A rapier or espada ropera is a type of sword used in Renaissance Spain to designate a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It was widely popular in Western Europe throughout the 16th and 17th centuries as a symbol of nobility or gentleman status.
A longsword is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use, a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm, and weighing approximately 1 to 1.5 kg.
Fiore Furlano de Cividale d'Austria, delli Liberi da Premariacco was a late 14th century knight, diplomat, and itinerant fencing master.
Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms.
Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of martial arts are often erroneously called manuals but were written as treatises.
The Flos Duellatorum is the name given to one of the manuscript versions of Fiore dei Liberi's illuminated manuscript fight book, written in 1410. There are five other surviving recensions, under the title Fior di Battaglia. Both Flos Duellatorum and Fior di Battaglia translate into English roughly as "The Flower of Battle," from Latin and Italian respectively.
Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri was a master of fencing of the 17th century. He was a representative of the Venetian school of fencing and “Maestro D’Arme” to the Accademia Delia in Padua in 1640. Alfieri was originally from Padua, which at that time was considered territory of the Venetian Republic.
Achille Marozzo (1484–1553) was an Italian fencing master, one of the most important teachers in the Dardi or Bolognese tradition.
Salvator Fabris (1544-1618) was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen that he published his treatise on rapier fencing, Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme, in 1606. The treatise became a fencing bestseller around Europe, and was reprinted until 1713 and translated into several languages, notably into German, and again in 2005, into English.
Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli was an Italian fencing master in the city of Siena, best known for his rapier fencing treatise published in 1610.
Nicoletto Giganti was a 17th-century Italian rapier fencing master. The frontispiece of his 1606 work names him as “Nicoletto Giganti, Venetian”, although evidence suggests he or his family, moved to Venice from the town of Fossombrone, in Le Marche, Central Italy.
De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi was written by Italian fencing master Filippo Vadi 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, Vadi's work also differs in some respects, including his footwork and several original techniques of his own.
Bolognese Swordsmanship, also sometimes known as the Dardi school, is a tradition within the Italian school of swordsmanship which is based on the surviving fencing treatises published by several 16th century fencing masters of Bologna, As early as the 14th century several fencing masters were living and teaching in the city: a maestro Rosolino in 1338, a maestro Nerio in 1354, and a maestro Francesco in 1385.
The oldest surviving manual on western swordsmanship dates back to the 14th century, although historical references date fencing schools back to the 12th century.
The Chicago Swordplay Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship and Western martial arts, and non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It provides organized instruction in the study and practice of historical European swordplay, with a principal focus on the Italian school of swordsmanship and other martial arts of the 14th–17th centuries. Co-founded in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector, the Chicago Swordplay Guild seeks to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical Masters, with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling and fencing. Since techniques are taught in reference to how effective they would be in a real encounter, the Guild practices with an absolute emphasis on safety, control, competence, and skill at arms.
Nova Scrimia is an Italian organisation which promotes the teaching of the Italian school of swordsmanship, of stick fencing, of short range fencing (dagger) and of unarmed fencing from the documented period that goes from the 15th century to the 20th century. Nova Scrimia is currently represented in Italy and other European countries, in USA and in Mexico.
Italian martial arts include all those unarmed and armed fighting arts popular in Italy between the Bronze age until the 19th century AD. It involved the usage of weapons. Each weapon is the product of a specific historical era. The swords used in Italian martial arts range from the Bronze daggers of the Nuragic times to the gladius of the Roman legionaries to swords which were developed during the renaissance, the baroque era and later. Short blades range from medieval daggers to the liccasapuni Sicilian duelling knife.
Chivalry Bookshelf was a small press based in the United States founded by Brian R. Price which published booklets and books from 1992 to 2007. It was most notable for its contributions to the Society of Creative Anachronism and the early historical fencing movement and for a dispute about plagiarism and nonpayment of royalties in 2011-12.
Schola Gladiatoria (SG) is a historical European martial arts (HEMA) group based in Ealing, west London, Great Britain, founded in 2001 and led by Matt Easton. It provides organized instruction in the serious study and practice of historical European swordplay. Schola seeks to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical masters, with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling, and free play (sparring).
Antonio Francesco Manciolino is considered one of the most important masters of the so-called "Bolognese School" of fencing.
