Angelo Domenico Malevolti Fencing Print, 1763

Domenico Angelo (1717 Leghorn, Italy – 1802, Twickenham, England), was an Italian sword and

fencing master Masters of Defence or Masters of Fencing is a widespread guild of teachers specializing in close combat military techniques with weapons, civilian fighting skills, and unarmed combat. The title was coined during the Medieval period, and referred to ...

, also known as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo. The son of a merchant, he was the founder of the Angelo Family of fencers. He has been praised as "the first to emphasize fencing as a means of developing health, poise, and grace. As a result of his insight and influence, fencing changed from an art of war to a sport."

Travels

He moved to Paris at the age of 27, with an eye to taking over the family business, but instead gained fencing skills under a master there, Teillagory.Malcolm Fare, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford: OUP, 2013 (2004). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
/ref> He also had an affair with the English actress

Peg Woffington Margaret Woffington (18 October 1720 – 28 March 1760), known professionally as Peg Woffington, was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era. Peg and Peggy were a common pet name for those called Margaret until the late 20th centu ...

, and went with her to London and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. However, the affair cooled and on 5 February 1755 he instead married the 17-year-old Elizabeth Johnson (1738–1805), with whom he had several children.

Fencing tuition

In England, Angelo gained the patronage of

Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke, 7th Earl of Montgomery (3 July 173426 January 1794) of Wilton House in Wiltshire, was an English peer, politician and courtier who served as a Lord of the Bedchamber to King George III in 1769. He was renown ...

, and three years later of the dowager Princess of Wales, who appointed him as riding and fencing master to George, Prince of Wales, and his brother

Edward, duke of York Edward, 2nd Duke of York, ( – 25 October 1415) was an English nobleman, military commander and magnate. He was the eldest son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and a grandson of King Edward III of England. He held significant appointment ...

. By then he had established Angelo's School of Arms in Carlisle House,

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1763 he bought Carlisle House,

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered s ...

, where he taught the aristocracy the fashionable art of

swordsmanship Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

. One of his tenants there was the composer

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (September 5, 1735 – January 1, 1782) was a German composer of the Classical period (music), Classical era, the eighteenth child of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. After living in Italy for ...

, youngest son of J.S.

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and harpsichord instructor to the Queen. With the help of artist Gwyn Delin, he had a fencing instruction book, ''L'École des armes', published in England in 1763, with 25 engraved plates demonstrating classic positions from the old schools of fencing. This placed its "emphasis on fencing as a source of gentlemanly exercise rather than as a necessary preparation for duel". In 1760, Angelo handed over his school to a son, and established himself at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, where his family continued to teach fencing for three more generations.

Family

By his wife Elizabeth Johnson, Angelo had at least six children: # Henry Charles William, born 5 April 1756. Also a fencing master, father of

Henry Charles Angelo the Younger Henry Charles Angelo the Younger (1780-1852) was a British master of fencing, part of the Angelo Family of fencers. Early life Henry was born in 1780''Paths of Glory'', The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, London, 1997, p. 10. to Henry Angelo ...

. #Florella Sophia, born 1759, Dame at Eton. #Anne Caroline Eliza, born 1763. #Catherine Elizabeth, born 1766, married to Mark Drury, Second Master at

Harrow school (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, and brother of

Joseph Drury Joseph Drury (11 February 1750 – 9 January 1834) was Head Master of Harrow School 1785–1805, and first of a dynasty of Drurys to teach at Harrow. Life Drury was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Admitted to Trini ...

, Headmaster of Harrow. She was mother to

William James Joseph Drury William James Joseph Drury (1791–1878) was an English cleric and schoolmaster, who became chaplain to Leopold I of Belgium, and tutor to his son, the future Leopold II. Early life He was the son of the Rev. Mark Drury, a cleric and schoolmast ...

. #Elizabeth Tremamondo, born 1768. #George Xavier Tremamondo, born 1773. There was perhaps also a son called Michael Angelo.

Death

He died at his daughter Florella's house at TWickenham on 11 July 1802.

Legacy

*The play "Tremamondo - The Angel of Fencing", written by

Alberto Bona Alberto Bona (born 7 November 1978) is an Italian actor, playwright and film director. Biography Alberto Bona started his career as a cartoonist in Italy, before moving to London, where he started to work within theatre and independent film ...

and directed by

Giampaolo Zennaro Giampaolo Zennaro (born October 19, c. 1940) is an Italian Opera director and stage designer. Biography Zennaro started working with Teatri Emiliani ATER in 1967, following his apprenticeship with Gianrico Becher. He directed over one hundred oper ...

, was staged at the Teatro Carlo Goldoni, in Domenico Angelo's native town of Leghorn.

References

External links

Descendants of Angelo Domenico Tremamondo
*Fencers of Fame and Fiction, Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewski, B.F.A.
Swynnerton, C. in Barron, O. (ed) ''The Ancestor'', Number 8 1904 (pp 1-73)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelo, Domenico 1717 births 1802 deaths Italian male fencers People from Livorno

Domenico Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...