[20640404 - Acta Periodica Duellatorum] Prologues, Poetry, Prose and Portrayals_ The Purposes of Fifteenth Century Fight Books According to the Diplomatic Evidence.pdf

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Acta Periodica Duellatorum, Conference proceedings
HEMA studies at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, July 2016
69
DOI 10.1515/apd-2016-0011
Prologues, Poetry, Prose and Portrayals: The Purposes of
Fifteenth Century Fight Books According to the Diplomatic
Evidence
Jacob Henry Deacon
Cardiff University - School of History, Archaeology and Religion
deaconjh@cardiff.ac.uk
Abstract: Although by far the most popular use of fifteenth century Fight Books
in recent years has been their application to the study of Historical European
Martial Arts and interpretations of medieval combat, this manner of learning from
them was rarely what their creators had in mind. The following paper, relying
primarily on the materials produced by Fiore dei Liberi, Filippo Vadi, Hans
Talhoffer, and the anonymous author of
Le Jeu de la Hache
, will address modern
practice and its connection to the source material via a study of the diplomatics of
fifteenth century Fight Books, that is to say common tropes that are definitive of
the genre. This has been done through analysing the roles of three of these; the
purposes of introductions, of the use of language relating to the employment of
either a prose or poetic structure, and the importance of the relationships between
texts and illustrations. Through this application of diplomatics to Fight Books,
the paper shall demonstrate how modern claims regarding authenticity are often
overstated and in need of moderation.
Keywords: Diplomatics, Fifteenth Century, Fight Books, Historical European
Martial Arts (HEMA), Palaeography & Manuscript Studies
I. INTRODUCTION
The practice of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) is spreading rapidly all over
the globe.
1
From Sweden to Singapore, thousands of practitioners with an interest in
reconstructing, rediscovering, or even reclaiming an extinct martial art are taking up arms,
several of which in the hope of unlocking a modern martial “Rosetta Stone”.
2
In order to
I would like to offer my gratitude to Iason Tzouriadis, Eric Burkart, and my two peer reviewers for
their guidance and suggestions regarding this paper.
A 2013 survey carried out by HROARR with a 68% reply rate from known clubs indicated a
worldwide census of HEMA practitioners at 8852. See ‘Stats for the HEMA Community 2013’.
More recently, a 2015 documentary on HEMA has at time of writing reached 548,000 views,
indicating a growing global awareness of HEMA. See ‘Back to the Source’.
1
2
Clements, ‘Our New “Rosetta Stone” ’.
70
Prologues, Poetry, Prose and Portrayals: The Purposes of Fifteenth Century Fight Books
inform what several practitioners often see as a viable means of accurately performing
techniques which have gone unused in centuries, interested parties are primarily reliant
on a corpus of material from the fourteenth century onwards.
3
This comprises the various
Fight Books as well as technical literature which can be found in contemporary
commonplace books, such as the fourteenth century poem ‘Man That Will’.
4
Common
throughout modern HEMA classes are students being introduced to a technique from a
specific manuscript by their instructor, who often shows them the presentation of the
technique in the manuscript in addition to demonstrating it, before going on to drill the
device until it begins to enter muscle memory. In the teaching of these practices, a lot of
attention is often given to specifically following the written instructions or copying the
visual representation of the technique. Because in these classes instructors often strive to
follow the Fight Books verbatim in order to teach an historically accurate portrayal, some
students and indeed several instructors, are of the opinion that despite the gap of several
hundred years they are able to precisely learn the martial arts recorded in the texts they
study in a manner which “truly unlocks the entire art”.
5
Yet as this paper argues, it is
abundantly clear that teaching how to fight
in absentia
was not the original purpose for
several of these sources, especially those produced in the fifteenth century. No matter
how closely one follows the explicit aspects of the text, one can never claim that their
performance is anything more than historically inspired. It has even in recent years been
supposed that many Fight Books were designed with little to no pedagogical purpose in
mind, and should rather be treated as texts which encourage the reader to ponder combat
through an intellectual or emotional lens.
6
The following paper is thus concerned with the means through which Fight Books,
despite their often laconic nature, sought to convey the masters’ knowledge
in absentia,
and how an exploration thereof allows us to determine a range of other purposes for
which they were intended. This shall be done via an exploration of their diplomatics (in
this paper defined as the study of the conventions and formulae common to texts which
belong to the genre of Fight Books), whilst focusing on manuscripts produced by certain
fencing masters the fifteenth century. The following paper has primarily relied on
manuscripts produced by Fiore dei Liberi, the anonymous master behind
Le Jeu de la
The earliest Fight Book is the well-known sword and buckler manuscript held in the libraries of
the Royal Armouries at Leeds, MS. I.33. There is no exact consensus on its date of origin, but recent
research supposes a creation date between 1320-1330. See Binard and Jaquet, ‘Investigation on the
Collation of the First Fight Book (Leeds, Royal Armouries, MS I.33)’.
3
For more discussion on the place of ‘Man That Will’ amongst fourteenth century fencing literature
see Hester, ‘Real Men Read Poetry: Instructional Verse in Fourteenth Century Fight Manuals’.
4
5
6
Clements, ‘Our New “Rosetta Stone” ’.
Forgeng, ‘Owning the Art: The German
Fechtbuch
Tradition’, p. 170.
Acta Periodica Duellatorum, Conference proceedings
HEMA studies at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, July 2016
71
Hache,
Hans Talhoffer, and Filippo Vadi. Although they comprise a minority of fifteenth
century masters, each has been chosen due to how well known their works are amongst
modern HEMA practitioners. Additionally, their works contain numerous explicit
indicators regarding how either the master (or his patron) intended his work to be used
by the reader, or for what purpose said manuscript was commissioned.
Three aspects of diplomatics and tropes common to Fight Books have been identified as
topics for discussion within this paper. The first of these is the introductions common to
certain Fight Books from the period studied, namely those to be found in manuscripts
produced by the Italian masters Fiore dei Liberi and Filippo Vadi. Both masters use the
ample opportunity provided to them in their introductions to explicitly state why they
have chosen to temporarily take up the pen in favour of the sword. Fiore and Vadi
similarly state that one of their prime motivators for writing is a desire to be remembered,
yet by exploring other aspects of their introductions alternative purposes emerge.
Introductions can serve to provide the reader with a fencing master’s credentials and
proof of martial skill, as in the case of Fiore’s tales of dueling and lists of students, or
encourage the reader to consider the intellectual and emotional aspects of fighting, as
done by Vadi across several chapters.
7
Moving on from this is an analysis of the role of linguistics in these manuals, in particular
the choice to write in either prose or poetic verse. On one hand, there are cases of the
former where it appears as if the master was attempting to compose a didactic manual,
such as in the case of
Le Jeu de la Hache,
although they remain problematic sources for the
recreation of historical fighting arts. On the other hand, a pedagogical or mnemonic
purpose would be implied by masters such as Fiore or Vadi who chose to write in poetic
verse. Scholars such as Hester have also debated the role played by poetic verse in
technical fencing literature, arguing that this decision often represents a deliberate choice
on behalf of the master in order to provide his reader with further pedagogical tools.
8
This is often the case, but one must be wary of assigning a generic and overarching
purpose to texts in this genre, and an inclusion of rhyming instructions does not alone
necessarily indicate a solely pedagogical purpose.
Although not discussed in this paper, it should also be noted that a study of the introduction can
also allow historians to interpret in what martial context certain masters envisioned their devices
being used. As argued by Burkart, interpersonal violence is always guided by social norms (in this
case using Talhoffer’s manuscripts to emphasise the potential for serious over sportive combat),
and a future in-depth study solely on the role of introductions could further help contextualize the
sorts of violence which fencing masters were addressing in the Fight Books. See Burkart, ‘Body
Techniques of Combat: The Depiction of a Personal Fighting System in the Fight Books of Hans
Talhoffer (1443-1467CE)’, p.111.
7
Hester, ‘Real Men Read Poetry: Instructional Verse in Fourteenth Century Fight Manuals’, pp.
175-83.
8
72
Prologues, Poetry, Prose and Portrayals: The Purposes of Fifteenth Century Fight Books
The third and final area of these manuscripts to be discussed is the role played by the
illustrated depictions of combat which characterise so many Fight Books and their
relationship with the text. In modern practice these images can be fundamental to an
individual’s interpretation of several aspects of the art. Factors affected can include, but
are not limited to, how the weapon is held
en garde,
how the feet are positioned, and from
which angle a blow should both originate from and pass through in order to reach its
target. Although modern interpretations of historical martial arts can certainly benefit
from assessing their illustrations in the aforesaid aspects, they nonetheless lack critical
information necessary to performing what is beyond doubt a historically accurate
recreation. Nonetheless their inclusion was not without purpose. In some instances, when
paired with appropriate text, it is clear that they serve a mnemonic and not instructive
purpose, and are designed to assist one in remembering a previous technique.
Alternatively, they may serve the function of acting as a declaration of martial competence
on behalf of either the master or owner of the manuscript.
As a final note to the introduction it may be worth noting that given the rising global
popularity of HEMA in the last two decades, several masters would be turning in their
grave if they knew to what extent attempts were being made to understand and teach their
closely guarded secrets. The fifteenth century Fiore dei Liberi insisted on secrecy from
those who wished to study under him; Fiore states how he taught his art so secretly that
if his student wished for another to observe the lesson then they were made to swear an
oath not to reveal what they had witnessed.
9
This was not Fiore’s only attempt to prevent
others from learning his approach to the art, as he faced stiff opposition from
contemporary fencing masters eager to practice and learn from him. To this end across
the course of his career Fiore claims that he fought in single combat no less than five
times against his contemporaries in order to defend his honour, professional reputation,
and the secrecy of his art; the Friulian expounds on the seriousness of these duels by
highlighting how they were fought without any armour aside from a gambeson and pair
of gloves, where failing in just one parry could lead to a quick and bloody end.
10
Ironically,
by fighting with these masters, each opponent had a potential chance to learn from Fiore
first-hand; the exact thing which he wished to prevent. Similar sentiments regarding the
secrecy of swordsmanship are shared by another master active in the latter half of the
fifteenth century, whose text is thoroughly inspired by Fiore’s; the Pisan Filippo Vadi.
11
In
De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
Vadi states an express desire that his art should not “fall
in to the hands low born men”, the majority of us modern practitioners and scholars of
Fiore dei Liberi,
Fior di Battaglia,
ca.1410, fol.1v.
Ibid.
9
10
11
For more on the relationship between
Flos Duellatorum
and
De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
see Porzio
and Mele,
Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi,
pp. 7-10.
Acta Periodica Duellatorum, Conference proceedings
HEMA studies at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, July 2016
73
the subject, but should be reserved for “anybody of perspicacious talent and lovely
limbs….courtiers, barons, princes, dukes, and kings”.
12
However, it is worth mentioning
that such concerns regarding secrecy and the spread of knowledge only to suitable
candidates was not always the case.
Le Jeu de la Hache,
an anonymous fifteenth century
manuscript and the only text dedicated solely to the use of the pollaxe, advocates that
“the said axe-play is honourable and profitable for the preservation of a body noble or
non-noble”, contravening the principles of secrecy and elitism advocated by Fiore and
Vadi.
13
Yet these attitudes of exclusivity have not deterred vast numbers of men and
women from seeking to understand fencing in the same way as these earlier fencers,
despite basic yet critical principles such as how to strike, parry, or feint being left for
modern practitioners to interpret. In short, as stressed by Mondschein, Fight Books “are
not how-to manuals”.
14
As discussed in the accompanying paper by Eric Burkart, these
manuals represent only a symbol of the sum of medieval knowledge regarding combat
which still survives, the tradition and practice being lost to us.
15
On the other hand, for
scholars with an interest in these books, and how they represent communication strategies
for martial education in the Late Middle Ages there is much left to be researched and
written in order to ascertain the purpose of these manuals and propose how their creators
wished them to be used. Here one must be wary of assigning a common purpose to
medieval Fight Books; as with every other genre of literature their authors were writing
with different aims and audiences in mind, which understandably had an impact on the
depictions of combat to be seen in their works.
II. THE PURPOSE OF PROLOGUES
Mondschein notes how Fiore admits that one of his key motives in setting pen to paper
was in order that he may be remembered as a master of arms, making use of the new
literary culture of the Italian Renaissance.
16
Yet reading
Fior di Battaglia
it becomes
apparent that Fiore was also very much concerned with how others perceived him during
12
13
Filippo Vadi,
Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
(trans. Porzio and Mele), p. 34.
Le Jeu de la Hache
(trans. Anglo), p. 116; It has also recently been suggested that the author of
Le
Jeu de la Hache
was a Milanese instructor named Ambrose employed at the Burgundian court
throughout the 1440s. Whilst this theory makes a great deal of sense there is no hard evidence to
link the master and this manuscript. See Mondschein, ‘The Italian Schools of Fencing’, p. 300.
14
15
Mondschein,
The Knightly Art of Battle,
p. 18.
Burkart, ‘Limits of Understanding in the Study of Lost Martial Arts. Epistemological Reflections
on the Mediality of Historical Records of Technique and the Status of Modern (Re-)Constructions’,
pp. 7 – 32.
Mondschein, ‘The Italian Schools of Fencing’, p. 295; Fiore dei Liberi,
Fior di Battaglia,
ca.1410,
fol.1v.
16

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