Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise

by Camillo Agrippa, Kenneth C. Mondschein (Translator)

Camillo Agripps’s widely influential “Treatise on the Science of Arms” was a turning point in the history of fencing. The author — an engineer by trade and not a professional master of arms — was able to radically re-imagine teaching the art of fencing. Agrippa’s treatise is the fundamental text of Western swordsmanship. Just as earlier swordsmanship can be better understood from Agrippa’s critiques, so too was his book the starting point for the rapier era. Every other treatise of the early-modern period had to deal explicitly or implicitly with Agrippa’s startling transformation of the art and science of self-defense with the sword. Likewise, all of the fundamental ideas that are still used today — distance, time, line, blade opposition, counterattacks and countertime — are expressed in this paradigm-shifting treatise. This is a work that should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history, practice or teaching of fencing. His treatise was also a microcosm of sixteenth-century thought. It examines the art, reduces it to its very principles, and reconstructs it according to a way of thinking that incorporated new concepts of art, science and philosophy. Contained within this handy volume are concrete examples of a new questioning of received wisdom and a turn toward empirical proofs, hallmarks of the Enlightenment. The treatise also presents evidence for a redefinition of elite masculinity in the wake of the military revolution of the sixteenth century. At the same time, is offers suggestive clues to the place of the hermetic tradition in the early-modern intellectual life and its implications for the origins of modern science. Camillo Agrippa’s “Treatise on the Science of Arms” was first published in Rome in 1553 by the papal printer Antonio Blado. The original treatise was illustrated with 67 engravings that belong to the peak of Renaissance design. They are reproduced here in full. The complete original Italian edition is available online. Introduction, glossary, notes, bibliography, 67 illustrations.

Genres: Martial Arts, Nonfiction, History

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1553

Reviews

[Benjaminxjackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting look at the history of fencing and Renaissance Italy.

The book is divided between a long introduction that talks about the historical times in which Agrippa lived and wrote, and then Agrippa's treatise. Let me get a couple of quibbles out of the way to start. First, some of the information gets very detailed and seems to require some background knowledge of Renaissance Italy on the part of the reader. I have studied some of it, but not a ton. So, there were a few parts where I felt a little lost. In the translation, there are a few terms that are left in their original Italian, and so, I ended up flipping to the glossary a lot to try to make sure I got what the word meant in context.

Those quibbles aside, I think that anyone interested in the history of fencing or even the development of though in the Renaissance would find things to enjoy in their book.

Agrippa is one of the first to write a fencing manual that was designed for everyone to learn from, and he focuses more on the point than the edge of the blade. He explicitly bases his fencing geometric principles, which Mondschein tells us is something of a break from at least the rhetoric of fencing books prior to his.

Agrippa's treatise covers fencing with the sword and has short sections on other weapons and grappling when one closes with an opponent.

There is also a dialogue about geometry and astronomy at the end of Agrippa's book. Agrippa is trying to be scientific about his fencing and breaking with tradition. This was an interesting addition to a fencing manual because it is included as a way of showing something about the scientific approach to the subject and to talk about science in general.

I read this book mostly on the train, so it is not like I was able to walk through the descriptions and diagrams, but at some point, I would like to do so.

Overall, this was a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in fencing and the relation of physical activities to intellectual thought.

[Will Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book, with illustrations, written by a master Swordsman in the 16th century. An invaluable resource for understanding the root of the fencing techniques that we use today. Also, a fascinating look into the time, martial etiquette and the mind of a survivor of countless battles.

[J.]

What a trip he is!

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the art of fencing in the Italian Renaissance. It can be a bit hard to follow, but the preface is very well done, giving a short biography of Agrippa as well as explaining his principles. It was worth reading all by itself. To really make sense of this book I recommend reading Egerton Castle's "Schools and Masters of Fencing : From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century" concurrently.