Hi all,
Very late to the game on this thread.
The poleaxe material in the Anonymous Bolognese uses four guards: left and right guardia alta, left and right porta di ferro stretta (left and right vom Tag, left and right Ochs, for you German types). Although a reasonably short treatise - say twice the length of what is found in the text treatise of the second Kal Ms, it includes most of the basic actions of poleaxe combat. Besides some basic advice on striking with both ends of the weapon, you have:
1. a displacement with the haft and heel strike
2. the same done from the bind, axe head to axehead.
3. The collar throw with the haft, done from an initial parry, a bind, and as part of a winding action.
4. A counter to the same.
5. From a cross at the haft, a thrust with the heel into the groin or the top of the foot.
6. A collar hook with the "beak".
7. A knee hook with the same.
8. Using your beak to hook his axe from his hands.
9. A counter to the same.
10. A feint that draws a parry and falls under his weapon to thrust him.
That's most of the categories of material, from the top of my head. I am probably missing a play or two. But frankly, that is a pretty good summation of axe combat in a nut shell, and as much as I've seen in any one text other than Le Jeu.
With Monte the same feint appears, a disarm, and some rather nasty tactical advice about targeting the hands.
Fiore - OK, I will explain one it is contained and why I think this is just as complete as most other sources, and Hugh, you can come along for the ride or not as you choose. ;) Fiore's six plays of the axe are there to detail *one unique situation of axe play* - that is when the mass of both weapons being swung with a blow, bears both of their front ends to the ground. This is part of what makes it notably different from play of the sword in armour - the mass of the hammer/axe head can often result in a low crossing, rather than a high one. In that sense, the disarms, leg trip, visor-lift, etc that he shows are fairly unique in their focus.
When combining the Anonymous, Fiore (Vadi just shows a subset of his plays), and Monte, you have a poleaxe curriculum that teaches everything you need to know about the weapon, and is certainly just as full as the material we have from Kal, Talhoffer, and Falkner. Not better, just as complete.
Now, what *else* does Fiore have for his axe material? Well, first things first -
buy Tom Leoni's excellent translation of Fiore so that you can see for yourself http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/fi...ia/7344691
OK, as has been stated, the armoured combat section is all one set of material, with each weapon's plays introducing unique emphases to that weapon.
So, first you begin with the axe poste, or guards. This section tells you what blows each weapon makes, how to step while doing so, and which guards oppose which guards. We are given tactical advice on how to avoid a blow, how to deflect one, and which targets to strike (including, yet again, Monte's advice to go after the hands). In essence, it tells you how to fight in what the Germans call the Zufechten.
Next, the spear section shows how to use a common play in the system - the exchange of thrusts - with a polearm. This is no different than a variation of an absetezen or Zornhau-Ort, just slightly different footwork. We are also taught the counter - displacing a thrust, with a rising strike of the queue.
Then there is the plays of the sword in armour, all of which can be done with the axe. Since the sword's hilt is the axe head and the point is the heel-spike (as Fiore has shown us earlier in the manuscript), we know which plays correspond to which parts of the axe. So, looking at these plays, here is what we have:
1. a displacement with the queue and thrust to the face with the heel spike
2. from the same, a collar throw with the queue
3. an elbow push, done with the hand or the queue, to turn the opponent.
4. an elbow lock from the same bind (in the axe section, shown from a low bind)
5. From the binding of weapons, a strike with the axe head to the face, and two follow-on actions, including the collar hook and throw from this side. (Think of it like two of the three wrestlings in German material - if the throw with the heel fails, you wind around in the bind and throw him from the other side.)
6. a feint and stop-thrust to the face with the heel-spike
7. a wrap-up and throw over your leg ("rear leg takedown")
8. Thrusting between the opponent's hands and winding over his right wrist, setting up several different options, including a wrist hook..
To which are added the aforementioned axe-plays, which include:
1. a throw, made using a face press, and the axe haft slipped between the opponent's legs to lever him over.
2. a counter-hook to pull the opponent's axe to the ground, followed by stepping on the weapon as you attack.
3. the axe variations of the elbow lock and the visor lift -as necessarily adapted from a low bind and a heavier weapon.
4. a two-handed disarm of the opponent's axe, followed by striking him with the same.
5. an unarmed counter to the same, or follow-up action, throwing the opponent to the ground, if he reaches for your knee to unbalance you.
That's a fair bit of axe material - certainly as much as in Kal, Faulkner or most of the Talhoffers. You have general advice on guards, attacks, parries and feints, 15 plays and counters, several with variations, that use both ends of the weapon, play into and from the bind, deal with what to do if the axe goes to the ground, and give a scenario or two for what to do if he disarms *you*.
The only core technique that I don't see a direct reference to in Fiore is using the beak to hook the knee. But it is mentioned against the neck in half-swording (with the cross), and it done as an unarmed grab in the poleaxe material, as well as done with leverage with the haft, so it is not a big extrapolation.
Finally, I should point out that it is not extrapolation by Fioreists to apply the sword and spear plays to the axe - Fiore tells us to do so.
In any case, certainly between Fiore, Monte and the Anonymous there is more than enough material for a complete axe curriculum - certainly as large as is found in German sources.
As to Le Jeu, well it is not my research, so I can't say too much on it, but I should point out that are best evidence suggests that the author was Milanese....
Ciao!
Greg