Salvator Fabris

Salvator Fabris
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Born	1544 Padua, Italy
Died	11 Nov 1618 (aged 74) Padua, Italy
Occupation	Assassin (?) Fencing master
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	University of Padua (?)
Patron	Christianus IV of Denmark Johan Frederik of Schleswig- Holstein-Gottorp
Influenced	Sebastian Heußler Hans Wilhelm Schöffer von Dietz
Genres	Fencing manual
Language	Italian
Notable work(s)	Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme (1606)
Manuscript(s)	GI.kgl.Saml.1868.4040 (1601) MS KB.73.J.38 (1600-1609) MS Dresd.C.13 (1671)
Translations	Český Překlad Magyar fordítás

Salvator Fabris (Salvador Fabbri, Salvator Fabriz, Fabrice; 1544-1618) was a 16th – 17th century Italian knight and fencing master. He was born in or around Padua, Italy in 1544, and although little is known about his early years, he seems to have studied fencing from a young age and possibly attended the prestigious University of Padua.^{[citation needed]} The French master Henry de Sainct Didier recounts a meeting with an Italian fencer named "Fabrice" during the course of preparing his treatise (completed in 1573) in which they debated fencing theory, potentially placing Fabris in France in the early 1570s. In the 1580s, Fabris corresponded with one Christian Barnekow, a Danish nobleman with ties to the royal court as well as an aluminus of the university. It seems likely that Fabris traveled a great deal during the 1570s and 80s, spending time in France, Germany, Spain, and possibly other regions before returning to teach at his alma mater.^{[citation needed]}

It is unclear if Fabris himself was of noble birth, but at some point he seems to have earned a knighthood. In fact, he is described in his treatise as Supremus Eques ("Supreme Knight") of the Order of the Seven Hearts. In Johann Joachim Hynitzsch's introduction to the 1676 edition, he identifies Fabris as a Colonel of the Order. It seems therefore that he was not only a knight of the Order of the Seven Hearts, but rose to a high rank and perhaps even overall leadership.

Fabris' whereabouts in the 1590s are uncertain, but there are rumors. In 1594, he may have been hired by King Sigismund of Poland to assassinate his uncle Karl, a Swedish duke and competitor for the Swedish crown. According to the story, Fabris participated in a sword dance (or possibly a dramatic play) with a sharp sword and was to slay Karl during the performance when the audience was distracted. (The duke was warned and avoided the event, saving his life.) In the ca. 1599, Fabris may have been invited to England by noted playwright William Shakespeare to choreograph the fight scenes in his premier of Hamlet. He also seems to have spent considerable time in the 1590s developing the fencing manual that would guarantee his lasting fame.

What is certain is that by 1598, Fabris had left his position at the University of Padua and was attached to the court of Johan Frederik, duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and Archbishop of Bremen. He continued in the duke's service until 1601, and as a parting gift prepared a lavishly-illustrated, four-volume manuscript of his fencing manual entitled Scientia e Prattica dell'Arme (GI kongelig Samling 1868 4040).

In 1601, Fabris was hired as chief rapier instructor to the court of Christianus IV, King of Denmark and Duke Johan Frederik's cousin. He ultimately served in the royal court for five years; toward the end of his tenure and at the king's insistence, he published his opus under the title Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme ("On Fencing, or the Science of Arms"). Christianus funded this first edition and placed his court artist, Jan van Halbeeck, at Fabris' disposal to illustrate the treatise; it was ultimately published in Copenhagen on 25 September 1606.

Soon after the text was published and perhaps feeling his 62 years, Fabris begged to be released from his six-year contract with the king so that he might return home. He traveled through northern Germany and was in Paris, France, in 1608. Ultimately, he received a position at the University of Padua and there passed his final years. He died of a fever on 11 November 1618 at the age of 74, and the town of Padua declared an official day of mourning in his honor. In 1676, the town of Padua erected a statue of the master in the Chiesa del Santo.

The importance of Fabris' work can hardly be overstated. His treatise was reprinted for over a hundred years after his death, plagiarized several times by later writers, and translated into both German and Latin. He is almost universally praised by later masters and fencing historians, and the great Flemish master Gérard Thibault d'Anvers even described him as a Diestro (a master of the principles of the Spanish fencing style la Verdadera Destreza).^{[citation needed]}

Treatise

Rapier

Images	No Translation	Scientia e Prattica dell'Arme (1601)	La Scientia della Spada (1600-1609) by Reinier van Noort	Italian Edition (1606)	German Edition (1713) by Alex Kiermayer	Latin Edition (1672)
			Text to copy over		Text to copy over

Copyright and License Summary

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

Work	Author(s)	Source	License
Images
Translation
Transcription
La Scientia della Spada	Reinier van Noort	School voor Historische Schermkunsten
Transcription
German Edition	Alex Kiermayer	Ochs Historische Kampfkünste
Transcription

Additional Transcription Note (MS KB.73.J.38): Copyright 2010 by Reinier van Noort. Subject to Fair Use. Users may, without further permission, display, save, and print this work for personal, non commercial use, provided that the copyright notice is not severed from the work. Libraries may store this material and non-commercially redistribute it to their patrons in electronic or printed form for personal, non-commercial use, provided that the copyright notice is not severed from the work.

Additional Resources

• Fabris, Salvator and Leoni, Tommaso. Art of Dueling: Salvator Fabris' Rapier Fencing Treatise of 1606. Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. ISBN 1-891448-23-4
• Fabris, Salvator and Garcia-Salmones, Eugenio. La esgrima o la ciencia de las armas: Libro primero, 1606. Editorial Sacauntos, 2010. ISBN 978-84-937207-8-0
• Fabris, Salvator and Garcia-Salmones, Eugenio. La esgrima o la ciencia de las armas: Libro segundo, 1606. Editorial Edizer, 2011. ISBN 978-84-938120-8-9