A third book of Radaellian student notes

Two years ago I published transcriptions of two interesting copies of Del Frate's 1876 treatise Istruzione per la scherma di sciabola e di spada containing notes written the owners of the books when they studied at the Milan Fencing Master's School. I stated at the end of the article that it is highly likely that additional copies of this kind still survive, and after sending out some enquiries I did indeed located one more. This copy originally belonged to Antonio Maragliano, and it now resides in the Biblioteca Polo Umanistico-Bioscienze at the University of Teramo. Below you may find a standalone transcription of the manuscript as well as a side-by-side comparison with the two previously-discussed manuscripts by Lombardi and Barbasetti.

Maragliano manuscript transcription

Side-by-side comparison

Maragliano's notes are incomplete and the shortest of the three, coming in at around a third the length of Lombardi's notes, and all the content contained in his notes can also be found in both Lombardi and Barbasetti's. As indicated on the first manuscript page, Maragliano was a student of the 1883-84 course at the Master's School, which was the last course intake at the school before its closure in March 1884.¹ Given that this course would have only been around four months in when the school closed, the incomplete nature of Maragliano's manuscript reflect this interruption, indicating the point in the theory curriculum the students had reached in March 1884. Maragliano and his fellow students were able to resume their training the following year in a condensed course at the new Master's School in Rome under Masaniello Parise.² While Maragliano's name can be found in this subsequent intake, it is unclear if he did end up graduating.

Despite their brevity, Maragliano's notes provide a valuable third point of comparison in determining which of the minor variations across the three manuscripts are more likely to be representative of the reference material they were transcribing. In general it is Barbasetti who appears to deviate more often from the original wording through paraphrasing and the occasional omission. Given how minor these variations are, Maragliano's notes provide significant proof that, at least with regard to the content all three manuscripts have in common, the reference material remained very consistent between the years 1876 and 1884.

My sincere thanks to the library staff at the University of Teramo for providing the scans of this manuscript.

*******

1 "Da Milano a Roma," Corriere della Sera, 11 March 1884, 3.^↩
2 Cesare Ricotti-Magnani, "N. 90. - Corso speciale presso la scuola magistrale di scherma," Giornale Militare 1885: parte seconda, no. 31 (30 July 1885): 340–1.^↩

A modern kardvívás by László Gerentsér

As a change from the usual Italian treatises that are shared here, today I wish to share my own copy of the Hungarian master László Gerentsér's 1944 sabre treatise, entitled A modern kardvívás ('Modern sabre fencing').

Scans

Transcription (sans illustrations)

Although it is a Hungarian treatise, the system it details is largely Radaellian. As he explains his introduction, Gerentsér spent some time studying under Angelo Torricelli, a graduate of the military fencing masters school and a student of Barbasetti. Gerentsér also makes many references to the treatises of Barbasetti, Salvatore Pecoraro and Carlo Pessina, and Gusztáv Arlow (an early Hungarian adopter and adapter of Barbasetti's method).

In 1967, Julius Palffy-Alpar would state in his own book, Sword and Masque, that Gerentsér's treatise was 'one of the best about the rapidly developing Hungarian saber technique of the time'. Although the Radaellian influences are clear, there are nonetheless many aspects of the treatise that would have been seen as characteristically Hungarian, such as his treatment of the fleche, the preference for guard of 3rd, and the obtuse angle between the arm and sabre when cutting.

Gerentsér's book is an invaluable look into the development of the mighty Italo-Hungarian school, which dominated competitive sabre fencing for a large part of the 20th century. Despite the prominence of the Hungarians in the annals of modern fencing, their treatises are unfortunately rather neglected outside their own country due to the language. It is my hope that by making these sources publicly available, they may eventually be better understood by the community at large thanks to the diligent efforts of a select few.

Translation - Sinossi della scherma di sciabola by Antonio Tinti

In the period of history focused on in this blog, it is not often that one encounters a text without a named author or date of publication. The curious text Sinossi della scherma di sciabola is rather unique in this sense, if not for its content. The text and illustrations (aside from a few small additions) are largely identical to Del Frate's 1868 treatise on Radaelli's sabre method Istruzione per maneggio e scherma della sciabola¹, albeit shorter and more concise. Despite this, the small differences in the text may prove interesting for those interested in the Radaellian method at a deeper level. The Biblioteca Fondazione Collegio San Carlo has kindly allowed me to share the excellent quality scans of this text.

Translation (without illustrations)

Transcription

Scans (includes illustrations)

Although this copy does not list an author, in Gelli's 1890 fencing bibliography he states that some copies bear the name 'A. Tinti' in the top right-hand corner of the title page. As Gelli suggests, this is most likely Antonio Tinti, a fencing master at the Military School of Modena. He also gives an estimated date of publication of around 1880, which I would also agree with.²

One piece of evidence that gives a strong indication of it being published before 1884 is the presence in this copy of the following hand-written note at the end of the book, most likely written by the original owner of this copy:

The modifications recently introduced in the Fencing system included in the treatise adopted as the Text for the Army and approved by the Ministers of the Navy and Public Education are based specifically on the teaching of the Sword (Foil).
The sabre fencing is therefore only the continuation of the same artistic principles announced in the sword text, namely: tempo, speed, and measure.
The difference between the sabre method now adopted and that of this booklet is in the method of performing the blows, which are struck with the pivot point in the articulation of the wrist instead of the elbow.
The modifications introduced in the form of the sabres can be seen from the new sabre models; and the theories, pictures, and prints of the swords and sabres for the aforementioned new method are fully explained and highlighted in other sword and sabre synopses.

It is clear that they are referring to Parise's treatise, which became the regulation fencing treatise for the army in 1884³, thus indicating that Tinti's book was published earlier than this.

The book includes 21 illustrations, which mostly appear to have been copied from Del Frate's aforementioned 1868 book, but with a few additions such as the diagram labelling the parts of the sabre, plus a close-up illustration showing how to grip the sabre.

As for the method described, the main notable differences to Del Frate is Tinti's explicit recommendation that in the student's later lessons, the half cross-step back in the parries of low 3rd and low 4th may be omitted. He is also the only Radaellian author to state that the change sforzi (sforzi di cambiamento) are only intended as exercises:

With the exception of the sforzo of half-circle and various other simple sforzi done with the edge, the sforzi are only done as exercises in the lesson, while the first ones are also performed in the bout.

There are other minor differences here-and-there, which I leave to the reader to discover for themselves.

Thanks to Biblioteca Fondazione Collegio San Carlo for providing these scans and for allowing me to share them with you all.

1 Settimo Del Frate, Istruzione per maneggio e scherma della sciabola (Florence: Tipografia, lit. e calc. la Venezia, 1868).

2 Jacopo Gelli, Bibliografia generale della scherma con note critiche, biografiche, e storiche (Florence: Tipografia Editrice di Luigi Niccolai, 1890).

3 Cesare Francesco Ricotti-Magnani, "N. 107. - Pubblicazione del trattato di scherma di spada e sciabola compilato dal signor Masaniello Parise. - (Segretariato generale). - 11 agosto," Giornale Militare 1884: parte seconda, no. 33 (16 August 1884): 653–4.

Translation - Lezioni collettive di spada e sciabola by Eugenio Pini

Eugenio Pini is one of the most famous names in modern Italian fencing history, perhaps second only to Aldo Nadi. He was undoubtedly the first modern Italian fencing celebrity, with his name being known across Europe thanks to his high-profile fencing exhibitions, duels, feuds, and not least his renowned fencing club in Livorno, which produced many champions, the most prominent of whom being Giuseppe 'Beppe' Nadi, father of Aldo and Nedo Nadi.

Before he was quite so famous, while employed at the Royal Naval Academy in Livorno, Pini wrote a short book detailing his method of group instruction for fencing, according to the regulation method of the time (see Parise's 1884 treatise Trattato teorico-pratico della scherma di spada e sciabola). It is this valuable and interesting work which I wish to share with you all today, which is entitled Lezioni collettive di spada e sciabola ('Group sword and sabre lessons'), published in 1891 in Milan.

Translation | Transcription | Scans

With very little in the way of technical notes, this booklet is more of a pedagogical guide for trained fencing instructors. Although individual lessons were the more popular method at the time for imparting technical skills (at least in the initial phases of learning), Pini's text provides a valuable insight into how skilled fencing masters would impart lessons to groups without compromising the quality of their teaching in doing so.

With reference to Parise's regulation treatise, Pini divides his curriculum into 5 years (the same length as an officer's course at the Royal Naval Academy), with the first four years of which being devoted almost entirely to sword fencing. Here is a summary of each year of the curriculum:

1st year

Instruction begins with sword fencing only. Students learn basic footwork, simple attacks, simple parries, circular parries, disengagements and counter-disengagements, and feints.

2nd year

The instructor transitions to doing individual lessons with the students, who practise among themselves when not taking a lesson.

3rd year

The instructor continues in the same manner as in the second year, but also begins slowly transitioning only the most capable students into bouting, which they will be allowed to do in the last months of the year.

4th year

The instructor will continue perfecting the students' fencing individually, still only allowing the best students to bout between themselves and with the instructor. In the last months of the year, students will begin learning the fundamentals of sabre fencing through group exercises

5th year

Students will receive individual sabre lessons, whilst the rest practise among themselves through exercises and bouting. All the while, the instructor will keep a watchful eye on the students, correcting and guiding them to becoming skilled and courteous fencers.

La Scherma della Sciabola e del Bastone a Due Mani by Alberto Falciani

Seeing as it has been a while since I have made public any original fencing treatises, I thought I should get around to completing a transcription of Alberto Falciani's La scherma della sciabola e del bastone a due mani ('Fencing with the sabre and two-handed stick'), published in Pisa in 1870.

Transcription: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1okZkYb02Xpuky_KnIUfZ6BbATDv_Bx9L

As the name implies, this treatise is devoted to both sabre and bastone, the latter being the practice of fencing with two-handed sticks, which was quite popular in the middle of the 19th century, before going out of fashion around the time this treatise was published.

Although it contains no illustrations, the language is clear and simple enough for them to not be required, such as the description for the typical northern Italian lunge ('... the right breast is almost directly above the right knee').

In an article from Corriere dell'Arno, published 31 October 1886, the writer states that Falciani was a volunteer in the 2nd and 3rd Italian Wars of Independence, and he is now a 'master of fencing, gymnastics, and military exercises' in Pisa.

Thanks to Biblioteca Universitaria di Pisa for providing the scans for this transcription.

1853 Italian Cavalry Sabre Exercise

Today I present the scans of the Italian military sabre exercise Istruzione pel maneggio della sciabola approvata dal Ministero della Guerra ("Instruction for the handling of the sabre, approved by the Ministry of War"), released in 1853 in Turin, which was then in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Since certain parts of the scans are difficult to read, I have also provided a transcription.

Original  |  Transcription

This short manual instructs cavalrymen in basic positions on foot (e.g. attention, flank left, etc.) and sabre exercises performed as if on horseback. Although it does not contain the Radaellian method, it is most likely the system that Radaelli was instructed to use during his volunteer military service in 1859. It therefore serves as a good insight into what Radaelli was responding to when he was developing his own cavalry system in the 1860s.

Here is a short list of some of the notable features of the sabre system detailed in this manual:

• The basic guard position is similar to Radaelli's parry of 5th.
• The "semicircle" parries seen in the 1873 cavalry regulations are also taught here.
• Cuts are numbered 1 to 6, identical to the English cuts.
• Thrusts are done with accompanying body movement.
• The molinelli exercises are performed entirely with the wrist and are not done on horseback.

Special thanks to Biblioteca Benincasa Ancona for providing the scans.