Here you can find historical fencing treatises and other texts that I have translated into English, as well as related downloads. Generally, free translations I produce are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, but included plates and illustrations may fall under different licensing.
Published Translations
Works that I have published (so far). Beyond the provided links, these can usually be purchased directly from me. Please reach out if you would like a copy.
Rules of Fencing: The Annotated Marcelli (2024)
Francesco Antonio Marcelli’s 1686 work Regole della scherma (“Rules of Fencing“) is a thorough description of the fencing system that he credits to his father Giovanni Battista and his uncle Lelio. It was a distinct tradition which, even at the time, had become widely known as “La scherma napoletana” (Neapolitan Fencing).
The first part of this book deals with general theory and the single rapier, while the second discusses rapier accompanied by the dagger, cape, buckler, and even lantern, and also contains brief instructions on the use of the smallsword and sabre.
Throughout, Marcelli extensively references, quotes, and discusses other texts written in Latin, Italian, and Spanish. Since this can often be quite impenetrable for a modern reader, this translation has been annotated thoroughly in order to identify, translate, explain, and expand on these references to history, the classics, and the works of contemporary intellectuals and other fencing masters.
Downloadable Translations
Feel free to download, print, share, and whatever else the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license lets you do with these!
Nicoletto Giganti – Scola, overo teatro (1606)
To my knowledge this is the only complete translation of Nicoletto Giganti’s Scola, overo teatro (“School, or Theatre“), as it contains both Giganti’s dedication and a forward written by Almoro Lombardo. Additionally, I have included my translation of marginalia left by an 18th century reader in a 1628 copy now held in the Austrian National Library.
Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri – Lo spadone (1653)
Originally appearing as the third part of Alfieri’s L’arte di ben maneggiare la spada (“The Art of Handling the Sword Well“), this short work deals with the greatsword.
Francesco Antonio Mattei – Della scherma napoletana (1669)
Francesco Antonio Mattei’s Della scherma napoletana (“Neapolitan Fencing“) is a 1669 treatise on the fencing tradition he traces to Giovanni Battista Marcelli and which he learned from his brother, Giovanni Mattei. It is divided into two Discourses, discussing rapier and dagger in the first and the single sword in the second.
Extras
Miscellaneous goodies that don’t fit under other categories.
Cleaned Up Plates from Scola, overo teatro
Cleaned up and printer-friendly plates from Giganti’s Scola, overo teatro (1606), which I produced using a very nice digitization of a copy held in the Corble Collection at KU Leuven.
Digital Bibliography for Rules of Fencing: The Annotated Marcelli
A copy of the bibliography from my translation of Francesco Antonio Marcelli’s Regole della scherma (1686) with clickable URLs.