Fiore dei Liberi
Encyclopedia
Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco (ca. 1350s - 1410s) was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian
Italian school of swordsmanship
The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise to the days of Classical Fencing ....

 master from whom we have an martial arts manual. His Flower of Battle is also the third oldest fighting manual yet discovered (after the MS I.33 and the HS 3227a), and the most extensive from the Medieval period.

Life

Fiore dei Liberi records in his book that he was the son of Benedetto delli Liberi of Premariacco
Premariacco
Premariacco is a comune in the province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 60 km northwest of Trieste and about 13 km east of Udine....

, from the Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...

 region of modern-day Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and was born in Cividale del Friuli
Cividale del Friuli
-External links:*...

 Patriarchal State of Aquileia. There are few records of his life beyond his own brief autobiographical account, but in 1383 a "Master Fiore" was recorded at Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...

, where he was listed as a commander in the civil war on the side of the alliance of towns. In 1395 he can be placed at a duel fought in Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, and in 1399 he was recorded in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

. At some point thereafter, he became associated with Niccolò III d'Este
Niccolò III d'Este
Niccolò III d'Este was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero.-Biography:...

, Marquis
Marquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...

 of Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

, and Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

, though the nature of this association is unclear.

Fiore dei Liberi wrote that he had a natural inclination to the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 and began at a young age. Later he studied under many masters of arms from both Italy and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He named only one of these, a Master Johannes "called Suueno" (possibly 'the Swebian' or 'of Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

'), who was himself a scholar of Master Nicholai of Toblem. Though he tells us little of his own career as a commander and master at arms, he offers an extensive list of his more famous students, including Piero del Verde, Nicolò Borialino, Galeazzo di Mantua, and Azzone Francesco di Castelbarco, and details their martial exploits. He also mentions that on five separate occasions he was forced to fight lethal duels for his honor against other masters, whom he described as envious because he refused to teach them, and survived each without taking any wounds.

He states that he began writing Flos Duellatorum (the Pisani-Dossi MS) on February 10, 1410, and noted in its prologue that he had studied the arts of combat for more than 50 years. Based on the customary age of martial arts instruction for the nobility, it is estimated that Fiore was born around 1350. His death date is also an estimate as there are no known records of his life after he completed his book.

Fiore's teachings greatly influenced many of the Italian masters who came after him, most notably Filippo Vadi, as well as certain of the later German masters including Ludwig von Eyb. There is some evidence leading researchers to speculate that Johannes ditto Suueno may have been the German grand master Johannes Liechtenauer.

The Flower of Battle

Four copies of the illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 are currently known to exist, and there are records of two others whose current locations are unknown. The MS Ludwig XV 13 and the Pisani-Dossi MS are both dedicated to Niccolò III d'Este and state that they were written at his request and according to his design. The MS M.383, on the other hand, lacks a dedication and claims to have been laid out according to his own intelligence. The MSS Latin 11269 lost any dedication it might have had along with its prologue. Each of the extant copies of the Flower of Battle follows a distinct order, though both of these pairs contain strong similarities to each other in order of presentation.

The major sections of the work include: abrazare, unarmed plays (usually translated as wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

 but more literally grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

); daga
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...

, including both unarmed defenses against the dagger and plays of dagger against dagger; spada a un mano, the use of the longsword
Longsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...

 in one hand (also called "the sword without the buckler"); spada a dui mani, the use of the longsword in two hands; spada en arme, the use of the longsword in armor (primarily techniques from the halfsword); azza, plays of the poleaxe in armor; lancia, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

 and staff plays; and mounted combat (including the spear, the longsword, and mounted grappling). Brief bridging sections serve to connect each of these, covering such topics as bastoncello, or plays of a small stick or baton
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....

 against unarmed and dagger-wielding opponents; plays of longsword vs. dagger; plays of staff and dagger and of two clubs and a dagger; and the use of the chiavarina
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

 against a man on horseback.

The format of instruction is largely consistent across all of the copies of the manual. Each section begins with a Master Remedy, a figure in a golden crown who demonstrates a counter technique against a basic attack. He is followed by various Scholars, figures wearing golden garters on their legs who demonstrate iterations and variations on this counter. After the Scholars there is a Master Contrario, a figure wearing both a crown and a garter, who demonstrates how to counter the Master Remedy's technique (and those of the Scholars). Some sections feature multiple Masters Remedy or Masters Contrario, while some have only one. There are also many cases in which an image in one copy will only feature a scholar's garter where the corresponding image in another copy also features a master's crown. Depending on the instance, this may be intentional or may be an error in the art.

The MS M.383

The MS M.383, titled Fior di Battaglia, is in the holdings of the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Novati described it as a small, thin, vellum folio, pen and ink with gold highlights, and illustrations of sword and lance combat on foot and horseback. This is the briefest copy of Fiore's work currently known, with only 19 folios; it has a prologue in Italian and four illustrated figures per page in the main body. The figures are accompanied by text that is often identical to that of the MS Ludwig XV 13 (excepting differences in spelling), but at times includes additional explanation. The MS M.383 was almost certainly longer when it was first written; its text makes reference to sections on poleaxe, dagger, and grappling which are not present in the book's current state. It also refers to a certain play of the sword in one hand which is likewise missing from that section.
This manuscript is typically referred to as the 'Pierpont Morgan' or simply the 'Morgan'.

The known provenance of the MS M.383 is:
  • Written between 1400 and 1410. The Pisani-Dossi MS dates to 1410 and states that the master had fifty years of experience in the martial arts; the MS M.383 and the MS Ludwig XV 13 both state that he had been training for "forty years and more", which makes them slightly older.
  • before 1780 - it occupied ff 241-259 of a larger collective binding titled, Arte di armeggiare a piedi ed acavallo (codex Soranzo MCCLXI) in the Biblioteca Soranzo in Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

     (Library of Jacopo Soranzo, Venetian senator, 18th century). The other contents of this codex are unknown.
  • 1780-1836 - the collection of the Venetian former Jesuit Matteo Luigi Canonici (1727–c.1806) (sold London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    , Sotheby's
    Sotheby's
    Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...

    , June 15, 1836, no. 40).

  • 1836-1903 - owned by Rev. Walter Sneyd of Bagington Rectory, Coventry
    Coventry
    Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

     (sold London, Sotheby's, Dec. 19, 1903, no. 720)
  • 1903-1909 - owned by Tammaro de Marinis (catalog 8, 1908, plate 9).
  • 1909 - the collection of John Pierpont Morgan (currently in the Morgan Library & Museum).


The contents of the MS M.383 are as follows:
  • Prologue (ff 1r-2r)
  • Mounted combat (ff 2v-8r)
  • Spear vs. cavalry (ff 8r-8v)
  • Lanza plays (ff 9r-9v)
  • Spada en arme stances (ff 10r-10v)
  • Spada en arme plays (ff 10v-11v)
  • Spada a dui mani stances (ff 12r-13r)
  • Spada a dui mani wide plays (ff 13v-14v)
  • Spada a dui mani close plays (ff 15r-16v)
  • Sword vs. dagger play (f 17r)
  • Spada a un mano plays (f 17v)
  • Longsword against spear/spear and dagger against spear (f 18r)
  • Sword vs. dagger plays (ff 18r-18v)
  • Spada a un mano play (f 19r)

The MS Ludwig XV 13

The MS Ludwig XV 13, also titled Fior di Battaglia, is currently in the holdings of the J. Paul Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...

 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Its prologue, format, illustrations, and text are all very similar to the MS M.383. The text takes the form of descriptive paragraphs set in poor Italian verse, which are nevertheless fairly clear and informative. Despite its shared characteristics with the MS M.383, there are important differences, not the least of which is the vastly different order of the information. This is the longest and most complete of the four manuscripts of Fior di Battaglia. This manuscript is typically referred to as the 'Getty'.

The known provenance of the MS Ludwig XV 13 is:
  • Written between 1400 and 1410. The Pisani-Dossi MS dates to 1410 and states that the master had fifty years of experience in the martial arts; the MS M.383 and the MS Ludwig XV 13 both state that he had been training for "forty years and more", which makes them slightly older.
  • before 1750 - owned by Niccolò Marcello di Santa Marina Venezia. Given by him to Apostolo Zeno
    Apostolo Zeno
    Apostolo Zeno was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters.-Early life:Apostolo Zeno was born of Cretan Greek descent in Venice in 1669...

     (1668–1750). The terms of ownership of both men are unknown.
  • before 1825 - owned by Luigi Celotti (sold London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    , Sotheby's
    Sotheby's
    Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...

    , 1825)).
  • 1825-1966 - the MS 4202 in the collection of Thomas Phillipps
    Thomas Phillipps
    Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet was an English antiquary and book collector who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th century, due to his severe condition of bibliomania...

     (sold London, Sotheby's, 1966).
  • 1966-1995 - the MS Ludwig XV 13 in the collection of Peter and Irene Ludwig
    Collection Ludwig
    The Sammlung Ludwig is a collection of porcelain and faience in Bamberg, Germany. Privately owned by the married couple Peter and Irene Ludwig, it is exposed in the Altes Rathaus since 1995....

    .
  • 1995 - given to the J. Paul Getty Museum


The contents of the MS Ludwig XV 13 are as follows:
  • Prologue (ff 1v-2v)
  • (ff 3r-5v - blank pages)
  • Abrazare stances (f 6r)
  • Abrazare plays (ff 6v-8r)
  • Bastoncello plays (f 8v)
  • Daga stances (f 9r)
  • Daga intro (ff 9v-10r)
  • Daga plays (ff 10v-18v)
  • Sword vs. dagger plays (ff 19r-20r)
  • Spada a un mano plays (ff 20r-21v)
  • Spada a dui mani intro (ff 22r-22v)
  • Four strikes of the sword (f 23r)
  • Spada a dui mani stances (ff 23v-24v)
  • Spada a dui mani wide plays (ff 25r-27v)
  • Spada a dui mani close plays (ff 27v-30v)
  • Longsword against spear/spear and dagger against spear (ff 31r-31v)
  • The seven swords (f 32r)
  • Spada en arme stances (ff 32v-33r)
  • Spada en arme plays (ff 33r-35r)
  • Azza stances (ff 35v-36r)
  • Azza plays (36v-37v)
  • Daga plays (ff 38r-38v)
  • Lanza plays (ff 39r-40r)
  • (ff 40v - blank page)
  • Mounted combat plays (ff 41r-45v)
  • Spear vs. cavalry (f 46r)
  • Mounted combat plays (f 46v)
  • Closing (ff 46v-47r)

The Pisani-Dossi MS (Flos Duellatorum)

The Pisani-Dossi MS, titled Flos Duellatorum, was published in facsimile by Francesco Novati
Francesco Novati
Francesco Novati was an Italian historian and philologist.Novati taught in the University of Palermo and Genoa, and in 1890 he became a professor of history and comparative literature at the Regia Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria of Milan. In 1883, he founded the Giornale Storico delle Letteratura...

 in 1902, making it the only copy of Fiore's manual whose images are considered public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...

. Francesco Novati described this manuscript as an unbound collection of leaves, covered with a cardboard folder with a marbled paper cover. It was in the Pisani-Dossi collection when Novati published it, but the manuscript disappeared some time after that and was thought lost; in 2005, it resurfaced in a private collection in Italy. The Pisani-Dossi MS is the only manuscript in the series that includes a date, claiming to be completed on February 10, 1409 after six months of effort. It consists of 35 folios and possesses two different prologues, one in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and one in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

. The body of the text consists of four to six illustrations per page, each with only a brief couplet or quatrain to explain it. This manuscript is typically referred to as either the 'Novati' or the 'Pisani-Dossi'.

The contents of the Pisani-Dossi MS are as follows:
  • Latin Prologue (f 1r)
  • Italian Prologue (ff 1r-1v)
  • (ff 2r-2v - blank pages)
  • Abrazare stances (f 3r)
  • Abrazare plays (ff 3v-4v)
  • Bastoncello plays (f 4v)
  • Daga intro (f 5r)
  • Daga plays (ff 5r-11v)
  • Four strikes of the sword (ff 11v-12r)
  • Spada a un mano plays (ff 12r-13v)
  • Lanza plays (ff 14v-15v)
  • Longsword against spear/unarmed against spear (f 15r)
  • The seven swords (f 16v)
  • Spada a dui mani stances (ff 16r-18r)
  • Spada a dui mani wide plays (ff 19v-20v)
  • Spada a dui mani close plays (ff 21r-23v)
  • Spada en arme stances (ff 24r-24v)
  • Spada en arme plays (ff 24v-25v)
  • Azza stances (f 26r)
  • Azza plays (ff 26v-27r)
  • (f 27v - blank page)
  • Mounted combat plays (ff 28r-32v)
  • Spear vs. cavalry (f 33r)
  • Mounted combat play (f 33v)
  • Sword vs. dagger plays (ff 34r-35r)
  • Exotic poleaxes (f 35r)
  • Closing (f 35v)

The MSS Latin 11269

The MSS Latin 11269, titled Florius de Arte Luctandi in a 17th-century script, was discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...

 in early 2008. It appears to have been produced some years after the others, and is the only copy of the manual which is fully painted and includes illustrations of floors under the fighters. It consists of 44 folios with two pairings per page. The only copy that is written entirely in Latin, it lacks any sort of prologue and its descriptions are cast in couplets and quatrains, similar to the Pisani-Dossi MS. This manuscript is referred to as either the 'Florius' or the 'Paris'.

The known provenance of the MSS Latin 11269 is:
  • Written in the 1410s.
  • C. 1635 - rebound by a master papermaker who worked at the Puy-moyen mill for Sieur Janssen
  • before 1727 - in the collection of Louis Phélypeaux
    Louis Phélypeaux
    Louis Phélypeaux may refer to:* Louis Phélypeaux, seigneur de La Vrillière * Louis Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière , grandson of the previous* Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Saint-Florentin , son of the previous...

    , marquis
    Marquis
    Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...

     de Phélypeaux
    Phélypeaux
    Phélypeaux is the name of a French family from Blésois region . Its two principal branches were those of the lords of Herbault, La Vrillière, and Saint Florentin, and of the counts of Pontchartrain and Maurepas...

    . Donated by him to the Bibliothèque du Roi, where it was labeled Florius de Art Luctandi.


The contents of the MSS Latin 11269 are as follows:
  • Title page (f 1r)
  • Segno with 7 swords and animal virtues (f 1v)
  • Mounted combat (ff 2r-5v)
  • Spear vs. cavalry (ff 6r-6v)
  • Lanza plays (ff 6v-7v)
  • Plays of spear with dagger and two clubs with dagger (f 8r-8v)
  • Azza plays (ff 8v-10r)
  • Spada a un mano (ff 10r-12r)
  • Spada a dui mani stances (ff 12v-13v)
  • Spada a dui mani wide plays (ff 14r-15v)
  • Spada en arme plays (ff 16r-17v)
  • Spada en arme stances (f 18r)
  • Spada en arme plays (ff 18r-18v)
  • (f 19r - blank page)
  • Spada en arme stances (f 19v)
  • Sword vs. dagger plays (ff 20r-20v)
  • Daga intro (f 21r)
  • Daga plays (ff 21v-25v)
  • Spada a dui mani wide play (ff 26r)
  • Spada a dui mani close plays (ff 26r-30v)
  • Daga plays (ff 31r-38r)
  • Abrazare stances (f 38v)
  • Abrazare plays (ff 39r-42v)
  • Daga plays (ff 43r-44r)
  • Closing (f 44r)

The Codices LXXXIV and CX

The Codex LXXXIV (or MS 84) is mentioned in the 1436 and 1508 catalogs of the Biblioteca Estense in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

, but disappeared some time in the sixteenth century. It consisted of 58 folios bound in leather with a clasp, with a white eagle and two helmets on the first page.

The Codex CX (or MS 110) is also mentioned in the 1436 and 1508 catalogs of the Biblioteca Estense, but not in later inventories. It consisted of 15 small-format folios on unbound parchment, and was written in two columns.

The contents and current whereabouts of these copies of the Flower of Battle are unknown. It is possible that these listings refer to two of the manuals listed above, though none possess the correct number of folios or match the physical descriptions.

Transcriptions and Translations

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