Armizare ("the Art of Arms") was the name the warriors of medieval Italy
gave to their martial art, which included the wielding of sword, axe and
spear with wrestling, knife-fighting and mounted combat. In the waning
years of the 14th century, Fiore dei Liberi was a famed master of this
art, whose students included some of the most renowned and dangerous
fighting men of his day. Toward the end of his life, Master Fiore
preserved his teachings in a series of illustrated manuscripts, four of
which have survived to the present day, and have become the basis of a
world-wide effort to reconstruct this lost martial art. However, because
medieval books were written for an audience with different expectations
than the modern readers "how-to" manuals, today's students often have
trouble understanding the old swordsman's choices in including, omitting
or organizing information as he did. They may see that fighting art was
a system, but lack the background to see the systematic instruction of
the book itself. In Armizare: The Chivalric Martial Arts System of il
Fior di Battaglia, Robert Charrette brings together his experiences as a
martial artist and respected 14th century living historian with his
skills as a professional author graphic artist to not only take readers
on a walking tour of Master Fiore's manuscripts, but into the mindset
behind its creation. More than just an interpretation of an old book's
contents, this is a tool-kit that reveals Fiore dei Liberi's brilliance
as not just a fighter, but as martial arts teacher. Whether a long-time
student, a newcomer to the art or a more academic devote of the medieval
warrior and his craft, readers will find themselves educated and
entertained as a door is opened into another time and place - the
training hall of the medieval knight.
