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Difference between revisions of "Francesco Fernando Alfieri"

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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 01.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 01.png|400x400px|center]]
| [https://sword.school/articles/la-bandiera/ Text to copy over]
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| <p>'''The Flag by Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri'''</p>
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<p>Master of Arms at the Illustrious Academy Delia of Padua</p>
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<p>''In which it is demonstrated by way of figures an easy and new method, its handling, and its use with the defence of the sword.''</p>
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<p>Dedicated to the Most Illustrious Sir, Sir '''Lodovico di Vidman'''</p>
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<p>'''Free Baron of San Paterniano, and Sommeregg, etc.'''</p>
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<p>'''In Padua,''' printed by Sebastiano Sardi. MDCXXXIIX.</p>
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----
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<p>With Permission from the Authorities</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|5|lbl=i}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|5|lbl=i}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 02.png|2250x250px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 02.png|2250x250px|center]]
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| <p>'''To the Most Illustrious Sir''' Most Excellent and Honourable Sir and Patron '''Lodovico Conte di Vidman'''</p>
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<p>The benevolences I receive from Your Excellency daily are so frequent, and so generous, that considering what gratitude could be expected from my feeble, but above all devoted, service, I conceived to illustrate my obligations succinctly in these sheets of paper.</p>
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<p>Here, Your Excellency, is the fruit of my labours, dedicated in every respect to your generous name; such that under your protection it might acquire the esteem, that the little acumen of the author would be unable to grant it.</p>
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<p>You will see, Your Most Illustrious Excellency, the art that you deigned to learn, honouring my discipline. I have effortlessly persuaded myself that it would not displease you, to see printed this pastime which you occasionally enjoyed to practice. Nonetheless I am aware of the scarce value of my gift, but your magnanimous brilliance has emboldened me.</p>
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<p>My soul is overflowing with obeisant reverence, and Your Most Illustrious Excellency of benignity, to you I most humbly bow.</p>
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<p>In Padua the 6 th  day of September M.DC.XXXIIX.</p>
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<p>Your Most Illustrious Excellency</p>
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<p>Your Most Humble and Most Obliged Servant<br/>Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri.</p>
 
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| <p>'''To the reader'''
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<p>Reader I present to you my flag. If it is not handled according to your spirit, blame the fact that the task was beyond my abilities.</p>
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<p>The condition of this century brings such liberty, that everybody burdens the printing presses, and I too have allowed myself to be taken by this custom.</p>
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<p>I am sure you will tell me I have not dusted off many bookshelves, and I will reply that my books have been experience and practice, which I leave you the image thereof. That which I have in my mind to show you, if it does not seem completely new to you, neither is it trivial.</p>
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<p>Every master of arms professes some knowledge of it, few have written treatises and nobody up until now has condensed this art into the form that you see.</p>
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<p>I desire nothing more than to please you, and to benefit you. If I achieve this goal, and you also learn that which you seek, I nonetheless seek your pardon; and perhaps in short I will bring out a new treatise on all aspects of fencing, which will please you even more.</p>
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<p>Finally it is just to admit that he who labours for others is always worthy of being commended.</p>
 
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{{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|9|lbl=v|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|10|lbl=vi|p=1}}
 
{{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|9|lbl=v|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|10|lbl=vi|p=1}}
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| <p>'''The Flag by Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri'''</p>
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From what I have been able to learn, from those few books that have come to my hands, from the discourses of great men, and from a long and uncommon experience, there is nothing in my judgement either more honourable or more necessary to a person of noble birth, than keeping their youth engaged in the practices that are useful to, and which help and adorn, the virtues of the soul.
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The antique and famous republics which will always serve as examples, and as stimuli to set on the path towards civic happiness, also prized virtue, skill, and agility, reputing as blessed those who were solemnly considered stronger and faster than others.<ref>This passage is later self-plagiarised by Alfieri in the introduction to his treatise on the spadone of 1653.</ref>
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They were seen in the piazzas competing, some at wrestling, some launching the pole, they challenged themselves in races, they battered one another with the cestus, and at times by hurling discs or balls of wood, they put on show the gifts they had received from nature, enhanced through their art.
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These exercises were common into the early centuries of the Italic nation, and if they are never expressed with the pomp in which the inhabitants of the Peloponnese and Phrygia excelled, they have nonetheless been largely conserved up to the present age, as you can see every day principally in Tuscany, while other arts that were not practised in antiquity have been discovered.
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The practice of the flag will always be among the most commended, since it readies the foot, it renders the waist pliable; the hand becomes strong, the arm flexible. If we look to its origins, and to who was the first to unfurl it in an army we find in the holy scriptures that it was the great captain Moses,<ref>Although taken somewhat out of context, Alfieri appears to be referring to Numbers 21:8: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole” (King James Bible).</ref> he was followed first of all by the Assyrians, then the Egyptians followed the same example both with representations of bulls and other animals they held in veneration, and with numerous hieroglyphics alluding to victory, the pretexts and reasons for war, and to the strength and valour of their soldiers. Finally there is no people so barbaric, that it does not see its armies ordered and distinct under a particular standard.
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If we then turn to consider how useful and of what consequence it is in the management of war, although such a treatise would belong to a captain rather than to me, even I am clearly aware that the fortune and glory of war depends in large part on the flag, and that in truth via this instrument military discipline forms troops and centuriae, permits them to understand and execute commands, maintains them in order, and allows the parts of the army needed for victory to be deployed quickly and without confusion.
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Efforts should not be directed elsewhere, other than to seize flag. If it is lost it seems you must no longer fear resistance, there remains a confused and armed multitude without a guide, oppressed more by disorder than by iron. Thus we see that standards are the real trophies which render a warrior's valour immortal, and they are suspended in perpetual remembrance not only in private homes but also in public buildings and churches. Therefore the subject of the art I have chosen to demonstrate is itself a worthy one and perhaps inferior to no other.
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Some might wish to object, stating that the flag is employed in war, but not its art, to these I would reply with a question: is the ensign needed to defend the flag? One who would deny this hints at having a rare talent, and of being a few eggs short of a dozen.<ref>Here Alfieri employs a practically untranslatable idiom “''tenero di sale''”, which refers to a dish lacking in salt but also ironically to a foolish, naïve or credulous person. The translator has replaced this with an approximately equivalent English idiom.</ref>
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If this is undeniable then, who is better able to defend the flag than one who knows how to handle it perfectly? Why is the pole armed if not intended to injure? To know how to wound it is necessary to practice the art, otherwise the flag serves only to entangle and envelop the hands, while it is horribly lost, holding it up being in vain. This does not occur in the hands of someone experienced, who when reduced to such extremes will have a ready solution appropriate to the situation. Emboldened by virtue one such as this will either rescue the flag from the enemy or will pursue it through vendetta.
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Therefore for those who understand this virtue, without need for further exposition, it will be a simple task to arrive at the mastery desired, observing the following figures which make clear the particulars that are difficult to express with words alone.
 
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{{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|13|lbl=1|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|14|lbl=2|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|15|lbl=3|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|16|lbl=4|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|17|lbl=5|p=1}}
 
{{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|13|lbl=1|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|14|lbl=2|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|15|lbl=3|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|16|lbl=4|p=1}} {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|17|lbl=5|p=1}}
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 03.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 03.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''How the ensign or other person should present themselves with the standard'''</p>
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<p>Chapter I</p>
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<p>Wishing to proceed in an appropriate order, to arrive at a perfect understanding of this art, we must begin with its principles, since all of its perfections derive from these.</p>
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<p>In truth I confess that skill, strength and gracefulness are gifts dispensed by nature. Nonetheless with exercise and good discipline they can be acquired and developed. Therefore the movement of the ensign, or other person who wishes to handle the standard for pleasure, should be free, smooth, but also ordered and martial. You should take it with your right hand, as more noble, and passing it to your left you should gather the edges, and grasp them together with the haft, which resting on the arm, situates the flag at the breast as the figure shows. In this manner, without having to change hands and take two tempi, you can quickly unsheath the sword, and employ it as the occasion demands.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|18|lbl=6}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|18|lbl=6}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 04.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 04.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On hoisting the standard'''</p>
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<p>Chapter II</p>
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<p>To hoist the standard you take it with your right, lifting it so it unfolds, and assuming that the wind and location allow it, you find yourself in the posture seen in the picture. With your right foot, pole hand, and your waist gracefully in unison, you may salute the spectators before commencing your play, noting that for an army passing before a prince, general or other great personage it is an act of reverence to lower it to the ground waving it with a ''riverso''.<ref>Note the use of fencing terminology to describe actions with the flag, which continues throughout the treatise.</ref></p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|20|lbl=8}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|20|lbl=8}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 05.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 05.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On the first method of beginning to handle the standard'''</p>
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<p>Chapter III</p>
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<p>This is the first lesson, in which we begin to walk. To attain the honour that is desired, the body should be somewhat bent and braced to take its force. The arm should be extended, strong and raised above the head. Passing with an ample but natural step, at the same time you will judiciously catch the wind with a ''mandritto'', which unfurls and does not entangle the standard.</p>
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<p>This is followed by a ''riverso'' on the second pass, continuing in this manner as desired. You can also change hands, and the greatest skill is to throw the flag and take it in the air, which by its nature changes hands.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|22|lbl=10}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|22|lbl=10}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 06.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 06.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On thrusting with the standard'''</p>
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<p>Chapter IV</p>
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<p>All the lessons are arranged so that one is linked to the next. Here we learn how to deliver a thrust with the standard. This serves not only to demonstrate the skill and ability of the player, but could also be necessary to employ in war.</p>
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<p>The arm should be stretched out, and having flourished a circular ''mandritto'' with your right hand over your head, you should quickly push the flag forwards without wasting time, thrusting in ''quarta''. After you should turn your arm and hand into ''seconda'', and in unison with your left foot extend the blow, always taking into account the wind, and correct footing, to avoid misadventures, which detract from the merit of what you wish to accomplish.</p>
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<p>The same exercise can be done with the left hand which is all the more commendable, as by nature this member is usually weaker and less practised.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|24|lbl=12}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|24|lbl=12}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 07.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 07.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''How to handle the flag with the hand reversed'''</p>
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<p>Chapter V</p>
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<p>This lesson is difficult but beautiful, and truly novel. You grip the shaft with the hand reversed, as it appears in the figure opposite, the arm must be somewhat gathered to help the wrist, which is encumbered by the weight. By taking smaller steps, with the movement of the hand rising from one flank to the other, the undulating volume of the flag is made to wave from one side to the other without confusion, while you interpose two or three passes under the leg or circle it behind the lower back, changing hands, however you prefer.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|26|lbl=14}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|26|lbl=14}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 08.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 08.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On passing the flag under the legs'''</p>
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<p>Chapter VI</p>
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<p>With the standard in motion, and wishing to perform the current lesson, the flag is launched into the air and caught with the hand reversed. Then with the arm turned and the body bent it is passed under the left leg towards the right. In the same motion it is then passed behind the lower back and taken with the left hand, and passed again under the right leg to the left. This can be repeated with either hand as your skill and vigour dictates.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|28|lbl=16}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|28|lbl=16}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 09.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 09.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On launching the standard'''</p>
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<p>Chapter VII</p>
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<p>I know very well that the unusual always delights, and for this reason I have applied myself to collect and create the lessons you now see. To narrate this figure, you wave a circular flourish with a mandritto, then throw the flag in the air, retrieving it with your other hand. This same play is continued, always keeping your arm in time with your foot, skilfully catching the wind. Other passes can be interposed, under the leg or other variations, serving to embellish the lessons and demonstrate the bravura of the practitioner.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|30|lbl=18}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|30|lbl=18}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 10.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 10.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''How to perform a ''molinello'''''</p>
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<p>Chapter VIII</p>
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<p>The ''molinello'' is delightful. To perform it comfortably, you should have the standard in your right hand. You complete a full turn above the head, then throw it up in the air, catching it around the middle of the standard as the figure shows. The ''molinello'' is then turned towards the rear foot. After several rotations, as your the hand becomes fatigued, you should grip the butt of the flag with your other hand and repeat the same lesson, again throwing it in the air as described above.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|32|lbl=20}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|32|lbl=20}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 11.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 11.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''How to manage the standard behind your lower back'''</p>
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<p>Chapter IX</p>
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<p>This figure presents a wonderful innovation in this art. In order that everybody may understand it, I will briefly describe it. The flag should start in your right hand. Having performed a full flourish above your head, it is pulled backwards and with a reverse turn it is carried behind your back on the left side, where it can be fluttered several times, as desired, with your left hand.</p>
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<p>This can be performed while walking, or standing without walking. However it is always necessary to watch the length of your stride, and the wind, since it is dangerous to err while both hands are occupied, and you cannot view the motion of the flag, because in order to display your mastery we advise not to stare at it. Everyone can perform this same lesson with the left hand, loosening the arm and bringing it into presence, observing the order prescribed above.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|34|lbl=22}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|34|lbl=22}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 12.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 12.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On waving the flag behind your back'''</p>
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<p>Chapter X</p>
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<p>In this figure the arm is kept extended, and very prominent, and after turning it behind your back, the standard is played from one side to the other, stepping proportionately so it does not get entangled. After a few waves you can repeat with your left hand, which I will omit to avoid being bothersome by lengthening my discourse.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|36|lbl=24}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|36|lbl=24}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 13.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 13.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On how the standard is passed under the legs'''</p>
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<p>Chapter XI</p>
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<p>Having completed several steps, with both ''mandritti'' and ''riversi'', you should raise the flag as required, adjusting for the ripples which form in various places, and finally bend your waist in the manner depicted. Having circled it above your head, you should lower your arm, passing the standard under your right leg, and by taking it with your left hand, the lesson you have followed has been performed.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|38|lbl=26}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|38|lbl=26}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 14.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 14.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On passing the standard around your neck'''</p>
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<p>Chapter XII</p>
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<p>I propose passing the flag around your neck. For this innovation your arm should tend to be high and extended. Having completed a few waves, you should judge the tempo so that the flag rests on your right shoulder. By pushing it, while catching a little wind from the left, you should let go of the shaft, turning your waist to retake the flag in the middle of the shaft, as the image indicates, entering into ''molinelli'', and after the usual waves this lesson can be repeated with your left hand.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|40|lbl=28}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|40|lbl=28}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 15.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 15.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''How to throw the standard while walking, changing hands'''<br/><br/></p>
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<p>Chapter XIII</p>
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<p>I hope to avoid being tedious by repeating the same things, or to become unclear by neglecting them. The standard is always in motion once the lessons begin, and the principal motions are the ''mandritti'' and ''riversi'', which form the waves of the flag and are performed above your head. I am therefore forced to repeat this for the figure presented here, as we must connect them to what I wish to describe.</p>
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<p>Having circled with a ''riverso'' you should throw the flag high, and taking it with your left hand you should perform the same towards your right side. This can be repeated many times from one side to the other before beginning a new play, the entertainment and delight that lovers of this exercise feel deriving from its novelty. This assumes as always that the timing, step, and wind are duly observed, without which every effort loses merit and earns nothing but reproach.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|42|lbl=30}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|42|lbl=30}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 16.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 16.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On handling the standard under your legs'''</p>
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<p>Chapter XIV</p>
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<p>Having performed the rotations above, and with the standard in your left hand, it should be lowered, and by circling a ''mandritto'' it should be carried and helped along under your leg, forming waves as shown by the figure. Having retrieved it either on the side it was put in on, or from under your left leg, you should change hands, with equal mastery executing again what has been described.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|44|lbl=32}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|44|lbl=32}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 17.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 17.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On thrusts with the standard in the form of a cross'''</p>
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<p>Chapter XV</p>
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<p>The flag should be kept hoisted, and having circled a ''riverso'' in the usual way above your head, you should perform a thrust to your left side accompanied by your foot. Turning the flag towards your right side, you should then perform a thrust with the same mastery. The cross is completed by another two attacks. Your front foot should always be followed by your rear foot, and although everything is in itself quite straightforward, it is nonetheless difficult to put into practice without a maestro.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|46|lbl=34}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|46|lbl=34}}
  
 
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| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 18.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 18.png|400x400px|center]]
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| <p>'''On throwing the flag high behind your back'''</p>
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<p>Chapter XVI</p>
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 +
<p>This lesson is difficult and requires the usual waves as a prelude. After these, it is performed with a ''riverso'', passing the flag behind your back and raising it, although it rests on your lower back, throwing it high in the air with the force of your hand and in particular with your index finger. It is made to pass over your left shoulder, where it is grabbed by your left hand, before the play is repeated. Once completed the flag returns to your the right hand, although it is also possible to recover the pole without passing it from one hand into the other.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|48|lbl=36}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|48|lbl=36}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 19.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 19.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On passing the standard under the legs starting from the right'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XVII</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>To perform the lesson shown here, having finished to circle a riverso, you should turn a ''mandritto'' while bending your body and lowering the standard, bringing it under both your legs starting from the right. All of this is performed in just one tempo, and what can be performed with one hand can always be performed with the other.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|50|lbl=38}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|50|lbl=38}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 20.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 20.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On ''montanti''<ref>''Montanti'' (singular ''montante'') in fencing terminology refers to rising blows.</ref> with the right hand'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XVIII</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>We have arrived at the manner of forming ''montanti''. There is no guard or blow in fencing that cannot be adapted to the art of the flag.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>To perform what I wish to teach with this figure, the flag starts in your right hand, in motion above your head. Having finished to circle, the ''montanti'' begin first from your left side, and then from your right, redoubling them as you desire. You can also swap hands and repeat the same lesson, as we have described many many times in the other chapters.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|52|lbl=40}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|52|lbl=40}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 21.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 21.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On throwing and recovering the standard with the same hand'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XIX</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>In the handling of the flag it seems that dexterity and agility matter more than strength, but at times these attributes must be equal to one another and are of utmost importance. The truth of this is manifestly demonstrated by this figure. After several steps and flourishes of the flag you should firmly plant your feet, then turn a ''mandritto'' over your head and extend a half-thrust, launching the standard into the air with all the force of your lower back and your hand so that it rotates a turn and a half and drops as illustrated by the figure, retrieving it with the same hand. You then return to normal play, which is the usual prelude to a new lesson.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|54|lbl=42}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|54|lbl=42}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 22.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 22.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On the standard with the hand reversed'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XX</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Having performed the last flourish to enter into this lesson, the standard is thrown into the air and gathered with the hand reversed. Your arm should be extended, and the tip of the staff must be pointed towards the ground. With judicious use of timing, and the wind, you will be able to perform waves, flourishes, passes under the leg, turns of the flag behind your lower back, and all that you have been able to learn from the faithfulness and merit of your maestro.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|56|lbl=44}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|56|lbl=44}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 23.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 23.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On gathering the standard'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXI</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>All the things that bring us delight, if they pass beyond a certain point, become bothersome. The end is the completion of the work undertaken. Having therefore to gather the standard, you should hold it with your right hand over your shoulder, and catching a bit of wind, the edge should be grasped with your left hand. Thereby holding it in the posture shown you may end your labours with high praise.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|58|lbl=46}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|58|lbl=46}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 24.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 24.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On putting your hand to the sword'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXII</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>The sword is a weapon that is used in various ways, the effeminate use it to ornament their perfumed finery, and to strong men it is minister of wrath, in defence of duty. But refraining from speaking too long on the subject, I will continue with as much as I propose to say on this topic for now.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Wishing therefore to unsheath your sword, if the flag is in your right hand, you can throw it in the air and catch it with your left, or without this action you can pass it naturally into the other hand.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Raising the flag so that you have more room at your flank, the sword can be drawn as clearly demonstrated by the figure. Putting yourself in a firm stance, all that remains is to show yourself as experienced in this noble practice. If you wish to change hands, the sword should be placed under your arm, and having grasped the standard, your left will be armed, and you can perform whichever passages or lessons of the art you have learned.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|60|lbl=48}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|60|lbl=48}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 25.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 25.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On walking with sword and flag'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXIII</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>The first admonishment we must give to explain this figure, is that the sword and the flag must be held firmly and solidly. You are free to play according to your inclination, and the hand can be changed in one tempo by throwing the standard forwards into the air, grabbing the sword as it falls. This can be performed several times, because it is a beautiful lesson, and truly worthy of being observed.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|62|lbl=50}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|62|lbl=50}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 26.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 26.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On managing the standard with your right, while your left is armed'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXIV</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>It is a fixed rule that the standard should never be idle. While your left hand holds the sword your right nevertheless remains free, but when it is somehow hindered, as I have said elsewhere, it is all the more praiseworthy. Performing this lesson with your hand behind your back, your left hand should be raised as per the figure, and with the usual waves of the flag, you can loosen your arm and enter into another lesson, changing hands, catching the wind and taking the tempo as required.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|64|lbl=52}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|64|lbl=52}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 27.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 27.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On sheathing your sword'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXV</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>The present figure speaks for itself. To return your sword you should gather up the standard, holding it very firmly with your left so it does not touch the ground. This is performed after the lesson we proposed above. You can also raise the flag with the same hand while leaving it unfurled.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|66|lbl=54}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|66|lbl=54}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 28.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 28.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On unsheathing the sword for defence'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXVI</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Dangers arise when you least expect them, bravery allows us to fight, but victory depends on skill, to defend yourself in incidents both in war and peace. First your should quickly gather the standard, drawing your sword over your left arm, and turning the shaft towards your enemy, you should set yourself into a strong guard to resist against any offensive.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|68|lbl=56}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|68|lbl=56}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 29.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 29.png|400x400px|center]]
|  
+
| <p>'''On the guard of sword and flag'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Chapter XXVII</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>Defending yourself is so natural that the law still allows it against those who attack us in vendetta. If the ensign or other person is placed in this situation he should quickly gather and set the standard so that it does not block his view, but rather protects with its sheer volume.<p>
 +
 
 +
<p>The arm should be somewhat bent, with the hand held in ''terza'', keeping his body in profile so it is better covered and presents a smaller target. The body should be balanced over his left leg, the nearby right foot remaining free and unencumbered, thereby able to press his enemy. He should set his stride, not too forced, and move to gain ground, the sword denying tempo and measure by anticipating his enemy's actions. The response should be faster than the call. Cuts should be parried from ''tutta coperta''<ref>Literally “totally covered”, this describes a guard or posture in which your opponent has no direct line of attack, as demonstrated for example in chapters XXV and XXXIV of Alfieri's 1640 treatise on rapier fencing.</ref> or defended with voids of the body, while wounding with the point. If the enemy waits then he should be pressured, put into obedience and deceived; teaching the enemy, the threatener of life, that he is not worthy of the pleasure of living.</p>
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|70|lbl=58}}
 
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|70|lbl=58}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 03.png|400x400px|center]]
 
| [[File:La Bandiera (Alfieri) 03.png|400x400px|center]]
 +
| <p>'''On gathering the flag'''</p>
 +
 +
<p>Chapter XXVIII</p>
 +
 +
<p>Having finished the lessons the flag is gathered and carried in your left hand, keeping the edges wrapped over, with your arm supporting the shaft.</p>
 +
 +
<p>These plates, made by a good engraver, if they are followed by whomever delights in such exercises, will credit my work, and have often relieved me of toil.<ref>Note that this final plate is simply reused from chapter I.</ref></p>
 +
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|72|lbl=60}}
 +
 +
|-
 
|  
 
|  
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|72|lbl=60}}
+
| <p>'''Conclusion'''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>I have arrived at the end of what I proposed. I confess my shortcomings, but nonetheless I will serve as a stimulus to others who understand more, to discover what I have not known, and demonstrate it in a style beyond the capacity of my intellect.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>In this apathetic century it is difficult to please. Those who look at my soul will see what it yearns for. Meanwhile I console myself that a wise man is always understated.<ref>Again this passage is later self-plagiarised in the conclusion to Alfieri's 1653 treatise on the spadone.</ref></p>
 +
| {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|74|lbl=62}}
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| class="noline" |  
 
| class="noline" |  
| class="noline" |  
+
| class="noline" | <p>'''For Printing in Padua.'''</p>
| class="noline" | {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|74|lbl=62}}
+
 
 +
<p>Brother Antonius Lendenaria, Inquisitor General of Padua, seen and approved.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>On the 6th September 1638.<br/>Commissioner General of the Holy Office of Venice, seen and approved.<br/>''Brother Fulgentio de Servi.''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>On the 21st day of October 1638.<br/>Registered with the Most Excellent Magistrature against Blasphemy on page 125.<br/>''Angelo Battisti.''</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>{ Battisti Nani, Magistrate.<br/>{ Gierolimo Trivisan, Magistrate.<br/>{ Pietro Foscarini, Magistrate.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>''Alvise Querini Secretary.''</p>
 +
| class="noline" | {{pagetb|Page:La Bandiera (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) 1638.pdf|75|lbl=63}}
  
 
|}
 
|}

Revision as of 04:28, 29 July 2020

Francesco Fernando Alfieri

Portrait from 1640
Born 16th century (?)
Died 17th century
Occupation Fencing master
Nationality Italian
Genres Fencing manual
Language Italian
Notable work(s)

Francesco Fernando Alfieri was a 17th century Italian fencing master. Little is known about his life, but Alfieri means "Ensign" which might be a military title rather than a family name. In his fencing treatise of 1640, he identifies himself as a master-at-arms to the Accademia Delia in Padua, and indicates that he had long experience at that time

In 1638, Alfieri published a treatise on flag drill entitled La Bandiera ("The Banner"). This was followed in 1640 by La Scherma ("On Fencing"), in which he treats the use of the rapier. Not content with these works, in 1641 he released La Picca ("The Pike"), which not only covers pike drill, but also includes a complete reprint of La Bandiera (complete with title page dated 1638). His treatise on rapier seems to have been especially popular, as it was reprinted in 1646 and then received a new edition in 1653 titled L’arte di ben maneggiare la spada ("The Art of Handling the Sword Well"), which not only includes the entirety of the 1640 edition, but also adds a concluding section on the spadone.

Treatise

Additional Resources

References

  1. This passage is later self-plagiarised by Alfieri in the introduction to his treatise on the spadone of 1653.
  2. Although taken somewhat out of context, Alfieri appears to be referring to Numbers 21:8: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole” (King James Bible).
  3. Here Alfieri employs a practically untranslatable idiom “tenero di sale”, which refers to a dish lacking in salt but also ironically to a foolish, naïve or credulous person. The translator has replaced this with an approximately equivalent English idiom.
  4. Note the use of fencing terminology to describe actions with the flag, which continues throughout the treatise.
  5. Montanti (singular montante) in fencing terminology refers to rising blows.
  6. Literally “totally covered”, this describes a guard or posture in which your opponent has no direct line of attack, as demonstrated for example in chapters XXV and XXXIV of Alfieri's 1640 treatise on rapier fencing.
  7. Note that this final plate is simply reused from chapter I.
  8. Again this passage is later self-plagiarised in the conclusion to Alfieri's 1653 treatise on the spadone.