Fiore dei Liberi

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Fiore dei Liberi was an Italian longsword master and he wrote his text Flos Duellatorum in the early 1400s.

Fiore dei Liberi of Cividale d'Austria was born sometime between 1340 and 1350 born in Premariacco in Friuli, a small town next to the river Natisone in Italy. With the exception of what is written in the prologue of his treatise, very little is known about Fiore dei Liberi. His birth year is estimated by the prologue of his book (1409), where he says that he had been practicing the art of swordsmanship for 40 years at the time of its writing. He was the son of Sir Benedetto dei Liberi, a scion of a minor noble family that had received its ennoblement from the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1110 AD. The name dei Liberi itself means “of the free”, was adopted by Cristallo dei Liberi, and he took the reception of this Imperial deed as a sign that he was in direct service to the Emperor”. The family settled in Premariacco, a village located about 5 km from Cividale and 15 km east of the city of Udine. Very little is known about dei Liberi’s early life except for what is written in the prologue of his work. He tells us that he was motivated from childhood to learn the art of wrestling, sword, axe and lance. While he initially learned from local masters-at-arms, he left Premariacco in order to further improve himself, , seeking greater instruction under a variety of German and Italian masters. Only one of the three manuscripts names any of these masters, specifically, Johannes Suvenus (John of Swabia) “from the Diocese of Metz, a former scholar of Nicolaus von Toblem”. Unfortunately, the biographies of these men are lost to us.

At some point dei Liberi made the transition from student to teacher, and began traveling as a weapons-instructor throughout the northern Italian cities. Apparently this did not sit well with the local masters, who frowned upon the competition he represented. Fiore writes:

And I was especially wary of other masters and their scholars. And through envy, these masters challenged me to play with sharp swords in arming doublets, without other armour but for a pair of chamois gloves. And I endured this all because I had not wished to practice with them, nor to teach them anything of my art. And five times I was required to undergo this ordeal; and thus five times for my honor I was compelled to play in strange places, without family and without friends, and without hope in anything but in God, in the Art, in me, Fiore, and in my sword. And by the grace of God, I, Fiore, have always come away with honor and without injury to my body.

Dei Liberi participated in numerous battles in and around Italy for the last 20 years of the 14th century. In 1383 he fought in Udine on the side of the town during the civil war, commanding their ballista crews; to this day, there is a street named for him. In 1395 he was in Padua for a duel, and four years later in 1399 he was in Pavia. His prologue tells us the names of his most prominent students during this time, all of whom where condottieri (mercenary knights) in northern Italy. The most famous of these was Galeazzo da Mantova as a student who fought the Marshal Boucicault of France twice and defeated him.

Sometime after 1400, dei Liberi entered the court of Niccolò III d'Este, Marquise of Ferrara, presumably as a master-at-arms. At Niccolò's behest that he began writing his treatise of arms, which he completed in 1409. After this time there are no records of his life or of his death.

Contents

[edit] The Flower of Battle

Fiore dei Liberi’s art is preserved in the manuscripts he left behind, all entitled the Flower of Battle. Presented to the Marquise d’Este in 1409, at least five distinct copies once existed. Only three survive, each with slight differences. Two consist of illustrations accompanied by short paragraphs of text, while the third replaces the paragraphs with rhyming couplets, perhaps meant as memory aids for the student.

[edit] Contents

The Fior di Battaglia divides armizare into three principle sections: close quarter combat, long weapon combat and mounted combat. The close quarter combat forms the basis for many of the grappling and disarming techniques used in later sections of the manuscript, and is used in or out of armour, with the dagger section forming the single largest collection of techniques:

  • Abrazare (striking, throwing and grapping techniques)
  • Bastoncello (a short stick, approximately 12” long)
  • Daga (the rondel dagger)
  • Daga contra spada (dagger vs. sword)
  • Spada contra daga (sword vs. dagger)

Long weapon combat begins with the introduction of the sword and swordplay forms the basis for all other long weapon combat. The treatise also includes several other “knightly” weapons used on foot, both in and out of armour, such as the spear and poleax. There are also several unusual weapons, such as monstrous, specialized swords for judicial combat, and hollow-headed polehammers, meant to be filled with an acidic powder to blind the opponent!

  • Spada d’un mano (one-handed sword techniques)
  • Spada a dui mani (two-handed sword techniques)
  • Daga e bastone (staff and dagger)
  • Lanza (spear)
  • Spada en arme (sword in full armour)
  • Azza (poleaxe)

Finally, mounted combat, reintroduces many of the disciplines already presented, this time adapted for combat on horseback, again in or out of armour. While the Guild does not practice mounted combat, the mounted techniques contain many interesting insights into the other sections of the art of arms.

  • Abrazare
  • Lanza (lance)
  • Spada d’un mano contra lanza (sword vs. lance)
  • Spada contra spada
  • Ghiavarina (a partisan-like weapon shown on foot against mounted opponents)

Within these subsections, dei Liberi taught his art through a series of zoghi (“plays”) – formal, two-man drills akin to the kata of classical Japanese martial arts - that were both technique and tactical lesson.

[edit] Versions of the Text

The manuscripts are named for the collections that hold them: the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Pierpoint-Morgan in New York City, and the Pissani-Dossi collection, formerly in Italy.

[edit] Getty

This text is held by the the J. Paul Getty museum in Los Angeles. The title is il Fior di Battaglia meaning "The Flower of Battle" in Italian. Of the three manuscripts this version is the largest and most detailed, presenting a carefully organized learning scheme. In the prologue, dei Liberi provides his biography and credentials, including his five duels with other masters and the names and ranks of his famous students and their martial accomplishments. He then presents his basic tactical advice to the combatant, including priorities and cautions, followed by the requirements for fighting in hand-to-hand combat. The prologue ends with an explanation of the manuscript’s organization, and a dedication to Niccolò d’Este, Marquise of Ferrara.

[edit] Morgan

Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. The title is again il Fior di Battaglia. Artistically and stylistically, this manuscript shows a close accordance with the Getty Ms, and its prologue is very similar (although Niccolò d’Este is not mentioned). However, it is a smaller work, and it reverses the order of instruction, beginning with mounted combat, then moving to armoured foot combat, unarmoured sword combat and finally the dagger. This progression is much closer to near-contemporary, German texts that focused on the judicial duel.

[edit] Pissani-Dossi (Novati)

This text is or was held by the Pissani-Dossi family, a branch of the d’Este family. The book is titled in Latin (Flos Duellatorum) rather than Italian. The Pissani-Dossi Ms is best known to historical fencers because it was analyzed and published in a 1902 facsimile by the Italian historian Franceso Novati. Since then, Novati’s work has been reprinted at least once, and his facsimile illustrations and transcription have been the source of multiple new editions of dei Liberi’s work, most notably in the modern Italian editions of Marco Rubboli, Giovanni Rapisardi and Graziano Galvani. (See below). The Pissani-Dossi manuscript follows the same basic organization of the Getty Ms, but is stylistically very different. There are two separate prologues, one in Latin verse, the other in Italian prose, and both contain far less personal details about dei Liberi’s life. The artwork is of a different style, and the text is written in the same bastarda script, but clearly a different hand. The explanatory paragraphs that accompany each image are replaced with rhyming couplets, likely meant as a mnemonic device.

[edit] Plates

  • Segno
  • Abrazare (Wrestling)
  • Dagger
  • The sword in one hand
  • The sword in two hands
  • Spear
  • Longsword in harness
  • Poleaxe
  • Fighting from horseback

[edit] English Translation

An English translation is hosted by the Exiles: Exiles Translation

A published, paperback translation of the Getty version of Fiore's work, by Tom Leoni, is available at: [1]

[edit] Modern Editions of the Flower of Battle

[edit] Modern Training Guides

  • The Swordsman's Companion by Guy Windsor
  • Sword in Two Hands by Brian Price
  • Wrestling and Dagger by Colin Richards

[edit] Documentaries

[edit] Lessons

[edit] Credits

Some of the information within this article was compiled by Oscar Erkenswick.

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