BologneseSwordAndRotellaActions.pdf

The Actions

for

Sword and Rotella

from the

Bolognese School of Swordsmanship

Steven Reich

The Actions for Sword and Rotella

from the Bolognese School of Swordsmanship

Introduction

What follows is the complete collection of actions for Sword and Rotella extracted from the

three Bolognese treatises that cover this weapon combination: Manciolino, Marozzo, and The

Anonymous Manuscripts . Compared to some other weapon combinations—for example, Sword-

Alone, Sword and Buckler, Sword and Targa, and Sword and Dagger—there is a relatively small

amount of material for the Sword and Rotella. However, for those students of the Bolognese

school of swordsmanship who have some experience with the some of the other combinations—

most especially Sword and Buckler or Sword and Targa—this should be useful enough to gain

an understanding of the fundamentals of this weapon combination.

Rather than do a straight translation of the original sources, I have extracted the actions with a

certain amount of interpretation and organization. Each action is broken into an arbitrary set

of steps, as I felt was appropriate based on the sequence of the action and as an aid to

readibility. Additionally, the actions have been separated into two broad groups, defenses and

offenses, each of which is grouped by the starting guard. This organization of the material

should be familiar to a student of Dall‘Agocchie or Manciolino. My decision not to do a direct

translation was mostly a matter of wanting to minimize my work: I do not have any of the

material translated, as I read it in Italian, but providing it in the tabular form that follows was

merely a matter of copying it from my ‗Master Bolognese Document‘ and organizing it by

offensive and defensive actions.

A quick look at the material shows that certain guards are very important for the Sword and

Rotella while other guards are not used at all. For example, Coda Lunga Alta is the most

common guard, both for defenses and offenses. This should not be surprising, as this is also

true with the other sword and shield combinations such as Sword and Buckler or Sword and

Targa. However, readers might be surprised to note that there are no instances of Guardia Alta

or Guardia d’Alicorno ; a thorough examination of the sources from which this material was

drawn will show that neither of these guards is particularly common in any of the material

except in the case of the Assalti of Marozzo and Manciolino (and it is important to remember

that the Assalti are for the Spada da Gioco while the material for the Sword and Rotella comes

from the sections for the Spada da Filo ).

As a full interpretation of this material is beyond the scope of this project (that will come in the

future as part of a larger work), students will have to content themselves with my short

glossary and brief notes when working through the material. Those familiar with Bolognese

Swordsmanship should find it reasonably adequate; those students new to Bolognese should

probably first gain experience with Sword-Alone, Sword and Buckler, or Sword and Targa.

While I know that there will be questions left unanswered by this document, I felt that the

WMA community would rather have something imperfect but ―in hand‖ now, than wait for

something polished and complete at an indeterminate date in the future.

Steven Reich

tauman@yahoo.com

Rev: 9/12/2008 9:43 AM

Bolognese Sword and Rotella

Glossary & Notes

I assume that the reader has a general understanding of the guards and strikes of the

Bolognese system, so I do not cover them here. To aid in understanding, I have standardized

the terminology to comply with that used by Marozzo in his treatise.

Glossary

Terms are italicized in the text of the actions if they appear in this glossary.

Falso : Either a general reference to the false edge of your sword, or a cut with the false edge,

depending on the context.

Falso Impuntato/Impuntato Falso : A Falso cut delivered with a thrusting component.

Mandritto Traversato : A Mandritto cut diagonally or nearly horizontally across the target.

Mezza Volta di Mano : Literally, a ‗half-turn of the hand‘. This is usually used to describe

turning the hand from one guard to another with the most common application being when

turning the sword from Coda Lunga Stretta to Porta di Ferro Stretta and viceversa. Another use

which is rather specialized is to turn a true-edge cut into a false-edge cut.

Mezza Volta di Persona : This is the action of turning the body without stepping, but by only

turning on the balls of your feet.

Molinetto : A cut prepared by turning the

sword from your wrist (as a Molinello) so

that it breaks to your outside.

Riverso di Gamba Levata : Literally,

‗Riverso of raised foot‘. This is a Riverso

performed as you pass back, a defensive

measure used to cover a retreat after an

action. The preparation of the Riverso is

nearly always made by turning it with your

elbow to your inside, rather like a sabre

Molinello. The ―raised foot‖ refers to the fact

that the timing of the cut means that the

passing foot will still be in the air as the

Riverso is made.

Riverso Spinto : Literally, ‗pushed Riverso‘.

A Riverso made such that the ―sawing‖

component that every cut should have is

made by pushing the hilt away from you

instead of drawing it toward you. The

preparation for this cut is usually the same

as that for the Riverso di Gamba Levata .

Riverso Spinto di Gamba Levata : A Riverso di Gamba Levata where the Riverso is a Riverso

Spinto .

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