kunst des Fechten (1570) = Fundamental Descriptions of the Art of Fencing
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Five sections, covering the longsword (most emphasized), dussack, rappier (but essentially a single-handed sword-and-thrust sword), dagger and wrestling, and pollarms (including the staff, halberd, and pike). Woodcut illustrations with fanciful scenes from fight schoools with guys in fancy pants. Fairly detailed covering huten = guards, blows, and footwork. The techniques (esp. longsword) and terminology follow the Liechtenauer tradition, hence Meyer's work is considered a fechtbuch, although there is an obvious Bolognese influence as well.
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A Facsimile of Meyer's Fechtbuch 1600 Edition [higginssword.org/guild/study/manuals/meyer/]
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The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570 (2006), translated by Jeffrey L. Forgeng [amazon.com/...]
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Giovanni dall'Agocchie (1547/?)
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Giovanni dall' Agocchie wrote Dell'Arte di Scrimia (1572), which fills in some details not specified by the earlier Bolognese works.
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Codex Wallerstein (1549) [W]. Aka Vom Baumans Fechtbuch; Augsburg University library I.6.4.2.
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Agrippa, Camillo (1500s) [W]
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Camillo Agrippa was an Italian mathematician, engineer, and swordsman born in Milan who worked in Rome. Agrippa is one of the greatest fencing theorists and is best known for Trattato di Scienza d'Arme con un Dialogo di Filosofia (1553 Rome; 1568 reprinted). Aka His Treatise on the Science of Arms with Philosophical Dialogue. Agrippa's manual is the earliest known manual detailing the use of the rapier with an emphasis on the thrust over the cut. He reduced Marozzo, Achille's 11 guards to the four used by all the rapier instructors that followed. Agrippa also describe the geometry of the lounge. Illustrations have the opponents naked and often multiple variations are shown in a single illustration.
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thehaca.com/Manuals/NewManuals/Aggrippa/aggrippa.htm
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mac9.ucc.nau.edu/manuscripts/agrippa.pdf. Provided by William Wilson.
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Henry de Sainct-Didier (1500s) [W]. Aka Saint-Didier, Henri.
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Henry de Sainct-Didier was a French fencing master whose treatise named fencing's major movements and most of those names have survived into modern times. His work had a ridiculously long title: Traicté contenant les secrets du premier livre sur l’espée seule, mère de toutes armes, qui sont espée dague, cappe, targue, bouclier, rondelle, l’espée deux mains & deux espées, avec ses pourtraictures, ayans les armes au poing por se deffendre & offencer à un mesme temps des coups qu’on peut tirer, tant en assillant qu’en deffendent, fort utile & profitable por adextrer la noblesse, & suposts de Mars: redigé par art, ordre & practique (1573).
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di Grassi, Giacomo (1500s) [W]
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Giacomo di Grassi was an Italian master-at-arms from Modena whose manual was influential. di Grassi referenced the "soft skills" of martial arts such as harmonizing foot/handwork, judgment, strength, and feinting. di Grassi was also an early worker on the lunge and the parry. Illustrations have the opponents dressed and upright. Ragione di Adoprar Sicurament l'Arme si da Offesa, come da Difesa (1570). Aka Method for the Safe Use of Arms. Translated into English as His True Art of Defense (1594).
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thehaca.com/Manuals/NewManuals/DiGrassi/digrassi.htm
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mac9.ucc.nau.edu/manuscripts/grassi.pdf. Provided by William Wilson.
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Lovino, Giovanni Antonio (1500s)
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Giovanni Antonio Lovino, an Italian from Milan, wrote Traite d'Escrime (1580), an illustrated book covering predominantly the rapier (including dagger, cloak, target, etc.) that also does tiny bit on hand-and-a-half, two-handed, and horseback.
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jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/fencing/lovino.html. Provided by William Wilson.
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Sánchez de Carranza, Jerónimo (/1600) [W]. Aka "The father of Spanish fencing".
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Silver, George (late 1500s)
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George Silver was an English sword master. Most well known for his "true time" and "false times", the essence of which is that an attack with the hand is faster than an attack that needs a movement of the body and hand, thus hand beats hand & body beats hand & body & foot beats hand & body & feet beats foot beats foot & body beats foot & body & hand beats feet & body & hand. He is also insistent that you must be rounded, i.e., you must know how to to cut as well as thrust as well as fight close. His third major point is that weapons should be a "perfect" or natural length and that too long a weapon can be disadvantageous. Silver also has is Four Grounds (Judgement, Distance, Time, and Place) and Four Governors (Judgement, Measure, Fly In, and Fly Out), which are pretty much what they say.
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Saviolo, Vincentio (?/1598) [W]
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Luis Pacheco de Narváez [W]
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Don Luis Pacheco de Narváez was a student of de Carranza and one of the most prolific swordsmen in history. Pacheco claimed that the system was based upon Camilo Agrippa's system. Pacheco served as the fencing master for King Felipe IV of Spain [W]. His two main works:
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Libro de las Grandezas de la Espada (1600). Aka The Book of the Greatness of the Sword.
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Nueva Ciencia y Filosofia de la Destreza de las Armas... (1632). Aka New science and philosophy of the art of weapons, its theory and practice).
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Docciolini, Marco (1500s)
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Marco Docciolini was an Italian who wrote Trattato in Materia di Scherma (1601).
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Fabris, Salvatore (1544/1618-11-11) [W]. Aka Fabris, Salvator.
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Salvatore Fabris was an Italian fencing master from Padua. He was famous for his skill as well as his treatise on fencing: De lo Schermo, overo Scienza d'Arme (1606 Copenhagen; reprinted into the 1700s). Aka Fencing, or the Science of Arms. This work was written while Fabris was employed by King Christian IV of Denmark, who had his court painter, John Halbeeck, do the illustrations which have the opponents naked and over a grid. The infamous forward lean and shrinking target. The most detailed, systematic, and comprehensive of the rapier manuals. Not merely "the essence of", this work covers a huge repertoire of general and very specific situations. Explicitly discusses topics such as blade angulation and the union of forces.
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SalvatorFabris.com. By Tom Leoni.
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The Art of Dueling: 17th Century Rapier as Taught by Salvatore Fabris [amazon.com/...]
. Translated by Tom Leoni, complete with the Halbeeck illustrations.
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mac9.ucc.nau.edu/manuscripts/sfabris.pdf. Provided by William Wilson.
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thearma.org/essays/Fabris_the_Assassin.htm
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Giganti, Nicoletto (1500s) [W]
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Capo Ferro, Ridolfo (1500s) [W]
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Ridolfo Capo Ferro was an Italian fencing master from Cagli. He wrote Gran Simulacro dell'Arte e dell'uso della Scherma (1610 Siena). Aka Great Representation of the Art and Use of Fencing. Capo Ferro's piece is a shorter work on the rapier with a nice look into tempo. Illustrations have opponents naked and clothed, with landscapes as backgrounds. The infamous back leaning refusal.
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thehaca.com/Manuals/NewManuals/CapoFerro/capoferro.htm
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mac9.ucc.nau.edu/manuscripts/capoferro.pdf. Provided by William Wilson.
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Thibault d'Anvers, Girard
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Girard Thibault d'Anvers was a French swordsman who wrote Académie de l'Éspée (1628). Aka Academy of the Sword. Published in Leyden. Mysterious circles, that are reminiscent of the Spanish Destreza.
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Alfieri, Francesco [W]
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Francesco Alfieri was an Italian swordsman from Padova who wrote at least two fencing manuals:
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La scherma di Francesco Alfieri (1640)
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L'Arte di Ben Maneggiare la Spada (1653)
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Senesio, Alessandro
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Alessandro Senesio was an Italian swordsman who wrote Il Vero Maneggio della Spada (1660 Bolonga).
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Pallavicini, Giuseppe Moriscato
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Giuseppe Moriscato Pallavicini was an Italian swordsman who wrote a two part fencing manual:
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La Scherma Illustrata (1670 Palermo)
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La Seconda Parte della Scherma Illustrata (1673 Palermo)
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Guerra de la Vega, Alvaro
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Don Alvaro Guerra de la Vega was a Spanish swordsman who wrote Comprension de la Destreza (1681).
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Marcelli, Francesco Antonio
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Francesco Antonio Marcelli was an Italian swordsman who wrote Regole della Scherma (1686 Rome), a fencing manual.
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Bondi Di Mazo
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Bondi Di Mazo was an Italian swordsman who wrote La Spada Maestra (1696 Venice), a fencing manual.
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Tamariz, Nicolas D.
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Nicolas D. Tamariz was a Spanish swordsman who wrote Cartilla y Luz en la Verdadera Destreza (1696).
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Petter, Nicolaes
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Nicolaes Petter was a Dutch wrestler who wrote Klare Onderrichtinge der Voortreffelijke Worstel-Konst (1674). Aka Clear Instructions/Education in/to the Excellent/Magnificent Art of Wrestling). Illustrated by de Hooge, Romeyn.
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thehaca.com/Manuals/Petter/petter.htm. Just the text. Translated by Prevo, Remko in 2000.
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truefork.org/DragonPreservationSociety/Petter.php. The text plus the beautiful illustrations. Translated by Steenput, Eli.
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de Liancour, Le Sieur
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Lorenz de Rada, Francisco
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Don Francisco Lorenz de Rada was a Spanish swordsman of the Destreza style who wrote Nobleza de la Espada (1705).
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Blackwell, Edward
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L'Abbat
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Monsieur L'Abbat was a French swordsman who wrote The Art of Fencing, or the use of The Small Sword (1734 Dublin).
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Danet
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Danet was a French swordsman who wrote L'Art des Armes (1746).
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Angelo, Domenico
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Domenico Angelo was a swordsman who wrote The School of Fencing (1787 London). It was one of the first manuals to emphasize fencing for sport and exercise.
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Bartelli, Paolo
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Paolo Bartelli was an Italian swordsman who wrote Trattato di Scherma (1800 Bologna) on the smallsword.
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de Pietro,Scorza
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Scorza de Pietro was an Italian swordsman who wrote Scienzia della Scherma (1803 Milan) on the smallsword.
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Modern WMA (in alphabetical order) (far from complete)
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Charron, Bob. Bob Charron of St. Martins Academy of Medieval Arms [stmartinsacademy.com] in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
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Clements, John
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Hand, Stephen
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Hayes, Sean. Sean Hayes of the Northwest Academy of Arms [northwestacademyofarms.com] in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
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Holland, Robert. Robert Holland of Schola Saint Georege [scholasaintgeorge.org] in San Francisco, California, USA.
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Leoni, Tommaso. Tommaso Leoni of the Order of the Seven Hearts [salvatorfabris.com] in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
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Lupo-Sinclair, Lupo
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Martinez, Ramon. Ramon Martinez of the Martinez Academy of Arms [martinez-destreza.com] in New York City, New York, USA.
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Mele, Greg. Greg Mele of the Chicago Swordplay Guild [chicagoswordplayguild.com] in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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O'Meara, John. John O'Meara of the Chicago Swordplay Guild [chicagoswordplayguild.com].
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Price, Brian. Brian Price of Schola Saint Georege [scholasaintgeorge.org] in San Francisco, California, USA.
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Rector, Mark. Mark Rector of the Chicago Swordplay Guild [chicagoswordplayguild.com] in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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Tobler, Christian
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Tom, Larry. Larry Tom of The Mid-Atlantic Society for Historic Swordsmanship (MASHS) [mashs.org] in Maryland, U.S.A.
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Wilson, William
Page Modified: (Hand noted: 2008-01-07 20:04:50Z) (Auto noted: 2010-12-24 22:53:45Z)