The ability to compare techniques and views in the many treatises published by those I would call first-generation Radaellians is extremely valuable not only for those looking to recreate Radaelli's sabre system, but also for those wishing to understand how the system evolved (or didn't) in the decades after the death of its founder. These 'first-generation' treatises, written by Giordano Rossi, Ferdinando Masiello, Luigi Barbasetti etc. (see sidebar) all share the common heritage of being written by people who studied the original Radaellian method at Radaelli's school. In contrast, the texts that are listed below, despite having clearly identifiable Radaellian elements to a greater or lesser extent, were instead the products of secondary transmission of Radaelli's method.
These are texts written by students of the Radaellians and students of their students, the Radaellian principles being adapted for different contexts and customs and sometimes syncretised with other systems the authors had learnt throughout their careers. Although the transmission of the system to these authors is generally less direct than for the early Radaellians, that does not mean that these texts are necessarily less significant; on the contrary, many of these texts represent major milestones in the propagation of Radaellian fencing throughout Europe and were sometimes used as curricula for national fencing courses, something which cannot be said for all the first-generation Radaellian treatises.
Each text in this list contains a sabre method which I personally consider to display considerable Radaellian influence, generally due to the presence of Radaelli's exercise molinelli or other elbow-based cutting exercises of clear Italian influence. It does not claim to be an exhaustive list, as the exploration and acquisition of books is an ongoing progress, and the list will be updated as I or others become aware of relevant works. Readers are welcome to provide suggestions for further additions.
Italian cavalry regulations
The 1873 version is a simplified adaptation of Radaelli's sabre method (as seen in Del Frate's 1868 book) for the use of the Italian cavalry. This method continued to be regulation until 1891, until the heavily modified method by Masaniello Parise was finally approved. After the Salvatore Pecoraro and Carlo Pessina reintroduced the Radaellian method to the Italian fencing master's school, a new version of the cavalry regulations were published in 1912 which reintroduced exercise molinelli similar to those seen in the 1873 version.
Francis Vere Wright
A partial translation of the sabre section of Ferdinando Masiello's 1887 treatise and the first foreign translation of Radaellian material. Vere Wright became enamoured with Masiello's method after visiting his club in 1888, and played a key role in getting the method to be adopted by the British army.
British Infantry Sword Exercise
The British army's regulation fencing text based on the method of Ferdinando Masiello, which had been taught at the Aldershot physical education course since 1893. The text was likely prepared with the assistance of Masiello's amateur student Giuseppe Magrini, who moved to England in order to teach at the Aldershot college. A revised edition was also released the following year.
Gustav Ristow
Published in Prague, this was the first German-language book containing Radaellian sabre fencing, with much of the material being heavily derived from Masiello's 1887 treatise. The author was a student of Italian expat Pietro Arnoldo, an Enrichettian fencing master teaching in Graz. Two years later Ristow would also translate Luigi Barbasetti's duelling code into German.
Jerzy Żytny
A short book based on Barbasetti's method, republished in 1908.
Escipión Ferretto
The 1901 book is the first Radaellian sabre treatise published in Spanish, and is greatly influenced by Masiello's material, often merely translating the Italian text. The 1928 book is an updated version of the same treatise. Escipión Ferretto (Scipione Ferretto in Italian) was a student of Radaellian master Federico Giroldini and moved to Buenos Aires in the 1890s, later teaching at the Argentinian fencing master's school in Buenos Aires.
Gusztáv Arlow
The first treatise in the prolific Italo-Hungarian sabre tradition. Having previously published a treatise on the 'high tierce' system, in A kardvívás Gusztáv Arlow combines Barbasetti-esque Radaellian sabre fencing with some Hungarian elements such as expanded use of the false edge. Arlow had trained at Italo Santelli's hall in Budapest and likely also with Barbasetti or his students.
Luigi Sestini
Largely a German translation of Masiello's material, partly adapted for the foreign audience. Sestini was a student of Masiello and a prominent amateur competitor before moving to Berlin in 1895. His method would soon be taught in German military schools and regiments.
Orlando Cristini
The sabre text of this treatise is mostly plagiarised from Ferretto's work from four years earlier, while the illustrations are taken from the 1904 version of Masaniello Parise's treatise. Orlando Cristini was a graduate of the Rome military fencing master's school who moved to Argentina in 1895, and then later taught at the Chilean military fencing master's school in Santiago (where this book was published) alongside Giuseppe 'José' Scansi.
José Scansi
Published in the same year and city as Cristini's treatise, José Scansi (his first name being the Spanish version of Giuseppe) also plagiarises his sabre material largely from Ferretto. Scansi was a decorated amateur fencer for many years and a student of the Radaellian master Carlo Guasti, later perfecting his fencing under Eugenio Pini and becoming a fencing master in 1897. Soon after he moved to Argentina to teach fencing in the military before joining Cristini in Chile.
Leopold van Humbeek
Details a sabre system that shows some influence from Barbasetti's treatise. Despite initially being trained in the French school in his native Belgium, Leopold Van Humbeek was one of if not the earliest proponents of Italian sabre in the Netherlands, leading to his method being adopted in the Dutch navy.
Károly Leszák
Taking some inspiration from Arlow's 1902 treatise, Károly Leszák's work is also key contribution to the Italo-Hungarian school. Leszák was a graduate of the Wiener Neustadt military fencing school, and would have been trained in Barbasetti's method. He spent most of his career teaching at the Ludovica military academy in Budapest.
James Betts
An adaptation of Masiello's sabre method for a British audience, more complete and well-written than the 1895 Infantry Sword Exercise. James Betts learnt Masiello's system under Giuseppe Magrini, himself a student of Masiello, and later replaced Magrini as fencing instructor at the army's physical education school in Aldershot.
Gustav Casmir
Published as part of a large sporting encyclopedia, Gustav Casmir's short treatise details a Radaellian sabre method with likely influence from the method of Masaniello Parise. Casmir was a student of Ettore Schiavoni, a graduate of Parise's fencing master's school who moved to Berlin in the late 1890s.
Dutch navy fencing regulations
An adaptation of Luigi Sestini's treatise (on the Masiello method) compiled by Leopold Van Humbeek for the Dutch navy.
Robert Tvarůžek
An adaptation of Barbasetti's sabre method, written by a Czech graduate of the Wiener Neustadt military fencing school.
Alfredo Bacchelli
A comprehensive Radaellian sabre treatise written by a graduate of the Rome military fencing master's school. Bacchelli moved to Romania around 1897 and was eventually made the director of a fencing master's course for the Romanian military in Craiova, where he spent the rest of his career. Bacchelli's book borrows some material from the Pecoraro and Pessina's treatise, published only one year earlier, as well as the sabre treatise of Masiello.
German fencing regulations
The first edition of these regulations to depart from Germanic styles and adopt Radaellian fencing.
Leopold Targler
A treatise on both foil and sabre, written by a graduate of the Wiener Neustadt school who subsequently studied under Barbasetti.
Walther Meienreis
A short treatise detailing a system that resembles Barbasetti's, written by an officer of the German Landwehr and reserve army.
Władysław Sobolewski
Another Barbasetti-like adaptation, written by an amateur Polish fencer.
W. P. Hubert van Blijenburgh
The brief sabre section of this three-weapon treatise details a clearly Radaellian-derived sabre method. At the time of publication, van Blijenburgh was the director of the Dutch military's physical education school, and had previously been a student of Leopold van Humbeek.
Hans Murero
Although more of a visual overview of fencing positions and not a treatise like the other texts in this list, the lesson progression and 12 images relating to sabre still give useful insight to how the Barbasetti method was being taught by Wiener Neustadt graduates like Hans Murero. The Austrian-born master studied fencing at Wiener Neustadt under Milan Neralić, who was in turn a student of Luigi Barbasetti.
Carl Böhlke
A sabre treatise possibly derived from Barbasetti, written by a fencing and gymnastics master from Hamburg.
Léon Bertrand
Although not quite as adherent to the Radaellian method as others on the list, the evident Radaellian influences in Bertrand's work reflect the general development of sabre in Italy at the time. As the son of a London fencing master, Léon Bertrand learnt the French method from a young age, but during the 1920s he would spend his summers studying sabre fencing with Beppe Nadi in Livorno.
Soviet cavalry regulations
The first of these books was authored by Н. Домнин [N. Domnin], the second by К. Бриммер [K. Brimmer], and third is attributed to the People's Commissariat of Defence of the USSR. All three were published by the Soviet government (although the first book is not quite a military manual like the other two) and detail the use of the sabre in the cavalry. The positions demonstrated in the latter book especially show great resemblance to Barbasetti's treatise.
Juan Bay
In contrast to the other South American treatises in this list, Juan Bay's 'Contribution to the study of the art of fencing' does not derive its content from Masiello or Ferretto's works, but is instead entirely original. Having first learnt fencing from his father, an Italian expat, Bay continued his studies under various Italian masters in Buenos Aires and Milan. After becoming a master he would teach at the Argentinian fencing master's school alongside Ferretto, Scansi, and Cristini and later succeeded Eugenio Pini as its director.
Stefan von Kerec (Stjepan Kerec)
The unique structure of Kerec's book makes it particularly useful for those looking to design a complete fencing course for sabre fencing, with the material being divided into 153 individual lessons. The method has a clear Radaellian foundation and also shows some Italo-Hungarian characteristics. The author was a graduate of the Wiener Neustadt school and taught in various clubs throughout Germany and his native Croatia.
Czech military regulations
The official military fencing regulations of Czechoslovakia, likely Barbasetti-derived through Robert Tvarůžek.
Włodzimierz Mańkowski
A much more comprehensive Polish-language treatise than Żytny or Sobolewski, complete with synoptic tables. He states in the introduction that his treatise mainly follows the 'Tuscan method', whose proponents supposedly include Eugenio Pini, the Nadi brothers, and Italo Santelli, and that he previous studied under Orazio Santelli (brother of Italo) in Lviv and G. T. Angelini in Trieste.
G. L. Walpot
Although he does not give his full name in the book, the author was likely Guillaume Leopold Walpot, a teacher of physical education in Amsterdam. At the beginning of the sabre section, he states that the method detailed in the treatise is Barbasetti's, which he learnt while attending the Amersfoort riding school.
Carl Stritesky
Multiple manuals and textbooks on Radaellian sabre with Hungarian influence. Stritesky was a graduate of the Wiener Neustadt school and appears to have spent most of his career teaching in Munich.
Dušan J. Gložanski
Shows strong influence from Barbasetti's treatise.
Đ. Ubsir
A word-for-word copy of Gložanski's book but of a higher print quality.
Giorgio Rastelli
Instead of dividing the book into separate foil, sabre, and épée as in most fencing treatises, all three weapons are dealt with simultaneously in an attempt to unify their instruction. While the sabre method is not as strictly Radaellian as others in this list, Rastelli does advocate daily practice of elbow molinelli (although he does not describe their execution). This treatise is a valuable data point on Italian sabre fencing during a period when very little technical material was being published in the country. The fact that it was republished in 1943 and 1950 and received endorsement from the Italian Fencing Federation shows that it was generally well-received at the time. Rastelli was a student of Romolo Davoli, a graduate of the Rome military fencing master's school.
László Gerentsér
Coming it at a mammoth 354 pages, this is arguably the most definitive work on Italo-Hungarian sabre from the first half of the 20th century. Gerentsér was an early adopter of Italian sabre when it first spread to Hungary, with one of his several masters being Angelo Torricelli, a graduate of the Rome fencing master's school. This book was published posthumously by Gerentsér's students.
Federico Ynglés Sellés
The second of three fencing volumes published by Federico Ynglés Sellés details a sabre method that is heavily based on Salvatore Pecoraro and Carlo Pessina's sabre treatise from 1912. Sellés was a graduate of the national fencing academy run by the Italian Fascist Party in Rome, and lists as reference material for his treatise the aforementioned book by Pecoraro and Pessina, the treatise of Masaniello Parise, and notes from two of the instructors at the Rome fencing academy, Antonino Pomponio and Ugo Pignotti.
Yugoslav cavalry regulations
A cavalry adaptation of Barbasetti's method.
Giulio Rusconi
A short 61-page book which includes for the three simplified exercise molinelli and a few molinello ripostes using the elbow as the main pivot. Rusconi was an amateur student of the Radaellian master Giuseppe Sanesi.
John Kardoss
An exposition of the Italo-Hungarian method that shows some resemblance to the treatise of László Gerentsér. John Kardoss was an amateur fencer who moved to Sydney, Australia, in the late 1940s, where he worked as a journalist and writer with a passion for theatre.
Zoltán Ozoray Schenker
A continuation of the Italo-Hungarian school, but with elbow molinelli still considered a fundamental exercise. This book seems to have been popular at the time, as it was soon translated into German and Polish. Among Schenker's many masters was Eduardo Armentani, who studied at the Rome fencing master's school under Ettore Schiavoni.
Giorgio Pessina & Ugo Pignotti
Commissioned by the Italian Fencing Federation, for decades this was the national sabre textbook for certifying fencing masters. Although many traditional Radaellian characteristics made way for the requirements of the modern game, the treatise retains the molinelli and preparatory exercises seen in Pecoraro and Pessina's method. Giorgio Pessina was the son and student of Carlo Pessina, and Ugo Pignotti was a student of Roberto Raggetti.
William Gaugler
One of the most comprehensive resources for fencing instructors of the classical Italian school. The technical sabre material is based on the work of Pessina and Pignotti, but the book also contains some useful sample lessons and pedagogical notes. The book was originally published in German in 1983, then expanded and published in Italian in 1992 and English in 1997. Gaugler trained with many Italian masters in his career and earned his fencing master certificate under Umberto di Paola and Giorgio Pessina.
What a wonderful resource! Many thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteAlas, the links appear no longer to be active for the two Serbian publications from 1939 and 1940.
Sorry about the links, they should work now.
Delete