Fiore dei Liberi
The primary area of our research and training is based upon the surviving records of the tradition founded by the master of arms, Fiore dei Liberi. While dei Liberi gave no name to his school or his art, we have four surviving versions of his treatise 'Fior di Battalglia', or 'Flower of Battle'. We know that his style outlived him because of the surviving manuscript of another master at arms, separated from dei Liberi by several generations. While we know of Filippo Vadi, through the treatise he penned, dei Liberi’s fame is the greater of the two.
The 'Flower of Battle' is an astonishingly comprehensive system of combat techniques. The techniques and principles of the system are explained thoroughly with clear illustrations and text. The book itself is divided into three sections. A close quarter combat section, an armed combat section and a section on mounted combat. These sections contain the basis of the grappling techniques used in or out of armour along with dagger and baton techniques, as well as the use of the long sword and these techniques form the basis for the use of several other “knightly” weapons used on foot, both in and out of armour, such as the spear and poleaxe. The last section focuses on mounted combat and reintroduces many of the techniques already presented, this time for combat on horseback, again in or out of armour.
