You are not currently logged in. Are you accessing the unsecure (http) portal? Click here to switch to the secure portal.
Do you have permission to re-use this image? Just because scans appear on Wiktenauer does not mean that they are free to use. Wiktenauer is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and many of the scans we host are only licensed for nonprofit use. In other cases, the scans have no standard license and Wiktenauer has received special permission to host them (and can't grant that permission to anyone else). The license terms appear in the Copyright and License Terms box at the bottom of the page that sent you here.

When in doubt, always check with the museum or library that owns a manuscript before publishing or otherwise reusing its scans.
Wiktenauer logo.png

Fiore de'i Liberi

From Wiktenauer
Jump to: navigation, search
Fiore Furlano de’i Liberi

This man appears sporadically throughout both the Getty and Pisani Dossi MSS, and may be a representation of Fiore himself.
Born 1340s
Cividale del Friuli, Friuli
Died after 1420
France (?)
Relative(s) Benedetto de’i Liberi
Occupation
Nationality Friulian
Patron
  • Gian Galeazzo Visconti (?)
  • Niccolò III d’Este (?)
Influences
Influenced Philippo di Vadi
Genres
Language
Notable work(s) The Flower of Battle
Manuscript(s)
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Translations

Fiore Furlano de’i Liberi de Cividale d’Austria (Fiore delli Liberi, Fiore Furlano, Fiore de Cividale d’Austria; ca. 1340s - 1420s[1]) was a late 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.[2][3][4] 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.[5][6][7] 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,[8][9][10] but this has yet to be proven.[11]

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.[2][3][4] 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.[4] He further mentions that on five separate occasions he was forced to fight duels 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.[2][3][12]

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 Johane dicto Suueno, who he notes was a disciple of Nicholai de Toblem;[4] 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),[13] Niccolo Unricilino (Nikolo von Urslingen),[14] Galeazzo Cattaneo dei Grumelli (Galeazzo Gonzaga da Mantova),[15] Lancillotto Beccaria di Pavia,[16] Giovannino da Baggio di Milano,[17] and Azzone di Castelbarco,[18] and also highlights some of their martial exploits.[2][3]

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.[19] 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).[6][20][21] 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.[22] 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,[6][23] 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.

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.[24] 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 spears on 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.[25][21][15]

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.[17][26]

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.[27] 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.[21] 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;[4] as evidence suggests that at least two longer versions were composed some time before this,[28] we may assume that he devoted a considerable amount of time to writing during this decade.

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.[29] 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.[26][21] 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.[30] The time and place of Fiore's death remain unknown.

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.

Treatise

The two manuscript copies of the Flower of Battle that were owned by the d’Este family have been lost since the early 16th century.[31] The four copies currently known to exist were likely contemporary reproductions, and it is unclear if Fiore was directly involved with the creation of any of them. Of these, the MS Ludwig XV 13 (Getty) and the Pisani Dossi MS (Novati) are both dedicated to Niccolò III d'Este and state that they were written at his request and according to his design. The MS M.383 (Morgan), on the other hand, lacks a dedication and claims to have been laid out according to his own intelligence, while the MS Latin 11269 (Paris) lost any dedication it might have had along with its prologue. Each of the extant copies of the Flower of Battle follows a distinct order, though both of these pairs contain strong similarities to each other in order of presentation. In addition, Philippo di Vadi's manuscript from the 1480s, whose second half is essentially a redaction of the Flower of Battle, provides a valuable fifth point of reference when considering Fiore's teachings. (These is also a 17th century copy of the Getty's preface, transcribed by Apostolo Zeno, but it contributes little to our understanding of the text.)

The major sections of the work include: abrazare or grappling; daga, including both unarmed defenses against the dagger and plays of dagger against dagger; spada a un mano, the use of the sword in one hand (also called "the sword without the buckler"); spada a dui mani, the use of the sword in two hands; spada en arme, the use of the sword in armor (primarily techniques from the shortened sword); azza, plays of the poleaxe in armor; lancia, spear and staff plays; and mounted combat (including the spear, the sword, and mounted grappling). Brief bridging sections serve to connect each of these, covering such topics as bastoncello, or plays of a small stick or baton against unarmed and dagger-wielding opponents; plays of sword vs. dagger; plays of staff and dagger and of two clubs and a dagger; and the use of the chiavarina against a man on horseback.

The format of instruction is largely consistent across all copies of the treatise. Each section begins with a group of Masters (or Teachers), figures in golden crowns who each demonstrate a particular guard for use with their weapon. These are followed by a master called "Remedio" (remedy) who demonstrates a defensive technique against some basic attack (usually how to use one of the listed guards to defend), and then by his various Scholars (or Students), figures wearing golden garters on their legs who demonstrate iterations and variations of this remedy. After the scholars there is typically a master called "Contrario" (counter), wearing both crown and garter, who demonstrates how to counter the master's remedy (and those of his scholars), who is likewise sometimes followed by his own scholars in garters. In rare cases, a fourth type of master appears called "Contra-Contrario" (counter-counter), who likewise wears the crown and garter and demonstrates how to defeat the master's counter. Some sections feature multiple master remedies or master counters, while some have only one. While the crowns and garters are used across all extant versions of the treatise, the specific implementation of the system varies; all versions include at least a few apparently errors in assignation of crowns and garters, and there are many cases in which an image in one manuscript will only feature a scholar's garter where the corresponding image in another also includes a master's crown (depending on the instance, this may either be intentional or merely an error in the art). Alone of the four versions, the Morgan seeks to further expand the system by coloring the metallic portions of the master or scholar's weapon silver, while that of the player is left uncolored; this is also imperfectly-executed, but seems to have been intended as a visual indicator of which weapon belongs to which figure.

The concordance below includes Zeno's transcription of the Getty preface for reference, and then drops the (thereafter empty) column in favor of a second image column for the main body of the treatise. Generally only the right-side image column will contain illustrations—the left-side column will only contain additional content when when the text describes an image that spans the width of the page in the manuscripts, or when there are significant discrepancies between the available illustrations (in such cases, they sometimes display two stages of the same technique and will be placed in "chronological" order if possible). The illustrations from the Getty, Morgan, and Paris are taken from high-resolution scans supplied by those institutions, whereas the illustrations of the Pisani Dossi are taken from Novati's 1902 facsimile (scanned by Wiktenauer). There are likewise two translation columns, with the the two manuscripts dedicated to Niccolò on the left and the two undedicated manuscripts on the right; in both columns, the short text of the PD and Paris will come first, followed by the longer paragraphs of the Getty and Morgan.

Additional Resources

References

  1. ↑ This estimated birth date is derived from Fiore's statement that in 1409 he had been studying the art of arms for 50 years, based on the fact that nobility generally began instruction in the martial arts around the age of ten. See Mondschein, p 11. The death date listed assumes that the rumor about his activities in Paris is correct; see note 27, below.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fiore de'i Liberi. Fior di Battaglia [manuscript]. MS M.383. New York City: Morgan Library & Museum, ca. 1400. ff 1r-2r.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Fiore de'i Liberi. Fior di Battaglia [manuscript]. MS Ludwig XV 13 (ACNO 83.MR.183). Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, ca. 1400. ff 1r-2r.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Fiore de'i Liberi. Flos Duellatorum [manuscript]. Pisani Dossi MS. Italy: Private Collection, 1409. f 1rv.
  5. ↑ He is never given such a surname in any contemporary records of his life, and the term only appears when introducing his family in his own treatises.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Mondschein, p 11.
  7. ↑ Howe, Russ. “Fiore dei Liberi: Origins and Motivations”. Journal of Western Martial Art. Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences, 2008. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  8. ↑ Giusto Fontanini. Della Eloquenza italiana di monsignor Giusto Fontanini, vol. 3 (in Italian). R. Bernabò, 1736. pp 274-276.
  9. ↑ Gian Guiseppe Liruti. Notizie delle vite ed opere scritte da' letterati del Friuli, vol. 4 (in Italian). Alvisopoli, 1830. p 27.
  10. ↑ Novati, pp 15-16.
  11. ↑ Malipiero, p 80.
  12. ↑ 15th century jurist Paride del Pozzo, in discussing Italian dueling customs, dismisses unarmored duels as the ignoble domain of the rash and the hot-headed, contrasted with honorable dueling done in armor with the full range of military weapons. This might provide insight into Fiore's disposition as a young man. See Leoni 2012, pp xxiv-xxv.
  13. ↑ “PIERO DEL VERDE (Paolo del Verde) Tedesco. Signore di Colle di Val d’Elsa.”. Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  14. ↑ Leoni, p 7.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 “GALEAZZO DA MANTOVA (Galeazzo Cattaneo dei Grumelli, Galeazzo Gonzaga) Di Mantova. Secondo alcune fonti, di Grumello nel pavese.”. Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  16. ↑ “LANCILLOTTO BECCARIA (Lanciarotto Beccaria) Di Pavia. Ghibellino. Signore di Serravalle Scrivia, Casei Gerola, Bassignana, Novi Ligure, Voghera, Broni.”. Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Malipiero, pp 94-96.
  18. ↑ Fiore his masters and his students. Hans Talhoffer ~ as seen by Jens P. Kleinau. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  19. ↑ Malipiero, p 84.
  20. ↑ Malipiero, p 85.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Easton, Matt. “Fiore dei Liberi - Fiore di Battaglia - Flos Duellatorum”. London: Schola Gladiatoria, 2009. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  22. ↑ Malipiero, p 86.
  23. ↑ Malipiero, pp 85-88.
  24. ↑ This is the only point when both men are known to have been in Perugia at the same time; Verde died soon after this in 1385. See Fiore his masters and his students, Hans Talhoffer ~ as seen by Jens P. Kleinau, in English and “PIERO DEL VERDE (Paolo del Verde) Tedesco. Signore di Colle di Val d’Elsa.” and “PIETRO DELLA CORONA (Pietro Cornuald) Tedesco. Signore di Angri.”, Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550, in Italian. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  25. ↑ Malipiero, pp 55-58.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Mondschein, p 12.
  27. ↑ Malipiero, p 97.
  28. ↑ Fiore states in the preface to the Pisani Dossi MS that he had studied combat for fifty years, whereas the comparable statement in the MS M.383 and MS Ludwig.XV.13 mention the slightly shorter "forty years and more".
  29. ↑ Zanutto, pp 211-212.
  30. ↑ In 1907, fencing master C. A. Blengini di Torricella mentioned that “In 1904, a historical work by Francesco Novati, Director of the Academy in Milano and Gaffuri, Director of the graphical institute in Bergamo was published… These two prominent scholars uncovered documents, found in different archives, …Rules for Fencing were printed by Fiore dei Liberi in 1420… And how could then dei Liberi have taught fencing lessons in Paris in 1418?” (translated from Norwegian by Roger Norling). See Blengini, di Torricella C. A. Haandbog i Fægtning med Floret, Kaarde, Sabel, Forsvar med Sabel mod Bajonet og Sabelhugning tilhest: Med forklarende Tegninger og en Oversigt over Fægtekunstens Historie og Udvikling. 1907. p 28.[Full citation needed]
  31. ↑ The Codex LXXXIV (or MS 84) consisted of 58 folia bound in leather with a clasp, and whose first page showed a white eagle and two helmets; the Codex CX (or MS 110) was a small, unbound volume consisting of only 15 folia. See Novati, pp 29-30. Both manuscripts are mentioned in the catalog of the d'Este library as late as 1508, along with a third untitled fencing manuscript, but they disappeared some time after that and never resurfaced. It is conceivable that one of the four extant versions is a fragment of the MS 84, but no evidence in support of this proposition has yet surfaced.
  32. ↑ Fiore Furlan means “Fiore the Friulian”, i.e. “Fiore of Friuli”. Friuli is an area in the extreme north-eastern corner of Italy, to the north-east of Venice, with Austria to the north and Slovenia to the east.
  33. ↑ Fiore the Friulian, of the free knights of Premariacco is usually referred to as Fiore dei Liberi (one translation would be “Fiore of the Free Knights”). We don’t know for sure whether “Fiore” (“Flower”) was his real name or a pen-name. “Fiore” certainly existed as a real name for a man in medieval Italy—it was a common unisex medieval Christian name derived from the Italian word for flower. Alternately “Flower of the Free Knights” also makes sense, meaning “The best of the free knights.” As to the question of whether “Liberi” is a family name or simply refers to the class of free knights, since the word is spelled in Fiore’s manuscripts, in Getty (“liberi”), Pisani-Dossi (“liberorum”) and Morgan (“liberi”), with a small “l” for “liberi”, I am translating this word not as a family name (“Liberi”) but as “free knights” (“milites liberi”).
  34. ↑ I have translated the entire Prologue into the first person “I”, rather than use the third person “Fiore”, so as to make it more friendly and direct to read.
  35. ↑ “Armiçare” or “Armizare” means the art of armed fighting or fighting with weapons. Fiore refers to his martial art as both “L’Arte d’Armizare” (Art of Armed Combat) and “La Scientia d’Armizare” (Science of Armed Combat). However, you should note that the words Arte and Scientia do not necessarily have their modern meanings. Arte may mean simply “skill” and the word “Scientia” may mean simply “knowledge”. Thus “the skill and knowledge of armed fighting”.
  36. ↑ Fiore is comparing the two kinds of fighting: sport/tournament (“combatter a sbarra”—“in the lists”) and mortal combat (“combatter adoltrança”—“to the death”). To fight “in the lists” was not however without serious risks of injury and/or death. Medieval knights took these tournaments very seriously as matters of honor, and renown was won and lost in such events. Fiore also appears to include duels of honor in his term “in sbara”. The fights he describes below include duels of honor.
  37. ↑ “tempere di ferri” means literally “the tempering of iron”. I have translated this liberally to “the construction of weapons” to more clearly reflect what I believe Fiore means here. See also fn. 37 below.
  38. ↑ It is important to remember that when Fiore refers to “Germans” and “Italians” he is referring to language/cultures and not referring to nation states. Neither “Germany” nor “Italy” existed at this time.
  39. ↑ secondo gli altri codici
  40. ↑ Here is where Fiore names his martial art: “Arte d’Armizare”—“the Art of Armed Combat”.
  41. ↑ “in Sbarra” means literally “at the barriers”. In many medieval sporting events the combatants would fight with longswords or spears over a fence (barrier). This prevented the combatants from closing to grapple and thus tested their long range fighting skills. Fiore uses this term to refer to sporting events as opposed to fights to the death. Fiore tells us he was asked to teach for both.
  42. ↑ Piero del Verde (Getty), Piero dal Verde (Morgan), (lit. “Peter of the Green”), also named elsewhere as Paolo del Verde, Pietro del Verde and Pietro von Grünen, was a recorded German condottiero (mercenary) captain who died in 1384. His birth date is not known.
  43. ↑ Piero della Corona (Getty), Piero dalla Corona (Morgan) (lit “Peter of the Crown”), also named elsewhere as Pietro della Corona, Peter Kornwald, Pietro Cornuald, was another recorded German condottiero (mercenary) captain who died in 1391. His birth date is not known.
  44. ↑ Perosa/Perusia is now known as Perugia. It is situated about 100 miles north of Rome. The date of this duel is estimated between 1379 and 1381, when both knights are recorded as present in this region.
  45. ↑ Nicolo Voriçilino (Getty), Nicholo Vnriçilino (Morgan), is named elsewhere variously as Niccolo Voricilino, Niccolo Borialino, Niccolo Waizilino, Nikolaus Weiss , and Nicholas von Urslingen. There is no historical record, however, as to who this person was.
  46. ↑ Niccolo “Inghileso” (Getty and Morgan) translates as Nicholas “the Englishman”. However, there is no historical record as to who this person was.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 The city of Imola is about 120 miles south-west of Venice.
  48. ↑ Galeazzo de Capitani da Grimello da Mantova (Getty), Galeaz delli capitani de Grimello chiamado da Montoa (Morgan), also named Galeazzo de Mantova (eng. Mantua), Galeazzo Cattaneo dei Grumelli, and Galeazzo Gonzaga, was an Italian condottiero captain who died in 1406. We do not know his birth. Significantly Galeazzo fought two duels against Buzichardo de Fraza, also known as Boucicault, one in 1395 that was stopped by the supervising Lord where the parties were evenly matched, and one in 1406, where Galeazzo defeated Boucicault. To be able to say that one of his students defeated the mighty Boucicault in single combat would have looked very impressive on Fiore’s resume.
  49. ↑ Buçichardo de Fraca (Getty), Briçichardo de Franza (Morgan), named elsewhere as Buzichardo de Fraza, also known as Boucicault, or Jean II Le Maingre (1364-1421), was a French military general who was honored by King Charles VI as Marshall of France in 1391, and was a knight of great renown for his military skill, and his strength and athleticism in single combat. Apparently at a dinner at which both Boucicault and Galeazzo were present, Boucicault insulted Italians claiming he could beat any Italian knight in single combat. Galeazzo accepted the challenge, and the two fought with spears on foot in 1395, a duel that was a draw, when it was halted by the supervising lord, Francesco Gonzaga, Lord of Mantova. The enmity was not forgotten however, and the two repeated their duel in 1406, this time on horseback with lances, at which time Boucicault was defeated by Galeazzo.
  50. ↑ Padova (Padua) is about 20 miles west of Venice.
  51. ↑ A squire was a nobleman who was trained and skilled in the knightly arts, but who had not yet been knighted. Note the fighting abilities of the squire were not necessarily any different from the knight proper.
  52. ↑ Lancillotto da Becharia de Pavia (Getty), Lanzilotto de Boecharia da Pavia (Morgan), also called Lancilotto Beccaria was an Italian condottiero captain who died in 1418. We do not know his birthdate.
  53. ↑ Notice that although these are “sporting events” they were using real spears.
  54. ↑ Baldassarro (Getty), Baldesar (Morgan) refers to the German knight Balthasar von Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (1336-1385)
  55. ↑ Gioanino de Bavo (Getty), Zohanni de Baio (Morgan), also named Giovannino da Baio likely refers to the French knight Jean de Bayeux, who is recorded as being in the area at this time.
  56. ↑ The city of Pavia is 20 miles south of Milan.
  57. ↑ The identity of the German squire named Sram (Getty and Morgan), Schraam, or Schramm, is not known.
  58. ↑ Açço da Castell Barcho (Getty), Azo da Castelbarcho (Morgan), refers to Azzone Francesco di Castelbarco, an Italian condottiero captain who died in 1410. We do not know his birthdate.
  59. ↑ Çuanne di Ordelaffi (Getty), Zohanni di li Ordelaffig (Morgan) refers to Giovanni Ordelaffi, an Italian condottiero captain (1355-1399).
  60. ↑ Jacomo di Boson (Getty), Jacomo de Besen (Morgan), or Giacomo da Boson, likely refers to the German nobleman Jakob von Bozen.
  61. ↑ These were duels of honor, and were taken very seriously in these times.
  62. ↑ Fiore actually says that the swords are “di taglo e di punta” meaning literally “for cutting and thrusting”, or “sharp edged and pointed”.
  63. ↑ A “çuparello darmare” or “zuparello d’armare” is an arming jacket, that is, a cloth padded jacket worn underneath armour as a foundation garment.
  64. ↑ We don’t know if this means he won all five duels, or simply acquitted himself well. But he says he was not injured.
  65. ↑ In addition to “L’Arte d’Armizare” (the art of armed fighting), L’Arte del Combattere (the art of combat) is a second name Fiore gives to his art.
  66. ↑ If they never lost and always acquitted themselves honorably, then presumably they always either won or drew.
  67. ↑ The word is decretali (Decretals). A Decretal is a Papal Constitution in letter form, i.e., a written decree from a Pope stating the Church’s legal position on a specific legal or moral issue.
  68. ↑ Scientia d’Armizare is Fiore’s other term for his Arte d’Armizare. Scientia means science or knowledge. Thus Scientia d’Armizare could translate as “Knowledge of Armed Combat” or “Science of Armed Combat.”
  69. ↑ Fiore writes di ferri e di tempere which literally means “of iron and of tempering”, i.e., hardening of steel. However, since Fiore’s manuscript clearly does not show anything about blacksmithing or how weapons are actually made, this literal translation does not serve me. Thus I changed it to “weapons and their applications”.
  70. ↑ It is not clear here whether Fiore is saying he actually consulted with Niccolo III of Este prior to the creation of the book, that Niccolo indicated how he wants the book laid out, and that Fiore has decided to lay it out exactly as Niccolo has asked for it to be done, or simply that he knows what Niccolo likes.
  71. ↑ I translate Abrazare or Abracare as “grappling” rather than “wrestling”, since wrestling suggests ground-fighting, and there is no ground fighting in Fiore’s system.
  72. ↑ The word solaço means “pleasure”. Fiore means grappling for sport. Fiore is distinguishing between fighting for fun and fighting to the death.
  73. ↑ The expression da ira means “in anger”. Fiore is contrasting this with grappling for fun. Thus I have translated ira as “earnest”.
  74. ↑ Both ingano and falsita mean “deceit”. It is not clear why Fiore uses both, but any difference in these two words are lost in translation. I therefore translated ingano as “cunning” so that there were still three words as in the original.
  75. ↑ The word crudelita means “cruelty”. I prefer the word “viciousness” here.
  76. ↑ The taking of guards would suggest he has some training and thus some skill in grappling.
  77. ↑ The words are prese (“holds”, “grips” or grapples”) and ligadure (“locks” or “binds”).
  78. ↑ inle femine sottol mento means literally “in the soft part below the chin”. Fiore means the throat/larynx.
  79. ↑ The fianchi, the “flanks”, are the unprotected (“soft”) areas of the side of the torso, below the lower ribs but above the hips.
  80. ↑ Viii chose means literally “eight things”.
  81. ↑ Note: attributes numbers 4 and 8 seem to be the same attribute. This is noted especially because in the earlier Pisani Dossi manuscript Fiore tells us there are seven attributes (not eight as here in the Getty). Roture (“breaking”), Romper (“tearing apart”) and Dislogar (“dislocating”) arms and legs appear here to be duplicative.
  82. ↑ Frontale means the front of the head, i.e., the forehead. Elsewhere Fiore comments that this guard is often named (by others) as Posta Corona (“The Crown Guard”), the “crown” referring to the top of the head.
  83. ↑ Dredo means “Behind” but in this context it translates better as “after”, be cause we can see from the way the manuscript is laid out that the remedies are shown first, and the counters later.
  84. ↑ The “Special” Remedy that comes at the very end, that Fiore is referring to is a Counter to the Counter, which, as you will see below, Fiore calls Contra-contrario or the “Counter-counter”.
  85. ↑ Literally “Masters of the Battle” or “Masters of the Fight”.
  86. ↑ Fiore just calls him the “Second Master”, but Fiore means by this that he is the Second Master of Battle.
  87. ↑ Fiore here calls them Zugadori (Players) rather than Scolari (Students), but that is confusing, because the way the manuscript is visually structured, the students of the Remedy Master who wear the golden garter are named Scolari (Students), not Zugadori (Players). The Zugadori are drawn without any garter at all. Therefore here I translate zugadori as Students (Scolari), so as to be consistent with what is drawn.
  88. ↑ Divisa means literally “device” but also refers to a uniform or insignia that marks a person's rank or position. I have chosen to translate the word divisa as “garter”. In the PD, Fiore refers to the golden ribbon worn around one leg by the Students as a lista doro. A lista is a strip of material, like a ribbon, garter or scarf. Doro means D’oro - “of gold.”
  89. ↑ Fiore actually writes “The Remedy Master and his plays, but since the Counter Master also defects the Remedy Master’s students, who show all the plays, I decided to translate it as above.
  90. ↑ I’ve rearranged the sentences here to make my translation clearer. Thus the red and blue letters in the original don’t match up at all in my translation.
  91. ↑ Fiore actually says libro (“book”), but I’ve changed it to “system”.
  92. ↑ The word Rubriche means writing in red ink. I chose to translate this word simply as “text”.
  93. ↑ This was translated from an Italian translation of the Latin, and needs to be checked against the original language to be promoted to B-class.
  94. ↑ Per comodità di quegli studiosi di cose schermistiche che non avessero soverchia famigliarità con la grafia dei manoscritti antichi, abbiamo stimato opportuno far seguire alla riproduzione fototipica del cod. Pisani-Dossi, una trascrizione del testo, di cui ci siamo applicati a rispettare scrupolosamente la lezione, limitandoci ad introdurvi, per agevolarne l'intelligenza, i titoli delle singole parti e l'interpunzione moderna. Delle voci poi, che, vuoi per una vuoi per altra ragione, tornassero dubbie o addirittura incomprensibili alla comune de' lettori, s'è recata innanzi nelle Annotazioni lessicali, quante volte riuscì possibile, l'interpretazione.
  95. ↑ The full statement, as given by Philippo di Vadi, is "It is not meet that the Imperial Majesty be honored in arms alone, but it is necessary also that it be armored in sacred laws". (El non bixogna solo la maestà inperiale essere honorata di arme ma ancora è necesario epsa sia armata de le sacre legge.)
  96. ↑ “Lovo cerviero” (Lupo Cerviere) translates literally as “sharp-eyed wolf”. Fiore means the Eurasian Lynx that was said to have not only astonishing eyesight and the ability to see in the dark, but also the ability to see around corners and even see into the future. The choice of the Lynx to represent the ability to “read” the fight and proceed carefully is thus meaningful. The lynx has been used to symbolize the search for knowledge, or the search for the truth. In 1603, for example, the Accademia dei Lincei (Academy of the Lynxes) was founded in Italy, dedicated to providing a sharp and penetrating insight into science and nature. For its emblem, the academy chose the lynx, and its symbol, the lynx passant is remarkably similar to Fiore’s lynx. The great Galileo himself was inducted into the Accademia dei Lincei in 1609, and published papers under the Accademia dei Lincei name. In fact, after joining the Accademia dei Lincei, Gailieo thereafter signed his name Galileo Galilei Linceo (“Galileo the Lynx”).
  97. ↑ “A sesto e misura” - Fiore’s Lynx represents the intelligence and scientific application of knowledge. Hence it proceeds literally holding a “sesta” which is a pair of compasses or dividers. Note “sesta” is the pair of dividers, used for drawing circles and arcs and for measuring distance, not a nautical compass showing north south east west. A “misura” is a measure or rule, also used for measuring and drawing. The symbol of freemasonry is the “compass and square” (the square being a type of rule, namely two rules at right angles to each other). “A misura” means “with measure”, i.e. carefully. See, for example, Compass-and-straightedge construction.
  98. ↑ Fiore’s Tigro is not the black and orange striped tiger (cat family), but is a mythical creature from the medieval Bestiaries that resembles a giant wolfhound (dog family). The tiny mouse-like creature drawn in the Getty does not do justice to this mighty mythical Tiger that was said to be as big as a horse and was attributed incredible speed. There is a most beautiful painting of a medieval Tiger in the Aberdeen Bestiary.
  99. ↑ “la sagitta del cielo” means literally “the arrow from the sky”. Fiore means of course a bolt of lightning.
  100. ↑ “Avanzare” means to excel or surpass. I understand Fiore to be saying that the Tiger is faster than lightning.
  101. ↑ “Ne perdo vargo” means literally “I do not lose my way”. From the Bestiaries however we understand that what the Elephant never does is fall over. In the Bestiaries we are told the Elephant has no knees and if it once lies down can never get up again. Thus Fiore’s Elephant stands for stability and sure-footedness. The Aberdeen Bestiary reads as follows: “[Of the elephant] ... no larger animal is seen. The Persians and Indians, carried in wooden towers on their backs, fight with javelins as from a wall. ...The elephant has this characteristic: if it falls down, it cannot rise. But it falls when it leans on a tree in order to sleep, for it has no joints in its knees. A hunter cuts part of the way through the tree, so that when the elephant leans against it, elephant and tree will fall together.”
  102. ↑ The bottom of the page, including the elephant verse, has been cut off.
  103. ↑ It looks like the period maybe was changed to a slash/comma.
  104. ↑ C'è nella trascrizione ma non nell'originale
  105. ↑ Idem, prime due in alto
  106. ↑ Nec sine is an emphatic, not a negation.
  107. ↑ Maybe should have been terra?
  108. ↑ Apposui is clearly “I served up,” but with the convention that the captions are spoken by the wearer of the crown or garter, this makes little sense (as the palms are in the face of that person). Further, the Pisani Dossi text reverses the speaker.
  109. ↑ Tot: so many, such a number.
  110. ↑ Maybe laevo
  111. ↑ Possibly a scribal error—the first sentence seems to be missing a “me” and the second has one it doesn’t need.
  112. ↑ The illustration clearly shows a thrust to the arm, not the shoulder.
  113. ↑ Could be praesto, Latin adv. “ready, available” or Italian presto.
  114. ↑ Alternative with accusatives in opposite order: “I would seize the arm(s) in front suddenly / <I> the strong one would bring the dagger around in a violent whirling motion close by the elbow.”
  115. ↑ Interestingly, this page appears to be dirty and damaged; the recto looks like it’s warped from water damage. The next several pages also show warping; the art quality has also declined substantially.
  116. ↑ Or "backhand cover"
  117. ↑ Or "of the backhand cover"
  118. ↑ Or "reverse cover"
  119. ↑ This page has lots of dirt smudges, drips, and stains; some—to the left of the combatants in the upper register, and just below the verse in the lower—look like they might be handwritten smudges, but without clear meaning.
  120. ↑ Denodare appears to be a technical term for breaking or dislocating limbs; appears only in Ducange.
  121. ↑ Or "Master's reverse cover"
  122. ↑ Or "with the reverse cover"
  123. ↑ Demittere mentem is recorded (by Bantam dictionary) as an idiom meaning “to lose heart”. Possibly mente sedebit is referencing this, in a pun (e.g., demittere in the sense of depose, and sedeo in the sense of hold court).
  124. ↑ This looks like it may have originally said “veter” but was corrected to “vetes” (e.g. from first person present passive to second active present).
  125. ↑ See capelli 285
  126. ↑ Literally “the two palms”.
  127. ↑ Should be defendam
  128. ↑ Note: pectora is plural, perhaps meant to indicate both halves of the chest.
  129. ↑ Or “I put to the test where I would at once bend you back acutely.”
  130. ↑ Or “I will not be deceived while breaking the left shoulder.”
  131. ↑ Or possibly “weighed”.
  132. ↑ N.B. “I will enter” begins the fourth line in the Latin. It was moved to fit English sentence structure.
  133. ↑ Variant of namque
  134. ↑ Meaning “if you know how to use a dagger to fight against a sword”.
  135. ↑ The word Fiore uses is “rebatter” which means “to beat back”. This suggests a hard block, not a gentle parry.
  136. ↑ Fiore just writes “with a turn” (“in un voltare”), but I have added language to make it clearer that he is talking about the move with his dagger as well as the footwork.
  137. ↑ Here Fiore literally says “you need the close game”. Note that “zogo stretto” can mean both “Narrow Play”, or the “Narrow Game”, or simply “close range”. Here I believe the translation “close with your opponent” works best.
  138. ↑ “Zugadore” means “player”. Here I’ve used “attacker” to make the translation more understandable.
  139. ↑ Fiore is pointing out that this play is made early, after the opponent has made cover with his dagger but before the opponent has had time to launch a Remedy. Since the Remedy was never launched, no Counter is needed. Note Fiore calls the man with the dagger “the Master who waits in guard with his dagger”. I have shortened this to “dagger Master”.
  140. ↑ See Getty 20v-c and 20v-d.
  141. ↑ See Getty 10v-c.
  142. ↑ I can see no relevance to Fiore’s comment here that the middle bind is made “a hands-breadth from the face”. The middle bind technique in the dagger section is NOT made close to either your own face or your opponent’s face. It remains a mystery, other than to point out that the entire text of the Getty is written in loose rhyme. Here Fiore chooses the word “spana” to rhyme with the earlier word “mezana”. That appears to me to be the sole reason for its use here.
  143. ↑ Meaning here is a play where the attacker with the dagger is defeated.
  144. ↑ Cavezo means “collar”, that is, the front of the tunic up at the neck. In modern terminology it is a lapel grab.
  145. ↑ See Getty 10v-a.
  146. ↑ See Getty 10v-c.
  147. ↑ The conclusion to this play is not illustrated in Fior di Battaglia, but does appear in Blume des Kampfes; see Cod.5278 202r, MS B.26 32v, and Cod.10799 199r.
  148. ↑ Fiore literally says “returning my foot that is in front to the back”. This refers to a passing step backwards with the right foot.
  149. ↑ A “grande fatto” is something of great worth, like a mighty deed.
  150. ↑ “Tristo” can mean “sad”, but it can also mean “crafty”, “clever”, or “skillful”
  151. ↑ “Cativi” means “cowardly wretches”. Here Fiore’s Master is talking directly to the three men who seek his death.
  152. ↑ The second letter appears to have been corrected.
  153. ↑ “ala traversa”—crosswise. Here this means sideways.
  154. ↑ Remember, “passando” might mean “passing” (passing step) or it might mean simply “stepping”.
  155. ↑ Possible letter “a” above sanguineo, but nothing else. Unclear whether the “a” is the end of a mostly-erased note, or part of a word-order note that has been erased.
  156. ↑ “Magistro” means both “Master” and “Teacher”. The translation “teacher” works well here.
  157. ↑ Lit. “made to the fingernails”, an expression meaning to be a perfect person.
  158. ↑ This page is showing ink from the other side much more than usual.
  159. ↑ Getty 10v-c
  160. ↑ Romans used dative to describe body parts
  161. ↑ “Butare” actually means to “cast” or “throw”. I decided “wrap” would work better here.
  162. ↑ “Zitassi” means “cast” as in “threw”.
  163. ↑ “Ardito” means “bold”, “passionate” (“ardent”). But here I went after the meaning as I understand it, which is with intensity, thus “aggressively”.
  164. ↑ The expression “stando fermo” translates literally as “remaining firm”. In the context of Fiore’s art I interpret this “volta” when referring to step (footwork) to refer to weight transfers between the two feet with the feet turning slightly on the balls of the feet, but without actually stepping. Used in relation to the crossed swords, I translate “stando fermo” as “maintaining pressure”. In my interpretation this refers to crossed swords in front of the opponent’s sword attack, maintaining strong pressure against his blade, crossing his blade at the “front”, i.e. the incoming sword, and then thrusting to the “back”, i.e. at the opponent’s body. The “volta” or “turn” of the sword involved here is a clockwise rotation of the sword around its long axis, i.e. a “screwing” motion as you turn the sword from crossguard more vertical to crossguard more horizontal. This motion is of course the Germanic tradition “winden” or “winding” of the sword. Thus I translate “volta stabile” as a “turn in place”.
  165. ↑ Fiore’s word is actually “cose”—“things”. In this context it is better translated as “movements”, “steps” or “footwork”.
  166. ↑ “Tornare” literally means “to return”. Thus it is a “returning” step. Note it does NOT mean “to turn”. In certain instances “tornare” refers simply to a passing step backwards, i.e. the reverse of a passing step forwards. Elsewhere it is used by Fiore to show a second movement that returns along the path the first movement took.
  167. ↑ “Accressere” means literally “to increase”. The noun form would be “accresso” or “accressimento”. As I interpret it it refers to a shuffle step in any direction where the lead foot moves out away from the body first, resulting in an increase in distance between the feet. Fiore does not include passing steps forward or backward under this term.
  168. ↑ “Discressere” means literally “to decrease”. The noun form would be “discresso” or “discressimento”. As I interpret it this refers to a shuffle step in any direction where the first foot that moves, moves back towards the body, i.e. the distance between the feet is shortened (decreased). A shuffle step forwards thus is made up of two of Fiore’s “cose”: first an “accresso” as the lead foot moves forward, then a “discresso”, as the rear foot moves forwards too.
  169. ↑ The word Fiore uses is not “and” (“e”) but is “perche”, which usually translates as “because”. But if we translate the line with “because” then it reads “I am named the guard or post of the Lady, because I am distinct from the other sword grips.” That line then makes no sense at all, and certainly does NOT tell us WHY the high guard over the shoulder is named “Guard of the Lady”. I’ve changed it to make more sense.
  170. ↑ Fiore actually says “these other guards” (“queste altra prese”), not “the four sword guards shown above” but I have changed this so that the sentence makes more sense. Fiore is comparing the Guard of the Lady, which is number five out of the six guards shown in this section, with the previous four guards. This section is one of Fiore’s most poorly written passages, very hard to understand and a challenge to translate!
  171. ↑ Fiore uses the expression “prese de spada” which means literally “grips of the sword”. He means the guards.
  172. ↑ This sentence is confusing. I have therefore made an interpretive translation to make sense of the sentence. Here I believe Fiore means that the Guard of the Lady is different from the prior four guards shown, which are all low guards, in that the Guard of the Lady is a high guard (held above the shoulder).
  173. ↑ The sixth guard is indeed also the Guard of the Lady but the sword is held reversed so as to use it like a poleaxe. The character in the drawing here is simply pointing out that while you might think the two guards (fifth and sixth) are the same guard (both hold the weapon high on the right shoulder), they are different in that the sixth is wielding the sword reversed like an axe. The text of the sixth guard points out that notwithstanding this, this guard too is named “Guard of the Lady”.
  174. ↑ For more information about this sword, see Armored Sword 29.
  175. ↑ Fiore sometimes spells the word “fendente” for the plural, and sometimes “fendenti”.
  176. ↑ “Cum rasone” literally means “with reason”, which makes no sense. I decided to translate this as “with precision”, since “rasone” suggests mental calculation is involved.
  177. ↑ Fiore actually says “cum inzegno”—“cleverly”. But there is nothing “clever” about a fendente strike. It is a big downward hit. So I changed this word to “effectively”.
  178. ↑ Fiore actually uses the word “sangue segno”—“a sign of blood”, but I think the expression “trail of blood” works better.
  179. ↑ Another use of the “returning” concept—here making it clear that the verb is “return” not “turn” by spelling it “retornamo”—“we return”.
  180. ↑ “Pulsativa” actually means “good for hitting”. Fiore names only a few of his guards “pulsativa”, namely the ones from which you can strike really hard. Hence my choice of the translation “powerful”.
  181. ↑ The word is “tutta” Iron Gate. While this is sometimes translated as “Whole Iron Gate”, “Full Iron Gate” or “Complete Iron Gate” (“tutta” also meaning “all”), none of these translations make much sense to me. I note however that in the Morgan manuscript (Morgan 6r-b) Fiore uses “tuta” to refer to the base of the sword (at the crossguard). Thus in that case “Tuta” or “Tutta” carries the meaning of “at the base”, from where I get my translation “Iron Gate at the base”, or simply “low Iron Gate”.
  182. ↑ Fiore’s words are “longa e curta” (“long and short”). I’ve liberally translated that as “whatever its length.”
  183. ↑ “Strette” literally means “narrow”. At times Fiore uses it to refer to swordplay made when the defender covers (crosses swords) in front of the opponent’s blade with the right foot forward instead of the left. Fiore terms this configuration (both parties’ right foot leading at the crossed swords position, with the defender’s sword crossed in front of the attack), the “Narrow Game”, or “Zogho Stretto”. Why this “game” is “narrow” is beyond the scope of these footnotes.
  184. ↑ Fiore is referring here to the “scambiar de punta” (“Exchange of Thrusts”) of Getty 26v-a.
  185. ↑ Fiore is referring here to the “rompere de punta” (“Breaking of the Thrust”) of Getty 26v-c.
  186. ↑ I have deliberately translated this “Guard of the Lady” and not “Lady’s Guard” so as to leave open the possibility of a link between Donna and the Madonna. “Donna” means a “Lady”, with perhaps a reference to “Our Lady”, the Madonna.
  187. ↑ The last two words “per certo” (“for sure”) serve no purpose other than to rhyme with “discoperto”, so I have omitted them.
  188. ↑ “Donna” means noble lady or mistress, and is also the name of the chess piece. I use the latter translation because I believe the name is a reference to the versatility of the guard.
  189. ↑ “Di malizie” can mean “malicious” but can also mean “skillful”. I’ve chosen “skillful” as it makes more sense here.
  190. ↑ I.e. quick.
  191. ↑ This is an additional instance of “dicor,” which on 19v we identified as a pun (also meaning consecrated) when used to describe the True Cross.
  192. ↑ Note that this verse says “janua” rather than “porta” in the previous Iron stance; we’ve rendered “porta” as gate and “janua” as door.
  193. ↑ The word Fiore uses is actually “tastando”—“tasting”. I’ve translated this as “probing”.
  194. ↑ Frontale means “front” or “forehead” (The “frontale” is the name given to the armor a war horse wears around its head, protecting its forehead all the way down its nose). So the guard could translate as simply the Front Guard. I like the name Forehead Guard because Fiore links it to another part of the head when he says it is also named (by others) the Crown Guard.
  195. ↑ “Magistro” can mean “Master”, or simply “Instructor”.
  196. ↑ “Making the cross” i.e. crossing the opponent’s incoming sword with yours, is one of the fundamental skills of Fiore’s system.
  197. ↑ I.e. I show compassion to no one
  198. ↑ The text contains an error here; the illustration shows the Lady’s Position, not the Boar’s Tooth.
  199. ↑ Versito: full of stratagems, wily, cunning
  200. ↑ A revelation: the umlauts placed over the words seem to correspond with two words which form the name of a guard but which are not placed near each other.
  201. ↑ “Dente” means “tooth”, but Fiore is clearly here using the image of the boar’s tusks. The wild boar, when fighting, hooks diagonally with its tusks (elongated lower teeth).
  202. ↑ My translation here is fairly liberal. Fiore says literally “because it takes its method of striking from the wild boar.”
  203. ↑ Or saepe (often), which may be more likely than sepe (hedge or defensive barrier)
  204. ↑ The umlaut theory falls down here: there’s only one. Possibly, the “i” in ipse is meant to have two dots, which would make the pair here “I Myself.”
  205. ↑ More likely laevus than levus
  206. ↑ The superscript says “certainly I”; we believe this note represents an incorrect reading of the line, and have not incorporated it into our translation.
  207. ↑ The expression “ala traversa” here just means crossing swords diagonally, but based on what comes after this I prefer my translation.
  208. ↑ The word Fiore uses is “languire” to make someone collapse, without either strength or spirit.
  209. ↑ “Spada a doy man” means “two handed sword” or “sword in two hands”. I prefer the latter however, because Fiore’s “sword in one hand” (shown elsewhere) is not a single hand or arming sword. It is the Italian “longsword” being wielded in one hand. In both “sword in one hand” and “sword in two hands” the same sword is being used—the two handed sword. So strictly speaking here this section is “the two handed sword being used with two hands”.
  210. ↑ In translating this text I have left out the repetition of the expression “what the previous Master told you”, as it is redundant. Generally when I translate Fiore I try to make the text make sense to the modern reader. This may sometimes mean leaving words out, altering an expression, or altering the tense of verbs entirely.
  211. ↑ “discorrere” means to run backwards and forwards. This suggests a sawing motion if applied to the sword, i.e. a push forward and a pull back.
  212. ↑ Levum previously appeared on 13v; it is likely laevum (“left”, rather than levum, “light” in the weight sense) despite not having the ae ligature used on earlier pages in this text (an e with a narrow loop sticking off the lower left side, pointing down and left). Several of these e-for-ae substitutions have happened; maybe he has stopped using the ae symbol.
  213. ↑ “Denanzi” or “denanci” means “in front of” when applied to position, and “previously” or “before” when applied to time.
  214. ↑ Fiore rarely uses the word “taglio” when talking of the sword striking as opposed to thrusting. For hitting he usually uses the word “colpo”, a “blow”.
  215. ↑ Fiore actually writes “against the back of his leg or under his knee” which makes no sense. The stomp depicted is effective against the inside of the knee joint from the side or just under the kneecap from the front. This is an example where my personal knowledge of the mechanics of this stomp contradicts the literal text, and where the literal text thus makes no sense.
  216. ↑ “Zogho” translates as “play” or “game” but could also translate as “technique”.
  217. ↑ A “Villano” is a peasant, i.e. a person not of noble birth. Fiore uses the term “Villano” to refer to a man lacking in skill. Fiore’s art, in Fiore’s own words, was not taught to commoners. The “Peasant’s Strike” is an over committed and uncontrolled downward strike, a strike that does not stop on the center line but continues to the ground. Because it is uncontrolled it lies outside Fiore’s Arte e Scientia. Thus it is attributed to a Peasant, who is unskilled in sword-fighting.
  218. ↑ Another example where the word “passo” does NOT mean “a passing step”. Here it translates best as “a stance” (foot position).
  219. ↑ Fiore actually writes that you should move your left foot off the line “inverso la parte dritta”, which translates “towards the right side”. However, you are NOT moving your left foot to your right side but to your left side. The translation “towards the right side” only makes sense if you translate it as “towards your opponent’s right side.”
  220. ↑ I understand "against the right side" to mean "toward the left side", but it's an odd expression.
  221. ↑ “Scambiar de punta” could translate as either “exchange of points” or “exchange of thrusts”. Both work here, but I favor the translation “exchange of points”.
  222. ↑ “Passa a la traversa” means “step crosswise”. I've used "step to the side". You will note that only a few words later Fiore uses the word “traversando” which here means “crossing” as in “crossing swords.”
  223. ↑ Fiore actually says “brazzi” (“arms”) low, but he means your hands.
  224. ↑ Madentem means dripping with either sweat or tears.
  225. ↑ There is a pun here, since this play could be called both “Exchange of Thrusts” and/or “Exchange of Points” (“punta”).
  226. ↑ There is a pun here too, since this play could be called both “Breaking the Thrust” and/or “Breaking the Point” (“punta”).
  227. ↑ “Le strette” (“La stretta”) means “close range” here.
  228. ↑ Fiore literally writes: “I put with strength my right foot above his sword.” I’ve translated all that simply as “I stomp on it.”
  229. ↑ Fiore says strike to the head, but clearly in this play the sword blade will strike into the opponent’s face. Thus it would not be an effective move if the opponent had a steel visor protecting his face.
  230. ↑ Other translations translate “Punta Falsa” as “False Thrust”. However, this is not a false thrust. It is a false (pretend) strike. The final killshot is a thrust, as Fiore says “into the throat or chest”, but that thrust is not “false”, i.e. not a feint. Therefore I choose to translate it as “False Point” or “Short Point”.
  231. ↑ Or “I extend underneath into the oblique part from the straight part.”
  232. ↑ The compound subject in the Latin necessitates the plural comparison, but would be rendered with a singular in English.
  233. ↑ I’ve added some language here to make the description understandable.
  234. ↑ Fiore actually writes “per lo mood ch’è depento”, “in the manner shown”, but this move is actually not shown until the next drawing.
  235. ↑ A presa is a grappling move, a grip (hold) or a grapple.
  236. ↑ Fiore uses “ferero” which translates as “strike” or “wound”, but this is clearly a bind.
  237. ↑ While contra is not normally a noun and contrario has been the noun for counter thus far, it seems to work best here to make contra a noun.
  238. ↑ Again Fiore actually says “fiero in gli toy brazzi”, “I hurt your arms”. But the move is a bind.
  239. ↑ “Elsa”, “elso”, “elzo”,”elço” are all variations on the word for “hilt”. But the picture clearly shows the bind is around his sword blade and the grip is made on the opponent’s cross-guard, not his sword handle. Hence I have translated “elzo” as “cross-guard”.
  240. ↑ Fiore actually writes that you grip him “below the dagger” Fiore means you grip the opponent’s dagger arm around the wrist. This play is taken from the dagger play at Getty 10v-a. I’ve changed the language to make this understandable.
  241. ↑ I’ve again added some language here to make this play more understandable.
  242. ↑ The second play of the First Dagger Remedy Master (the middle bind) is found at Getty 10v-c.
  243. ↑ “Ligadura” translates as “bind”, or “lock”, as in binding or locking a joint so that it cannot move. By “That bind belongs to this student” Fiore means that it is this student from this position who could demonstrate it for us.
  244. ↑ Meaning he is going to drive you forwards face first into the ground. Note, this counter is also seen in the dagger plays and is taken from Getty 10v-d.
  245. ↑ Meaning another counter against the student in Getty 29v-b.
  246. ↑ Text says "from below", but appears to be referring to the previous two sword-takings.
  247. ↑ Fiore says “a man riversa”, which means “to the left”. The turn however is clockwise, which is to your right. That means HIS left.
  248. ↑ The position shown is called True Cross in Fiore’s other manuscripts, whereas Vadi calls it the Leopard’s Tail. Vadi also has a Serene Leopard, but it is Fiore’s Bastard Cross (which is called the True Cross in this manuscript).
  249. ↑ Totally uncertain
  250. ↑ Dicor could be a present passive indicative first person conjugation of either dicere (say, talk, name/call, et c) or dicare (dedicate, consecrate, deify, devote)—since the stances are usually named using the verb vocor, perhaps this was intentionally chosen as a pun. Also, in other Fiore texts this is the Bastard Cross.
  251. ↑ Here the word “subito” (immediately, quickly) means the picture following immediately after this one.
  252. ↑ Literally “lost your honor”.
  253. ↑ Literally “You’ll have short comfort.” The use of “festa” here is so as to rhyme with “testa” before it.
  254. ↑ Fiore actually says “outside the lead foot”, but I’ve translated it as a step behind the lead foot to make the meaning clearer.
  255. ↑ Fiore says unable to strike “cum danno”, “with danger”. “Effectively” seems a good choice here.
  256. ↑ Note: Perhaps the copyist wrote the wrong arm, and stopped in the middle of the word
  257. ↑ Lit. “pounded to pulp”.
  258. ↑ Lit. “palm”.
  259. ↑ Bipennifera (two-edged axe) likely refers to the poleaxe, even though in that section the manuscript refers to it as “three-pointed” instead.
  260. ↑ Likely haec
  261. ↑ A Medieval Italian pound was an approximate measure equal to 300-350 g, or 0.66 to 0.77 standard pounds. Fiore indicates here that the sword should be 5 to 7 [Italian] pounds, so taking the upper and lower values as bounds, this gives a potential range of 3.3 to 5.4 lbs. Values are derived from this link: Measurement in the Middle Ages.
  262. ↑ The “terza” of the sword is the same as the “mezza spada” or middle of the blade.
  263. ↑ Fiore literally says “will be marked”.
  264. ↑ Fiore literally says “defend yourself”.
  265. ↑ Literally “trident”, perhaps referring to the three striking surfaces of the weapon’s head (axe or hammer, hook, and spear point).
  266. ↑ Literally “I am made with a short right arm”.
  267. ↑ Literally “We do not have stability.”
  268. ↑ “Presa” means a hold, a grip or a grapple.
  269. ↑ Fiore actually writes that this grappling move is “better than the others”, but gives us no clue as to what the “others” are.
  270. ↑ As in full of holes.
  271. ↑ I believe this is not an apology for the poleaxe itself but an apology for showing the dirty trick of the corrosive powder. As such it should really be placed higher up.
  272. ↑ “Titimallo” refers to a plant named spurge, genus Euphorbia. Used in medieval medicine as a laxative, spurge has a poisonous milky white latex-like sap. For more information, see "Pollaxe in Armour" by Matt Easton and "Being wrong can lead to wonderful things" by Guy Windsor.
  273. ↑ Tom Leoni notes that this is a flower also used to create a powder commonly used as makeup. It had a swelling effect on the skin.
  274. ↑ Telum refers specifically to a distance weapon, which can include any of the following: missile weapon, dart, shaft, spear, javelin, sword, axe, sunbeam, lightning (the last two are the specific province of Jove)
  275. ↑ Possibly “pulsating/throbbing teeth”.
  276. ↑ This is not the first time “contraria” has had the '+'—is it marking where the word is a technical term (ie, counter rather than contrary)?
  277. ↑ Fiore actually writes “When the opponent attacks…” But the guard must be assumed before the attack, not during it.
  278. ↑ A tiny note (M, perhaps) may have been removed above “agitando”.
  279. ↑ Partially obliterated
  280. ↑ To the right of the first two lines, there appear to be three lines of smudgy pencil (most likely M or F), but nothing specific can be made out.
  281. ↑ Berthaut has prementum
  282. ↑ Or “the precaution of the proud master moves me”.
  283. ↑ Fiore means that the text of 41r-a actually applies to the drawing at 41r-b (i.e. the drawing to the right, who is the rider winning the engagement, hence the “Re” [King]). I assume this was an error by the scribe. I've expanded the line so that it is comprehensible.
  284. ↑ The second line has been over-written to darken worn-away letters. If there were annotations, they have not survived.
  285. ↑ Depending on the interpretation of the final abbreviation, the last line may be read in different ways; the final verb might be perdet (loses), raedet (pillages), or prodet (thrusts forward). We have chosen the last of these as it is least specific to whether the lance in question is winning or losing the fight, which is unclear from the rest of the verse.
  286. ↑ Probably meant to be “equus”, but the two q’s are fairly clear.
  287. ↑ This word was obliterated somehow (“et” and “cesura” both show uncorrected damage) but has been written over by a later hand in similarly-colored ink. Further, someone has tried to write something above it, perhaps a French equivalent—the superscript is unreadable, but the second word, above cuspide, appears to end in “te” and could be “pointe”. The superscript above “acute” may have been in the D1 or F hand, but not enough is clear. There may have been a superscript above mucronem that was erased, although the remaining strokes look like they may have suffered the same damage as the rest of the page. None of the superscripts are clear enough to certainly identify the hands.
  288. ↑ Supposing cuspide means sword and not point, ense could mean something other than sword, such as “sword technique” or “sword position”.
  289. ↑ There is an erasure above “cervice”, but we were not able to discern any letters.
  290. ↑ Rebecca notes: small words like et or hoc may be left out in order to shape it into something like meter.
  291. ↑ I’ve expanded this sentence so that it makes more sense.
  292. ↑ Nota: si intende il secondo gioco a partire da qui, cioé il settimo gioco
  293. ↑ Fiore actually writes “Then I pass from my quick cover” but the words make no sense, since he is not in a cover but has just hit his opponent in the face with a pommel strike. I’ve altered it to give it more sense.
  294. ↑ Note the switch from “he” to “you”. This is something Fiore does quite a lot.
  295. ↑ Abrazare comes from “A brazi”—“with the arms”.
  296. ↑ Could this be heeume, misspelling of heaume, old french for helmet? There are certainly letters beginning above the g in galea and reaching to above the e in prensum, but we can’t make out enough to guess further. If the latter word is meant to be “heaume,” this must be hand F.
  297. ↑ There is a marginal notation to the right of the verse beginning with +. The marginal note seems likely to be hand F, but the + may be from one of the Latin hands. My best guess: ??a??e tram ? perm
  298. ↑ We have rendered per terram as “to the ground” rather than “through the ground”.
  299. ↑ or 'Si pargere', but Rebecca says there is a scribal practice for separating the first letter of a line in this manner.
  300. ↑ I’ve removed the redundant repetition.
  301. ↑ Petto means chest but no part of a horse is named the “chest”, so I changed this to “shoulders” which refers to the area of the horse Fiore is talking about that would ram the opponent’s horse.
  302. ↑ The “groppa” means the crupper, which refers to the horse’s hind quarters.
  303. ↑ This word was the source of considerable trouble. We initially assumed, as others have, that it denoted that Fiore was deceased when the manuscript was prepared (quondam Florius, “the late Fiore”). However, further research on the word (which seemed merited since it could indicate a significant biographical fact) indicated that such a reading was simply not possible for most examples of the word in Medieval literature, e.g. “ubi quondam Deus” is probably not seeking to describe a deceased God. In fact, “quondam” is generally an adverb rather than a quasi-adjective, and some dictionaries, such as Lewis & Short, specify that it only has the meaning of “the late” if the person it is applied to is deceased. Rather than becoming trapped in a loop of circular reasoning (assuming Fiore is deceased and translating quondam that way, and then concluding that Fiore is deceased due to the translation of quondam), we interpreted the word in its more normal adverbial sense and applied it to “edidit”. For more definitions of quondam, see the entries in Logeion: http://logeion.uchicago.edu/index.html#quondam
Early Italian masters
Imperial Tradition
Agrippa 1.png
Bolognese Tradition
Florentine Tradition
Venetian Tradition
Agrippa Style
Marcelli Style
Other Masters
Retrieved from "https://wiktenauer.com/index.php?title=Fiore_de%27i_Liberi&oldid=97665"