Pedro Monte

Pedro Monte
Born	1457
Died	1509
Occupation	Fencing master Mercenary
Nationality	Spanish
Patron	Galeazzo da Sanseverino
Genres	Fencing manual Wrestling manual
Language	Spanish New Latin
Notable work(s)	De Dignoscendis Hominibus (1492) Exercitiorum Atque Artis Militaris Collectanea (1509)
Manuscript(s)	MS alfa.T.7.25 (1492) (?) MS a.IV.23 (1509)

Pedro Monte (Pietro Monti, Pietro del Monte, Petrus Montius; 1457-1509) was a 15th century fencing master, historian, and philosopher. His nationality is unclear, and researchers are divided on whether he was Spanish or Italian by birth. Regardless, he made his career in Italy, probably attached to the court at Milan, and published his treatises in Latin. Monte is mentioned in various period texts, most notably Baldassarre Castiglione's famous treatise Libro del Cortegiano ("The Book of the Courtier"). Castiglione described him as "the true and only master of every form of trained strength and agility", and also mentioned that he instructed Galeazzo da Sanseverino "in wrestling, vaulting, and handling various types of weapon". That he was well known as a master at arms is further attested by a note Leonardo da Vinci wrote to himself to consult Monte over his attempts to calculate the trajectory of a dart thrown from a sling. It is speculated that Monte died in the Battle of Agnadello in 1509.^{[citation needed]}

Monte seems to have written at least three treatises in the 1480s,^{[citation needed]} but while his De Dignoscendis Hominibus ("On the Dignity of Man") was printed in 1492 (potentially the first book ever published on martial arts), the rest don't seem to have been published until his death in 1509. These include De Singulari Certamine Sive Dissentione ("On Single Combat or Dissension"), and the extensive Exercitiorum Atque Artis Militaris Collectanea ("Collected Martial Arts and Exercises"). Two manuscripts of some of Monte's work also exist, the Spanish MS a.IV.23 and the Italian MS alfa.T.7.25, but their relationship to the Latin texts (as drafts or later translations) is unclear. Unfortunately, despite his prestige and the extent of his writings, Monte's teachings don't seem to have had any impact on the development of Italian fencing styles.

Sydney Anglo states that

"No master was more comprehensive [in his writings] than Pedro Monte in 1509. He not only deals with wrestling, dagger fighting, the use of long and short lance, two-handed sword and the single-sword on its own or in combination with various types of shield and buckler and cape; he also discusses the various types of pole arm such as the partisan, the ronca, spetum, and halberd. He examines in detail fencing and wrestling on horseback, along with various types of mounted lance combat; treats physical exercises such as running, jumping, and vaulting; provides a little encyclopedia of contemporary arms and armor; and finally places the entire corpus of material within a broader context of the art of war."

Treatises

[Pending transcription]

Additional Resources

The following is a list of publications containing scans, transcriptions, and translations relevant to this article, as well as published peer-reviewed research.

• Anglo, Sydney (1989). "The Man who Taught Leonardo Darts: Pietro Monte and His 'Lost' Fencing Book." The Antiquaries Journal 69(2): 261-278. doi:10.1017/S0003581500150000.
• Bas, Pierre-Henry (2019). "Horseback fighting in Pietro del Monte's Collectanea (1509): from training to the reality of pitched battle." Acta Periodica Duellatorum 7(1): 255–263. doi:10.2478/apd-2019-0009.
• Bascetta, Carlo (1978). Sport E Giuochi : Trattati E Scritti Dal XV Al XVIII Secolo. Milan: Il Polifilo. ISBN 978-8870501223.
• Brioist, Pascal (2019). "Contextualising Pietro Monte's Military Career in Italy." Acta Periodica Duellatorum 7(1): 217-227. doi:10.2478/apd-2019-0006.
• Deacon, Jacob Henry; Iason-Eleftherios Tzouriadis (2019). "Reaching Excellence: Staff Weapon Typologies, Contexts, and Fighting Techniques in the Collectanea of Pietro Monte." Acta Periodica Duellatorum 7(1): 235–254. doi:10.2478/apd-2019-0008.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (1991). Le condottiere Pietro del Monte, philosophe et écrivain de la Renaissance, 1457-1509. Geneva and Paris: Slatkine. ISBN 978-2051011839.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (1992). "Comment Pietro del Monte, condottiere Italien parlait Espagnol." Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance 54: 163-173.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (1993). "Pietro del Monte et Baldassar Castiglione. Capitaines et courtisans." Parcours et recontres. Mélanges de langue, d'histoire et de littérature francaise offerts à Enea Balmas: 1.281-298. Ed. by Paolo Carile; Giovanni Dotoli; Ana aria Raugei; Michel Simonin; Luigia Zilli. Paris: Klincksieck.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (1998). "Pietro del Monte et la physiognomonie du soldat des guerres d'Italie." Passer les monts, Francais en Italie—l'Itlie en France (1494-1525): 91-109. Ed. by J. Balsamo. Paris and Fiesole: Campion, Cadmo.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (2000). "Der Condottiere Pietro del Monte (1457-1509). Die gymnastica bellica zwischen Philosophie und Literature." Aus Biographien Sportgeschichte lernen. Festschrift zum 90. Geburtstag von Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Henze: 79-86. Ed. by Arnd Krüger; Bernd Wedemeyer. Hoya: NISH.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (2009). "La voltige à cheval chez Pietro Del Monte (1492 et 1509), Rabelais (1535) et Montaigne (1580 - 1592)." Les Arts de l'équitation dans l'Europe de la Renaissance: VIème colloque de l'Ecole nationale d'équitation au château d'Oiron: 197-252. Ed. by Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey; Monique Chatenet; Ernest Chenière. Arles: Actes Sud.
• Fontaine, Marie-Madeleine (2015). "Dénomination de quelques armes d'hast dans les exercitiorum collectanea du condottiere Pietro Del Monte (1509)." Les mots de la guerre dans l'Europe de la Renaissance: 53-104. Genève: Droz.
• Forgeng, Jeffrey L. (2014). "Pietro Monte's Exercise and the Medieval Science of Arms." The Armorer's Art. Essays in honour of Stuart Pyhrr: 107-114. Ed. by Donald J. La Rocca.
• Monte, Pietro (2018). Pietro Monte's Collectanea: The Arms, Armour and Fighting Techniques of a Fifteenth-Century Soldier. Trans. by Jeffrey L. Forgeng. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-78327-275-4.
• Valle Ortiz, Manuel (2019). "Libro del exercicio de las armas: A New Pietro Monte Manuscript." Acta Periodica Duellatorum 7(1): 229-233. doi:10.2478/apd-2019-0007.