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Difference between revisions of "Salvator Fabris"

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<p>This hit under the sword on the outside may be made in ''tierce'' or in ''quarte'' against a ''quarte'', according as the arm is parried outwards more or less, and may arise in this way: your adversary has tried to engage your sword on the inside. You have disengaged and he has tried to hit in ''quarte'' under the sword. After disengaging you have withdrawn the body, in order to have time to return your sword to the lower lines before he could reach. You have succeeded, and dropping the hand and figure at the same moment have again found his ''faible'' with your ''forte'', and hit him in the right side, as he turned. Or you may suppose the position has arisen, when you tried to engage your adversary's sword on the outside, he being in ''seconde'' .[!] In that ''time'' he has changed from ''seconde'' to ''quarte'', turning his left foot, in order to hit under the sword and let your sword pass. At the same moment you have carried your body on to the left foot, returned your sword to the lower lines on the outside, and thus made the hit shown.</p>
 
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<p>This hit under the sword on the outside may be made in ''tierce'' or in ''quarte'' against a ''quarte'', according as the arm is carried outwards more or less, and may arise in this way: your adversary has tried to engage your sword on the inside. You have disengaged and he has tried to hit in ''quarte'' under the sword. After disengaging you have withdrawn the body, in order to have time to return your sword to the lower lines before he could reach. You have succeeded, and dropping the hand and figure at the same moment have again found his ''faible'' with your ''forte'', and hit him in the right side as he turned. Or you may suppose the position has arisen, when you tried to engage your adversary's sword on the outside, he being in ''seconde'' .[!] In that ''time'' he has changed from ''seconde'' to ''quarte'', turning his left foot, in order to hit under the sword and let your sword pass. At the same moment you have carried your body on to the left foot, returned your sword to the lower lines on the outside, and thus made the hit shown.</p>
 
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<p>This ''seconde'' against a ''quarte'' has arisen as follows: your adversary being in ''quarte'' has tried to engage your sword in ''tierce'' on the outside and you have disengaged on the inside, still in ''tierce''. The adversary, taking the ''time'' of the disengage, has tried to hit in ''quarte'' in the line uncovered, turning his body. You have changed from ''tierce'' to ''seconde'', dropping your body and sword under his sword and letting it pass in the air above. Or it might happen that you have moved and tried to engage his sword on the outside, with the hand in ''quarte'', in order to have greater strength in the line where his sword was, and in order to be more covered on the inside. Your adversary has disengaged on the inside and made a ''quarte'' in order to hit above the hilt in the line seen to be uncovered. Then you have changed from ''quarte'' to ''seconde'', and, lowering your whole body below the position where the hilt was, have carried forward the right foot in such a manner, that his sword has passed in the air and you have made the hit shown.</p>
 
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<p>Now follows a hit in ''prime'' against a ''seconde''. Both being in ''tierce'' on the inside, you have tried to engage your adversary's sword; he has taken the ''time'' when you were trying to subject his sword, and has disengaged on the outside, changing his hand to ''seconde'' and advancing to hit over the sword in the line you have uncovered in trying to subject his sword. But you, seeing the disengage and the blow intended, have taken that ''time'', changed from ''tierce'' to ''prime'', lowering the whole body, so that the head is entirely covered and defended by the hilt and right arm, and have pushed out the ''seconde'', for in the change to ''prime'' your hilt has gone so high as to cover the point aimed at by the adversary with his ''seconde''; with the result that his point, which was to hit ''above'', has remained ''below'' and excluded by your ''forte''. Or you may have tried to engage the adversary's sword, and he has tried cut of ''riverso'' at the arm in the part seen uncovered; you by a change from ''tierce'' to ''prime'' have defended yourself and covered your arm with the ''forte''. Therefore the adversary has failed to effect[!] anything and has been hit in the same ''time''.</p>
 
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<p>This hit in ''quarte'' against ''seconde'' has arisen in this manner. Both being in ''tierce'' on the inside, you have tried to engage your adversary's sword, and he has meant to change from ''tierce'' to ''seconde'' and drop under your sword in the time, when your point was out of line. Therefore you, seeing his plan, have not completed the engagement, but have directed your point to his body, carrying the hilt where you had planned to put the point; you have turned the body and the right foot, carrying it forward and leaving your hand against the adversary's ''faible''. In this manner you are defended and have reached him whilst he was lowering his body and advancing. Equally it might occur that he was in ''seconde'' on the inside, and that you have tried to engage his sword. He has intended to disengage in ''seconde'' in order to hit on the outside above the sword. You have disengaged, carried the hilt where you meant to put the point, and by the turn of the body, foot and hand, have hit at the moment your adversary thought to hit.</p>
 
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Revision as of 22:09, 30 April 2022

Salvator Fabris
200px
Born 1544
Padua, Italy
Died 11 Nov 1618 (aged 74)
Padua, Italy
Occupation
Nationality Italian
Alma mater University of Padua (?)
Patron
  • Christianus IV of Denmark
  • Johan Frederik of Schleswig-
    Holstein-Gottorp
Influenced
Genres Fencing manual
Language Italian
Notable work(s) Scienza d’Arme (1606)
Manuscript(s)
Translations

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.[1] In the 1580s, Fabris corresponded with Christian Barnekow, a Danish nobleman with ties to the royal court as well as an alumnus of the university.[2] 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.[3] 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.)[4] In ca. 1599, Fabris may have been invited to England by noted playwright William Shakespeare to choreograph the fight scenes in his premier of Hamlet.[5][2] He also presumably 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, the young duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. He continued in the duke's service until 1601, and as a parting gift prepared a lavishly-illustrated, three-volume manuscript of his treatise entitled Scientia e Prattica dell'Arme (GI.kgl.Saml.1868 4040).[2]

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 Sienza e Pratica d’Arme ("Science and Practice of Arms") or De lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme ("On Defense, or the Science of Arms"). Christianus funded this first edition and placed his court artist, Jan van Halbeeck, at Fabris' disposal to illustrate it; it was ultimately published in Copenhagen on 25 September 1606.[2]

Soon after the text was published, and perhaps feeling his 62 years, Fabris asked 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. Versions of his treatise were reprinted for over a hundred years, and translated into German at least four times as well as French and Latin. He is almost universally praised by later masters and fencing historians, and through the influence of his students and their students (most notably Hans Wilhelm Schöffer), he became the dominant figure in German fencing throughout the 17th century and into the 18th.

Treatise

Additional Resources

References

  1. Didier, Henry de Sainct. Les secrets du premier livre sur l'espée seule. Paris, 1573. pp 5-8.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fabris, Salvator and Leoni, Tom. Art of Dueling: Salvator Fabris' Rapier Fencing Treatise of 1606. Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. pp XVIII-XIX.
  3. Fabris, Salvator and Leoni, Tom. Art of Dueling: Salvator Fabris' Rapier Fencing Treatise of 1606. Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. p XXIX.
  4. Andersson, Henrik. Salvator Fabris as a Hired Assassin in Sweden. Association for Renaissance Martial Arts. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  5. Barbasetti, Luigi. Fencing Through the Ages.[Full citation needed]
  6. Originally "asseruatore", but corrected in the errata.
  7. Originally "richeide", but corrected in the errata.
  8. Originally "dirarsi", but corrected in the errata.
  9. Originally "longuezza", but corrected in the errata.
  10. Originally "mettre", but corrected in the errata.
  11. Originally "volto", but corrected in the errata.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 There's no conclusion of this word on the next page, just a new sentence.
  13. Originally "occcsione", but corrected in the errata.
  14. Originally "albassare", but corrected in the errata.
  15. Originally "& migliore", but corrected in the errata.
  16. Originally "temerariemente", but corrected in the errata.
  17. Originally "bisogna", but corrected in the errata.
  18. The letter 'F' was omitted in the print and hand-corrected in all copies.
  19. Originally "guardia", but corrected in the errata.
  20. Originally "equali", but corrected in the errata.
  21. Originally "poco", but corrected in the errata.
  22. Originally "poco", but corrected in the errata.
  23. Originally "non buoni", but corrected in the errata.
  24. Originally "queui", but corrected in the errata.
  25. Originally "che spada", but corrected in the errata.
  26. Originally "accorgendosi", but corrected in the errata.
  27. Originally "con pugnale", but corrected in the errata.
  28. Originally "mouendolo", but corrected in the errata.
  29. Originally "diuersi", but corrected in the errata.
  30. Originally "dentro la spada", but corrected in the errata.
  31. Originally "andere", but corrected in the errata.
  32. Originally "richede", but corrected in the errata.
  33. Originally "in suoi", but corrected in the errata.
  34. Originally "della", but corrected in the errata.
  35. Originally "la dette", but corrected in the errata.
  36. Originally "è passare", but corrected in the errata.
  37. The errata adds "l’".
  38. Originally "farmarsi", but corrected in the errata. The errata says it should be on page 232, but this is the only instance of the word in the book.
  39. Originally "sforza", but corrected in the errata. The errata says it should be on page 241, but this is the only instance of the word on the correct line.
  40. Should be 183.
  41. Originally "ineguale", but corrected in the errata.