marozzo-sca.pdf

Arte dell’ Armi

The Combat style of Achille Marozzo

Capitula 1

“To the Great and G lorious God omnipotent, and the Mother Saintly Virgin Mary, and of

Saint Sebastiano and Saint Roco and the Knight Saint Georgio and of all the others

Known as Saints of God, in this book will I give more things to you of the art of fencing,

for you shou ld reduce to m emory all th at you ha ve learned from me: and this I w rite in

case you did not exercise such mysteries, then you should remember. And in this way

have I written in this book a little of my intentions, but you, a nd those people that have

learned well from me, and also with great hard work will be able to do it: they will be

vanquished who have not exercised as you have; nevertheless avisoti, in this, some have

by Barwn Meistr Gwylym ab Owain, OL, OP, DWS

This project has been years in the making and now in the SCA we have a venue

for studying the historical cut and thrust rapier style that was prevalent during

the 16 th Century. In general the rapier combat as done in the SCA is an amalgam

of very late 16 th Century rapier combat mixed with some 17 th Century and later

technique. The current SCA Sidesword experiment was put in place to test

whether a primar ily cutting based co mbat style could b e safely done in the SC A.

no stamina to read it and take pa rt in practical ex ercising with the swo rd in hand; b ut with

a little hard work you can do this with imagination. The practical principles of playing

and honor I give to you for your com fort so you do n ot mak e such a m ystery of this art:

for this is of great danger: but in order to say to you if fortune allows me to give this art

to you, tha t you ma y know th is, that of doing it: and therefore I will show you the wa y to

teach your students, and foremost in the name of God, that you put the sword in hand

and tell them what you want from them in this instruction of arms. Again in the name of

God, an d the Moth er, and of Sa int Georgio you will pu t the sword in ha nd, and you will

show wh at it mea ns. Wh at is filo dritt o, and filo falso. And such tra ining you will use

with this segno tha t is marked on the wall, for this segn o is like the letters of the alp habet,

to demonstra te all the ma in blows that a re made w ith the sword, with two hands a s with

This manuscript is a work in progress and is a compilation of part of my

interpretation of Achille Marozzo’s written technique. I have included chapters

translated from Marozzo’s book Arte dell’ Armi. The translations consist of

material gleaned from Egerton Castle’s book Schools and M asters of Fence ,

from private translation provided by Maestro Andrea Lupo-Sinclair, from The

History of Fencing by William Gaugler, with translation help from Tom Leoni

and from my own translation of various chapters.

In this translation I will leave a num ber of types of Italian term s intact.

Specifically the guar d positions and attack types will be in Italian. Y ou will

need to refer to the original man ual written b y Marozzo a s well as to m aterials

supplied on my web site:

one. Wha t is mandritto to ndo, man dritto fendente, ma ndritto sgua lembrato, m andritto

redoppio , and falso dritto an d monta nte and you k now tha t from this b egins all th ese

attack s. And from the left dem onstrate roverso to ndo an d roverso sguale mbra to, roverso

fendente, and roverso redoppio, and false manco, and falso, and dritto, and falso roverso;

which in principle you will give them meaning. And of what is dritto and roverso,

making every one against said segno. This segno I outline in this book in order that you

do not forget. But he who watches this segno is just, like the alphabet, for you know that

when one goes to the school to read the drawings, then they learn first the alphabet, for of

that comes all letters and like this from the segno comes all the attacks. It is imperative

that you ma ke them do all the attack s (ferire) forward and backw ard in order that they

may practice the discussion of the botte and play at long distance with the arm for finally

they will know to give you the names of these botte. And when it appears to you that they

know how to m ake these botte and their nam es then you have started them play ing. Then

they will wan t to learn. Kno w that whe n you will g ive such princip les, over half, or all,

My main web site – http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/fencing.html

Training lessons – http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/fencing/training.html

Giovanni Rapisardi’s writeup on Marozzo –

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/other/gr/

Marozzo’s Progression – http://mac9.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/marozzo/

You should review Giovani Rapisardi’s link above as well as the Marozzo

progression page. Then you may move on to the following. It is important that

you have an understanding of the guards to be able to understand the translation

given below. I am only including those chapters that I feel are pertinent to SCA

comba t. The chap ters that include wrestling tec hnique w ill be omitted.

Maroz zo’s bo ok is set out as a series of situationa l exercises . That is he w ill

indicate a starting guard and then what attacks may be done from that guard and

the types of defenses to use if attacked in different ways. The exercises may be

used in practice. My comments are in italics below.

in the room where no others are except those of the same school, then you will not watch

each oth er and w ill learn b etter one fro m the oth er and th ey do not have to be asha med.

Some m ay be asha med in learn ing some of the grea ter principles pub licly, and in tru th it

is natural to fear of learning publicly. They do not have the heart to adhere to the

standards of the master: With this, than they will always fear it are not mocked from that

they are to see, and for this you must respect the secret teachings and still I say that when

you hav e taught the m the botte I a dvise you to g o to play an d return ba ck. I wan t you to

“Still I say, that you must never let any of the company’s new scholars play if you are

not present so that you will be able to amend their mistakes. For in playing with others

other than with the master they will learn bad habits which are hard to amend. Do not

forget tha t they shou ld not pra ctice with d ifferent schola rs who a re not you r studen ts.

This mak es it more difficult. So, practice for more days that they may learn go od practice

that com es from G od that h as mu ch theory , therefore I give it to yo u.“

practice the things that you have taught, four, or five days with your student so they know

the attacks (feriri) that you have taught to them. Then I want you to begin to examine

them in all gu ards. Especia lly the porta di ferro larga, an d porta di ferro stretta and alta

and coda lunga e a lta and cod a lunga e stretta and a lso cinghiara porta di ferro a nd in

guardia alta and coda lunga e distesa and when you will make such exam ination that not

there is some, but if not you fusse some scholar some toi old, because I do no t want them

to watc h you.”

Capitula 5

“Aga in I say to you, th at in tea ching yo ur stu dents the pr inciples of the edged w eapons,

that with the targa, & rotella, & b rochiero larga, & single sword, & swor d and cape,

sword & dagger, & of two swords, & of many other strong wea pons that you use,

remem ber alw ays the sta ndard s of movem ent, from g uard to gua rd, forwa rd, as beh ind, &

As with others at the time period, Marozzo dedicated his book to specific individuals and had

religious overtones throughout. As with other prior masters (see the works of Fiore di Liberi) he

talked about teaching and who to teach.

from the side, & for d eviousness, & in ev ery way tha t it is possible, & to teach th em to

accompany the hand with the foot, & the foot with the hand, otherwise you would not do

well, so that if you that teach walk over such a sign you will teach it in place, where

others ar e not tha t you d id not tea ch. Oth erwise, yo u up set the foun dation w ith those

you tea ch.”

Capitula 2

“And I tell you again that you must never attack without defending, nor defend without

attack ing, and if you do this you shall not fa il...”

Maro zzo ta ugh t the we apo ns in u se du ring th e time perio d. It is im porta nt to n ote tha t in som e of his

chapters he refers to the arming sword which was a military weapon. In the sections where he does

this it appears that a certain set of knowledge was required before learning some of the techniques

This is one of Marozzo’s primary tenets. Attack and defense is paramount and must be done

together.

outlined in his book. Nob les and others of the time pe riod would have taken lessons in the military

use o f the swo rd. Ma rozzo ’s tech niqu es au gme nt thes e tech niqu es for c ivilian c omb at.

Capitula 3

“And still I say to you, that when you have made the examination and given them the

pros and cons of what you have taught, I want you to make them practice with you

several days and am end where they have failed and m ake good strong attack s in order

that they ma y practice defense: Fin ally when y ou have done this, have o ne of your old

Capitula 6

“Still I say to y ou, that w hen you w ill want to begin , you will say it to them in this wa y:

here my children and brothers: I want you to swear on this sword which is the cross of

God, to do nothing cou nter to your Ma ster and not to teach any other person that w hich

you ha ve learn ed witho ut my licence: D o this before starting.”

scholars who is a good & plea sant player and have them play with said student in order

to mak e a broth erhood o ne to the ot her.“

Idem.

Marozzo’s book is intended as a guide to learn from and also to teach from. Throughout the text he

talks to the read er in a ma nne r tha t imp lies th e rea der i s a fe ncin g ins truc tor.

“To the said examination of precepts that you will show to them, & their playing and

making of good attacks that do not go however in guard, explain everything, pro and con

of what is d one.”

Capitula 4

Capitula 7

buckler. Primary the sma ll hand buckler. In later sections he talks ab out using the large b uckler,

targa (squa re target), and rotella (round shield).

“And k now that su ch oath is ma de alone, for he is su re, as they kno w to hold the sw ord in

hand, go demonstrate to others and listen then to your scholars on what you have shown

and taught to them. And you hearing then some of your students, etiandio ago that you

never do not amend it of nobody its do not make it, when that it played with some. And

Capitula 10

“Now I will begin the first assault of the spada and brochiero stretta, which is very

to this way come punishing, and believing they of knowing much and with this weary

ago, than m asters son it becom es to you; tha t being master s they not will never be able

complains k ing of you; for w hen they said, tha t you had to teach to it, then yo u will

answer them saying: I emb arrassed to tea ch itself to whom m aster is: for this reason to

other people's you go teaching: You do not have shame to want to learn from others that

have to say them ago yo ur these sc holars th at to su ch gives the m such answer .”

beau tiful and useful for playing and for te aching . Note, b efore going to play y ou m ust

find a companion/partner; but I want you to take a side of the room with your brochiero,

below to the left side, that is on your u pper thigh, an d your righ t foot close by the left in

good form and with the sword in the coda lunga e larga with the arm extended and the

body upright and as courteous as possible. Here I want you to advance your right foot

forward and at the same time cut with the false edge at the copula of the brochiero and

bring the copula near your face. Then make a gran passo with the left foot, forward and

to the right and then strike the swo rd with the bro chiero. End in th e guardia di testa with

the arm extended and then bring the point towards the ground, that is with the false edge

of your sword to wards y our br ochiero a nd strik e your brochier o with the false edge.

Then throw a upwards high cut with a ma ndritta and in this cut you do a molinello by

making a gran passo forward with the right foot towa rds the left. Then make an other

Capitula 8

“Also, for you r usefulness & for y our studen ts, never allow them to wrestle as this wo uld

not be useful: But when they would use close-quarter wrestling or ha lf-sword, have them

do it in a proper bout. T his way they will learn them throu gh proper practice. Remem ber

that o ne can perform all the wrestli ng (pr ese) or b lows w hen the y are p lainly tried, b ut if a

student faces an other from the op posite side of the class and tr y these they will lear n: I

want you to know that it is a beautiful mystery to know how to teach people well, more

than to just pla y; for a ma n, if he knows ho w to play w ell and does not k now how to

teach, is not good (he is single): but one that knows how to teach well, is good for many

people; and k now that w hen he kno ws the one and the other, he is of dou ble virtue an d is

a dou ble ma ster.”

with the left foot and go over the brochiero and strike the brochiero with the pommel of

the sword on the side inside the rim. Bring the sword hand forward and place the sword

point tow ards the g round and the n bring th e right foot fo rward and cu t with a m ontante .

Again, with the foot towards the left and ending in the guardia alta and your brochiero

extended. Now cut with a fendente against the rim of the brochiero with your right foot

back a nd the blow to th e left against the right. E nd in the coda lunga e d istesa. Finally

make a gran passo forward to the right, punching the sword with the brochiero and going

into a guardia d i testa. Then bring the false edge of the sword towards the copula del

brochiero making a gran passo with the right foot towards the left and cut with a

montante immediately as the right foot comes left. End in a guardia alta with your arm

extended. Your left thigh will be guarded from your enemy and your right foot will be

extended. Yo u will hav e reached close to y our enem y being agen te or patiente. B ut I

suggest if you a re agente, that is if you are the one a ttacking, yo u should b e in guard ia

Capitula 9

“Note now, do not at present give more training, for I am forced to give principally many

different games of ar ms from one to the other and in this you ha ve much to see: First I

will give the principle of the art of the brocchiero piccolo and then we will talk of the

hand in hand with the graciousness of God & the Mother Madonna Saint Maria,

everlastin g are the y praised .”

alta with the right foot forward. You should attack with a mandritto sgualembratto that

goes over the ar m with you r buckler extended towa rds your enem y. Step with the sa id

Now starts the actual technical section of the book. Marozzo begins with an exercise that may be

don e alon e. This is a pre para tory se quen ce tha t may be us ed to w arm up. H e then mov es on to

combat with an opponent. Also, I must note that he starts the instruction using the sword and

foot towards the left and at the same time make a cut to the head. Or, cut to the leg with a

mandritto; or a roverso, or thrust, or tramazzone. I want you to do them in the same time

as you m ake a g ran passo w ith the right foot. And you will thro w a roverso sgualem brato

against the rim of the brochiero and you will end in the coda lunga e stretta. Cut then at

the enemy's head. T hen I want y ou to bring the point und er the buck ler and then cu t with

two tramazzoni a t the face of your enemy. End in the porta di ferro stretta. Now , when

in the porta di ferro stretta, your enemy may attack to the head. So I want you to bring up

your sw ord acc ompa nied by th e brochier o into the g uard ia di testa and pa rry the cu t.

Straightway on parrying I want you to throw a mandritto tondo at the legs while stepping

of the brochiero. Pass in this touching with your right foot into a gran passo forward of

the left. In this passing step cu t with a mo ntante at the rim of the brochiero. Y our will

now be in the guardia alta with the right foot close to the left and the arm with the

brochiero well extended. The wrist is watching high and swordarm well formed and

extended in the guardia alta. That is the pommel of the sword watches the face of the

enemy a nd you r right foot is tight.”

with the right foot to th e left. Then throw a roverso sgu alembra to montan do immed iately

and end in the guardia alta with both arms extended. Next make a gran passo taking the

right fo ot behi nd the l eft and cut w ith a fen dente. L astly y ou w ill retu rn a cu t with t he left

foot forward. Then punch the sword with the brochiero and in said punching I want you

to do a half turn of the fist, that is to move the point of the sword towards the ground and

touch the copula of the brochiero with the false edge of the sword and pass with the right

foot into a gra n passo towa rds the left. Cut w ith a monta nte and end in guardia alta with

the broch iero as ex tended a s possible.”

Her e we s ee a static bloc k. Th e gu ard ia di te sta is u sed s tatica lly bu t is still fo llowe d with a cu t.

Unlike later masters that taught a more thrust oriented style of combat that was done in stesso tempo

(sing le tim e), Ma rozz o’s d efen ses u sed m ore d ui tem pi (do uble time) , that is , par ry an d rip oste .

Part Three

“Remaining in the guardia alta I want you to throw a tram azzone to a cinghiara porta di

Marozzo starts with the guardia alta. This high guard is very useful for offence and may also be

used defensively. You will note the number and types of attacks that may be used from this guard.

ferro. That is with your left foot forward. Do this with a little traverse opposite the right

side of your enemy and wait for said enemy who will throw a mandritto, or a roverso, or

a ponta or tramazzone to the head or leg. When he does this I want you to throw your

right foot forward in a gran passo to the left and parry the attack with the false edge of the

sword and give a roverso or go with a mandritto to the leg ending in the coda lunga e

stretta. When you have completed a falso and dritto of your sword it will go to a porta di

ferro larga. Now if your enemy throws a mandritto tondo at the head, or a fendente, or a

tramazzone, I want you to parry with the right edge of the sword and accompany the

sword hand with the hand of the brochiero. Keep your sword point looking to the face of

your enem y. On pa rrying with the r ight edge of the sword follow with a r overso to his

right temple or to his leg with your right foot forward. N evertheless, if he throws a new

cut to you r head, I wa nt you to a ccompan y the sword w ith your bro chiero in the gu ardia

di testa with your arms w ell extended and in this parry throw a m andritto tondo at the leg

Second Part

“Being in the guardia alta I want you to mak e a gran passo with the right foot. Now

throw a m andritto ab ove the arm and pull th e right foot close by the left. I wa nt you to

pass the sa id left oppo site the righ t side of the en emy. In t his passing step give a roverso

in the right temple. Your sword should not pass into the guardia di testa. In one time

throw you r right foot opposite his left side a nd give a fenden te with a tram azzone to his

head. Yo ur left foot will mo ve right to the rea r and you r sword will no t pass into a por ta

di ferro alta. For your enemy may attack your head. In this attack I want you to bring

your swor d and bu ckler forwa rd together, that is in th e guardia di testa with the a rms well

extended. With this you will parry the attack of your enemy and issue immediately a

mand ritto tond o to the leg that goe s under the arm , throwin g in one tr ue tim e a rove rso

sgualem brato. And when you have throw n said roverso cu t with a high m ontante an d in

going int o the gu ardia do sotto br accio. D o not stay firm here b ut thro w a rov erso

sgualembrato montando immediately past the rim of the buckler taking your right foot

close to the left. Your sword will now be in the guardia alta. Next throw the right foot

behind the left and and cut with a fendente at the rim of the brochiero and your sword

will move into the coda lunga e distesa. In the same time bring the left foot close by the

right Raise immediately said left and pu nch with the brochier. Having m ade the punch

bring you r sword point to the ground and you will beat the cop ula of the bro chiero with

the false edg e of the swor d and m ount a monta nte with th e right foot fo rward of the left.

The righ t foot should now be close by the right a nd your sw ord will be in the g uardia alta

with you r arm and leg s well form ed and t ight.”

this cut pull your right foot close by the left. Now for embellishing the play. Ma ke a

gran passo with the right foot behind the left and cut with a fendente at the rim of the

brochiero. The arm should be well extended and in one time pull the left foot close to the

right. Im media tely throw said left foot fo rward and in th is step pun ch with th e brochier o.

That is with the pommel of the sword against the brochiero and your sword will go in the

guardia di testa with the arm well extended. Countering, move the point of the sword

towards the ground. Now you will touch the false edge of the sword to the high outside

Note that attacks are made on the pass. Lunging is not used as in later rapier styles. Also note that

during a defensive move the defender may actually move into the attack and not retreat. We also see

here a parry with the false edge of the sword which in essense beats the attacking blade out of line

so that it misses target. This type of beat or expulsion defense is closer to single time defense than

double time.

the gua rdia di te sta with th e arms w ell extende d.”

Part Five

“Being in the guard ia di testa and your enem y in guar dia alta o r guard ia di testa or po rta

di ferro, I now want you to cut with a tramazzone into a porta di ferro larga. If your

enemy throws a fendente, roverso, tramazzone or thrust at the face I want you in the same

time to strike the a ttack with th e false edge of your sword and slice his face with a filo

dritto traversato. Your left foot should pass opposite the right side of him. In one time

you sho uld thr ow two trama zzoni with a passin g of you r right foot opposite th e enemy .

Your sword will go into the porta di ferro stretta. Now if your enemy attacks the head I

want you to counter with your sword and buckler together in the guardia do testa. In

parrying th is attack m ake a m andritto tond o to his leg and g o into the gua rdia di sotto

braccio . You r right foot should b e close by th e left. In one ti me thro wing a roverso

Part Four

“Being in the guardia alta, I want you to pass forward with a gran passo with your right

foot. At this ti me thro w a m andritto tondo a nd go into the gua rdia di so pra bra ccio.

Immediately bring your right foot close to the left, keeping the buckler well, and in the

time that you enter this guard if your enemy is low or high or in the guardia alta I want

you to move y our rig ht foot forw ard an d thrust at the ou tside right o f your en emy’s fa ce.

If he parries said thrust and strikes with the false edge of the sword on the outside and he

will discover the left part, now you will turn a roverso in falso to his left temple and if he

covers m ake a roverso to his right th igh. Do not mov e. Not y our foo t. Neithe r your leg.

But for yo ur defense retu rn a falso trav ersato to his right a rm. In this time m ake a h alf

sgualembrato that engages the head to the arm precisely for until to the feet of his right

side. Mounting a montante your right foot should be close by the left and your sword

will go into the guardia di testa. Now, embellishing the play you have tagliare (cuts),

toccare di brochiero, and montrare di montante. With these your sword will go into the

guardia di testa and your right foot will be close by the left and your arm s well extended

with the p erson to th e right.”

turn of the fist and cut with a fendente to the rim of the brochiero with your right foot

forward. Make a gran passo behind the left, that is with the left foot forward of the right

and you r sword will go into the coda lu nga e distesa. N ow move in to the gaur dia di testa

with your arms well extended. Make a half turn of the hand, that is taking the point of the

sword towards the ground and beating in one time the false edge of the sword on the

copula of the brochiero. Pass your right foot forward and mount a montante to the rim of

the brochiero and go into the guardia di testa with the feet close together and your arms

and legs extended. Your hip will be opposite the enemy and the hand with the brochiero

will have the wrist upward s. If your enemy is in the guardia a lta, I want you to m ake a

gran passo with the right foot forward and throw a mandritto to the arm and if in this cut

your enemy throws a cut to the head or leg I want you to make a traverse opposite the

right side of the enemy and mak e a roverso, catching the head. This to his arm s and feet

to his right side and y our sw ord into th e coda lu nga e a lta. No w if said en emy thr ows a

Part Six

“Being in the guardia di testa, immediately lower your sword to the porta di ferro alta and

if your enemy is in the same guard, or if he is where I want with the right foot forward,

now thrust his face to the outside with the left foot passing his right side. And if he

parries the thrust covering his left side now throw your sword to his right and shove your

buckler against his sword hand in one time moving your right foot opposite the left side

of the en emy a nd sho ve an other p onta t o his rig ht tem ple or g o to his fl ank with th e left

foot following the right to the rear. And in this you will throw two tramazzoni to the

head. Your sword will fall into the porta di ferro stretta. If in the same time your enemy

throws a shot at your head then thrust to his face with the sword hand covering, above

your bro chiero. You will parry w ith the right edge of the sw ord. Tha t is, in the guard ia

di faccia. You will then throw a roverso to the thigh. Not moving. N ot the foot. Neither

the legs. Your sword will fall into the coda lunga e stretta and if he throws a new to the

aforementioned parts then close the sword with the brochiero and parry the attack and

mak e a ma ndritto to ndo to the leg and go into a sotto bra ccio. T hrowin g a rov erso

sgualembrato that engages the headwhere the foot points (?), mount a montante and your

shot to the head or legs I want you to throw your right foot forward to the left put the

sword aside with your buckler and sword together. Then do a mandritto to the legs and

return immediately the right foot close by the left and in one time move said to the right

and throw a roverso sgualembrato, a montante, and then your sword will go into the

guardia alta with yo ur right foot close b y the left. You may now embellicsh you r play in

any mode you want. Tha t is with montare, cuts, and with touching of the brochiero. And

now, you will have cu ts, touchings of the bro chiero and m ontato, you r sword will go into

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