Fiore dei Liberi: sword in one hand The utility of a “new” and “heretical” guardia and...

©2014 Brian R. Price SSG Symposium

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Fiore dei Liberi: sword in one hand1

The utility of a “new” and “heretical” guardia and entering with the redoppiando to

build tactical ability and decision-making skills

Brian R. Price, Ph.D.

Within the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) community, the sword in two

hands unquestionably enjoys popularity over the sword in one. What limited play there is

with the sword in one hand is usually focused on the I.33 sword and buckler material or,

more rarely, with Lecküchner’s messer (a long or very long knife). But the sword in one

hand was likely a staple of personal defense in the medieval period, at least for knights

and other members of the chivalric community, such as squires, men-at-arms, and the

like. Moreover, most other medieval martial arts and sports, such as the SCA or LARPS,

use the sword in one hand quite often, albeit often in conjunction with a shield. Similarly,

Filipino, Portuguese, and other “stick arts” emphasize the use of the baton or long knife

in one hand, and there is much to be learned about weapon dynamics and combat

psychology cross-training with these other arts.

Indeed, it is in the spirit of cross-training that I present today’s “heretical hanging guard,”

which I began using in competition and as a training device many years ago, in the 1980s.

It was an exceptionally effective guard in an SCA context,2 where power is equally

important, and it was a superb training tool, because combatants could get “up to speed”

very quickly with the accompanying drill. Today we’re going to replicate my journey to

some extent, looking at this guard—which is not found in Fiore, or any other early

surviving treatise—but analyzing it through Fiore’s principles and then comparing it to

other masters who have similar sword positions in the English, Italian and German

traditions. It is thus an exercise in using the principles as explored within the SSG

curriculum to analyze a new posta and to explore its strengths and weaknesses. I have

strong opinions about which principles apply and why, but I will be throwing it open to

the class first to see how you respond.

1 These class notes assume the student has at least a passing familiarity with the arte d’armizare of Fiore

dei Liberi, recorded in four early fifteenth century fight-books, around which the Schola Saint George

(SSG) has built it’s curricula since 2000. The Italian terms remain in the text because they are core

elements of the SSG’s vocabulary, and they remain untranslated because we feel that key information may

be lost in translation, so we have elected instead to retain the original Italian (or Friulian, a dialect close to

Venetian) both to maintain our connection to the documented art and to allow gradual refinement of our

understanding of fundamental terminology. The class notes should be cited, Price, Brian R. “Fiore dei

Liberi: Sword in one hand, the utility of a ‘new’ and ‘heretical’ guardia and entering with the redoppiando

to build tactical ability and decision-making skills,” Dallas, TX: Schola Saint George Swordsmanship

Symposium. August, 2012. 2 The SCA is the “Society for Creative Anachronism,” the American-based medieval combat society

founded in 1966. For many years it was the only outlet for experimentation and study for those interested in

medieval fighting forms. While the organization seems to have lost momentum vis à vis other groups in the

Western Martial Arts (also known as Historical European Martial Arts), among classical fencers,

reenactors, the Armoured Combat League or HMB movement, it provided a baseline education and

provided an important focus for interest for several decades. The author learned a great deal studying the

kinesthetics of armoured movement in the organization and subsequently as I began to study forms of the

medieval tournament, chivalric treatises, and the fight-books themselves.


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Next, we will look at Fiore’s fundamental tactical approach within the sword in one hand,

and how the use of the redoppiando (redoubling) in particular makes his tactics

particularly devastating, even against a sword and buckler or sword and shield. Here he

makes use of what Viggiani and Filippo Vadi will come to call mezzo-tempo, or “middle

time,” controlling the weapon and striking not quite simultaneously, but subito—

immediately—before the opponent has a chance to respond. With the sword in one hand

this is even more evident than it is with the sword in two!

So this course has two parts: in part one we’ll look at the heretical “hanging” guard, go

through a drill using it that develops fighting reflexes, and look at a fun capture that is

particularly useful when prese (grapples) are inappropriate. Next, we will look at how to

approach the fight from Fiore unnamed posta for the sword in one hand, which I call

porta di ferro, and how the redoppiando can be used to capture the opponent’s weapon.

The “Heretical” Hanging Guard3

Fiore does not have any form of hanging guard in

any of his texts. The plate that is sometimes taken

to be “hanging”, is found of fol. 28r of the Getty

manuscript and carta 20A of the Flos

Duellatorum.4 It is, however, simply trying to

capture the moment as the opponent’s blade is

slipped in the colpi di villano. It is not a hanging

guard. Fiore almost never inverts his point, but

rather supports the weapon’s tip with the hilt in

almost all instances.

I discovered the hanging guard while competing

in tournaments within the armoured combat of the

Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) using

heavy rattan batons during the early 1980s. SCA

fighting, like Fiore, relies on powerful—full

force—strikes against a potentially armoured foe

in foot combat. The use of rattan allows a more fully developed blow to be delivered,

unlike in LARPs or many light contact martial arts. Many of the SSG’s choices with

3 A “heretical” interpretation is an idea pioneered by Charles Deily of the Boston area SSG branch. Mr.

Deily used the term tongue in cheek to refer to interpretations that differed from the “accepted” core

curriculum; however, I have come to use the term more to refer to something which may be outside the

material presented by Fiore, an extension of principles rather than something he taught. This is, regretfully,

not what Charles intended with his use of the term, but I like the connotation of being something outside

the accepted core that is proposed either as a sanctioned variant or as a candidate to change our core

material. 4 Fiore dei Liberi, Il Fior di Battaglia, c. 1420, codex Ludwig XV 13, J. P. Getty Museum: Los Angeles, c.

1420 (hereafter, Getty); Flos Duellatorum, c. 1409 (hereafter, Flos), ed. Francesco Novati, Pisa: Giardini

Editori, 1902.

Figure 1: Novati carta 20A –

This is not a hanging guard!


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respect to the use of force, personal calibration, and chivalric conduct were borrowed

from the SCA context.

The vast majority of combat within the SCA context takes place with the sword in one

hand. The presence of a basket-hilt defense for the hand, and the lack of a defined

striking edge does not appreciably change the dynamics for much of what is presented in

Fiore, and except for the grappling components of the arte d’armizare, all are directly

transferrable to SCA combat.

I never loved the sword and shield combats which define SCA fighting. Instead, I

preferred to use either sword and buckler or, preferably, two swords. Such “Florentine”

as it was called exercised the left hand, emphasized offense rather than defense, and

demanded the development of tactics to control the opponent’s sword(s). Very often,

using the SCA approach, I would end up fighting with only one of the two swords, as the

other arm had been struck. I found I liked this form very much, and indeed I proved very

competitive at it, fighting in several large tournaments with just this form, rather than

adding a second sword, shield, or a longer two-handed weapon.

Most people in that context tended during the 1980s to a

modified fencing saber guard, something like the figure

on plate 98 of Achille Marozzo’s 1531 Opera Nova

treatise.5 While Marozzo was decidedly not referenced

by the SCA combatants, the position made little sense,

since it developed insufficient power in the context of an

armoured opponent. Marozzo developed it, of course,

within the salle d’armi tradition where opponents were

fencing, rather than combating in armour, so his use of it

makes perfect sense—and we can see a direct transition

between medieval swordsmanship expressed by Fiore dei

Liberi and Johannes Lichtenauer and the great rapier

fencing

traditions of

the late fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth

centuries in Marozzo’s work.

What I disliked about this guard was the

reliance on the point—while the point could

be quick, unless delivered to the face with a

strong anchor at the hip, it was

underpowered. Moreover, there was little

ability to use the edge for striking. Other

combatants disliked this, too, and during the

1990s some began to hold it up to their

5 Achille Marozzo, ed. Giovanni Rapsardi, Opera Nova dell’Arte delle Armi (1531), Padua: Gladiatoria,

1999, p. 71.

Figure 2:

Marozzo's pl 98

A common

guardie seen in

SCA combat

during the 1980s

Figure 3: Two commonly shown “power positions” for the

sword often found in manuscripts from the 13th - 15th century,

suggesting the crucial importance of power generation.


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shoulder in order to secure a kinesthetic connection point and create a stronger potential

for energy. Such guards were, by their nature, more offensive since it was harder to get

the blade into the way of an opponent’s strike. I used this guard, and it is something like

what would be posta di donna, the traditional medieval guardia shown in many

manuscripts anchored at the shoulder—this is the norm for how knights were depicted

from the twelfth century forward, when mail armour was dominant and even more so as

plate began to reinforce and later supplanted mail during the course of the fourteenth

century.

You can use this guardia with the sword in one hand using Fiore’s principles, but really

it’s best for those with a very aggressive style or who manage distance with exceptional

skill. The sword is so far away from the body’s centerline that defense is problematic for

many combatants.

What I did was the invert the guard, effecting a “hanging” guard position.

This had been adapted, somewhere deep in the undocumented history of the SCA’s

Middle Kingdom (the Midwest—Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, etc.),

from seventeenth and eighteenth century broadsword work.6

The Heresy: Porta di Ferro Soprana?

In the hanging guard, the hilt is held high, the point descending (a Fiorean heresy!), the

potential energy anchored at the right should but driven by the body’s core. Importantly,

the descending blade crosses the body and provides a strong cover. But unlike an

upturned saber guard, it contains strong potential energy and, in the words of George

Silver, does not “lie spent.” Once the opponent attacks and a cover is made, the resulting

incrosa allows for control of the blade and a mezzo tempo or safe duo tempo responding

attack. All in all, very Fiorean in terms of his “safe fight.”

Here are important kinesthetic points for my porta di ferro soprana

The hilt is high, near or just above the head; the closer to the combatant’s body,

the better (if it extends in any direction, it becomes less stable)

The sword’s forteza is connected to the anchor point at the shoulder, and it will

rotate around this point in the colpi

The blade descends crossing the body with the point either back, towards the

opponent, or anywhere in between. It guards the body, not necessarily by

covering, but by being close enough to achieve cover rapidly

Because the guardia (I won’t call it a posta, because Fiore did not include it in his

surviving treatises) does the same things that porta di ferro does, but is held high, I have

chosen to call it porta di ferro soprana. Recall that porta di ferro, for the sword in one

hand, is held across the body, anchoring at the lower left hip. It derives its power from the

6 William Hope, A New, Short and Easy Method of Fencing: Or, the Art of the Broad and Small Sword,

Rectified and Comprehentiz’d, Edinborough: James Watson, 1707, where he used a “guard of tierce with a

sloping point.”


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turning motion as it crosses the body’s centerline, much as porta di ferro with the sword

in two hands does (see my Sword in Two Hands for a fuller explanation of this).7

But notice: all of Fiore’s porte di ferro are pulsativa—that is, are strongly anchored—and

work by driving with power across or through the body. My porta di ferro soporano does

this also, as we’ll see. But it can’t be a posta, for the simple reason that Fiore didn’t

include it. But it can be a guardia…and it is one I like because it is very easy to teach,

offering students a much broader margin of error than his sublime but sometimes tricky

porta di ferro (sotano?). I believe that this guardia usefully extends Fiore’s limited

vocabulary for the sword in one hand in a way that emphasizes the same fighting

principles he underscores throughout all of his treatises: the importance of striking with

power, control over the opponent’s weapon through incrose or prese, and the tactical

preference for using the mezza volta time signature for his attacks.

Making Cover (defending) with Porta di Ferro Soprana

From this position, it is possible to make cover in two ways. The first is to simply rotate

the body’s core and the arm to put the descending blade between the strike and your

body. Notably, this cover emphasizes covers made from the opponent’s right side; if they

are adept at striking riverso without betraying their intent, or as a fast follow up to a

dritta strike, depending upon where the blade, the weaker right side might be exploited.

Use care!

<Exercise: basic cover v. fendente, and mezani dritta>

The second is to strike out of the cover with the hilt moving sharply downwards, resulting

in something like a chopping motion with the blade. We will cover this after we hone the

kinesthetics of the fendente.

Striking with Colpi from Porta di Ferro Soprana

Just as the strike from porta di ferro is made with a cross-body turning motion that

captures the center of the fight with a powerful strike, so too does my porta di ferro

soprana work by striking across the body. But importantly, the hilt stays close to the

body and is driven sharply downward while the blade rotates (rotare) to strike forcefully

in a fendente.

Important points for the colpo fendente from porta di ferro soprana

The hilt remains close to the body at all times to maximize power and control

over any incrosa that results

The hilt is driven down, while the blade whips around like a dragon’s tail; think of

“snapping” the tail

The sword thus begins “tip down” and ends up “tip up”, but the power comes

from rotating the hips, not from the arms

Either foot can be forward, and the colpo may be thrown with or without a step

7 Brian R. Price, The Sword in Two Hands, Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2007, pp. 167-181.


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<Exercise: colpe fendente from the porta di ferro soprana>

Developing flow with the porta di ferro soprana

One of the fundamental issues we have—indeed, the entire HEMA community faces—

are static fights resulting from set-piece practice of limited plays or techniques. This does

little for decision-making tactical skills. As we’ll see with the second part of the class,

where we use Fiore’s porta di ferro, the short, mezzo-tempo exchanges are combat

effective if they work—but too little drill is done working from a failed attempt to make a

play work—which will almost certainly happen as the opponent isn’t likely to simply

allow the play to work without making a remedy.

But porta di ferro soprana, perhaps uniquely, allows combatants to exchange multiple

blows in an ongoing set (or rally, as they call such exchanges in tennis), learning to

integrate moving their feet, body and arms in response to semi-random attacks from their

opponent. This is the essence of random practice, and it is thought by many in the field of

motor control and learning to represent a superior and faster form of learning motion.8

To start, both players begin in porta di ferro soprana. The scolaro will strike, and the

zugadore will defend, at first only with passive (but very easy) point down position. This

results in what we might call an incrosa “inverta”, where the point remains (upside?)

down. The zugadore should strive to keep his hilt as close to his or her body as possible

to preserve potential energy in the strike.

Immediately—subito—the combatant then strikes fendente as described above while the

roles switch and the attacker becomes the defender, and vice versa. This pattern is the

basic building block of the drill, and it can go back and forth many times in a duo-tempo

“full heartbeat” rhythm.

<Exercise: fendente dritta exchanges from porta di ferro soprana>

Next, combatants can begin to alter their footwork, targeting, and try to include more

mezzo-tempo attacks, use of the point, etc., but the core position remains porta di ferro

soprana; combatants should move with measured speed that reflects their protective gear

and experience, but with the correct gear the tempo can sharply increase.

<Exercise: 3-minute open exchange from porta di ferro soprana>

What I have found is that this flow exercise can be usefully expanded and gives novice

and intermediate combatants very fast results with the sword in one hand. If they anchor

on porta di ferro soprana, but make use also of the other guardie, they can hold their

own not only against other swords, batons or single-handed weapons, but the available

8 John B. Shea and Robyn L. Morgan, “Contextual interference effects on the acquisition, retention, and

transfer of a motor skill,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, Vol. 5(2),

Mar. 1979, 179-187. This seminal article has become canon within most schools of kinesiology, arguing

essentially that random training, rather than by repetition alone, yields faster retention of motor skills.


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power and dual anchor points from shoulder to hip allow them also to stand firmly

against the sword in two hands, against sword and buckler, or sword and shield.

Prese sine Prese (grappling without grappling):

Tutta volta to teleport around the sword

One especially fun tactic, which again, is consummately Fiore, is to invite the incrosa

inversa. For some reason, with the sword presented this way from porta di ferro

soprana—opponents are drawn to attack directly into your blade. I am not sure of the

psychology behind this, but I can assure you that with many thousands of attempts, it is a

response that is very, very useful if hard to explain. The result is, whatever, the cause, of

a very easy to secure incrosa—maybe the easiest, and one you can use to your advantage

as you control the opponent’s weapon with devastating results.

Once you have the incrosa inversa, you use your own hilt to rotate inside his own blade,

using a tutta volta maintaining contact through most of the rotation and resulting in a

colpo fendente, made just as you did it before, but now you end up behind is sword,

striking him in the head or whatever looks good. In the process, you pull his blade out

slightly, reducing its power and expending it. Magic—you’ve just teleported around his

blade!

The effect of this strike—available only from the incrosa inversa—is to baffle most

opponents. It is especially usefully when grappling is not allowed, as in most LARPs,

SCA events or even many HEMA / reenactment tournaments. You capture the

opponent’s blade with your blade alone, at least momentarily, and then rotate around it

while maintaining control. It’s classic Fiorean tactics.

<Exercise: brief attempts to tutta volta from the incrosa inversa>

That’s great, but it’s not in Fiore…

True. But I would argue that it holds to Fiore’s

principles. First, it is a pulsativa guardie which can

usefully augment porta di ferro because it works in

the same way; it strikes with significant power and

provides excellent cover. It commands the center of

the fight just as porta di ferro does, although, it does

favor the duo tempo rather than the mezzo tempo—

but it is a very fast duo tempo and it is easy to

manage—easier than the regular porta di ferro.

Something like the hanging guard is first illustrated

clearly with the I.33 treatise, where the monk holds

his sword in the “crutch,” from which the blade can

be cast in the same manner (hilt down), but is not

favored within I.33’s corpus of wards, and is a special use case.9

9 Anonymous. RA MS I.33, Leeds, UK: Royal Armouries, 13th c. Shown in Jeffrey L. Forgeng, I.33: The

illuminated Fightbook, Limited Edition, Companion Volume: Transcription, Translation and Introduction,


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But it is not the purpose of this section to discuss tactics specific to the German, Italian or

English traditions; rather, these sources are included merely to demonstrate that the guard

was known, at least as early as 1485, and perhaps much earlier.

Neither Fiore dei Liberi nor Filippo Vadi, the closest Italian martial relative to Fiore’s

work, show a “hanging” guard. Nor is it in the work of the German writers following in

the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer and his largely unknown contemporaries; we see

no evidence in the Codex Wallerstein (clearly a late fourteenth or very early fifteenth

century derivative work based on the armour and clothing),10

the several works of

Sigmund Ringeck,11

Paulus Kal,12

Hans Talhoffer,13

or other writers. That is, until we see

the messer of Johannes Lecküchner, discussed below.

In Lecküchner, we see a position much like this in fol. 23r, 23v, 25v, 28r, 32r, 32v, 34r,

36r, 42v (which shows “slipping” a downward strike), 44r, and 44v. Of particular interest

would be fol. 34v, which terms the leger stier:

Die vierdt hut heysset der Stir Schick dich In

den alzo stee mit deynem lincken fuß fur und

halt deyn messer zu der lincken [should be:

rechten] seytten mit dem gehultz fur das

haubt das dy kurtz schneyd gegen dir stee und

der ortt zu dem gesicht etc. Item In den Stiren

auff der andren seytten Schick dich wie

unden gemalt stet etc.

The fourth guard is called the Stier. Assume it

this way: stand with your left foot forwards

and hold your Messer on the right side with

the hilt in front of your head, so that the short

edge is against you and the point against the face.14

While there is debate on what range of positions the stir hut (guard) is, the range of

illustrations are all similar to the figure above. This aspects of the guard in Lecküchner

Great Britain: Extraordinary Editions, 2013, p. 109. Also in Jeffrey L. Forgeng, The Medieval Art of

Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe’s Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal

Armouries MS I.33, Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf: 2003. 10

Grzegroz Żabiński and Bartomei Walczak. Codex Wallerstein: A Medieval Fighting Book from the

Fifteenth Century on the Longsword, Falchion, Dagger and Wrestling. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2002. 11

David Lindholm, Peter Svärd, Sigmund Ringeck’s Knightly Arts of Combat: Sword-and-Buckler

Fighting, Wrestling, and Fighitng in Armour. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2006. 12

Paulus Kal, trans. Christian Henry Tobler, In Service of the Duke: The Fifteenth Century Fighting

Treatise of Paulus Kal, Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. 13

Hans Talhoffer, ed. Gustav Hergsell and Olivier Gaurin, collected facsimile edition in French, Le

Combat Médiéval à travers le duel judiciaire (1443-1467), Noisy-sur-École: Budo editions, 2006. 14

Grzegroz Żabiński, Russell A. Mitchell and Falko Fritz, A Falchion / Langes Messer Fencing Treatise

by Johannes Lecküchner (1482), Siemianowice Śląskie & Irving, TX: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg,

2012. Web published, p. 145.


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bear more research, certainly; but the manuscript’s date, circa 1485, is the earliest

consistent reference.

In the Italian tradition, Achille Marozzo is the first to illustrate a similar guards. Within

his Opera Nova, c. 1531, he offers two variants of the Guardia di Becha, possa and cesa,

referring to which foot is forward.15

Interestingly, Marozzo discusses how to account for this guardia as well as how to use it:

“Avendo esaminato el ditto scholare de guardia in guardia, e considerate

che sia in ditta Guardia di Becha possa, conforterai il tuo scolaro che lui

debba andare in questia guardia quando el suo nimico andasse a Porta di

ferro largo e stretta o alta, seguendolo di passo in passo, el sopraditto, & di

guardia in guardia: cioè se lui andasse in Coda longa e distesa, tu el farai

andarai in Becha cesa, & se lui andasse in Coda longa e larga, tu el farai

andare in Coda longa e stretta, & se lui andasse in Becha cesa, tu il farai

andare in Cinghiara porta di ferro alta, & lui andasse in Guardia intrare, tu

‘l farai andare in Guardia alta; tenendo quest’ordine lo farai alfine con la

gamba dritta inante & con la ponta de la spade rivolta verso la faccia del

nemico & il polso de la mano volto a l’insuso & il braccio ben disteso & li

dirai che lui è andato in Guardia di faccia.”16

“Having thus examined thy scholar in every guard,

I am of the opinion that on his assuming the becca

possa, thou shouldst advise him to oppose it to his

adversary whenever the latter assumes that of porta

di ferro larga, or stretta, or alta, and to follow him

step by step, and from guard to guard. That is, if

the adversary goes in coda lunga e distesa he must

go into becca cesa; against coda lunga e larga,

make him oppose coda lunga e stretta; against

becca cesa, cinghiara porta di ferro alta; against

guardia di intrare, guardia alta. Let him now

advance the right leg forward and turn his point

towards his adversary’s face, thumb upwards, arm

fully extended, and then tell him, he thus finds

himself on...”17

In the English tradition, Terry Brown has shown a variety of “hanging guards” drawn

from the enigmatic English sources. The most famous of these, George Silver, writes,

15

Achille Marozzo, ed. Giovanni Rapsardi. Opera Nuova dell’Arte delle Armi, Padua, Gladiatoria, 1999, p.

101-102. 16

Ibid. 17

Achille Marozzo, trans. William E. Wilson, Arte dell’ Armi, Books One & Two,” published on the web,

date unknown.


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“All single weapons have foure wards…The single sword hath two with

the point up, and two with the point downe…The Sword and Buckler, and

the Sword and Dagger are double weapons, and have eight wardes, two

with the point up, and two with the point downe, and two for the legges

with the pointe downe…”18

While Silver’s Paradoxes of Defence dates from 1599, his antipathy towards the new

Italianate style of rapier combat is well documented, and his prescription for those who

wish to avoid the double-death of simultaneous lunges should follow his “traditional”

advice, thought to be much more medieval than Renaissance in form and influence.

Conclusion for Part I and the Porta di Ferro Soprana In his text Fiore writes that he does not include everything that he knows in his book, as

that would take too many pages and would be impossible in any event, but I think the

posta di ferro soprana extends Fiore’s teaching in a useful way, one that creates

competence with the sword in one hand in a remarkably short time.

18

For interpretations see Terry Brown, English Martial Arts, Norfolk, UK: Anglo Saxon Books, 1997 and

Paul Wagner, Master of Defence: The Works of George Silver, Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2003. Silver’s

original work was published in 1599 under the title Paradoxes of Defence, and has the benefit of being

written in vernacular English. Sadly, Silver’s works are not illustrated, so we cannot be certain where

exactly his “two” guards were with any degree of precision.


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Part II

Fiore dei Liberi’s Redoppiando from

Porta di Ferro o Coda Longa con la Spada a Una Mano

Leveraging the flow and flexibility of the improvised porta di ferro soprana above,

intermediate students are ready to approach one of Fiore’s key plays within the sword in

one hand section. This material is found in the Getty, fols. 22r – 23v, and I have

described the whole sequence elsewhere.

Fiore’s sword in one hand emphasizes controlling the opponent’s weapon, then extending

that control with a prese—probably because the distance is now close, and in that

“danger zone,” where the available time is reduced while the target areas and the

opponent’s potential weapons proliferate, extended control is important. At the very start,

he emphasizes but one posta, an unnamed one, writing:

Voy seti cativi e di quest’arte savete pocho. Fate gli che parole non ano

loco. Vegna a uno a uno chi sa fare e po’ che se voi fossi cento tutti vi

guasterò per questa guardia ch’è chossi bona e forte. Io acresco lo pè ch’è

denanci un pocho for a de strada e cum lo stanch io passio ala traversa. E

in quello passare incroso rebattendo le spade ve trovo discoverti e de ferire

vi faro certi. E si lanza o spada me ven alanzada, tutte le rebatto chome t’ò

ditto passando fuora di strada, segondo che vedreti li miei zochi qui dreto,

de guadagli che v’in prego. E pur cum spada a una mano faro mia arte

como n’è dereto in questa carte.19

You are base and of the Art you know nothing, doing things which cannot

be described in words. Come one by one, if you know how; even if you

were a hundred I will win over you, for this guard I have chosen is both

good and strong. I first advance the front foot a little out of the way, and

with the left I pass alla traversa. And in this pass I cross, I rebattendo20

(rebate) the swords and find you uncovered, wounding you for certain.

And if the lanza (spear) or sword are thrown against me, against all I

rebattendo as I have said, passing out of the way, following which come

to my plays which follow, to win over those that come against me. For

with the sword in one hand I make my Art as I will demonstrate in the

following pages.

19

Getty, op. cit. fol. 22r. 20

Rebattendo, the same meaning as rebattamento in Sword in Two Hands, discussed extensively in chapter

nine.


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He is even more clear in the Flos:

“Per lançare de spada e trare tayo e punta Per la guardia che io ho niente me monta. Vegna a uno a uno chi contra uole far, Chè cum tuti io uoilo contrastar. E chi uole uedere couerte e ferire, Tor de spada e ligadure senza falire, Guardi ghi miei scolari como san fare; Se elli non trouan contrario non àno pare.” “Against casting the sword, [or] striking with its edge or tip [In] my guard nothing troubles me, Let any who want to come against me one by one, I want to go against them all! And he who wants to make cover and to wound, Tearing the sword and making ligadure without fail, Let him see what my scolari can do, He won’t find any counters; they have none.”21

As I write in Masters of the Crossed Swords, the essence of Fiore’s play of the sword in

one hand is simple: there is only one special posta, and the tactic is to take all manner of

attacks using a rebattendo accompanied with a passing step, followed by a series of

interesting follow-on attacks which he illustrates on the following pages.

Guardia

The guard for the sword in one hand is taken with the body powerfully wound on the left

side, the sword positioned low, anchored between the hips. The Getty magistro rests his

left hand upon his thigh, and is weight distinctly favors his back leg, as the front is

extended before him, ready to position the front foot before setting the advance and

rebattendo.

While I see this as a porta di ferro, Darren Foley has argued, based on a comparison

with the equestrian section, that it should be coda longa.22

He makes a good argument,

but I see the difference as one of time. One could certainly call it coda longa, or porta di

ferro, perhaps based on where the tip is, but since there is no name in the treatise, we can

perhaps use either name, so long as the resultant actions work. But I find the resulting

actions so closely related to the description of the porta di ferro within the sword in two

hands section that I will default to calling it by the same name.23

21

Flos Duellatorum, Op. Cit., carta 13a. 22

Darren Foley, “The Sword in One Hand,” notes prepared for the 2013 SSG Symposium. Atlanta, GA:

Schola Saint George, 2013. I like Darren’s astute comparison with the equestrian material, and his

approach to the sword in one hand, mapping it to the sword in two hand curriculum. 23

Another consideration is that in the Getty Fiore classifies porta di ferro as pulsativa; and while this one

is not classified, it too anchors at the hip and gives substantial power. In the Getty illustration, the sword

remains anchored on the right hip; in the equestrian section it is necessarily over the left. In the end it

doesn’t really matter, as the resulting actions are the same.


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Rebattendo

The core technique in Fiore’s system is a rebattendo, which Fiore introduces in his tutta

porta di ferro of the sword in two hands.24

In fact, the action described here is very

similar to the one described in his discussion of that posta:

“...La prima si è tutta porta di ferro che sta in grande fortezza...e...Ella

passa cum coverta e va ale strette. Ela scambia le punte e le soy ella mette.

Anchora rebatte le punte a terra e sempre va cum passo e de ogni colpo

ella fa coverta. E chi in quella gli dà briga grande deffese fa senza

fadiga”25

“…The first is tutta porta di ferro, which lies with great strength…and…

It passes with a cover and comes to the close. It exchanges the thrust and

places her own. Also, it rebates the point to the ground, going always with

a passo and [from] every colpo she covers. And in which she brings great

defense without fatigue.” [Getty 23v, upper left]

“Tuta porta di fero so la piana terena

Che tagli e punta sempre si refrena.”

“Tutta porta di ferro finds the ground

His cuts and thrusts are always resisted.” [PD 18r, upper left]

The rebattendo for the sword in one hand only takes place on one side, since there is only

a single guardia, on the left. Because the weapon is on the left, the resulting action

against a right-handed opponent is generally more akin to a rebattendo-behind or what I

call a redoppiando (Play #4 in Sword in Two Hands). If the opponent strikes riverso, then

the result would be more like a rebattendo in front (Plays #2 and #3 in Sword in Two

Hands).

To make the play, the combatant takes his guardia and either waits for the attack or

drives in for an attack of his own. In either case, he may first set his position with a small

acresare with the front foot—his right—in order to set himself in an advantageous

position vis à vis his opponent. Smoothly blended into a single action he then passes with

the left foot a la traversa, in the process intersecting the opponent’s sword with an

incrosare. This works against a punta, a colpo, or even a thrown sword!

Although the sword may be met using any of the three colpi, the illustrations seem to

suggest a preference for using a sotano in order to meet the opponent’s sword. The use of

a sotano would enable plays #1-4, 6 and 7. A mezani or fendente could be used—and I

think this is valid—but the resulting rebattendo would be more likely to drive the

incoming blow to the ground. This would be particularly useful to break the thrust (PD

play #8).

24

Getty fol. 23v, upper left. 25

The Morgan text is essentially the same.


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Depending upon how the swords rest in or after the incrosare, the combatant may enter

into a number of follow-on attacks to complete his action against the opponent.

Option #1—Rebattendo to the center, finish with a thrust:26

The rebattendo

finishes with the point forward, in which case the combatant finishes with a

punta. Interestingly, the PD and the Getty both show the scolaro’s sword on

different sides of the opponent’s blade. This is a good choice, presented first,

largely because it may be executed in mezzo tempo, so long as forward

momentum is maintained throughout.

Option #2—Rebattendo and volta with a colpo:27

Once the rebattendo sets the

opponent’s sword aside, the combatant recoils near the right shoulder then returns

with a volta stabile to strike on the same side. Presumably an opponent who

covers this could be attacked with a mezza volta of the sword on the other side.

Option #3—Rebattendo to control the weapon & enter into zogho stretto:28

The combatant can increase his control through the use of a prese as he continues

to step forward. At “middle” distance this can be done against the sword, or with

another step, against the body. From here various disarms, ligadure, and throws

are possible.

Option #4—Foreshorten before the Rebattendo:29

After or instead of meeting

the weapon with a full rebattendo, instead the weapon can be foreshortened in an

effort to catch the opponent expended. This option is particularly useful in

armour.

Option #5—Break or Exchange the Thrust:30

If the opponent thrusts, it can be

broken as shown. Presumably it could also be exchanged.

We can see that the menu is largely the same as for the sword in two hands: depending

upon how the incrosare is made, there are various options. A thrust in mezzo tempo will

be fastest, if available. If the point passes past a good line for thrusting, a volta stabile (or

potentially a mezza volta) can be quickly made. Alternatively, the sword may be

foreshortened to something akin to breve serpentina (a guard of the spada in arme,

lanza and azza), fooling the opponent into expending himself, an especially good tactic in

armour. As with the zogho largo of the sword in two hands, a thrust can be met with a

break (or potentially, an exchange).

Owing to the shorter engagement distance, however, many of Fiore’s favored solutions

involve increasing control with a prese against the sword or against the opponent. In a

sort of “middle” distance,31

his extends his control by making a prese against the sword,32

26

Getty fol. 22v upper left, PD 13a lower right, Morgan 258, lower left. 27

Getty fol. 22v upper right, Morgan 258, lower right, PD 13b upper right 14a upper left. 28

Getty fol. 22v lower left and right, fol. 23r, 24v; PD 13b lower left and right, 14a all but upper left, 14b. 29

Getty 23v lower left, PD 13b upper right. 30

PD 14b lower right, possibly Getty fol. 23v upper right. 31

I am indebted to SSG instructor Scott Thomas, whose preliminary work on the use of the sword in one

hand was well developed, and who graciously shared with me his young curriculum he has been

developing. The idea of a disarm being Fiore’s preferred tactic at this distance comes from Scott’s work. 32

As in Getty plays 23r upper left, PD 14a upper right.


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or the wrist.33

But generally to enter into the zogho stretto the combatant must continue

forward with another step, where he can find ligadure to the arms34

an elbow push,35

a

throw,36

or probably any variant of the dagger, sword or zogho stretto of the sword in two

hands.

33

As in Getty play 22v lower left, PD 13b lower left. 34

As in Getty plays 22v lower right, 13b lower right and 14a lower left. 35

As in Getty play 23r upper and lower right (plus the lower left, which is a continuation of the upper right

play), PD 14a lower right (continued on 14b upper left), 14b upper right. 36

As in Getty play 23v upper left, PD 14b lower left.


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Fiore dei Liberi: sword in one hand The utility of a “new” and “heretical” guardia and...

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