Fencing Historian Ken Mondschein has done the Western
Martial Arts community a great service by translating into English
the fencing treatise of the iconic ‘Renaissance man’ turned
fencing master, Camillo Agrippa. Trattato di Scientia d’Arme (Treatise
on the Science of Arms), originally published in 1553, is regarded
by many fencers and fight scholars as the text that began the transition
not only from the medieval ‘cut and thrust’ style of
swordplay to the thrust-centric style typified by the rapier, but
also the transition from viewing swordplay as an art to a science.
Rightly so, Mondschein points out that in addition to scholars
and practitioners of European swordplay, this text is a valuable
resource for historians, art historians, science historians, and
scholars of masculine identity in 16th century Italy.
In his Introduction (for which due credit must
be given for managing to sneak in a quote from The Princess
Bride), Mondschein begins with a brief biography of Agrippa. An engineer
and mathematician by trade, Agrippa undertook the ambitious task
of streamlining the practice of swordplay by applying to it tried
and tested mathematic and geometric principles. The success of
this attempt is demonstrated by the fact that his principles continue
to be applied in fencing to this day.
Mondschein places Agrippa’s text into its
proper context, detailing the 16th century attitude
towards personal combat and training in arms. He discusses the
establishment of formal fencing schools in Europe and the changing
trends in both weapons and methods of fighting throughout this
period. He also examines the notion that proficiency in arms
was a key element in nobility and courtliness. This mentality is
epitomized in the private duel of honour; a phenomenon that emerged
in the 16th century and persisted for almost four hundred
years.
Mondschein
attempts to identify the intended audience of Agrippa’s work
by examining the history of personal combat manuals from the late
Middle Ages to the 16th century. He reveals how, with
the advent of print, such works became more widely accessible and
thus began to be directed toward a less exclusive readership. While
Agrippa still presumes that his reader possesses a basic knowledge
of swordplay, his teachings are more comprehensively laid out than
previous texts that assumed the reader had direct access to a master. Agrippa’s
teachings were meant to appeal to the new
‘self-made’ men of the Renaissance; aspiring gentlemen
unaffiliated with established powers seeking the martial prowess
that they feel characterizes noblesse.
Mondschein
prefaces his translation with a brief breakdown of the text; what
is presented and how it is divided. He also takes an in-depth look
in to the science, mathematics and philosophy underlying Agrippa’s
swordplay. This may seem daunting to the layperson, as this section
is quite technical. However the reader’s efforts to comprehend
what is being discussed will be greatly rewarded, in that it offers
the reader a look inside Agrippa’s head to see the origins
of his techniques.
The
final section of his Introduction discusses the possible Hermetic
undercurrents in Agrippa’s system. This ranges from possible
Pythagorean symbolism in Agrippa’s geometry to the potential
esoteric meaning of some of the text’s more allegorical images,
drawn perhaps from such texts as the Hieroglyphica (MS
discovered in 1422 and first printed edition in 1505) and Francesco
Colonna’s, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Aldus,
1499). This is the only portion of the book, otherwise filled with
solid and well-referenced ideas, that strays slightly into tenuous
speculation. Although Hermetic, Pythagorean, and Neoplatonic ideas
and symbolism exerted a wide influence on Renaissance art and philosophy,
to suggest that Agrippa’s manual has a second, symbolic layer
of meaning to adepts with the right understanding seems a bit of
a stretch.
Mondschein’s chief concern in
his translation is making the text accessible to modern readers.
He explains that it was occasionally necessary to distil some of
Agrippa’s excessive eloquence into more concise passages
so as to not bombard readers with the verbose style of writing
characteristic of a 16th century man of letters. He
manages to find a good balance between a simple, to-the-point translation,
and preserving the spirit and feel of the original language. Although
the edition sadly does not contain the text in its original language,
a link to a digital facsimile of the 1553 edition is provided at
the end of the Translator’s Notes. [ed. note: some images
from the original are here] <
http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/NewManuals/Agrippa/agrippa.htm > Where
possible, however, Mondschein uses rich and copious explanatory notes
to provide bits of the original text and explain the motivations
behind his translation.
Since
this is meant as a practical text for use by fencers and historical
combat practitioners, Mondschein makes sure that the instructions
for the techniques are translated as clearly as possible. In some
areas he has translated terms and phrases using vocabulary that
will be more familiar to modern practitioners. In other places,
concluding that Agrippa’s wording either had no modern equivalent
or simply could not be better stated in another way, he has either
given a literal translation or in some cases retained the original
Italian.
The
book concludes with an appendix in which Mondschein discusses Agrippa’s
rapier; a more robust weapon compared to the sometimes excessively-long
and thin thrusting weapon that would emerge later as the rapier
reached its peak in popularity. In this section, he provides the
specifications (e.g., measurements, dates, provenance) of
a series of swords in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York. Mondschein’s personal
comments on each sword, however, are not as objective as they could
be. Some of his bolder statements, in which he questions the utility
of a particular sword, or even its authenticity, on the basis of
his experience handling it, perhaps sells the pieces short and
do not factor in individual preference in the features of a custom-built
weapon. Although he may find it awkward and unwieldy, the man who
commissioned it and carried it to defend himself could have preferred
it that way. Apart from this, the only other feature that could
have bettered this section would be accompanying images of these
swords.
This
edition will be a valuable asset to experienced fencers and historical
combat practitioners, as well as those just beginning (for whom
studying Agrippa’s concise and effective system will be a
good starting point). Mondschein succeeds in producing a translation
that is modern and accessible without sacrificing the literary
flavour of the period in which it was written. It is also heartening
to see this text contribute to the growing trend of treating fencing
manuals not just as resources for today’s aspiring swordsmen,
but also as a useful primary source for in-depth research within
the wider academic community.