Treatises
Printed treatises on fencing and wrestling. 27 works.
1509Exercitiorum atque artis militaris collectanea (Pietro Monte, 1509)Latin treatise by Pietro Monte, published in Milan in 1509: wrestling, dagger, sword and shield, spear, pole weapons, mounted combat, horsemanship and the theory of the military art.HEMAWrestling1516Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey (Andre Paurñfeyndt, 1516)Fencing manual by Andre Paurenfeyndt printed in 1516 in Vienna, with 32 illustrations for the sword, dussack, staff, dagger and buckler, written for young pupils.Dussack FencingGerman School of FencingHEMA1531Opera Nova (Antonio Manciolino, 1531)Fencing treatise by Antonio Manciolino printed in Venice in 1531, the oldest surviving treatise of the Bolognese school, in six books on various weapons.Bolognese FencingDardi School BologneseHEMA1536Opera Nova (Achille Marozzo, 1536)Treatise by the Bolognese master Achille Marozzo, published in Modena in 1536 in five books on the sword and buckler, dagger, two-handed sword, polearms and duels.Bolognese FencingDardi School BologneseHEMA1553Trattato di Scientia d'Arme, con vn Dialogo di Filosofia (Camillo Agrippa, 1553)A fencing treatise of 1553 by the architect and engineer Camillo Agrippa, built on geometry and mechanics, which cut Achille Marozzo's guards down to four.HEMA1570Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme (Giacomo di Grassi, 1570)Giacomo di Grassi's Venetian print of 1570, which builds fencing on general principles and direct thrusting attacks, appeared in English in 1594.HEMA1572Dell'Arte di Scrima Libri Tre (Giovanni dall'Agocchie, 1572)Italian fencing treatise by Giovanni dall'Agocchie, printed in Venice in 1572. In a dialogue spread over seven days it covers sidesword fencing, tournament combat and battle.Bolognese FencingHEMADardi School Bolognese1579De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatoriae (Heinrich von Gunterrodt, 1579)A Neo-Latin treatise by Heinrich von Gunterrodt printed in Wittenberg in 1579, an abridged version of his manuscript Sciomachia et hoplomachia on the theory and history of fencing.Dussack FencingHEMARingen1582De la Filosofia de las Armas y de su Destreza y la Aggression y Defensa Cristiana (Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, 1582)A Spanish treatise by Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, written in 1569 and printed in 1582, from which the geometric fencing school La Verdadera Destreza derives.La Verdadera DestrezaHEMA1595Vincentio Saviolo his Practise, in Two Bookes (Vincentio Saviolo, 1595)Italian master Vincentio Saviolo's 1595 London print in two books: the first on the rapier and dagger, the second on honour and honourable quarrels.HEMA1597Traité ou instruction pour tirer des armes (Girolamo Cavalcabo, 1597)French translation of a treatise on rapier fencing by the Bolognese master Girolamo Cavalcabo, published in 1597. The Italian original dates from roughly the 1580s.HEMA1606De lo Schermo, overo Scienza d'Arme (Salvator Fabris, 1606)Salvator Fabris's Italian-language treatise on fencing with rapier, dagger and cloak, with 191 copper engravings, printed in Copenhagen in 1606 at the expense of King Christian IV.HEMA1606Scola, overo Teatro (Nicoletto Giganti, 1606)Nicoletto Giganti's Venetian treatise of 1606 on fighting with the rapier alone and with rapier and dagger, the first full description of the lunge according to Tom Leoni.HEMA1610Gran Simulacro dell'Arte e dell'Uso della Scherma (Ridolfo Capoferro, 1610)Italian fencing treatise by Ridolfo Capo Ferro of Cagli, printed in Siena in 1610, on the single rapier and on the rapier with dagger, cloak and rotella.HEMA1612New Kůnstliches Fechtbuch (Jakob Sutor von Baden, 1612)Jakob Sutor's 1612 Frankfurt print, which takes over Meyer's teaching on the sword, dussack and staff and adds the rapier after Michael Hundt.Dussack FencingGerman School of FencingHEMA1615Neu Kunstlich Fechtbuch (Sebastian Heußler, 1615)A Nuremberg rapier fencing manual by Sebastian Heußler from 1615, with engravings by Gabriel Weyer, presented in the style of Salvator Fabris and Ridolfo Capo Ferro.HEMA1617The Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence (Joseph Swetnam, 1617)Joseph Swetnam's English fencing manual of 1617 on the rapier and dagger, sword and dagger, backsword and staff, introduced by advice on honour and self-defence.HEMAEnglish Quarterstaff Fencing1626Academie de l'Espée (Girard Thibault d'Anvers, 1630)A French-language Leiden print by Gérard Thibault d'Anvers on the Spanish Destreza school, with engravings by sixteen master engravers, completed in August 1630.La Verdadera DestrezaHEMA1640La Scherma (Francesco Alfieri, 1640)Italian treatise by Francesco Fernando Alfieri, fencing master of the Paduan Accademia Delia, on fighting with the rapier from 1640, expanded in 1653 with a part on the spadone sword.HEMA1670La scherma illustrata (Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini, 1670)Italian printed treatise by Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini from 1670 on fencing with the rapier, alone and with dagger, cloak and small shield. The second part appeared in 1673.HEMA1728The Expert Sword-Man's Companion (Donald McBane, 1728)Book by the Scottish soldier and fencer Donald McBane (Glasgow 1728), combining memoirs, instruction in the small sword and broad sword, and a treatise on artillery.HEMA1746The Use of the Broad Sword (Thomas Page, 1746)English treatise by Thomas Page of Norwich, printed in 1746, on fighting with the Scottish basket-hilted broadsword, arranged in five graded lessons.HEMA1763L'École des armes (Domenico Angelo, 1763)Domenico Angelo's fencing manual of 1763, written in French, with engraved plates of classical stances and techniques and an English edition of 1787.HEMA1790Muyedobotongji (1790)Korean manual of 24 martial disciplines compiled in 1790 on the order of King Jeongjo and printed in 1795 in Chinese with an explanation in hangul.Sibpalgi1889Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre (Alfred Hutton, 1889)English treatise by Captain Alfred Hutton from 1889 on military sabre fencing on foot, combining the 18th-century backsword with the Italian duelling sabre.HEMAGeorge Silver Fencing—Andre Lignitzer – treatises on short sword, sword and buckler, wrestling and daggerFour treatises by Andreas Liegnitzer from the Liechtenauer tradition on the short sword, sword and buckler, wrestling and dagger, the oldest surviving copy dating from 1452.German School of FencingRingenHEMA—DhanurvedaA Sanskrit corpus on warfare and archery, traditionally counted among the upavedas, with an extensive treatise in the Agni Purana (8th–11th century).ThodaMalla-yuddhaMusti-yuddha
