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 ...

Vincentio Saviolo (d. 1598/9), though

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

born and raised, authored one of the first books on fencing to be available in the English language. Saviolo was born in Padua. He arrived in London at an unknown date and is first noted as being in England in 1589 when Richard Jones obtained a licence to publish his "Book of Honour". In 1591

John Florio Giovanni Florio (1552–1625), known as John Florio, was an English linguist, poet, writer, translator, lexicographer, and royal language tutor at the Court of James I. He is recognised as the most important Renaissance humanist in England. F ...

described Saviolo's fencing school as being "in the little street where the well is...at the sign of the red Lyon." It was described by the English gentleman and fencing writer

George Silver George Silver (ca. 1550s–1620s) was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on swordplay. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers (one of whom, Toby, was also a swordsm ...

as being "within a bow shot" of what was later the Bell Savage or

la Belle Sauvage ''La Belle Sauvage'' is a fantasy novel by Philip Pullman published in 2017. It is the first volume of a planned trilogy titled ''The Book of Dust'' and is set twelve years before Pullman's ''His Dark Materials''. It presents events prior to the ...

, at this time " Savage's inn, otherwise called the Bell on the Hoop" ('' Inns and Taverns of Old London'' by Henry C. Shelley, 1909), on Ludgate Hill. Saviolo's particular nemesis was this George Silver, who wrote his own book in 1599 to defend traditional English Swordsmanship against the encroachment of Italian rapier fencing and in doing so launched a vociferous attack on Saviolo and his system. Silver recounts how Saviolo's associate Jeronimo was killed in a sword fight by an Englishman known only as Cheese, but omits details of Saviolo's death (merely stating that he was dead by the time his own book was published in 1599). This suggests that Saviolo did not die at the hands of another swordsman. Throughout the 16th century, handbooks became increasingly popular. In 1595, John Wolfe printed ''Vincentio Saviolo, his practise, in two bookes, the first intreating of the use of the Rapier and Dagger, the second of Honor and honorable quarrels'' in London''.'' The first part of this work was written as a conversation between Saviolo and an imaginary student (a structure common in 16th-century handbooks). This part undertakes to instruct in the

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 ...

and dagger

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 ...

techniques of Saviolo's day. Saviolo did not teach the lunge, rather recommending circular movement around the opponent in the manner of contemporary Spanish rapier fencers. The second part, ''Of Honor and Honorable Quarrels,'' deals with dueling etiquette''.'' Much of the material comes from the works of ''

Girolamo Muzio Girolamo Muzio or ''Mutio Justinopolitano'' (1496 in Padua, Republic of Venice 1576 in Barberino Val d'Elsa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany) was an Italian author in defence of the vernacular Italian language against Latin. Biography Girolamo Muzio was ...

,'' written in 1558''.''

Modern Reconstruction

Despite being written in English, Saviolo's system has not proved as popular to those reconstructing historical rapier fencing as some other systems (such as the Italian rapier fencing systems of

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 ...

Nicoletto Giganti Nicoletto Giganti was a 17th-century Italian rapier fencing 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, in Le ...

and

Ridolfo Capo Ferro Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli (Ridolfo Capoferro, Rodulphus Capoferrus) was an Italian fencing master in the city of Siena, best known for his rapier fencing treatise published in 1610. He seems to have been born in the town of Cagli in the Provinc ...

. An early exponent of Saviolo's system was Stephen Hand of th
Stoccata School of Defence
in Australia who published annotated transcriptions of Saviolo's first book in the periodical ''Hammerterz Forum'' in the late 1990sHand, Stephen 1997, ''Saviolo, His Annotated Practice'' in ''Hammerterz Forum - Association for Renaissance Martial Arts'', Vol. 3 (4) & Vol. 4 (1) pp. 32-36 , Hand, Stephen 1998, ''The Practical Saviolo, Part II'' in Hammerterz Forum Vol. 4 (2) pp. 15-19 , Hand, Stephen 1998, ''The Practical Saviolo, Part III'' in Hammerterz Forum Vol. 4 (3&4) pp. 13-18 , Hand, Stephen 1998, ''The Practical Saviolo, Part IV'' in Hammerterz Forum Vol. 5 (1) pp. 15-20 , Hand, Stephen 1999, ''The Annotated Saviolo: Who is this Guy Anyway'' in Hammerterz Forum Vol. 5 (2&3) pp. 15-21 and a paper outlining the cultural influences on Saviolo's system in 2002. Other notable practitioners of Saviolo's system include Cecil Longino o
Academia Della Spada
in Seattle, USA and Chris Chatfield o
the 1595 Club
in London and Brighton, U.K., Henry Walker and James Wran of Brisbane Swords, Australia.

References

External links

*Jared Kirby (ed.)
A Gentleman's Guide to Duelling: Of Honour and Honourable Quarrels
Frontline Books (2014), .
A non-annotated version
with an attached article explaining some of the terms used.

*A factual story out of Saviolo's https://web.archive.org/web/20060108152646/http://www.swordhistory.com/home.html
'the 1595', A UK fencing club studying Saviolo's techniquesStoccata School of Defence
An Australian fencing club studying Saviolo's system
Academia Della Spada
a US fencing club studying Saviolo's system
A demonstration of Saviolo's techniques by Chris Chatfield and Gray Morris of the 1595 clubA video discussing Silver's comments about Saviolo by Stephen Hand of the Stoccata School of DefenceSaviolo's rapier vs Silver's backsword with Stephen and Lewis Hand of the Stoccata School of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saviolo, Vincentio Historical European martial arts Italian male fencers Italian non-fiction writers Italian male non-fiction writers 1590s deaths