Saviolo: Part II: Practical Elements

Greetings, This is part II of my blog on the subject of Vincentio Saviolo. With the background set, and the principles in place, it is now possible to delve more deeply into the system which was developed by Saviolo. It is important that the principles are laid out first and understood in order to understand the practical side of the system. There will be elements that will be left out of this discussion as they serve no purpose in going into them in detail in the discovery of Saviolo's method of fence. Thus it will be those elements which are essential to his system that the detail will be centered upon. Externally Saviolo's system is simple, but when you examine it in more detail, the hidden complexities emerge. As with the previous part it is important to start with the principles, or in this case the basic elements before moving on to the more complex aspects of the system. First is starting with Saviolo's wards. The first ward the Saviolo teaches is a teaching ward, simple as that. It is designed to place the student in the correct position in order that they have all the elements in place. This is important as it places the student in the correct position for applying the techniques that follow.

“I come therefore to the point and say, that when the teacher will enter his scholler, he shal cause him to stand upon this ward, which is very good to bee taught for framing the foote, the hand, and the body:”

Without teaching this ward the student will be unprepared to perform the following wards and to understand how they are used. Once the student is able to place himself in the correct position, it is then possible to move on to the combat ward which Saviolo advises for use in combat. Once again, it is important to stress that the first ward is purely a teaching ward and designed to teach the student the correct position for their body.

The second ward is Saviolo's combat ward. This is the one that he advises for use in combat against an opponent. It should be noted that this ward carries through many of the same elements as found in the teaching ward, thus it can be seen that one is based upon the other. If we examine Saviolo's description of his second ward, these elements can easily be seen.

“Therefore if the maister desire to make a good scholler, let him begin in this sorte, causing his scholar to place his right legge formoste, a little bending the knee, so that the heele of his right foote stand just against the midst of his left foote, holding his swoord hand close on the outside of his right knee, with his swoorde helde in shorte, least his adversarye should gaine the same, ever keeping the poynte directlye on the face or bellye of his enemye, and the maister shall dispose of him selfe in the same manner, as well with his foote as with his poynt.”

As in the first ward the right, or sword side leg is placed forward, with the knee bent slightly. This is the same as the teaching ward. This is the same with the position of the feet and demonstrates how the first ward teaches the student where to place themselves. The hand position with the weapon held in close and the off-hand extended means that it is the off-hand that will be used for the primary defence against the opponent rather than the use of the sword. The withdrawal of the weapon also denies the opponent blade engagement from the out-set. As with many of the masters, the point is directed against the opponent in order to threaten them and also to place in in a posiiton to attack. This is Saviolo's primary combat ward.

The third ward has two purposes, and it is important to realise them in order to be able to use the ward properly. The primary reason for the third ward is in order that the combatant is easily able to perform a lunge, or stoccata at length as Saviolo calls it. From this position, the combatant is also prepared to perform a punta riversa. This is a ward in the truest sense as it is a position from which an attack is made rather than a static defence. In many ways this position should not be adopted but moved through.

“I will not faile in anie part to make you understand the excellencie of this third warde, which notwithstanding is quite contrarie to the other two. Because that in this you must stand with your feet even together, as if you were readie to sit down, and your rapier hand must bee within your knee, and your point against the face of your enemie: and if your enemie put himselfe upon the same ward, you may give a stoccata at length betweene his rapier and his arme, which shall bee best performed & reach farthest, if you shift with your foot on the right side.”

This ward differs in its foot position from the other two as they are quite close together. The hand position is very similar to the previous two wards as it is withdrawn in order to deny blade engagement from the enemy. The position of the feet clearly demonstrate that it is a preparation for the use of the back foot to push the combatant forward in the performance of an attack. Saviolo's "stoccata" at length" will be discussed in more depth in a later section of this part.

Saviolo's system is entirely based on the use of the sword in conjunction with the off-hand. All of his techniques are based on the premise that the hand is the primary defence against thrusts, and the sword is more of an offensive object rather than defensive. This particular idea transfers and follows through to his rapier and dagger which follow the same principles, using the dagger in the off-hand as defensive and the sword as offensive in most situations. The entire system revolves around the use of the off-hand parry, void with movement off-line and the stoccata in offence against the opponent. Clearly the only difference in the use of rapier and dagger is that there is a dagger in the off-hand. This results in a system which, from the outside, is extremely simple. This simplicity of purpose is demonstrated in the forms of attack also.

Bibliography Saviolo, V. (1595) His Practice in Two Books

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The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

There is also a future book in the works devoted to Saviolo's First Book, detailing his described actions detailed, interpreted and presented as usable drills. Stay posted for more information to come, here or on the author, or publisher's Facebook page.