Итальян мектептерінің қылыш өнері: 15-19 ғасырлар тарихы

Style of combat from the 15th century to the 19th century

The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of classical fencing (up to 1900). Although the weapons and the reason for their use changed dramatically throughout these five centuries, a few fundamental traits have remained constant in the Italian school. Some of these are the preference for certain guards, the preoccupation with time (or "tempo") in fencing as well as many of the defensive actions. The Dardi school of fencing with the spada da lato was one of the influences of the early modern style of fencing.

Although there is a considerable gap in extant Italian treatises, between 1696 and 1800, we can see from the earliest 19th century treatises that the style had changed very little during that period. The only changes were the addition of certain techniques suitable for the somewhat lighter blades of the dueling swords typically used in 1800 as compared to the rapiers typical for the end of the 17th century (compare the techniques presented by Bondì di Mazo in his 1696 manual with those in the 1803 manual of Giuseppe Rosaroll Scorza and Pietro Grisetti). Even at the beginning of the 19th century, techniques for coming to grips were still being taught and the use of the dagger as an accompanying weapon was still discussed (although not as a prominent and popular choice). By the end of the 19th century, the immediate ancestor of modern fencing had developed with its familiar pedagogy and collection of techniques and theory. At this time, the two predominant schools within the Italian tradition are the Radaellian (after Maestro Giuseppe Radaelli) and the Neapolitan. In 1883 the Italian Ministry of War selected the treatise by Neapolitan Masaniello Parise to be the official syllabus of the newly founded Scuola Magistrale of fencing (now called Classical Italian Fencing). Parise's teachings survive to this day almost unchanged, although many of Radaelli's saber teachings were incorporated.