Nicoletto Giganti was a 17th-century Italian

rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impor ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

master. The frontispiece of his 1606 work names him as “Nicoletto Giganti, Venetian”, although evidence suggests he or his family, moved to Venice from the town of

Fossombrone Fossombrone is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy. History The ancient Roman colony of ''Forum Sempronii'' took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus. Near the Furlo Pass, during the Gothic War (535 ...

, in Le Marche, Central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Little is known of Giganti’s life, but in the dedication to his 1606

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

, he counts 27 years of professional experience, whereas the Giganti family of Fossombrone were lesser

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, long in the

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. He is a famous representative of the Venetian school of fencing. His 1606 work was reprinted in Italian in 1628, and in French and German parallel translation in 1619, 1622, and 1644. Johann Joachim Hynitzsch accuses Giganti of plagiarising

Salvator Fabris Salvator Fabris (1544-1618) was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen ...

in the second volume of the 1622 French and German translation of Giganti's treatise, printed in Frankfurt. This is probably unfounded, as there is no evidence that Giganti had any involvement in any of the later printings of his 1606 work. Likewise Giganti does not appear involved in the 1628 Italian edition of his own 1606

, which merely reprints Giganti’s original 1606

dedication Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building. Feast of Dedication The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days fr ...

, to the by then deceased

Cosimo II de' Medici Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. For the majority of his twelve-ye ...

, with a separate printers dedication that makes no reference to Giganti’s continuing involvement. Likewise the disputed 1622 edition contained no dedication and was likely printed by the

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

, De Zetter, without consent. On several occasions in his 1606 treatise Giganti promised a second book. This

pledge Pledge may refer to: Promises * a solemn promise * Abstinence pledge, a commitment to practice abstinence, usually teetotalism or chastity * The Pledge (New Hampshire), a promise about taxes by New Hampshire politicians * Pledge of Allegianc ...

appeared to have remained unfulfilled. As early as 1673 the Sicilian master

Pallavicini The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family. The Pallavicini of Genoa The first recorded member o ...

noted with heavy irony that while he was publishing a second volume, without having undertaken to do so in his first book, other masters such as Giganti had promised a second work and not delivered. ''… we should not make promises e can't keepto the curious. … Nicoletto Giganti promised to publish a second book, but it cannot be found'' The first positive reference to a purported second book by Giganti, does not arrive until the 1847 publication of Alberto Marchionni’s Trattato di scherma: ''In 1608, from the press of Giovanni Fontani of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, came forth a second book of fencing by Niccoletto Giganti in which he deals with the use of the single

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

, sword and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

and also the sword and rotella, the sword and

targe Targe (from Old Franconian ' 'shield', Proto-Germanic ' 'border') was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, ''target'', came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century. The term refers to various types of shie ...

, the sword and

buckler A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' 'boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. While being used in Europe since an ...

, the sword and cape, the dagger alone, the dagger against the spear and the dagger alone against the sword. Subsequently he discusses grabs to the weapon and pommel strikes to the face, and of other grapples advising to put your left hand over the hilt of your opponent's sword. He proposes executing the passata sotto in the tempo in which your opponent performs a cavazione on the line of terza. Finally he discusses a new guard with the sword and dagger with the left foot forward, suggesting that he proposes to publish another book where he will teach all of the actions possible with the left foot forward. This treatise is illustrated with 53 figures, very badly drawn and likewise engraved; nevertheless his treatise is filled with very useful teachings.'' This work is further cited by Gelli, who merely quotes word for word from Marchionni, adding only the note 'rare work', indicating that he almost certainly had not examined the treatise himself. The existence of this elusive second work, matching Marchionni's description, was not confirmed until the publication of an English translation by Piermarco Terminiello and Joshua Pendragon in November 2013.Terminiello, Piermarco and Pendragon, Joshua. The 'Lost' Second Book of Nicoletto Giganti: A Rapier Treatise Rediscovered and Translated. London, 2013.

References

Further reading