By Minjie Su
Have you ever wondered how medieval people really fought with swords? Have you ever wanted to wield such a weapon yourself and fight against some monster like an Arthurian knight? If you have, then Fiore dei Liberi is the person whom you would want to learn from.
Swordsmanship is more than ‘point the sharper end towards your opponent’, and there is more than one kind of sword to point. For anyone who has ever browsed the homepage of the HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) alliance, the first thing one learns is that each club follows different medieval and Renaissance treatises. Fiore dei Liberi is the author of one of these treatises. But what makes him so special? Well, first, his treatise – Flos duellatorum or Fior di Battaglia (Flower of Battle) – is among the oldest surviving manuals on chivalric martial art. It explains in detail how to fight under a variety of circumstances – with or without armour, on foot or on horseback, etc. Second, the surviving manuscripts of the Fior are overall richly illustrated, thus offering visual instructions to enhance the reader’s understanding. This makes Fiore very popular among HEMA practitioners and medieval reenactors.
Andrew Mayden 
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