The Art of Arms

Bolognese Foundations Part 4: Tactics

To attack or not to attack, that is the question!
 
It would seem there are many different ways to approach the tactics of Bolognese fencing, but is that because of the varied approaches of different authors, or is there a hidden consensus? Martin, Stephen and Joshua discuss measure, tempo, the nature of the guards, provocations, and so much more in this episode of l'Arte Dell Armi!

Maestro Wars Episode 4: Rogue Son

Pope Julius II has turned his covetous eye toward Ferrara. Meanwhile the French under Bayard and his d'Este allies prepare the way in hope of resisting the Pope's forces and his new league of allies, the Holy League. The French army has a few aces up their sleeves in the Bentivoglio and a young, daring captain, named Gaston di Foix, nicknamed the Thunderbolt. 
 
Part 1: Back in Bologa, 1:22
Part 2: The Warrior Pope, 7:38
Part 3: Guido Rangoni's Little Adventure, 15:26
Part 4 and Part 5: Too Close to the Sun, 22:03
Part 6: Showdown in Bologna 31:03
Part 7: Guido's Star on the Rise 42:41
Part 9: Hugo Pepoli and the Exiles of Bologna, 50:18
Part 10: The Lady from Sex, 55:10
Part 11: The Siege of Bologna, 60:18
Part 12: Revolt in Brescia, 69:08
Part 13: Torre del Magnago, 73:00
 

Bolognese Foundations Part 3: Footwork

Put on your blue suede shoes, it's time for some Dardi Dancing!
 
In this episode of Bolognese Foundations Stephen, Martin, and I discuss footwork! 

Bolognese Foundations: Part 2, Guards (with Martin Höppner)

En garde! 
In the first installment we learned how to travel between point A and point B, in this episode we'll talk about what those points are, what they mean, and what they're good at. The Cuts and thrusts take you between different guards, but all of your actions will begin and end in guards, so let's learn what those guards are all about. 
For those following at home, check out this written supplement: Bolognese Foundations: Part Two - by Joshua Wiest (substack.com)
And if you like the channel, and want to help us out, become a supporter on Patreon: The Art of Arms | Patreon

Bill Grandy: A Complete Perspective

Bill Grandy has done it all, and been really good at all of it too; he has one of the most complete perspectives of anyone I've had the pleasure of talking to on this podcast. So, what did we talk about? A little bit of everything! Armor, wrestling, messer, sidesword, rapier, push of pike, you name it, we probably covered it in this miraculous episode. 

Bolognese Foundations: Part 1, Cuts and Thrusts (with Martin Höppner)

So, you've heard about the magical powers of the Bolognese Sauce, and you want to get cooking, but when you open up the books all you see is a bunch of really odd Italian words mixed up in sentances with weird grammer and sometime illogical phrasing. You really want to read the text's of Marozzo, Manciolino, dall'Agocchie and the Anonimo, but you don't know how to get started, or maybe you have started but you need some resources to help you memorize a lot of the terminology. This is the podcast for you!
Hey, you too, longtime practitioner, it never hurts to revist the foundational material! 
Martin Höppner was kind enough to join us for this series, which is good because he proposed the idea way back when the podcast was getting started. 
Check us out on Patreon: patreon.com/TheArtofArms
And sign up for our newsletter on Substack so you never miss a blog post, or podcast, and you'll get all of our podcast notes sent to your email (No paid subscription required): https://theartofarms.substack.com/
 
 

Michael Chidester: Bellifortis

Kats, poisonous gas, trebuchets, armored vehicles covered in spikes, and magic--lots of magic; Konrad Kyeser's Bellifortis is an imaginative book that inspired the likes of Hans Talhoffer, and perhaps even Leonardo da Vinci. It's full of recreations of some of history's most obscure innovations, but these oddities weren't left to print, they were brought to life on the Renaissance and Medieval battlefields, and that's what we wanted to explore in this episode of l'Arte Dell Armi. To do so, we sat down with Michael Chidester to learn more about who Konrad Keyser was, and more about his fascinating work, Bellifortis. 
Images of Bellifortis: https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668178
To read Michaels work on Bellifortis, there is a free PDF download here: https://www.academia.edu/68328696/The_Bellifortis_of_Konrad_Kyeser_of_Eichst%C3%A4tt
Check out HEMA Bookshelf here: https://www.hemabookshelf.com/
Join Michael's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/michaelchidester
 
Adendum: The siege where Alexander the Great supposedly used divers with diving bells was the siege of Tyre. 

Jess Finley: Sword in Armor

Lucio Malvezzi, Tadeo del Volpe and Fra Leonardo Prato all prefer to go to battle with the Stucco, or the Estoc, or the Tuck. We wanted to learn more about fighting with a sword in armor, so we turned to the expert, Jess Finely!!!
 
The Book we discuss in the podcast with the wedding throwdown is, On the Practice or Art of Dancing, by Barbara Sparti.
Follow Jess on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jessfinley
Check out here sword school here: Ritterkunst

Dr. Patrick Bratton: Renaissance Naval Warfare

Dr. Patrick Bratton is an accomplished fencer, and a professor at the United States Army War College. Naturally, we discussed fencing, fencing strategy, before digging deep into the battle of Polesella, and the grand strategy of the Venetian Empire. This was an amazing conversation that could've gone on for 3 or 4 more hours, you've gotta check it out, we'll definitely have him back very soon!
 
Check out Dr. Bratton's school here: https://www.saladellaspada.com/
Check out Dr. Bratton's lecture on Mahan here: https://youtu.be/y-tshVIAeIM
 

Episode 3.2: The Siege

Episode III.ii
The Siege
Guido Rangoni is in Padua surrounded by the largest army assembled in Italy since the Roman Empire. Among the enemy ranks are the crown of German aristocracy, the flower of French Chivalry, an assortment of famed Italian Condottiere, and a core of cutthroat mercenaries comprised of Landsknechts and Gascons; totaling almost 40,000 men. Defending Padua are the remnants of the Venetian army, just over 10,000 men, led by the same Condottiere captain that refused to engage the French at Agnadello, Niccolo di Pitigliano, and a washed up merchant turned politician named Adrea Gritti.
 
The story of the siege of Padua is brimming with untold feats of heroism, it’s marked with stories of valor and cunning ferocity. The rosters of the French and German knights that came to take part in the siege was a veritable who’s–who of the aristocratic profession, virtually every great knight on the continent stood before the walls of the city. Yet Padua isn’t known as a great triumph of Chivalric honor, no it’s the final resting place of the logos, ethos and pathos that comprised the tradition. If you ever wondered how the principles of Knightly virtue died, tune in to this heart pounding episode of l’Arte Dell Armi and find out.  
 
 
The Siege
 
Thud - Thud - Thud
Purlepaus, Weckauf, und Haupstück Der Leo pounded.
Thud - Thud - Thud
Crossbow bolts caremed off armor in the breach.
Thud - Thud- Thud
Hoofbeats thundered in the outskirts of the city.
Thud - Thud - Thud
Snapped the flags of ten thousand great houses.
 Thud - Thud - Thud
Marched the feet of the defenders on the ramparts.
Thud- Thud -Thud
Beat the worried hand of a mother on her infants back.
Thud - Thud - Thud
Bounced the heel of an elderly man worried about his shop.
Thud - Thud - Thud
Beat the hearts those who watched the siege unfold.
Thud - Thud - Thud
In the
Mud
Mud
Mud
of Padua
the flower of Chivalry wilted and died.