Wiktenauer logo.png

Difference between revisions of "Nicoletto Giganti"

From Wiktenauer
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 22: Line 22:
 
| education            =  
 
| education            =  
 
| alma_mater          =  
 
| alma_mater          =  
| patron              = Cosimo II de Medici
+
| patron              = {{plainlist
 
+
| Cosimo II de Medici
 +
| Christofano Chigi
 +
}}
 
| period              =  
 
| period              =  
 
| genre                = [[Fencing manual]]
 
| genre                = [[Fencing manual]]
Line 49: Line 51:
 
| below                =  
 
| below                =  
 
}}
 
}}
'''Nicoletto Giganti''' (Niccoletto, Nicolat; 1550s-after 1622<ref>Leoni, p xii.</ref>) was a 16th – [[century::17th century]] [[nationality::Italian]] soldier and [[fencing master]]. He was likely born to a noble family in Fossombrone in central Italy,<ref>Lancellotti, Francesco Maria. ''Quadro letterario degli uomini illustri della città di Fossombrone''. In Colucci, Giuseppe. ''Antichità picene, XXVIII''. Fermo, 1796. p 33.</ref> and only later became a citizen of Venice as he stated on the title page of his 1606 treatise. Little is known of Giganti’s life, but in the dedication to his 1606 treatise he counts twenty seven years of professional experience (possibly referring to service in the Venetian military, a long tradition of the Giganti family).<ref>Calcaterra, Francesco. ''Corti e cortigiani nella Roma barocca''. Rome, 2012. p 76.</ref> The preface to his 1608 treatise describes him as a Mastro d'Arme of the Order of St. Stephen in Pisa, giving some further clues to his career.
+
'''Nicoletto Giganti''' (Niccoletto, Nicolat; 1550s-after 1622<ref>Leoni, p xii.</ref>) was a 16th – [[century::17th century]] [[nationality::Italian]] soldier and [[fencing master]]. He was likely born to a noble family in Fossombrone in central Italy,<ref name="Terminiello 9">Terminiello et al. 2013, p 9.</ref> and only later became a citizen of Venice (as indicated on the [[Page:Scola, overo teatro (Nicoletto Giganti) 1606.pdf/5|title page]] of his 1606 treatise). Little is known of Giganti’s life, but in the dedication to his 1606 treatise he counts twenty seven years of professional experience (possibly referring to service in the Venetian military, a long tradition of the Giganti family).<ref name="Terminiello 9"/> The preface to his 1608 treatise describes him as a Master of Arms to the Order of Santo Stefano in Pisa, a powerful military order founded by Cosimo I de' Medici, giving some further clues to his career.
  
In 1606, Giganti published a treatise on the use of the rapier (both single and with the dagger) titled ''[[Scola, overo teatro (Nicoletto Giganti)|Scola, overo teatro]]'' ("School or Theater"). This treatise is structured as a series of progressively more complex lessons, and Tom Leoni opines that this treatise is the best pedagogical work on rapier fencing of the early 17th century.<ref>Leoni, p xi.</ref> It is also the first treatise to fully articulate the principle of the lunge.
+
In 1606, Giganti published a treatise on the use of the rapier (both single and with the dagger) titled ''[[Scola, overo teatro (Nicoletto Giganti)|Scola, overo teatro]]'' ("School or Theater"). It is dedicated to Cosimo II de' Medici. This treatise is structured as a series of progressively more complex lessons, and Tom Leoni opines that this treatise is the best pedagogical work on rapier fencing of the early 17th century.<ref>Leoni, p xi.</ref> It is also the first treatise to fully articulate the principle of the lunge.
  
In 1608, Giganti made good on the promise in his first book that he would publish a second volume.<ref>This treatise was considered lost for centuries, and as early as 1673 the Sicilian master [[Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini]] stated that this second book was never published at all. See ''[[La seconda parte della scherma illustrata (Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini)|La seconda parte della scherma illustrata]]''. Palermo, 1673. p V.</ref> Titled ''[[Libro secondo (Nicoletto Giganti)|Libro secondo di Niccoletto Giganti Venetiano]]'', it covers the same weapons as the first as well as rapier and buckler, rapier and cloak, rapier and shield, single dagger, and mixed weapon encounters. This text in turn promises two additional works, on the dagger and on cutting with the rapier, but there is no record of these books ever being published.
+
In 1608, Giganti made good on the promise in his first book that he would publish a second volume.<ref>This treatise was considered lost for centuries, and as early as 1673 the Sicilian master [[Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini]] stated that this second book was never published at all. See ''[[La seconda parte della scherma illustrata (Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini)|La seconda parte della scherma illustrata]]''. Palermo, 1673. p V.</ref> Titled ''[[Libro secondo (Nicoletto Giganti)|Libro secondo di Niccoletto Giganti Venetiano]]'', it is dedicated to Christofano Chigi, a Knight of Malta, and covers the same weapons as the first as well as rapier and buckler, rapier and cloak, rapier and shield, single dagger, and mixed weapon encounters. This text in turn promises additional writings on the dagger and on cutting with the rapier, but there is no record of further books by Giganti ever being published.
  
 
While Giganti's second book quickly disappeared from history, his first seems to have been quite popular: reprints, mostly unauthorized, sprang up many times over the subsequent decades, both in the original Italian and, beginning in 1619, in French and German translations. This unauthorized dual-language edition also included book 2 of [[Salvator Fabris]]' 1606 treatise ''[[Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme (Salvator Fabris)|Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme]]'' which, coupled with the loss of Giganti's true second book, is probably what has lead many later bibliographers to accuse Giganti himself of plagiarism.<ref>This accusation was first made by [[Johann Joachim Hynitzsch]], who attributed the edition to Giganti rather than Zeter and was incensed that he gave no credit to Fabris.</ref>
 
While Giganti's second book quickly disappeared from history, his first seems to have been quite popular: reprints, mostly unauthorized, sprang up many times over the subsequent decades, both in the original Italian and, beginning in 1619, in French and German translations. This unauthorized dual-language edition also included book 2 of [[Salvator Fabris]]' 1606 treatise ''[[Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme (Salvator Fabris)|Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme]]'' which, coupled with the loss of Giganti's true second book, is probably what has lead many later bibliographers to accuse Giganti himself of plagiarism.<ref>This accusation was first made by [[Johann Joachim Hynitzsch]], who attributed the edition to Giganti rather than Zeter and was incensed that he gave no credit to Fabris.</ref>
Line 59: Line 61:
 
== Treatise ==
 
== Treatise ==
  
Giganti, like many 17th century authors, had a tendency to write incredibly long, multi-page paragraphs which quickly become hard to follow. Jacques de Zeter's 1619 dual-language edition often breaks these up into more manageable chunks, and so his layout is reflected in these concordances.  
+
Giganti, like many 17th century authors, had a tendency to write incredibly long, multi-page paragraphs which quickly become hard to follow. Jacques de Zeter's 1619 dual-language edition often breaks these up into more manageable chunks, and so his version is used as the template for these concordances. Neither scans nor transcription of Giganti's [[Libro secondo (Nicoletto Giganti)|second book]] are yet available, so it cannot yet be included in the tables below.
  
Neither scans nor transcription of Giganti's [[Libro secondo (Nicoletto Giganti)|second book]] are yet available, so it cannot yet be included in the tables below.
+
A [http://data.onb.ac.at/rep/109AF678 copy of the 1628 printing] that was extensively annotated by a contemporary reader now resides in the [[Österreichische Nationalbibliothek]]. Its annotations are beyond the scope of this concordance, but they have been [http://www.rapier.at/2018/07/20/a-transcription-of-annotations-in-the-onb-copy-211216-c-of-scola-overo-teatro-by-nicoletto-giganti/ transcribed] by [[Julian Schrattenecker]] and [[Florian Fortner]], and incorporated into [[Jeff Vansteenkiste]]'s translation in a [https://labirinto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Giganti-Nicoletto-Scola-overo-teatro-1606-and-Marginalia-v-2020-04-24.pdf separate document].
  
 
{{master begin
 
{{master begin
Line 98: Line 100:
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[File:Giganti Medici Heraldry.png|400x400px|center|Arms of the Medici Family]]
 
| [[File:Giganti Medici Heraldry.png|400x400px|center|Arms of the Medici Family]]
| <p>'''To the Most Serene Don Cosmo de Medici Great Prince of Tuscany''' my only Lord</p>
+
| <p>'''To the Most Serene Don Cosimo de Medici Great Prince of Tuscany''' my only Lord</p>
  
 
<p>Just as iron extracted from the rough mines would be useless if it had not received shape suited to human armies from industrious art, thus the same in the hands of the strong soldier can be of little profit if, accompanied by studious and wise valour, the way is not made clear for every difficult and triumphant success. In this way to a point since the Good Shepherd welcomes the operation, because almost all the noblest things proceeding from our actions receive appropriate material from His hands, which, refined and dignified by the industry of the spirit, achieve miraculous and powerful effects. Now I say that this temperament is wonderfully demonstrated in the excellent and illustrious greatness of Your Most Serene Highness, who holds the natural greatnesses brought back to their peak from the invincible glorious works of your Ancestors, not only in the ancient and royal histories, but reflecting in yourself all the light of the present and past splendour, adorning them with your own virtues so that everyone admires the most divine tempers, and with wonderment says such a Most Serene Lord is no less fitting to that Most Serene State, than such a Most Serene State to that Most Serene Lord. But I will only say that this proposition, just as is demonstrated clearly in all the arts; so it is evidently perceived in exercising arms. Discussing the strength of iron, although it is exercised by a strong arm and agile body, if it is not tuned with observed rules and exercised study it is shown to be perilous and of little valour: Whereas if the art can be known by a wise captain, and he obeys it as a bold minister, they make marvelous prowess of it. You serve us as a clear example, who Heaven had to grant all height of perfect quality as in the most complete illumination of the present age. You who have in the noblest proportion stature, puissance, vigour joined to agility, promptness, and strength, in order to draw with your highest ingenuity the finesse of industry, advice, time, and art that can make you most a complete and Most Illustrious Captain, a Most Serene and most singular Prince.</p>
 
<p>Just as iron extracted from the rough mines would be useless if it had not received shape suited to human armies from industrious art, thus the same in the hands of the strong soldier can be of little profit if, accompanied by studious and wise valour, the way is not made clear for every difficult and triumphant success. In this way to a point since the Good Shepherd welcomes the operation, because almost all the noblest things proceeding from our actions receive appropriate material from His hands, which, refined and dignified by the industry of the spirit, achieve miraculous and powerful effects. Now I say that this temperament is wonderfully demonstrated in the excellent and illustrious greatness of Your Most Serene Highness, who holds the natural greatnesses brought back to their peak from the invincible glorious works of your Ancestors, not only in the ancient and royal histories, but reflecting in yourself all the light of the present and past splendour, adorning them with your own virtues so that everyone admires the most divine tempers, and with wonderment says such a Most Serene Lord is no less fitting to that Most Serene State, than such a Most Serene State to that Most Serene Lord. But I will only say that this proposition, just as is demonstrated clearly in all the arts; so it is evidently perceived in exercising arms. Discussing the strength of iron, although it is exercised by a strong arm and agile body, if it is not tuned with observed rules and exercised study it is shown to be perilous and of little valour: Whereas if the art can be known by a wise captain, and he obeys it as a bold minister, they make marvelous prowess of it. You serve us as a clear example, who Heaven had to grant all height of perfect quality as in the most complete illumination of the present age. You who have in the noblest proportion stature, puissance, vigour joined to agility, promptness, and strength, in order to draw with your highest ingenuity the finesse of industry, advice, time, and art that can make you most a complete and Most Illustrious Captain, a Most Serene and most singular Prince.</p>

Revision as of 00:09, 15 July 2020

Nicoletto Giganti
Born 1550-1560
Fossombrone, Italy
Died after 1622
Venice, Italy (?)
Occupation
Nationality Italian
Citizenship Republic of Venice
Patron
  • Cosimo II de Medici
  • Christofano Chigi
Influenced Bondì di Mazo (?)
Genres Fencing manual
Language Italian
Notable work(s)

Nicoletto Giganti (Niccoletto, Nicolat; 1550s-after 1622[1]) was a 16th – 17th century Italian soldier and fencing master. He was likely born to a noble family in Fossombrone in central Italy,[2] and only later became a citizen of Venice (as indicated on the title page of his 1606 treatise). Little is known of Giganti’s life, but in the dedication to his 1606 treatise he counts twenty seven years of professional experience (possibly referring to service in the Venetian military, a long tradition of the Giganti family).[2] The preface to his 1608 treatise describes him as a Master of Arms to the Order of Santo Stefano in Pisa, a powerful military order founded by Cosimo I de' Medici, giving some further clues to his career.

In 1606, Giganti published a treatise on the use of the rapier (both single and with the dagger) titled Scola, overo teatro ("School or Theater"). It is dedicated to Cosimo II de' Medici. This treatise is structured as a series of progressively more complex lessons, and Tom Leoni opines that this treatise is the best pedagogical work on rapier fencing of the early 17th century.[3] It is also the first treatise to fully articulate the principle of the lunge.

In 1608, Giganti made good on the promise in his first book that he would publish a second volume.[4] Titled Libro secondo di Niccoletto Giganti Venetiano, it is dedicated to Christofano Chigi, a Knight of Malta, and covers the same weapons as the first as well as rapier and buckler, rapier and cloak, rapier and shield, single dagger, and mixed weapon encounters. This text in turn promises additional writings on the dagger and on cutting with the rapier, but there is no record of further books by Giganti ever being published.

While Giganti's second book quickly disappeared from history, his first seems to have been quite popular: reprints, mostly unauthorized, sprang up many times over the subsequent decades, both in the original Italian and, beginning in 1619, in French and German translations. This unauthorized dual-language edition also included book 2 of Salvator Fabris' 1606 treatise Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme which, coupled with the loss of Giganti's true second book, is probably what has lead many later bibliographers to accuse Giganti himself of plagiarism.[5]

Treatise

Giganti, like many 17th century authors, had a tendency to write incredibly long, multi-page paragraphs which quickly become hard to follow. Jacques de Zeter's 1619 dual-language edition often breaks these up into more manageable chunks, and so his version is used as the template for these concordances. Neither scans nor transcription of Giganti's second book are yet available, so it cannot yet be included in the tables below.

A copy of the 1628 printing that was extensively annotated by a contemporary reader now resides in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Its annotations are beyond the scope of this concordance, but they have been transcribed by Julian Schrattenecker and Florian Fortner, and incorporated into Jeff Vansteenkiste's translation in a separate document.

Additional Resources

  • Terminiello, Piermarco and Pendragon, Joshua. The 'Lost' Second Book of Nicoletto Giganti (1608): A Rapier Fencing Treatise. Vulpes, 2013. ISBN 978-1909348318
  • Leoni, Tom. Venetian Rapier: The School, or Salle. Nicoletto Giganti's 1606 Rapier Fencing Curriculum. Wheaton, IL: Freelance Academy Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9825911-2-3
  • Mediema, Aaron Taylor. Nicoletto Giganti's the School of the Sword: A New Translation by Aaron Taylor Miedema. Legacy Books Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1927537077

References

  1. Leoni, p xii.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Terminiello et al. 2013, p 9.
  3. Leoni, p xi.
  4. This treatise was considered lost for centuries, and as early as 1673 the Sicilian master Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini stated that this second book was never published at all. See La seconda parte della scherma illustrata. Palermo, 1673. p V.
  5. This accusation was first made by Johann Joachim Hynitzsch, who attributed the edition to Giganti rather than Zeter and was incensed that he gave no credit to Fabris.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 In a counterguard.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 The enemy.
  8. Although the plates depicting the guards and counterguards are somewhat less than clear, we know from this chapter that Figure 2 depicts binding the enemy’s sword on the inside.
  9. Figure 3, which we know from the description of this chapter’s action depicts binding the enemy’s sword on the outside.
  10. Reading the text, Figures 6 and 7 appear to be swapped, meaning this lesson’s text refers to Figure 7. Interestingly the plate order does not appear to be corrected in subsequent printings, even in Jakob de Zeter’s German/French version (1619), which uses entirely new plates created by a different artist.
  11. This lesson’s text refers to Figure 6.
  12. The two fencers.
  13. The placeholder was never replaced with the proper figure number reference when the book went to print, and it remains missing in Paolo Frambotto’s 1628 reprint. Jakob de Zeter’s 1619 German/French version refers to Figure 7.
  14. The figure number is missing in both the 1606 and 1628 printings. Jakob de Zeter’s 1619 German/French version refers to Figure 8.
  15. Your hand.
  16. This is the second manner mentioned at the beginning of the lesson, rather than an action that follows from the first.
  17. Camillo Agrippa (1553), for example, recommends turning the face away.
  18. The two preceding figures.
  19. The original text is “vorreste”, or “you would like”. As our fencer’s opponent is the one with the dagger, it is likely that this is a mistake in the text
  20. The figure number is missing in both the 1606 and 1628 printings. Jakob de Zeter’s 1619 German/French version refers to Figure 21.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Figure 21.
  22. The guard Giganti refers to here is unclear.
  23. First lesson of sword and dagger – Figure 21.
  24. Figures 21-26.
  25. The figure number is missing in both the 1606 and 1628 printings. Jakob de Zeter’s 1619 German/French version refers to Figure 27.
  26. The chest is uncovered.
  27. “Scannare” – to slaughter or cut the throat of.
  28. Of the enemy.
  29. Our fencer.