Die moderne Fechtkunst by Gustav Ristow

Although Luigi Barbasetti's seminal 1899 treatise Das Säbelfechten is sometimes cited as the first German-language treatise to be published on the Radaellian sabre method, such an honour should in fact be given to Gustav Ristow and his 1896 treatise Die moderne Fechtkunst ('The modern art of fencing'), the scans of which I present here to the reader.

Scans: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kWq_-s1nslkwZXrvYrsbp7sf_Fbp685Q/view?usp=sharing

Those who have read Ferdinando Masiello's 1887 treatise may find some of the illustrations from this book particularly familiar, as it is clear that Ristow largely plagiarised Masiello's work without so much as a single mention of him. This is also reflected in the text itself, which largely follows the same structure and is often just a straight translation of Masiello's text.

Top: Ristow
Bottom: Masiello (1887)

Aside from a shorter and more Germanocentric introduction, some obvious changes can be observed in the fact that Ristow does not advocate Masiello's shoulder-based disengagements and point manipulation, instead preferring the more traditional wrist and finger movement, and he depicts a fully upright posture in the lunge as opposed to Masiello's diagonal lean.

Counteraction in 2nd. Note the upright posture in Ristow (top) compared the straight line from left heel to right shoulder show in Masiello (bottom)

Readers will also note that for some reason all the illustrations are placed at the end of the book in a seemingly random order, with even each step in the molinelli being randomly arranged. This could be an indication that my own copy has been rebound in a questionable order at some point in its long life.

While I have yet to find much detail on the life of Gustav Ristow, more is known about his master, Italian military fencing master Pietro Arnoldo. Having been born into poverty in Forno di Zoldo (northern Veneto), Arnoldo left his hometown at the age of 15 and joined the military, eventually fighting in the Battle of Custoza in 1866. Three years later he attended the military fencing master's school in Parma, learning under the renowned Cesare Enrichetti. After graduating in 1871, he taught in the 31st infantry regiment until 1875, when he left the army and moved to Austria. Arnoldo settled in the city of Graz, teaching at the Steiermärkischen Fechtclub until becoming gravely ill in 1897. When his illness eventually became unbearable, Arnoldo tragically took his own life on 21 July 1898, only 56 years old.

Left: Pietro Arnoldo
Right: Gustav Ristow

Although it is unclear if Ristow's exposure to the Radaellian method was through his beloved master, it is likely Arnoldo was aware of the developments in sabre fencing taking place in Italy both before and after moving to Austria, and since he had attended Enrichetti's school at the same time as Masiello, he would likely have been aware of Masiello's highly influential 1887 treatise.

Aside from authoring Die moderne Fechtkunst, Ristow was also the translator for Barbasetti's duelling code, published in 1898 under the title Ehren-Kodex. Gustav Ristow died of dysentery in Albania on 11 July 1916 whilst serving as a colonel in the Austro-Hungarian army.

References

Barbasetti, Luigi. Ehren-Kodex. Translated by Gustav Ristow. Vienna: Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung, 1898.

⸺. Das Säbelfechten. Translated by Rudolf Brosch and Heinrich Tenner. Vienna: Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung, 1899.

G. R. [Gustav Ristow], "Pietro Arnoldo." Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung, 6 August 1898, 928.

Gelli, Jacopo. "Pietro Arnoldo." La Gazzetta dello Sport, 25 January 1897, 3.

⸺. "In memoria di un Maestro di scherma italiano: Pietro Arnoldo." La Stampa Sportiva, 4 May 1902, 11.

⸺. "A traverso la scherma. Le sfide e i maestri." L'Illustrazione Italiana, 7 December 1902, 452.

Gemeinsames Zentralnachweisebureau. Nachrichten über Verwundete und Verletzte. 5 October 1916, 5.

Masiello, Ferdinando. La scherma italiana di spada e di sciabola. Florence: G. Civelli, 1887.

Ristow, Gustav. Die moderne Fechtkunst: Methodische Anleitung zum Unterrichte im Fleuret- und Säbelfechten, nebst einem Anhange, enthaltend die wichtigsten Duellregeln. Prague: J. G. Calve, 1896.