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://
"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://
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