''De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi'' was written by
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
master
Filippo Vadi
Filippo Vadi (; 14251501) was an Italian fencing master of the 15th century. Together with Fiore dei Liberi, he is one of the earliest Italian masters from whom an extant martial arts manual has survived.
Biography
Very little is known about ...
between 1482 and 1487. It consists of an opening prologue describing the art of fencing followed by colored plates illustrating specific techniques for the
longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...
,
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...
,
pollaxe,
spear
A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...
and
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises
* ...
. While much of what he describes closely follows the work of
Fiore dei Liberi
Fiore Furlano de Cividale d'Austria, delli Liberi da Premariacco (Fiore dei Liberi, Fiore Furlano, Fiore de Cividale d'Austria; born ca. 1350; died after 1409) was a late 14th century knight, diplomat, and itinerant fencing master.
He is the ea ...
, author of ''
Flos Duellatorum
The Flos Duellatorum is the name given to one of the manuscript versions of Fiore dei Liberi's illuminated manuscript fechtbuch, fight book, written in 1410 (dated to 1409 in the Julian calendar, old reckoning). There are five other surviving rece ...
'', Vadi's work also differs in some respects, including his footwork and several original techniques of his own.
Little is known about the author, a native of
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, other than that he appears to have been a mid to late 15th-century
fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
master linked in some way to the tradition of Fiore dei Liberi and that he dedicated a fencing book to the Dukes of
Urbino
Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
, in the last quarter of the 15th century. However, a man of the same name appears as a governor of Reggio under the Estense family in the mid- to late 15th century.
Sala d'Arme Achille Marozzo
The book was dedicated to Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro
Guidobaldo (or Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508.
Biography
Born in Gubbio, he succeeded his father Federico da Mon ...
(the same duke who plays a central role in Castiglione's ''Book of the Courtier
''The Book of the Courtier'' ( ) by Baldassare Castiglione is a lengthy philosophical dialogue on the topic of what constitutes an ideal courtier or (in the third chapter) court lady, worthy to befriend and advise a prince or political leader. In ...
'') and kept in the library of the Dukes of Urbino
The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631.
It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...
.
See also
* Italian school of swordsmanship
The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of classical fencing (up to 1900).
Although th ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* {{cite journal, last=Deacon, first=Jacob Henry, title=Filippo Vadi's martial philosophies: a salty brain and climbing stairs, journal=Medieval Warfare, volume=7, issue=5, year=2017, pages=38–43, jstor=48578123
External links
Summary and Text of Prologue
1480s books
Combat treatises