Customer Reviews

Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

This is a great book. The introduction alone is worth a read. A detailed description of the world that created the duelist mentality. Agrippa's style is fascinating. It is a bit difficult to follow at times since he sometimes refers to previously described techniques by letter. The illustrations are spectacular. Agrippa's use of geometry to describe techniques is great. A note to the squeamish: there are drawings naked men fighting with swords. This should not bother people that are truly interested in historical swordsmanship, but you get funny looks when reading it in your lunch room at work. A dust jacket might be a good idea on the city bus.

One of the best of rapier manuals...but it's the introduction that sets this book above the others. It's a tour-de-force of history, placing Agrippa in his milieu at the cutting edge of the Renaissance. Outstanding.