Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme (Giacomo di Grassi)

Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme
"His True Arte of Defence"
Title page of the first edition
Full title	Di Grassi, His True Arte of Defence, plainlie teaching by infallable Demonstrations apt Figures and perfect Rules the manner and forme how a man without other Teacher or Master may safelie handle all sortes of Weapons as well offensive as defensive
Author(s)	Giacomo di Grassi
Translator(s)	Thomas Churchyard (1594)
Dedicated to	Borrow, Lord Governor of the Breil
Place of origin	Venice, Italy (1570) London, England (1594)
Language	Italian (1570) English (1594)
Genre(s)	Fencing manual
Publisher	Giordano Ziletti (1570) I. Iaggard (1594)
Publication date	1570
Pages	151
Treatise scans	Digital scans (1570) Digital scans (1570) Digital scans (1570) Digital scans (1570) Digital scans (1594) B&W photocopy (1570) B&W photocopy (1570) B&W photocopy (1594) B&W photocopy (1594) B&W photocopy (1594)

Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme ("Discourse on Wielding Arms with Safety") is an Italian fencing manual written by Giacomo di Grassi and printed in 1570; it was also printed in England after di Grassi transplanted there. Di Grassi's art was probably designed for the side sword, but the English translator states that he felt it was more appropriate for the rapier.

Publication History

Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme was published in Venice, Italy in 1570 by Giordano Ziletti.

In 1594, an English edition was commissioned by Thomas Churchyard; it was translated by I. G. and printed in London by I. Iaggard under the title His True Arte of Defence.

Contents

i - iv	Preface
1 - 15	Introduction
16 - 35	Single rapier
36 - 49	Rapier and dagger
49 - 59	Rapier and cloak
59 - 68	Rapier and buckler
68 - 75	Rapier and targe
75 - 84	Rapier and rotella
84 - 93	Double rapiers
93 - 99	Greatsword
99 - 110	Polearms (bill, partisan, halberd, and javelin)
110 - 118	Pike
119 - 144	The false art
144 - 151	Physical training

Gallery

Title pages

Italian edition (1570)

English edition (1594)

Portrait (1570)

Illustrations (1570)

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Illustrations (1594)

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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.

• Di Grasso, Giacomo; George Silver; Vincentio Saviolo (1972). Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals. Ed. by James Louis Jackson. Scholars Facsimilies & Reprint. ISBN 978-0820111070.
• Grassi, Giacomo di (2013). The Way to Employ Arms with Certainty. Trans. by W. Jherek Swanger. Self-published.
• Grassi, Giacomo di (2021). Discours sur Le maniement sûr des armes: avec un traité sur les tromperies et la façon de s’exercer soi-même pour acquérir force, jugement et rapidité. Trans. by Aurélien Calonne. Self-published. ISBN 978-2955430071.

Copyright and License Summary

For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page.

Work	Author(s)	Source	License
Images
Transcription (1570)	Kelly Hatcher, Niccolò Menozzi	Index:Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme (Giacomo di Grassi)
Transcription (1594)	Early English Books Online	Index:DiGrassi his true Arte of Defence (Giacomo di Grassi)