The Art of Arms

Listener discretion is advised, this discussion contains accounts of graphic violence, real life trauma situations, and intense detail that might make some feel uncomfortable. The following historical accounts of duels, warfare, and civic violence were used during this podcast. Historical Accounts: Account 1: The siege continuing in this way, all the soldiers remained close together on the outside towards the castle for a stretch of bombard, defended by firm stockades and other ditches, and the people inside towards the market, in front of which there was a marvelous trench with excellent and safe shelters, and bastions suitable for the defense of the people. One day, when it seemed appropriate to the magnificent Galeazzo to ruin and destroy the mill of Messer Battista da S. Piero located in the Reno canal under the Galliera gate, which those of the castle used for their own use, he called me with some of his other friends, and said to me: Compare, I have decided to make an experiment. If we could burn and demolish the mill of my relative, because it is too necessary for our enemies, what do you think? I answered in the affirmative, so the order was given, and several very brave Bolognese and other brigades were called, and so we quietly went out of the Lamme gate, coming along the canal from which the water had been taken away, we damaged the mill, and then we entered it, finding many infantrymen who were guarding it, whom, mainly by me and other companions, attacked and fought, and we drove from there over a small bridge towards the castle. And while I was asking for fire to burn him, still standing at the door to keep the enemies at bay, behold, among them came one cursed by God, who looked like a devil, with fire in his hand, who with a loaded gun wounded me in the left arm with such a foul and obscene blow, that I dropped the shield from my hand, whereupon my companions, seeing me so badly injured, because I was almost stunned, took me away from there, abandoning the enterprise they had begun, and carried me to my houses to dress the wound. The doctor, finding that the lead ball had not come out of the arm because it remained in the elbow, had to make a cut from which with the pincers he extracted that piece of lead, which having entered the middle of the arm and had risen up to that part of the joint. Thus one gains fame by doing good for one's country, but benefits little or nothing from it, since I had to pay for the doctor at my own expense, and even go to the baths, and so the damage was entirely my responsibility. —From The Chronicle of How Annibale Bentivoglio Was Taken and Removed From Prison, Then Killed and Avenged by Galeazzo Marescotti Account 2: Marescotti vs Canteoli Feud And so it was, before the convent of the nuns of San Mattia, that my strenuous and brave brother Giovanni, although surrounded by many, intrepidly and valiantly died—defending himself like a lion, as we could offer him no assistance. As we were opposed by an exorbitant number of men. With great difficulty, and a few companions, I took refuge in the house of the aforementioned nuns, after receiving a few wounds—as happens to those who defend themselves—though none were of a nature to cause any significant damage. —From The Chronicle of How Annibale Bentivoglio Was Taken and Removed From Prison, Then Killed and Avenged by Galeazzo Marescotti Account 3: On the 5th, the Duke was within a few miles of Urbino, then held by Bishop Vitelli, with a garrison of two thousand men, who, distrusting the inhabitants, summoned their militia to muster at S. Bernardino, and closed the gates as soon as the city had thus been cleared of its able-bodied men, refusing to readmit them on pain of instant death. The excluded citizens vented their indignation at this trick, in threats and abuse of the garrison from under the very walls, which at length provoked a sortie of four hundred infantry in order to disperse them. At this juncture, a squadron of one hundred cavalry, sent on by Francesco Maria under Benedetto Giraldi of Mondolfo, for the purpose of supporting the expected rising in his favour, arrived three miles below Urbino, and, whilst breathing their horses, heard that the enemy were abroad. Benedetto immediately left his little force in charge of his brother Annibale, and rode on with but five officers to reconnoitre. The adventure which followed, equally worthy of a bold knight-errant and a Christian soldier, must be told as in the Dialogue of his nephew Tranquillo. "Coming suddenly upon the detachment, about half a mile from the town, Benedetto exclaimed, 'Look there! as these are the first of our master's foes we have fallen in with, it would surely be a shame to let them get back to the city without a taste of us: I am therefore resolved to make a dash at them, and if you will follow me, by God's grace we shall have the first victory.' This said, he rushed into the midst of them, with vizor up and lance in rest, overthrowing many b

Your Step-by-Step Guide to HEMA Deification Elite competitor, ardent scholar, artist, and entrepreneur Martin Fabian joined Stephen and Joshua to talk about HEMA. If you’ve ever wondered what the journey to becoming one of the best competitive fencers in HEMA looks like from an aspect of training, preparation, competition and textual interpretation, this is the podcast for you! https://open.substack.com/pub/theartofarms/p/the-real-martin-fabian?r=1e0ent&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

About Aaron: Aaron was introduced to swords as a participant in the first National Stage Combat Workshop run by Fight Directors Canada in 1993. In 1998, he traded the theatrical for the historical and took up Italian Rapier. In 2002 he began studying the Lichtenhauer tradition as one of the founding members of Anyhau (now Ironwood Sword School in Kingston, ON). In 2005 he also began dabbling in the study the Fiore’s system of Martial Arts. The next year Aaron began his intensive study of Imperial Close Combat techniques of the Great War, which formed the core of MA studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and the topic of his first book Bayonets and Blobsticks, the Canadian Experience of Close Combat 1915-18 (2011). His studies turned back to the Renaissance with the publication of a translation of Nicoletto Giganti’s first Rapier treatise in 2014. Since then, his eye has been cast back into the sixteenth century by his doctoral studies of the duel in sixteenth century Italy. As a consequence, he has begun dabbling in the Bolognese school of fighting arts. About This Episode: We had to hold off on releasing this one, because we brought up Joeli’s Liechtenauer research. This recording took place back in January. If you're curious about the Bolognese Carnival celebrations, go check out the article that I finished after I was done researching the subject. Carnival 1562 Don't mind our hypothetical posturing about our good friend Johannes Liechtenauer, we were having fun with some exclusive knowledge. If you're interested in reading a great book that adds a lot of depth to this conversation, be sure to check out The Sixteenth Century Italian Duel by Fredrick R. Bryson {it's available on-line for free here, or on Amazon as a reprint}: Link Keep your eyes peeled for an epic breakdown about the brutal duel between Cristoforo Guasco and Niccolò Doria, by Stephen Fratus out in the next few weeks.

Check out the first installment of Joeli's written research here: https://open.substack.com/pub/theartofarms/p/studying-the-birth-of-the-liechtenauer?r=1e0ent&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Check out Herbert's Books! The Medieval and Renaissance Buckler Catalogue of European Bucklers

In this episode of l'Arte Dell Armi, Stephen and Joshua go on a journey across the Alps to visit the Bolognese master Giacomo da Basel--err, Joachim Meyer. We're going to Strasbourg with our brilliant tour guide Liam H. Clark. Have you ever wondered how Fechtshule worked, what other fencing masters were active during Meyer's lifetime or the differences between Marxbruder and Freifechter then this is the episode for you! Evergreen Historical Fencing Substack Liams Source Documents

Do you like big swords? Yea, we know. We all do! Well, if you do, you're probably familiar with The Spadone Project, it's phenomenal, how could you not be? Now meet the man behind the curtain, Niccolò Menozzi! In this episode Stephen and Joshua sit down with Niccolo to tackle the tropes and the misnomers of the two handed sword. We dive deep into the historical use of the weapon on the battlefield and in duels, and discover all of the intricacies that differentiate these beautiful weapons. Check out and support Niccolò's work here: https://thespadoneproject.com/

Jean Chandler is one of the most dedicated researchers HEMA has to offer. He's absolutely brilliant! He's also a pretty incredible human being. If you want to learn more about guilds, Renaissance commerce, and martial traditions, this is the episode for you! Check out Jean's website here: https://jeanhenrichandler.com/

This episode marks l'Arte dell Armi's 20,000th download!!! We wanted to extend our heartfelt gratitude to you our listeners for engaging with this podcast! We greatly appreciate you, and look forward to bringing you more content in the future! Stay saucy my friends! We had the honor of sitting down and talking to Dr. Guy Windsor. This lively discussion highlights teaching, developing teachers, teaching hacks, running a school as a business, before transitioning into Fiore, Vadi, Capoferro and beyond. It was a truly insightful conversation and we're looking forward to having Guy on the podcast again in the near future, we still have so much to discuss. Note that Joshua had to take care of his son through the first part of the episode but managed to pop-in for the second half. You can find all of Guys work at: https://swordschool.com/ Take virtual classes with Guy at: https://swordschool.teachable.com/ Find his books at: https://swordschool.shop/

Jack Gassmann is both an accomplished academic and historical fencer, a true jack-of-all-trades, he's lived a life full of historical exploration in about every capacity you can possibly imagine, including stunts and film. Stephen and I sat down with Jack and tried to understand what it might've been like to lead crossbowmen on horseback. You won't want to miss this! Stay tuned to the end for a special 20%-off offer on Jack's new table top game, Forces of Virtue! https://masterstrokegames.com/

To attack or not to attack, that is the question! It would seem there are many different ways to approach the tactics of Bolognese fencing, but is that because of the varied approaches of different authors, or is there a hidden consensus? Martin, Stephen and Joshua discuss measure, tempo, the nature of the guards, provocations, and so much more in this episode of l'Arte Dell Armi!

Pope Julius II has turned his covetous eye toward Ferrara. Meanwhile the French under Bayard and his d'Este allies prepare the way in hope of resisting the Pope's forces and his new league of allies, the Holy League. The French army has a few aces up their sleeves in the Bentivoglio and a young, daring captain, named Gaston di Foix, nicknamed the Thunderbolt. Part 1: Back in Bologa, 1:22 Part 2: The Warrior Pope, 7:38 Part 3: Guido Rangoni's Little Adventure, 15:26 Part 4 and Part 5: Too Close to the Sun, 22:03 Part 6: Showdown in Bologna 31:03 Part 7: Guido's Star on the Rise 42:41 Part 9: Hugo Pepoli and the Exiles of Bologna, 50:18 Part 10: The Lady from Sex, 55:10 Part 11: The Siege of Bologna, 60:18 Part 12: Revolt in Brescia, 69:08 Part 13: Torre del Magnago, 73:00

Put on your blue suede shoes, it's time for some Dardi Dancing! In this episode of Bolognese Foundations Stephen, Martin, and I discuss footwork!

En garde! In the first installment we learned how to travel between point A and point B, in this episode we'll talk about what those points are, what they mean, and what they're good at. The Cuts and thrusts take you between different guards, but all of your actions will begin and end in guards, so let's learn what those guards are all about. For those following at home, check out this written supplement: Bolognese Foundations: Part Two - by Joshua Wiest (substack.com) And if you like the channel, and want to help us out, become a supporter on Patreon: The Art of Arms | Patreon

Bill Grandy has done it all, and been really good at all of it too; he has one of the most complete perspectives of anyone I've had the pleasure of talking to on this podcast. So, what did we talk about? A little bit of everything! Armor, wrestling, messer, sidesword, rapier, push of pike, you name it, we probably covered it in this miraculous episode.

So, you've heard about the magical powers of the Bolognese Sauce, and you want to get cooking, but when you open up the books all you see is a bunch of really odd Italian words mixed up in sentances with weird grammer and sometime illogical phrasing. You really want to read the text's of Marozzo, Manciolino, dall'Agocchie and the Anonimo, but you don't know how to get started, or maybe you have started but you need some resources to help you memorize a lot of the terminology. This is the podcast for you! Hey, you too, longtime practitioner, it never hurts to revist the foundational material! Martin Höppner was kind enough to join us for this series, which is good because he proposed the idea way back when the podcast was getting started. Check us out on Patreon: patreon.com/TheArtofArms And sign up for our newsletter on Substack so you never miss a blog post, or podcast, and you'll get all of our podcast notes sent to your email (No paid subscription required): https://theartofarms.substack.com/

Kats, poisonous gas, trebuchets, armored vehicles covered in spikes, and magic--lots of magic; Konrad Kyeser's Bellifortis is an imaginative book that inspired the likes of Hans Talhoffer, and perhaps even Leonardo da Vinci. It's full of recreations of some of history's most obscure innovations, but these oddities weren't left to print, they were brought to life on the Renaissance and Medieval battlefields, and that's what we wanted to explore in this episode of l'Arte Dell Armi. To do so, we sat down with Michael Chidester to learn more about who Konrad Keyser was, and more about his fascinating work, Bellifortis. Images of Bellifortis: https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668178 To read Michaels work on Bellifortis, there is a free PDF download here: https://www.academia.edu/68328696/The_Bellifortis_of_Konrad_Kyeser_of_Eichst%C3%A4tt Check out HEMA Bookshelf here: https://www.hemabookshelf.com/ Join Michael's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/michaelchidester Adendum: The siege where Alexander the Great supposedly used divers with diving bells was the siege of Tyre.

Lucio Malvezzi, Tadeo del Volpe and Fra Leonardo Prato all prefer to go to battle with the Stucco, or the Estoc, or the Tuck. We wanted to learn more about fighting with a sword in armor, so we turned to the expert, Jess Finely!!! The Book we discuss in the podcast with the wedding throwdown is, On the Practice or Art of Dancing, by Barbara Sparti. Follow Jess on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jessfinley Check out here sword school here: Ritterkunst

Dr. Patrick Bratton is an accomplished fencer, and a professor at the United States Army War College. Naturally, we discussed fencing, fencing strategy, before digging deep into the battle of Polesella, and the grand strategy of the Venetian Empire. This was an amazing conversation that could've gone on for 3 or 4 more hours, you've gotta check it out, we'll definitely have him back very soon! Check out Dr. Bratton's school here: https://www.saladellaspada.com/ Check out Dr. Bratton's lecture on Mahan here: https://youtu.be/y-tshVIAeIM

Episode III.ii The Siege Guido Rangoni is in Padua surrounded by the largest army assembled in Italy since the Roman Empire. Among the enemy ranks are the crown of German aristocracy, the flower of French Chivalry, an assortment of famed Italian Condottiere, and a core of cutthroat mercenaries comprised of Landsknechts and Gascons; totaling almost 40,000 men. Defending Padua are the remnants of the Venetian army, just over 10,000 men, led by the same Condottiere captain that refused to engage the French at Agnadello, Niccolo di Pitigliano, and a washed up merchant turned politician named Adrea Gritti. The story of the siege of Padua is brimming with untold feats of heroism, it’s marked with stories of valor and cunning ferocity. The rosters of the French and German knights that came to take part in the siege was a veritable who’s–who of the aristocratic profession, virtually every great knight on the continent stood before the walls of the city. Yet Padua isn’t known as a great triumph of Chivalric honor, no it’s the final resting place of the logos, ethos and pathos that comprised the tradition. If you ever wondered how the principles of Knightly virtue died, tune in to this heart pounding episode of l’Arte Dell Armi and find out. The Siege Thud - Thud - Thud Purlepaus, Weckauf, und Haupstück Der Leo pounded. Thud - Thud - Thud Crossbow bolts caremed off armor in the breach. Thud - Thud- Thud Hoofbeats thundered in the outskirts of the city. Thud - Thud - Thud Snapped the flags of ten thousand great houses. Thud - Thud - Thud Marched the feet of the defenders on the ramparts. Thud- Thud -Thud Beat the worried hand of a mother on her infants back. Thud - Thud - Thud Bounced the heel of an elderly man worried about his shop. Thud - Thud - Thud Beat the hearts those who watched the siege unfold. Thud - Thud - Thud In the Mud Mud Mud of Padua the flower of Chivalry wilted and died.