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{{Infobox writer
 
{{Infobox writer
−
| name                = [[name::Fiore Furlano de’i Liberi]]
+
| name                = Salvator Fabris
−
| image                = File:Fiore delli Liberi.jpg
+
| image                = File:Salvator Fabris.png
−
| imagesize            = 250px
+
| imagesize            = 200px
−
| caption              = This master with a forked beard appears sporadically throughout both the Getty and Pisani Dossi mss., and may be a representation of Fiore himself.
+
| caption              =  
  
 
| pseudonym            =  
 
| pseudonym            =  
 
| birthname            =  
 
| birthname            =  
−
| birthdate            = 1340s
+
| birthdate            = 1544
−
| birthplace          = Cividale del Friuli, Friuli
+
| birthplace          = Padua, Italy
−
| deathdate            = after 1420
+
| deathdate            = 11 Nov 1618 (aged 74)
−
| deathplace          = France (?)
+
| deathplace          = Padua, Italy
 
| resting_place        =  
 
| resting_place        =  
 
| occupation          = {{plainlist
 
| occupation          = {{plainlist
−
  | [[occupation::Diplomat]]
+
  | Assassin (?)
−
  | [[Fencing master]]{{#set: occupation=Fencing master }}
+
  | [[Fencing master]]
−
| [[occupation::Mercenary]]
 
 
}}
 
}}
−
| language            = {{plainlist
+
| language            = [[Italian]]
−
| [[language::Middle Italian]]
+
| nationality          = [[Italian]]
−
| [[language::Renaissance Latin]]
 
−
}}
 
−
| nationality          = Friulian
 
 
| ethnicity            =  
 
| ethnicity            =  
 
| citizenship          =  
 
| citizenship          =  
 
| education            =  
 
| education            =  
−
| alma_mater          =  
+
| alma_mater          = University of Padua (?)
 
| patron              = {{plainlist
 
| patron              = {{plainlist
−
  | Gian Galeazzo Visconti (?)
+
  | Christianus Ⅳ of Denmark
−
  | Niccolò III d’Este (?)
+
  | Johan Frederik of Schleswig-Holstein-<br/>Gottorp
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
| period              =  
 
| period              =  
−
| genre                = {{plainlist
+
| genre                = [[Fencing manual]]
−
| [[Fencing manual]]
 
−
| [[Wrestling manual]]
 
−
}}
 
 
| subject              =  
 
| subject              =  
 
| movement            =  
 
| movement            =  
−
| notableworks        = ''The Flower of Battle''
+
| notableworks        = ''[[Scienza d’Arme (Salvator Fabris)|Scienza d’Arme]]'' (1601-06)
 
| manuscript(s)        = {{collapsible list
 
| manuscript(s)        = {{collapsible list
−
| Codex LXXXIV (before 1436)
+
  | [[Scientia e Prattica dell'Arme (GI.kgl.Saml.1868.4040)|GI.kgl.Saml.1868.4040]] (1601)
−
| Codex CX (before 1436)
+
  | [[La Scientia della Spada (MS KB.73.J.38)|MS KB.73.J.38]] (1600-09)
−
  | [[Fior di Battaglia (MS M.383)|MS M.383]] (1400s)
+
  | [[Figures nues, positions d'escrime à l'épée (MS 17)|MS 17]] (1600-20)
−
  | [[Fior di Battaglia (MS Ludwig XV 13)|MS Ludwig XV 13]] (1400s)
+
  | [[Fechtkunst aus dem Italienischen (MS Dresd.C.94a)|MS Dresd.C.94a]] (ca. 1635)
−
  | [[Flos Duellatorum (Pisani Dossi MS)|Pisani Dossi MS]] (1409)
 
−
  | [[Florius de Arte Luctandi (MS Latin 11269)|MS Latin 11269]] (1410s?)
 
−
| [[Fior di Battaglia (MS XXIV)|MS XXIV]] (1699)
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
| principal manuscript(s)=
 
| principal manuscript(s)=
 
| first printed edition=  
 
| first printed edition=  
−
| wiktenauer compilation by=[[Michael Chidester]]
+
| wiktenauer compilation by=
  
 
| spouse              =  
 
| spouse              =  
 
| partner              =  
 
| partner              =  
 
| children            =  
 
| children            =  
−
| relatives            = Benedetto de’i Liberi
+
| relatives            =  
−
| influences          = {{plainlist
+
| influences           =
−
  | [[Johannes Suvenus|Johane Suveno]]
+
| influenced           = {{plainlist
−
  | [[Nicholai de Toblem]]
+
  | [[Sebastian Heußler]]
 +
  | [[Hans Wilhelm Schöffer von Dietz]]
 
}}
 
}}
−
| influenced          = [[Philippo di Vadi]]
+
| awards              = ''Supremus Eques'' of the Order of the Seven Hearts
−
| awards              =  
 
 
| signature            =  
 
| signature            =  
 
| website              =  
 
| website              =  
Line 67: Line 57:
 
| below                =  
 
| below                =  
 
}}
 
}}
−
'''Fiore Furlano de’i Liberi de Cividale d’Austria''' (Fiore delli Liberi, Fiore Furlano, Fiore de Cividale d’Austria; ca. 1340s - 1420s) was a late [[century::14th century]] knight, diplomat, and itinerant [[fencing master]]. He was born in Cividale del Friuli, a town in the Patriarchal State of Aquileia (in the Friuli region of modern-day Italy), the son of Benedetto and scion of a Liberi house of Premariacco. The term ''Liberi'', while potentially merely a surname, more probably indicates that his family had Imperial immediacy (''Reichsunmittelbarkeit''), either as part of the ''nobili liberi'' (''Edelfrei'', "free nobles"), the Germanic unindentured knightly class which formed the lower tier of nobility in the Middle Ages, or possibly of the rising class of Imperial Free Knights. It has been suggested by various historians that Fiore and Benedetto were descended from Cristallo dei Liberi of Premariacco, who was granted immediacy in 1110 by Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V, but this has yet to be proven.
+
'''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. 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 Christian Barnekow, a Danish nobleman with ties to the royal court as well as an alumnus 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.
−
 
 
−
Fiore wrote that he had a natural inclination to the martial arts and began training at a young age, ultimately studying with “countless” masters from both Italic and Germanic lands. He had ample opportunity to interact with both, being born in the Holy Roman Empire and later traveling widely in the northern Italian states. Unfortunately, not all of these encounters were friendly: Fiore wrote of meeting many “false” or unworthy masters in his travels, most of whom lacked even the limited skill he'd expect in a good student. He further mentions that on five separate occasions he was forced to fight [[duel]]s for his honor against certain of these masters who he described as envious because he refused to teach them his art; the duels were all fought with sharp swords, unarmored except for gambesons and chamois gloves, and he won each without injury.
 
−
 
 
−
Writing very little on his own career as a commander and master at arms, Fiore laid out his credentials for his readers in other ways. He stated that foremost among the masters who trained him was one [[Johannes Suvenus|Johane dicto Suueno]], who he notes was a disciple of [[Nicholai de Toblem]]; unfortunately, both names are given in Latin so there is little we can conclude about them other than that they were probably among the Italians and Germans he alludes to, and that one or both were well known in Fiore's time. He further offered an extensive list of the famous ''condottieri'' that he trained, including Piero Paolo del Verde (Peter von Grünen), Niccolo Unricilino (Nikolo von Urslingen), Galeazzo Cattaneo dei Grumelli (Galeazzo Gonzaga da Mantova), Lancillotto Beccaria di Pavia, Giovannino da Baggio di Milano, and Azzone di Castelbarco, and also highlights some of their martial exploits.
 
  
−
The only known historical mentions of Fiore appear in connection with the Aquileian War of Succession, which erupted in 1381 as a coalition of secular nobles from Udine and surrounding cities sought to remove the newly appointed Patriarch (prince-bishop of Aquileia), Philippe II d'Alençon. Fiore seems to have supported the secular nobility against the Cardinal; he traveled to Udine in 1383 and was granted residency in the city on 3 August. On 30 September, the high council tasked him with inspection and maintenance of city's weapons, including the [[artillery]] pieces defending Udine (large crossbows and catapults). In February of 1384, he was assigned the task of recruiting a mercenary company to augment Udine's forces and leading them back to the city. This task seems to have been accomplished in three months or less, as on 23 May he appeared before the high council again and was sworn in as a sort of magistrate charged with keeping the peace in one of the city's districts. After May 1384, the historical record is silent on Fiore's activities; the war continued until a new Patriarch was appointed in 1389 and a peace settlement was reached, but it's unclear if Fiore remained involved for the duration. Given that he appears in council records four times in 1383-4, it would be quite odd for him to be completely unmentioned over the subsequent five years if he remained, and since his absence from records coincides with a proclamation in July of that year demanding that Udine cease hostilities or face harsh repercussions, it seems more likely that he moved on.
+
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.
  
−
Based on his autobiographical account, Fiore traveled a good deal in northern Italy, teaching fencing and training men for duels. He seems to have been in Perugia in 1381 in this capacity, when his student Peter von Grünen likely fought a duel with Peter Kornwald. In 1395, he can be placed in Padua training the mercenary captain Galeazzo Gonzaga of Mantua for a duel with the French marshal Jean II le Maingre (who went by the war name “Boucicaut”). Galeazzo made the challenge when Boucicaut called into question the valor of Italians at the royal court of France, and the duel was ultimately set for Padua on 15 August. Both Francesco Novello da Carrara, Lord of Padua, and Francesco Gonzaga, Lord of Mantua, were in attendance. The duel was to begin with [[spear]]s on [[:category:Mounted Fencing|horseback]], but Boucicaut became impatient and dismounted, attacking Galeazzo before he could mount his own horse. Galeazzo landed a solid blow on the Frenchman’s helmet, but was subsequently disarmed. At this point, Boucicaut called for his poleaxe but the lords intervened to end the duel.
+
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 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 presumably spent considerable time in the 1590s developing the [[fencing manual]] that would guarantee his lasting fame.
  
−
Fiore surfaces again in Pavia in 1399, this time training Giovannino da Baggio for a duel with a German squire named Sirano. It was fought on 24 June and attended by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, as well as the Duchess and other nobles. The duel was to consist of three bouts of mounted lance followed by three bouts each of dismounted [[poleaxe]], [[estoc]], and [[dagger]]. They ultimately rode two additional passes and on the fifth, Baggio impaled Sirano’s horse through the chest, slaying the horse but losing his lance in the process. They fought the other nine bouts as scheduled, and due to the strength of their armor (and the fact that all of the weapons were blunted), both combatants reportedly emerged from these exchanges unharmed.
+
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'' ([[Scientia e Prattica dell'Arme (GI.kgl.Saml.1868.4040)|GI.kgl.Saml.1868 4040]]).
  
−
Fiore was likely involved in at least one other duel that year, that of his final student Azzone di Castelbarco and Giovanni degli Ordelaffi, as the latter is known to have died in 1399. After Castelbarco’s duel, Fiore’s activities are unclear. Based on the allegiances of the nobles that he trained in the 1390s, he seems to have been associated with the ducal court of Milan in the latter part of his career. Some time in the first years of the 1400s, Fiore composed a fencing treatise in Italian and Latin called "The Flower of Battle" (rendered variously as ''Fior di Battaglia'', ''Florius de Arte Luctandi'', and ''Flos Duellatorum''). The briefest version of the text is dated to 1409 and indicates that it was a labor of six months and great personal effort; as evidence suggests that at least two longer versions were composed some time before this, we may assume that he devoted a considerable amount of time to writing during this decade.
+
<noinclude>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.
  
−
Beyond this, nothing certain is known of Fiore's activities in the 15th century. [[Francesco Novati]] and [[D. Luigi Zanutto]] both assume that some time before 1409 he accepted an appointment as court fencing master to Niccolò III d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara, Modena, and Parma; presumably he would have made this change when Milan fell into disarray in 1402, though Zanutto went so far as to speculate that he trained Niccolò for his 1399 passage at arms. However, while the records of the d’Este library indicate the presence of two versions of "the Flower of Battle", it seems more likely that the manuscripts were written as a diplomatic gift to Ferrara from Milan when they made peace in 1404. C. A. Blengini di Torricella stated that late in life he made his way to Paris, France, where he could be placed teaching fencing in 1418 and creating a copy of a [[fencing manual]] located there in 1420. Though he attributes these facts to Novati, no publication verifying them has yet been located and this anecdote may be entirely spurious. The time and place of Fiore's death remain unknown.
+
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.
  
−
Despite the depth and complexity of his writings, Fiore de’i Liberi does not seem to have been a very significant master in the evolution of fencing in Central Europe. That field was instead dominated by the traditions of 14th century master [[Johannes Liechtenauer]] in the Holy Roman Empire and of Fiore's near-contemporary [[Filippo di Bartolomeo Dardi]] in Italy. Even so, there are a number of later treatises which bear strong resemblance to his work, including the writings of [[Philippo di Vadi]] and [[Ludwig VI von Eyb]]. This may be due to the direct influence of Fiore or his writings, or it may instead indicate that the older tradition of Johane and Nicholai survived and spread outside of Fiore's direct line.
+
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.
  
−
([[Fiore de'i Liberi|Read more]]...)
+
</noinclude>([[Salvator Fabris|Read more]]…)
  
−
<dl>
+
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Revision as of 21:15, 23 May 2022

Salvator Fabris
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 (1601-06)
Manuscript(s)

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. 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 Christian Barnekow, a Danish nobleman with ties to the royal court as well as an alumnus 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.

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 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 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).

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.

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.

(Read more…)

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