Exercitiorum atque artis militaris collectanea (Pietro Monte, 1509)

Exercitiorum atque artis militaris collectanea, Collectanea for short, is a Latin printed treatise on physical training, combat and the military art. It appeared in Milan in 1509, prepared according to Wikipedia by Giovanni Angelo Scinzenzeler, and a second edition followed in 1522. The author, Pietro Monte, lived according to Wiktenauer from 1457 to 1509, worked in Italy, probably at the Milanese court, and may have fallen at the Battle of Agnadello. His Spanish or Italian origin remains disputed. The treatise covers wrestling, dagger fighting, the long and short spear, the two-handed sword and the one-handed sword with shield, small shield or cloak, and pole weapons such as the partisan, ronca, spetum and halberd, mounted combat and horsemanship. It also deals with running, jumps, vaults, armour and the theory of the military art. Two manuscripts by Monte also survive, an Italian one perhaps from 1492 and a Spanish one, Libro del exercicio de las armas, from 1509. Whether they are drafts of the Latin texts or translations of them is unclear. Wiktenauer also attributes to Monte the Latin print De dignoscendis hominibus from 1492, which may be the first published book on martial arts. Baldassarre Castiglione called Monte the true and only master of every form of exercised strength and stated that he taught Galeazzo da Sanseverino wrestling, leaps and weapons. Leonardo da Vinci noted that he consulted him on calculating the trajectory of a thrown javelin. According to Wiktenauer, Monte's teaching apparently did not influence the development of Italian fencing. An English translation by Jeffrey L. Forgeng was published in 2018 by Boydell Press.

Martial arts in this work

Contents

The treatise ranges from unarmed combat to the conduct of war. Its basis is wrestling, followed by dagger fighting. The sword sections distinguish the two-handed sword from the one-handed sword, which is combined with a shield, small shield or cloak. Long and short spears and pole weapons are discussed separately, among which Wiktenauer names the partisan, ronca, spetum and halberd. Another group covers mounted combat, horsemanship and armour. Physical training means running, jumping and vaults. The whole closes with the theory of the military art. Sydney Anglo points out that Monte does not present wrestling or fighting with the long and short spear separately, but in a wider military context. We have not been able to document in the sources the treatise's division into books or the number of techniques described.

Authorship

The sources disagree about the author and the form of the work. Monte's origin is disputed, both Spanish and Italian being given. He worked in Italy and published in Latin, yet the manuscripts are written in Italian and Spanish. According to Wikipedia, the Collectanea comprise three works: Exercitiorum atque artis militaris collectanea, De singulari certamine and De veritate unius legis. Wiktenauer lists De singulari certamine sive dissentione as a separate print from 1509 and does not mention a third work. The relationship of prints to manuscripts is also unclear, as they may be drafts or translations of the Latin texts. The Spanish manuscript from 1509 is kept in the Escorial library under the shelfmark A.IV.23. Wikipedia gives the Italian manuscript in the Biblioteca Estense as Codex Estense T.VII.25, Wiktenauer as alfa.T.7.25. We have not verified whether it is the same shelfmark written differently.

Editions and translations

The first edition appeared in Milan in 1509. Wikipedia states that it was prepared by Giovanni Angelo Scinzenzeler, but we have not been able to document in the sources whether he also printed the work. The second edition dates from 1522, and we did not find its place or publisher in the sources. The modern English translation was made by Jeffrey L. Forgeng and published in 2018 by Boydell Press under the title Pietro Monte's Collectanea. Besides the Collectanea, Wiktenauer lists a Latin print De dignoscendis hominibus from 1492, which according to it may be the first published book on martial arts.

People and martial arts

• Pietro MonteAuthor
• Jeffrey L. ForgengTranslator

Details

Form

Printed book

Editions

• 1509 · LA · Exercitiorum atque artis militaris collectanea · Giovanni Angelo Scinzenzeler · first edition
• 1522 · LA · Collectanea
• 2018 · EN · Pietro Monte's Collectanea · Boydell Press · translation