Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise [Paperback]

Camillo Agrippa (Author), Ken Mondschein (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1599101297 | ISBN-13: 978-1599101293

Camillo Agrippa's widely influential "Treatise on the Science of Arms" was a turning point in the history of fencing. The author - an engineer by trade and not a professional master of arms - was able to radically re-imagine teaching the art of fencing. Agrippa's treatise is the fundamental text of Western swordsmanship. Just as earlier swordsmanship can be better understood from Agrippa's critiques, so too was his book the starting point for the rapier era. Every other treatise of the early-modern period had to deal explicitly or implicitly with Agrippa's startling transformation of the art and science of self-defense with the sword. Likewise, all of the fundamental ideas that are still used today - distance, time, line, blade opposition, counterattacks and countertime - are expressed in this paradigm-shifting treatise. This is a work that should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history, practice or teaching of fencing. His treatise was also a microcosm of sixteenth-century thought. It examines the art, reduces it to its very principles, and reconstructs it according to a way of thinking that incorporated new concepts of art, science and philosophy. Contained within this handy volume are concrete examples of a new questioning of received wisdom and a turn toward empirical proofs, hallmarks of the Enlightenment. The treatise also presents evidence for a redefinition of elite masculinity in the wake of the military revolution of the sixteenth century. At the same time, is offers suggestive clues to the place of the hermetic tradition in the early-modern intellectual life and its implications for the origins of modern science. Camillo Agrippa's Treatise on the Science of Arms was first published in Rome in 1553 by the papal printer Antonio Blado. The original treatise was illustrated with 67 engravings that belong to the peak of Renaissance design. They are reproduced here in full. "Mondschein has at last made available to English-speaking readers one of the most important texts in the history of European martial arts. Agrippa marks a turning point in the intellectual history of these arts.... Mondschein's introduction to his work helps the reader understand Agrippa - and the martial practices themselves - as pivotal agents in the evolving cultural and intellectual systems of the sixteenth century. Above all, Mondschein's translation is refreshingly clean and idiomatic, rendering the systematic clarity of the Italian original into equally clear modern English - evidence of the author's familiarity with modern fencing and understanding of the physical realities that his author is trying to express. Mondschein's contextualization of his topic points the way for future scholarly exploration, and his translation will doubtless be valued by both students of cultural history and practitioners of modern sword arts." - Dr. Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Paul S. Morgan Curator -Higgins Armory Museum, Adj. Assoc. Prof. of Humanities, Worcester Polytechnic Institute First English translation. Paperback, 234 pages, 67 illustrations, introduction, bibliography, glossary, appendix, index.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[O]ne of the most important texts in the history of European martial arts.... Mondschein's introduction to his work helps the reader understand Agrippa -- and the martial practices themselves -- as pivotal agents in the evolving cultural and intellectual systems of the sixteenth century."
-- Dr. Jeffrey L. Forgeng

About the Author

Camillo Agrippa was a noted fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time. Though born in Milan, Agrippa lived and worked in Rome, where he was associated with the Confraternity of St. Joseph of the Holy Land and the literary and artistic circle around Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. He is most renowned for applying geometric theory to solve problems in armed combat. In his Treatise on the Science of Arms with Philosophical Dialogue (published in 1553), he proposed dramatic changes in the way swordsmanship was practiced at the time. He is also regarded as the man who most contributed to the development of the rapier as a primarily thrusting weapon. Agrippa was a contemporary of Michelangelo, and the two were probably acquainted.


Ken Mondschein holds a Ph.D. in History from Fordham University and is a Prévôt d'Escrime (the teaching rank just below Master). He teaches historical fencing at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA, where he is a Research Fellow.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Italica Press, Inc. (September 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599101297
• ISBN-13: 978-1599101293
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Fencing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa... which I have, March 28, 2010

By 

E. M. Van Court "Van, emvc (at) lycos.com" (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise (Hardcover)

And once you've read this book, you too will be able to say this.

Both sections of this book, the background material; introduction and translator's notes, and the body of the translation are enormously rewarding.

The first half of the book is an incredibly well researched and detailed body of background material that provides essential context for the twenty-first century reader. Art, science, tactics, culture, occult, and egos all shaped Agrippa's work and later perceptions of it. The author does an excellent job of addressing points brought up by critics over the centuries. At the same time, the relevance of Renaissance artistic styles, engineering, occultism and geometry are all addressed in appropriate detail for a reader looking at one of the landmarks of fencing for the first time.

The second half of the book is the actual translation of Camillo Agrippa's "Trattato di Scientia d'Arme". The translator, Ken Mondschein, avoids the Italian epithet, "traduttore, traditore" ('the translator is a traitor'). Clearly, tremendous effort went into preservation of the spirit and details of Agrippa's revolutionary (for the time) work. Agrippa was, by trade, an engineer in a time when any man of social standing went armed and was prepared to redress insults with swords. Having spent some time in the company of engineers, I believe this work was the product of an engineer by vocation, who turned his gifts to the practice of fencing. The use of geometry, the efficency of technique, the innovation (the lunge is first identified in Agrippa) all support the historical record of Agrippa as an engineer rather than fencer who dabbled in geometry and literature. Most of the techniques are illustrated with rapier and a parrying dagger. This is interesting as Agrippa barely addresses the off-hand weapon, and remains focused on the rapier through most of the book. The work begins with the basic guards (four, when other schools used more), discusses the math behind the lunge, then goes into technique. Mostly sword technique, but at the end there is some attention paid to disarming and other weapons.

Needless to say, the lungeis the highlight. Previously, attacks had been driven by simpler footwork and despite Capo Ferro's efforts to emphasize the point, was often based on cuts more than thrusts. Of course today, the lunge is the essential technique with foil and epee, so Agrippa's analysis of fencing and the sword appears to have been borne out. To understand how we got to where we are today can only benefit a modern fencer. This book addresses one of the essential elements fencing that has stood over four hundred years of testing.

Whether a historian of the Renaissance, a modern fencer, or a student of the origins of engineering (or a fan of The Princess Bride) this book will be a worthy investment of time and effort.

Edward M. Van Court

P.S. Re: the quotes from The Princess Bride about Capo Ferro, Thibault, and Agrippa; they raise good points. Really.

V

5.0 out of 5 stars Fencing - An interesting treatise, March 15, 2011

By 

Kolin - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise (Paperback)

As a person who is familiar with Talhoffer, and Meyer, this is a very interesting take on sword play. The guards position themselves to natural movements of the body, and while they seem uncomfortable it can be a very effective system. We see this style of fighting today with Krav Maga, reactionary combat based on what the body wants to do. Aggripa decided to make this into an fighting art, and has done it very well.

I would like to give a very warm congratulations to Ken Mondschein for translating the text so well. It is very much a living translation, the spirit is still inside the book unlike so many others.

In addition to combat oriented works (which is truely only 1/3 of the text itself) Aggripa disscusses nearly everything that comes to his mind. If you can follow, it is a very entertaining read to say the least, and educational of the thoughts and ideas of his time.

This would make a great primer before learning Capo Ferro's school or for a person just getting started in fencing, and I would just flat out recommend this to any one a fan of the Italian Renaissance.

5.0 out of 5 stars An ABSOLUTE must, February 11, 2011

By 

Bradley Allison "The Doctor-DJ" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise (Kindle Edition)

The knowledge wrought by Agrippa [Camillo, not Henry Cornelius, of course...] and contained herein is equally as vital as Capo Ferro's «Gran Simulacro» to any student/enthusiast of the Rapier.

I must insist that the three most fascinating and rich resources on this art, the methods of the art, and its instruments (even though some materials may be a wee redundant), include this book, Guy Windsor's «The Duelist's Companion» (based on the aforementioned Capo Ferro work), and the supplementary methods contained in Alfred Hutton's «Old Sword-Play: Techniques of the Great Masters» (my emphasis on these three works is based primarily on the contents, with cost-benefit a very close second!).

Now that my discourse is finished, my private work on applying this treasure of knowledge and tutorial to my spada da filo and trident main gauche.