[Bill Grandy]

I just received in the mail Italian Rapier Combat: Capo Ferro's 'Gran Simulacro'. It is translated by Maestro Ramon Martinez, Maestro Jeanette Acosta-Martinez, and Jared Kirby. It can be purchased for $39.95 at the Martinez Academy's website here: http://www.martinez-destreza.com/

The book is the entire translation of Ridofo Capo Ferro's rapier fencing treatise, Gran Simulacro, which covers the use of the single rapier, the rapier and dagger, and some additional plates on the use of the cloak as well as the rotella (round shield).

I have since forever been using the free english version that William Wilson has put up on the web, which is a fine translation. But it is always nice to have multiple translations of period texts available, and it is also even nicer to have a physical book to leaf through that is organized with a clear layout in conjunction with the illustrations, which Italian Rapier Combat has.

At the beginning is a glossary of terms, as the translators have chosen to use the original Italian for many of the fencing terms, especially ones that do not have a perfect English translation. (For example, cavere is usually translated as "disengage", which is a decent interpretation, but a disengage in modern fencing implies going underneath a blade to the other side, whereas a cavere can be both below or above.)

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in 17th century Italian fencing. Ridolfo Cappo Ferro did assume the reader would have a degree of fencing knowledge, so for a complete novice, the master's words may seem a bit unclear, though this can certainly be overcome with a good study of the manual and physical practice.

I do think that the book would have greatly benefitted from a basic history, or something said about the context of rapier, the duel, or even Cappo Ferro's life. I think that without this, the book is mostly of interest to practitioners, and less of interest to historians or anyone who has a genuine interest in the aspects of rapier play without necessarily wishing to practice it.

Otherwise it's an excellent purchase.

Though I personally can't wait for Chivarly Bookshelf to come out with Tom Leoni's translation of Salvator Fabris, who was contemporary to Capo Ferro and had possibly the most complete rapier fencing treatise known. That in combination with this Capo Ferro translation will really start producing a lot of serious rapier fencers, or at least that's my prediction.[/i]

(edited for spelling)

[Stephen A. Fisher]

Hi Bill,

I received my copy last week. It's great. I had also been using William Wilson's translation.