A bibliography of English military books up to 1642 and of ...

fedt Rules the manner and forme how a man without other
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may safelie handle all sortes of Weapons
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Teacher or |
Master
aswell ofFensiue as defensiue :
or Falsinge : And with a waie or
|
|
With
a Treatise Of Disceit
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meane by priuate Industrie
to obtaine
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Strength, Judgement and A6liuitie.
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First written in Italian by the fore-
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said Author, And Englished
by I. G. gentleman. Printed at London
| for I. L and
I
are to be sold
\
within Temple Barre at the Signe of the Hand
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and Starre
\ 1594.
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Quarto.
Collation. Tp., IFi.—Ded. to Lord Borrow, subs. Thomas Churchyard,
ir2.—Author's Ded. and Pref., 113-4.— "Advertisement" to the Reader,
iriri-2.—20 woodcut ills.—R.H., varied.—No pag.—Sigs. in 4% H, HIT
(2 ff.), A-R2, Aa-Ee. Very rare.
Copies. B.M. ; Ashburnham ; Bod,
Contents. Di Grassi was employed in Treviso as a fencing master. He
had intended, he says in his Ep. Ded., to write a treatise on the use of arms
on horseback, but I am not aware that he aftually did so. This translation
was the first book printed in England on the Art of Defence. The unknown
writer of the " advertisement " states that fighting with the sword and
buckler had been lately discontinued in England, the sword being not much
regarded save by serving-men. The rapier was generally used instead, being
a weapon more feared, because most perilous. The following is a summary
of the contents as given on 111122 : The single Rapier, or single Sworde.
The rapier and dagger, etc. The rapier and Cloak, etc. The sword and
buckler. The sword and square target. The sword and round target. The
case of rapiers. The two-handed sword. The weapons of the staff, as the
bill, partisan, halberd, javelin. Part II. is on "Falsing," l.e.^ on delivering
blows and thrusts, intended, not to hit home, but to put an opponent off his
guard.
The greater number of books on the sword, especially of the Spanish, are
extremely rare ; for as text-books on an art necessary for all gentlemen, they
were in continual use, and the impressions were soon bought up and thumbed
to pieces.^
Of many of those mentioned by bibliographers there are now no
copies in existence, and they are known only by notices in later authors.
This has been the fate of the works of Jaime Pons de Perpignan, Pedro de
la Torre, and Francisco Roman among the Spaniards, and of Moccio (i 509)
and Luca (1500-1532) among the Italians; the writings of others again
remain to this day in MS. Marozzi's is thus the earliest book of fence ex-
*
Enrique de Leguina's "Libro de Esgrima," Madrid, 1891, 8°.
52