Special Note: Use of Information

Greetings,

I have no problem with people using the information which is written in the articles of my blog, for non-profit purposes, for that is what it is intended. I only request that people attribute it properly, and do not change the information which they use. If you wish to use any of the information for commercial purposes, you need to seek permission from the author. For use of any information from published sources, which appear in the bibliographies of the articles, permission should be sought through those sources as this author only holds copyright for original content.

Thank you.

Cheers,

...Henry

Sword and Rotella – A Bluffer’s Guide

Greetings,

I have been doing some investigation into the use of the sword and rotella of late. This is really for my own purposes as I have owned a rotella for about three years and I figured I should really get around to learning how to use it. This is a "bluffer's guide" to the use of the sword and rotella meaning that it is light on the detail in most places and gives you a general idea about how to use this particular combination. The work is, however, based on research from suitable materials as will be demonstrate.

Cheers,

Henry.

Introduction

“It very often happens that one’s own weapons make war to the selfsame ones who do not know their use well. Therefore, I have judged it not to be outside of the purpose to mention some particulars of the rotella, as it is a most perilous weapon to those selfsame ones who have not done any kind of practice.” – Capo Ferro, 1610 (Kirby, 2012:142)

            The sword and rotella is a system which has a relatively long heritage, however, to date, it has only been found in Renaissance manuals. What this means is that there is quite a bit of information to cover for the understanding of the system if each master was to be examined in detail. This is not what this investigation will be aimed at.

            The discussion here is designed to reveal the essentials of the system. These essentials are what make the system what it is and are found in various manuals but it is the common elements which reveal the system for what it is. This investigation has taken four manuals from the Renaissance period and through an examination of each manual distilled and found the essential elements. Thus the system which is presented here has been developed from the examination and common and foundation elements from each of the four manuals.

            This is more of a generalised discussion of the system overall rather than an in-depth discussion of individual techniques. The discussion presented is designed to give the reader an overall understanding of the system. This understanding can form a foundation from which other systems can be examined.

            The order of presentation is to examine the background issues in the investigation and then examine the sword and rotella as a system. Individual elements of the system will be examined in some detail for completeness in order to give understanding as to how the sword and rotella work as a system. This means that while there will be practical elements presented and these can be used it is the understanding of the system which is the goal of this discussion.

Source Material

            The source material which is presented in this discussion uses as close to primary materials as possible. Issues with regard to this particular element of the discussion will be noted below in the bibliographic discussion. Further to this these primary materials will be in a distilled form, extracting the most important parts from each and using this as the framework upon which the investigation is based.

            This examination focusses on four masters works with regard to their use of the sword and rotella. Chronologically they are Marozzo’s Art dell Armi of 1536, Agrippa’s Trattato di Scientia d’Arme of 1553, Di Grassi’s His True Art of Defence of 1594, and finally Capo Ferro’s Gran Simulacro dell’arte e dell’uso della Scherma of 1610. Most of the information found in these manuals is from the point of view of matched weapons i.e. sword and rotella versus sword and rotella, but the information found within can also be applied to other situations with a little modification. What should also be noted in these manuals is that the earlier manuals contain more with regard to the use of the rotella whereas the later manuals contain less. However the information which is contained within these manuals is most useful to this investigation and development.

Bibliographic Issues

            In the study of the sword and rotella there are some bibliographical issues that need to be taken into account before any real study can be achieved. One of the first things is with regard to the weapon, the second with the device in the other hand, and lastly there is a language issue that needs to be taken into account. These need to be addressed in some fashion before a real study can take place.

            First of all is the language. Of the four manuals which have been used for this investigation only one of these is written in English, that of Di Grassi’s 1594 manual. Even that is actually a translation of the 1570 Italian manual of the same name. All of the others have been translated from Italian to English in the modern period, by some very knowledgeable people admittedly, but there is still the interference of the translation of the language to take into account.

            Further to this language issue, and directly related is the names of the devices being used, the sword and the rotella. Often “spada” in Renaissance manuals is translated as “rapier” where in actual fact it simply means “sword”. This is the reason that this investigation is being referred to as a sword and rotella manual, thus covering both of the weapons concerned.

            As for the rotella itself, it is called this in Italian. It is called a “Shield” generically, a “target” in Old English and a “rodela” in Spanish. All of the terms refer, more or less, to the same item. Due to the more Italian focus the shield will be referred to as a rotella, as it has previously and will in future be.

What is Rotella?

            The rotella is a round shield. Its size varies from approximately 20” to 30” or roughly 50-cm to 76-cm. The grip is most often a loop of leather but may be a solid handle. There is a second loop leather which sits about the elbow; this is sometimes replaced with an adjustable strap. The outside of the rotella is constructed of steel or wood.

            The rotella and its use is the only, to date, documentation of the use of a shield in combat aside from the buckler. However, as will be demonstrated, the rotella differs from the buckler in use. While this style of combat is more readily associated with military-style encounters, there is evidence, as presented in these civilian manuals of its use for civilian combats as well. 

Versus Buckler

            One of the great mistakes made with regard to the rotella is that it is often assumed that it is used the same way as the buckler. This is actually incorrect. There are some significant differences that must be noted between the rotella and buckler in order to completely understand how the rotella is used.

            Simply based on physical size the buckler is small and the rotella is large. This alone will result in differences. The simple thing is that a small defensive object will be more mobile than a larger one. The result of this is that the buckler will be more active that the rotella which will be more stationary.

            The size will affect the nature of the use of the item, but the use will still be based on the same foundation theory of such a defensive device. Thus similarities can be drawn between the use of one and the use of another. Ken Mondschein has noted that the use of the rotella as used by Agrippa is similar to the Bolognese judging from Marozzo’s assaulti; however the rotella is more to the fencer’s side whereas the buckler is placed out in front of the fencer.

What will also be noted through this investigation is that the similarities will be present amongst the masters indeed if there were no similarities it would be difficult to draw a common use of the item, and thus a universal approach to its use. It is the similarities which will be the focus but differences will also be noted.

Wards

            There are several wards available for the use of the rotella. Each of the four masters described at least one if not several wards which can be used at sword and rotella. For the purposes of this examination the ward which will be used is one which is based upon the essential principles which each of these wards is based. This is in essence designed to simplify the system in order that one ward is used.

Marozzo focuses on three wards, coda lunga stretta, coda lunga alta and porta di ferro stretta, however this being said in his description of the actions he also passes through and uses six others. The three named here, though are the three which for the most part he starts from or ends up in. It is the form of the dominant wards which is important.

Agrippa uses four guardia in his manual as his primary. These are described previously in his manual and are given simple alphabetic indications. As the wards are presented as single sword or sword and dagger, it is up to the reader to interpret where the rotella is placed. However after the examination, it will be noted that the same foundations upon which Marozzo bases his wards will also be found in the wards of Agrippa.

Further along in the chronology is Di Grassi and later is Capo Ferro, by this time the amount of wards for the combination have been reduced. Di Grassi mentions the use of three wards, but is essentially focussed on a single ward being his Low Ward. Capo Ferro uses a couple of wards in his use of the rotella but his sesta is his favourite ward. As can be seen the system has been refined to present the essential parts of the system, and in a similar fashion one ward will be indicated here. Of the holding of the rotella Capo Ferro states;

“the rotella must be held embraced with the left arm somewhat curved, in a way that looks somewhat towards your left side, but not so curved that it impedes the eye so that you cannot discern whatever part of the enemy you want to proceed to strike.” – Capo Ferro, 1610 (Kirby, 2012:142)

The essential ward for the use of the sword and rotella is formed as such. The sword foot is placed forward of the off-hand foot with the toe pointed at the opponent. The feet should be comfortably spaced, neither too close or too broad. As with any good ward, the knees should be bent slightly.

The rotella is held extended from the body rather than close to it, with the arm slightly bent in order to bring the rotella slightly across the body to cover it, at least the off-hand side. The position of the rotella should not restrict the view of the opponent, if this is the case the rotella should be moved ...

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.

Bibliography

Agrippa, C. (2009) Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise, Translated by Ken Mondschein, Italica Press, New York, USA

Di Grassi, G. (1594) His True Art of Defence, Temple Barre at the Signe of the Hand and Starre, translated from the 1570 manual by I. G., London, UK

Kirby, J. (2012) Italian Rapier Combat: Ridolfo Capo Ferro, Frontline Books, Yorkshire, UK

Marozzo, A. (1536) Arte dell’ Armi: Books One & Two, translated by W. E. Wilson