The Bolognese Swordsmanship Style and Weapons

Bolognese swordsmanship is also known in the European Martial Arts community as the Bardi or Dardi school due of some reports of its originator being a swordsman and philosopher by that name. We prefer to call it simply Bolognese: the period sources describing this style are all from the city of Bologna, Italy, which is located two hours’ drive south of Milan. The primary sources for this style are all from the 16th Century: Manciolino (1531), Marozzo (1536), Viggiani (written circa 1550) and Dall’Agocchie (1575). The unity of style and consistency of terminology is strong evidence of a standardized curriculum, which as far as we have recorded evidence from primary sources, points to a De Luca, also Bolognese, teacher of Marozzo and almost certainly of Manciolino, operating in the opening years of the 1500’s.

Venetian Schiavona

Bolognese swordsmanship is equally a cutting and a thrusting style. It utilizes the single-handed sword, both alone and in conjunction with several defensive weapons such as the small round buckler, the square targa, the larger rotella, the cape and the dagger; and the two-handed sword or spadone. Also, Bolognese masters have some of the best and most thorough descriptions on the use of polearms (see our section on these weapons for more information).

Besides describing assalti (sequences of techniques to be used in friendly matches) and abbattimenti (techniques to be used in serious duels), Bolognese masters detail solo-forms similar to Japanese katas, through which the swordsman can perfect the execution of all the elements of the style. In all, the Bolognese style is extremely dynamic and flamboyant, with its many guards, varied footwork and creative attacks (here is an example of a Typical Action).

The single-handed swords that can be used for the Bolognese style range from the military-style broadsword to the rapier proper. Let’s not forget that this was equally a military and a civilian style, and one that spanned the better part of a century. Our weapons are made by Darkwood Armory, and feature a 37" blade considerably lighter than that of a broadsword but still somewhat broader than that of a rapier.

Suggestions for further reading and discussion:

Bologna, 1575

• Jherek Swanger's Translations include Books I and II of Dall'Agocchie, Book III of Viggiani, and Books I, II, and III of Manciolino.
• An Introduction to the Fundamentals of Bolognese Swordsmanship (530Kb) The pre-class handout for Steve's Bolognese track at 4W 2008.
• Spadone Guards (1.44Mb). All 20 of the plates illustrating the Guards for the Spadone (Sword for Two Hands) extracted from the 1536 and 1568 editions of Marozzo. Compiled by Steven Reich.
• Bolognese Swordsmanship Class Handout (2.08Mb) for the Bolognese Track we taught at 4W 2006.
• Illustrated guide of 1500’s Bolognese cut and thrust guards. By Tom Leoni and Steven Reich.
  This page is designed to offer an easy but accurate visual reference of the many guards of the Bolognese style. The nature of these guards has been researched from the works of Antonio Manciolino, Achille Marozzo and Giovanni Dall’Agocchie.
• Sword-Alone Form from page 12 of Giovanni dall'Agocchie's book Dell'Arte di Scrimia. By Steven Reich.
  The short solo form given by dall'Agocchie as an exercise for moving through various guards combined with footwork to satisfy number four of his Sei Capi Principli of fencing.
• The Essential Actions of Giovanni dall'Agocchie By Steven Reich.
  Near the end of the third day of the first book of Giovanni dall'Agocchie, Lepido asks what parts of the art should a person concentrate on if he must use it in the immediate future and with little time in which to learn. That is, he asks what dall'Agocchie considers to be the bare-minimum knowledge necessary for a man who will use the art of swordsmanship in ernest.
• General Rules and Advice of Giovanni dall'Agocchie By Steven Reich.
  This is a collection of rules and advice I extracted from the text of Giovanni dall'Agocchie's manual. Some of these points are specific rules for specific cirsumstances; others are general theory or advice. I will add to this as I extract more from the text.
• The Guards and Some Advice for Sword and Dagger from Giovanni dall'Agocchie By Steven Reich.
  This contains the guards for sword and dagger as well as four pieces of advice for using the sword and dagger extracted from Giovanni dall'Agocchie's manual.
• Photographs of an original 17th century Schiavona.
• Order of the Seven Hearts Forum

Our Bolognese work

At the Order of the Seven Hearts, we practice the single-handed sword, the spadone and the polearms. Our single-handed sword curriculum is based primarily on the works of Dall’Agocchie for sword alone and Manciolino for sword and small buckler. Some of the finer mechanical elements we get from Viggiani. Our spadone material, instead, is exclusively from Marozzo, who is the only one among these masters who describes its use.

Although the use of multiple sources may seem odd, this style is so uniform and consistent that all these sources, together, can be used to give us a more complete picture of how the style was performed and practiced. As with all styles we practice, we are careful to always remain on a straight philological track and to never incorporate elements that we see as alien to the style.