Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi: 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Fillipo Vadi

by Fillipo Vadi, Luca Porzio, Gregory D. Mele

For the first time, a color fascimile and translation will be available from this important 15th century master of late Italian Medieval swordsmanship. Master Fillipo Vadi's work, previously overlooked and underestimated by fencing scholars, presents the student of historical swordsmanship or of miltiary history a fresh, stunningly beautiful look into the mind of an Italian fencing master.Accompanying the exquisitely wrought text, finely translated by Luca Porzio, are 56 color plates showing many of the techniques explained in the chapters and by other historical masters, but in this case, with such a beautiful rendering that they are works of art unto themselves.An absolute must for the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history of fencing or late medieval warfare, this rich volume will also appeal to collectors of illuminated manuscripts, reeactors, and literary traditions of 15th century Italy.

Genres: Martial Arts, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filipo Vadi stands as a fascinating transition from the medieval art of combat to the Renaissance art of combat, straddling the line between Fiore dei Liberi and Bardi. However, the worth of this text goes far beyond its value as a reference point of transitioning Italian martial culture. What Vadi offers us (through the translation of Luca Porzio and the founder of the Chicago Swordplay Guild, Mr. Greg Mele) is a complete martial art that ranges from unarmed combat to fighting in full harness with a polehammer.
If that were all this book offered, it would already be worth purchasing. However, it is also a beautiful full-size, full-color copy of the actual 15th century text, which makes it doubly valuable. Any serious student of medieval swordsmanship should own this book.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introductory text and first 16 chapters of the translation make for very useful reading for any student of 15th C Italian swordsmanship, and anyone with an interest in the theory of medieval/early rennaissance combat systems.

This is one of the few texts that provides both a solid english translation and color reproductions of the original plates of an early Italian fighting treatise. Unfortunately, due to intellectual property concerns on the part of museums and private collections, few works of this type are likely to ever make it to print.