CamilloAgrippa.pdf

Camillo Agrippa’s ‘Trattato Di Scienzia d’Armes’

Agrippa was Milanese, an architect mathematician, and engineer. Since

he was not primarily a Master of Fence, nor was this his livelihood he

brings us a very pragmatic and mathematical viewpoint to fencing that

is very different from some others of his time.

The first publication of his work, 'Trattato di Scienzia d'Armes, con

Dialogo Filosofia', was published in Rome in 1553 by Antonio Blado.

In the work, dedicated to Cosimo de

Medici, Duke of Florence, Agrippa gives his method of swordplay via

text which is explicative and clear as well as through illustrations that show both the

initial stances as well as movement through an innovative use of 'stop-motion'

illustrations.

In the preface of his work, Agrippa describes that the science of arms consists of justice,

intelligence, and practice. Every man must determine for himself if justice calls for an act

of arms. Life and victory depend on an intelligent use of arms. And practice gives life to

theory.

Thus his theory of fence is based on simple yet effective principles, enabling the

swordsman to not only defend himself, but also to live in a just and honourable manner.

Agrippa was the first to advocate the four hand positions that were used by virtually

every Italian master after him. These positions, when coupled with the guardia, help give

an easy to use and understand nomenclature to determine exactly where the sword is in

relation to the body, and the blades orientation to the opponent.

The four basic hand positions of Italian fencing:

Note: all hand positions are referenced to provide ease of understanding regardless of

the dominant hand. The positions themselves are the same no matter which hand is used.

First- The palm is to the outside of the fighter,

thumb downward.

Second - Palm facing downward, hand parallel

to the ground, thumb to the inside of the

fighter.

Third - Palm to the inside, thumb pointing

upward. Opposite of first.

Fourth - Palm facing upward, hand parallel to

the ground, thumb to outside. Opposite of

second.

Page 1 of 8

Camillo Agrippa: An Introduction

A guard (or ward) is any position the sword is held to achieve a desired effect, either

offensive or defensive in nature. Prior to Agrippa, most Fencing Masters used a large

number of guards, often giving them fanciful and elaborate names. Marozzo, a Master of

the Bardi school and earlier contemporary of Agrippa’s used upwards of 15 guards and

gave them names such as ‘Guardia di Coda Lunga e Stretta’ or the ‘Porto di Ferro Stretta

overo Larga’. This was the tradition and Masters had used names such as these since

some of the earliest manuals we have record of. Agrippa, applying a mathematician and

architect’s eye chose names that were simple and direct: one through four (Prima,

Seconde, Terza e Quarta). In narrowing the number of guards used, Agrippa enabled a

fencer to easily and readily understand the system while still retaining the effectiveness

of his predecessors.

The four guardia of Agrippa:

Prima (first): The position a man's blade takes when

immediately drawn from its sheath. Hand and Arm

high, palm facing outside (hand in 1 st ) point menacing

opponent, blade slightly angled toward opponent's right

chest (similar to DiGrassi's High Ward)

His explanation of the prima guardia :

… whatever person you wish, who carries a sword at

his side, stimulated by his own fury, or by some exterior provocation of words or deeds,

having drawn the entire sword from the scabbard, extending his hand high to form a

guard, which being the first that one makes immediately on having drawn the sword,

shall be called… prima…

(… qual persona si uoglia che porti spada a lato, stimulata da propria furore,

ouero da qualcha esterior prouocatione di parole o di fatti, poi che havera tratta la

spada in tutto fore del fodero uiene stendendo la mano in alto a formar’ una guardia, la

quale per essere la prima che si facci subito cauata la spada si chiemera… la prima… .)

Note: Acamillo Palladini was openly critical of this guard in his work, claiming

that the height and extension of the arm allowed an opponent to clear your blade

too easily and that you would be unable to make an attack effectively from this

ward. This author in part agrees with Palladini but feels instead that this ward was

designed primarily to gain distance by menacing the opponent at the beginning of

the action, rather than to be used as a static guard.

Seconda (second): Guard best suited for invitational

attacks. Arm extended, approx. chest height, blade still

menacing, angled slightly across body. Hand remains in

1st or 2nd Depending upon the interpretation of the text,

and the situation, this guard can also be performed as a

Broad Ward (see DiGrassi) or as a variant of Marozzo's

Coda Lunga series.

Page 2 of 8

Camillo Agrippa: An Introduction

Terza (third): Easiest and most common of Agrippa's

wards. Lower guard of about

waist level, with the point of the blade menacing your

opponents opposite shoulder, hand

position is either 2 nd or 3 rd . (similar to diGrassi's

Low Ward)

Quarta (fourth): This ward is most useful against

adversaries who prefer cutting attacks to your left side.

The stance is made by holding the sword on your left

side with your sword arm crossing your body. The tip

of the sword is angled up towards your opponent's right

shoulder. Your hand should be in the fourth position.

This guard position is more defensive in nature

although you may use it to stringer (engage) your

opponent's blade ( italian: Trovare di spada) and set up for gliding type attacks such as

the flanconade as used in the classical Italian schools).

Agrippa illustrates the guards intially in one image with

four figures. This serves the purpose of showing the

progression from guardia to guardia but also gives the

reader a brief glimpse into the interrelation between the

guards.

The grip Agrippa advocates (as shown in the woodcuts)

has the index finger over the crossbar. The thumb is

placed either on top of the ricasso or on the false edge side of the ricasso. The grip is firm

yet supple, without tension or tightness. In prima, seconda, and terza , the left hand is

armed with a dagger, while in the illustration for quarta , the left is unarmed and elevated

to the height of the head. Prima and seconde have the feet close together while terza and

quarta have the legs flexed and feet spaced fairly widely apart.

Agrippa also advocates an extended guard, stating ‘there are some individuals who say

that a thrust delivered by drawing the sword arm back will be easier to execute, will have

greater force, and will be more secure’ He does not agree: ‘by keeping the sword arm

well extended the weapon travels along a straight line, moves more rapidly, and therefore

has the advantage.’ He also remarks that in pulling the sword arm back and then thrusting

forward there is a loss of time which gives the opponent a chance to counterattack.

Keeping the sword arm extended and the point in line was of vital importance to Agrippa.

Page 3 of 8

Camillo Agrippa: An Introduction

The blade actions that Agrippa uses are roughly similar to those of Marozzo. While the

terms and illustrations are sparse, it is the authors understanding that the text of Agrippa

illustrates the concepts well.

The basic Italian cuts are:

Tondo A circular cut delivered horizontally

Sgualembrato An oblique downwards cut

Fendente

A vertical downwards cuts

Montante

A vertical upwards cut

Redoppio

An oblique upwards cut

Each of these cuts must be made with the center of percussion or ‘sweet spot’ of the

blade. This is located at different area for each blade, but is always in the latter third of

the blade. Damage is yielded through the use of percussion with incision. The cuts should

be executed either from the shoulder (without bending the arm) or just from the wrist,

with a wheel-like, swift motion. This latter cut is called stramazzone and is quite

powerful, especially when delivered to the head (stramazzone = Italian "stramazzare",

meaning "falling with force"). Although the stramazzone brings the sword momentarily

out of line (performing almost a whole circle), it does so rapidly, and the rest of the arm

stays put against the opponent. Because of the combination between the lightness of the

blade and the necessity of a more contained arc, the cuts were performed a segatura , i.e.

incorporating a slicing motion that, ideally, would involve the whole of the debile (foible)

in order to be more effective.

--Note the segutura is a component of the technique, not the whole of the technique.

His words describing what we would call disengagement in time are:

… without moving the arm from its position, lowering the point as much as necessary to

evade the opposing sword, and turning the hand, directing the point toward the right side

of the enemy, and quickly, with the thrust of the hand, and with a step forward with the

right foot, all in an instant, you should be able to strike the adversary…

(… perche senza mouere punto il braccio del suo loco, abbassando alquanto la detta

punta, co schifar la spada contraria, & volgendo la mano in giro, verson la parte destra

del nemico, et breuemente, co’ l spingere d’ essa mano, & col passar innanzi, di pie

dritto, tutto in vn tratto potrebbe inuestir l’ auersario…)

Agrippa believed that the eyes should also focus on the sword hand.

‘… for everyone’s maximum security it shall be best (in my opinion) to fix the eyes on

the sword hand, which is the source of the principal and nearest thrusts… .’

(… per sicurezza maggiore di ciascuno il meglio sara (secondo il parer mio) l’ affissar’ li

occhi ne la mano de la spada da la quale procedono le principali, & piu vicine botte… .)

Proper hand positioning, the use of the guards, and eye contact are all important aspects

of the system of defence developed by Agrippa. However, fencing is not static, but

Page 4 of 8

Camillo Agrippa: An Introduction

variable and dynamic. The basic movements used to place yourself in a advantageous and

safe postion are known as footwork. Footwork and body positioning are used in

conjunction with the postioning of the weapon to remove a threat. Engagement of the

blade along with proper footwork minimizes the danger of attack from your opponent.

Within the ‘Trattato’, Agrippa details a number of different types of footwork. Much like

the guardia, Agrippa’s footwork is simple and easy to learn, but very sophisticated.

Footwork of Agrippa:

Passo- This is simply the advance as studied in modern fencing. The advance is made

from the guard postion in order to get within attacking distance. To perform an advance

the right foot is moved forward a short distance in the direct line, and then the left foot is

brought up to return to the same postion. Throughout the advance the body should stay in

relatively the same position. The advance is very useful for a number of situations:

1. The passo is best for making up distance on the opponent’s retreat.

2. For slowly regulating distance.

Riunate- This is the retreat of modern fencing. A recovering step, initiated with the rear

foot. The Riunate is the reverse of the Passo. It is used to step back out of reach of an

adversary or to draw the opponent out of balance.

Gran Passo- ‘Great Step’ This is a deep demi-lunge. To perform the gran passo, begin

by extending your sword arm forward. As a continuation of this extension, shift your

body forward. Don’t bend your body as you are shifting it; keep it erect, going forward

from your ankles, not from your hips. As you are about to lose your balance extend your

left leg forcefully until it is straight and lift the right foot to step straight out with it and

the whole body. The right toes leave the ground last, the right heel touches the ground

first. Body and right leg move together. When the foot has landed, the body continues

forward and downward until the kneecap is directly over the instep.

Passata- Closely related to the Passo, the Passata is nothing more than a full step. The

rear foot comes forward, past the lead foot in a straight line, reversing the postioning of

the feet.

Mezzo Passo- A step to one side, also known as a traverse. To traverse right, the right

foot moves a half-pace to the right, then the left foot follows.

Intagliata- The intagliata is a forward offline step done with the forward leg. This side

step is performed by stepping across the body with the forward leg.

Page 5 of 8

Camillo Agrippa: An Introduction

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