Fiore intermediate syllabus
Intermediate level students are expected to have assimilated enough of the system that they can find the material they are most interested in from the treatise. Intermediate training is about acquiring a firm grasp of the source, and understanding the process of developing working skills from them.
Related Resources
Book: Advanced Longsword
Online Courses: The following courses are all relevant, and all available in the Mastering the Art of Arms membership package:
The Complete Medieval Longsword Course
To complete intermediate level training, and enter the advanced curriculum, the student should know the following:
Freeplay Preparation
This is a big topic, with its own page, here: Freeplay Preparation
Dagger
- Counter-remedies to the five things from 9 masters.
- Types of counter-remedy: avoiding the cover, intercepting the cover, trapping the cover, countering a specific lock, feinting.
Students should have a specific play in mind as an example of each type of counteremedy: e.g. 4th play first master is a specific counter to the ligadura mezana.
- Dagger defences against the sword, as set drills.
Sword:
In addition, the student should hold in memory the following set plays:
Master of the sword in one hand: first, second and eighth plays.
Second master of the zogho largo, 17th and 18th plays (punta falsa and its counter)
Master of the zogho stretto: eleventh play (cover from roverso side, grab pommel), 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th plays (as in the 17-20 drill from the basic syllabus)
Defence of the dagger against the sword, cut and thrust.
- All 70 plays of the longsword as they appear in the Getty MS:
Sword in one hand: Master + 11 plays Sword in two hands, zogho largo: 20 plays Sword in two hands, zogho stretto: 23 plays (16 plays sword in armour)
These need not be memorised, but with the book open the student should have no difficulty in accurately recreating both the scholar’s and player’s actions in each play, and where ambiguity exists, have at least two possible ways to enter the play.
In armour:
The following may be trained for academic purposes without armour, but it must be understood that this part of the system can only be properly performed in harness.
Sword in armour, 16 plays
Six guards of the sword in armour: Breve la serpentina, vera croce, serpentina soprana, porta di ferro la mezana, sagitaria, croce bastarda.
Spear:
Pollax
The 6 guards: Posta breve la serpentina, posta di vera croce, posta di donna, porta di ferro la mezana, posta di coda longa, posta di fenestra (forward weighted, left side).
The 8 plays of the normal axe (no poison dust, no ropes).
Axe handling drill.
