Practice Notes- MS Riccardiano

Trattato di Scherma, is an anonymous fencing manual from the 1600s, though the introduction states that it is a copy of an earlier book. Currently it is located in the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence. The manual appears to be strongly influenced by the Bolognese tradition, and there has been some notes that bears resemblance to Vadi, although I can't really tell from this one snippet.

From the low guard, with the left foot in front, make two entering ascending cuts with two steps of the left foot, always stepping forwards, beating aside his sword, and make a high reverse cut with your left foot forwards, and bringing it against your right you can pass forwards with your right foot and make a thrust. You can make two ascending reverse cuts with the right foot forwards, beating away his sword, and then a high reverse, bringing the right foot back against your left, you can pass forwards with the right foot and make a thrust, which will be a feint to the inside, and wheeling to the right, turn beneath with your sword in half-cover to the outside to parry a thrust, and thrust forwards.

As with the Bolognese masters, the first play is the longest and most complicated. It seemed to make the most sense that there is actually a reset in the middle, after the first thrust. This would make it to where the first set of actions is for beating the outside and thrusting to the inside, and the second set is the opposite- beating to the inside with an outside thrust.

If the adversary tries to beat your blade, deceive underneath and make a thrust on the inside.

 Any time the adversary tries to find your blade, deceive it, whether inside or outside, and so disrupt his plans.

Overall, while the plays are for the spodone, they seem to be based a single sword principles and perspective. The majority of plays end in an thrust, and most cuts seem to be working towards setting up a thrust. In addition, the plays work from inside to outside or vice versa quite consistently. There are only a few places where dropping from high to low are called for.

 Feint the thrust in the same way, and thrust freely on the outside with the left foot forwards, letting my left hand slip as far down as, and only holding the sword by, the pommel.

Speaking of thrust, this is the only other place that I've seen a left handed, di Grassi style thrust  somewhere other than di Grassi. 

Three thrusts with the right foot forwards, beginning on the inside.

Four thrusts with the right foot forwards, beginning on the inside.

Beat on the outside.

For most of the end of the chapter, it reads like there should be illustrations. I'm not clear if the illustrations didn't make it into the copy I have, didn't make it into the copy in the library, or whoever wrote it got tired of trying to be descriptive and there were no illustrations.


This was an interesting, thrust based practice. Having spent several practices going over early KdF (Talhoffer, Ringeck), this made for a change of pace. My main take-away was that spacing is vital in this. While the longsword is good in the thrust, it is also a big, two handed weapon. Once you get past the point, it is difficult to regain that distance, and getting past the point is quite easy.

Second, it is interesting that this manual spends a good bit of time playing with the blade. Most of the entering into distance is made with the intention of provoking a response, and only rarely do you seek something like a light bind.

The duels of Ascanio d'ella Corgna

A quick internet link from here. I'm just putting the entire thing up, rather than linking, because it's interesting and I always lose things on Facebook.

Thanks to Piermarco Terminiello and School of the Sword.

The duels of Ascanio d'ella Corgna:

"There is a Bolognese connection, because (aged 19) in 1535 Ascanio was recruited into the army in Bologna by Guido Rangoni – who Marozzo says was a fellow student of his own master, Guido Antonio de Luca, to whom Marozzo dedicated his treatise (published in 1536).

Ascanio was first made a standard-bearer, then a captain with 200 troops under him, and lost an eye to lance fighting the Spanish.

Due to some complicated mix up, after being made prisoner then released, he was (perhaps inadvertently) imprisoned again by his former general Conte Ugo Carpegna.

This pissed Ascanio off and he challenge Carpegna to duel, again fought with a sword and half-length sword (described as a spada corta or mezza-spada – literally a short sword or half-sword), which they fought in Bologna in a piazza in front of a packed crowd.

Apparently Ascanio was wounded, but then succeeded in giving Carpegna a serious thrust to the chest with his sword, and to the flank with his short sword.

Carpegna could no longer hold his sword and could barely defend himself with his short-sword. It’s recorded that the seconds asked Ascanio (probably imploring) if he was satisfied, but he said no, not until Carpegna asked for mercy (grazia).

The seconds insisted that begging for mercy was too humiliating and that Carpegna should ask for forgiveness instead, which Ascanio accepted, but only after Carpegna had asked twice, the second time loud enough for everyone to hear.

Ascanio’s second duel, the one depicted, “the duel of the century” was fought in 1546 Pitigliano in Tuscany against Giovanni Taddei – who it appears had previously prevailed in a duel himself, with Ascanio as his second.

But Taddei was a military subordinate to Ascanio and apparently he insulted him and refused to take his orders.

Again they fought with a sword and a half-length sword. It’s recorded that both fought bravely, though Ascanio soon thrust Taddei twice in the arm, Taddei kept fighting, until he took a third thrust to the chest and dropped down dead.

In 1561 Ascanio was made a Knight of the Order of Santo Stefano (to whom in later years Nicoletto Giganti would become master of arms) and went on to participate in both the siege of Malta in 1565 and the battle of Lepanti in 1571, but after the lattercaught a fever on the journey back to Italy, and died shortly after in Rome, age 55."

Translation by Piermarco Terminiello, School of the Sword instructor.

[edit] in addition, further translation courtesy of Marco Quarta:

:" The ground for the fight was on the "sagrato" of San Petronio. A wonderful stand for a duel; not only because the marble is smooth and clean, but also because the great stairway in front of the church of San Petronio was elevating the plane for the eyes of the public watching the "tenzone" (trial by combat), from three sides, and it was better then a theater"....... "In the few minutes that followed the opening of the challenge between the two gentlemen, a crowd of people grew around them. It was composed not only by officers and soldiers, but also by common citizens of Bologna, man and woman, who could not believe to have the chance to watch such a show, for free."...." The square of Bologna, in the afternoon of the mid '500, was completely full. At that time duels were not a gentle game, as it will become later. it was not enough to fight at the first blood (first wound), but they were at last blood (to death). And both Ascanio and Carpegna were not easy characters, they were both hard people, broken by the job of war. Pietro Strozzi asked them unsuccessfully to find a peaceful solution. However, Ascanio replied, loud and clear: " Not even dead! unless the Count will admit his fault in front of all the noble city of Bologna!" Hearing that, the Count turned mad and shouted back: " Arrogant, reckless kid! Of what, should I ask for, my forgiveness?! You provoked me to make your own fame, you dared to challenge a Count and a General, such as me! But "affe'diddio" (n.o.t. - I leave the original here because it is so peculiar, and it can be translated such as "in the faith of God"), you will pay as you deserve, for your "inprontitudine" (n.o.t. - as above, unique archaic word I want to leave, meaning something like "inappropriate timing and acting"). And so, the fight began".....[ref. Ascanio della Corgna, Statuti, Siena, Bonetti, 1750; Scipione Tolomei, Lettere, Perugia, Stamperia Augusta, 1617; http://www.ascaniodellacorgna.it/].

di Grassi Two-Handed Sword

Practice Notes 2/11

Di Grassi's Two-Handed Sword

di Grassi's  two-handed sword is almost entirely based on his single handed sword section. It is a point forward system with two guards similar to ochs, or perhaps guardia d'intrare, and a low guard similar to pflug. You stand with your feet opposing your opponent, for example if your opponent is right foot forward, you lead with your left.

An interesting aspect of di Grassi's manual is his thrusting techniques using a great sword. A typical closing for a play in his system is to thrust to a target made available through earlier action. When thrusting in opposition, a typical ochs thrust is recommended. However, when you are freely thrusting, di Grassi recommends:

Then, taking away the cross hand, he shall force it farther on with the pommel hand, as much as he may stretch it forth, always in the discharge, increasing a slope pace.

So now you have an incredibly long, unwieldy left-handed rapier. One you complete the thrust you are then to:

 And the thrust being thus delivered, he shall presently retire his said pace, and return his hand again to the cross, settling himself either in the high or low warde.

Two things I learned this practice; first, left handed thrusts are difficult, and two, grabbing your now flailing sword is also difficult. For the thrusts, I found the chest an easier target, though that might be because I'm shorter than everyone. Also, grabbing the sword after a left-handed thrust consistently and usefully will take time I think.

The oppositional footing is interesting, and I believe another nod to single sword. Most of the rest of the foot work is comfortably within di Grassi's slope and compass paces. The only difficulty is figure out where everything went with only two guard positions. While keeping up with 20 guards can be tiring, at least with Marozzo you know where you're supposed to be.

In all, I've always found di Grassi to be an interesting side branch of fencing, and I've never spent any time looking at his two-handed section before now. This was an interesting practice evening.