De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
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De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi was written by Italian fencing master Filippo Vadi at some time 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, dagger, pollaxe, spear and club. While much of what he describes closely follows the work of Fiore dei Liberi, author of Flos Duellatorum, his footwork begins to describe a more linear style seen in today's sport. Vadi also includes several original techniques of his own.
Little is known about the author, a native of Pisa, other than the fact that he appears to have been a mid to late 15th century fencing master linked in some way to the tradition of Fiore dei Liberi and that he dedicated a fencing book to the Dukes of Urbino, in the last quarter of the 15th century. The book was dedicated to Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (the same Duke who plays a central role in Castiglione's Book of the Courtier) and kept in the library of the Dukes of Urbino. It was recently translated into English for the first time.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Summary and Text of Prologue
- [1]
- Sala d'Arme Achille Marozzo (Italian Ancient Fencing Art Institute) transcriptions of the Vadi manuscript
[edit] Further reading
- Vadi, Filippo. De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi. translated by Luca Porzio and Gregory Mele ISBN 1-891448-16-1
- Filippo Vadi, L'arte cavalleresca del combattimento, Italian Publication by Marco Rubboli and Luca Cesari, Il Cerchio - Gli Archi, ISBN 88-8474-079-7
