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Fior di Battaglia

Fiore Furlano de'i Liberi
Getty Ms. Ludwig XV 13 31r (detail).jpg
This master with a forked beard appears sporadically throughout both the Getty and Pisani Dossi mss., and may be a representation of Fiore himself.
Born c. 1350
Cividale del Friuli, Friuli (now Italy)
Died after 1409
Occupation Diplomat, Fencing master, Mercenary
Language Middle Italian, Renaissance Latin
Nationality Italian
Notable works The Flower of Battle
Relatives Benedetto de'i Liberi (father)
B1.370.A Ms. M.0383
The Morgan Library & Museum
Ms. M.383 13v14r.png
Folia 13v–14r
Date before 1409
Place of origin Milan, Italy
Language(s) Medieval Italian
Scribe(s) Unknown
Author(s) Fiore dei Liberi
Illuminated by Unknown
Material Vellum, in a modern binding
Size 20 folia, 277×195 mm
Format Double-sided; four illustrations per
side, with text above
Condition Incomplete
Script Bastarda
Other Catalog listing
Ms. Ludwig XV 13
The J. Paul Getty Museum
Ms. Ludwig XV 13 27v28r.png
Folia 27v–28r
Date before 1409
Place of origin Venice, Italy
Language(s) Medieval Italian
Scribe(s) Unknown
Author(s) Fiore dei Liberi
Illuminated by At least two artists
Dedicated to Niccolò III d'Este
Material Parchment, in a pasteboard leather
binding
Size 49 folia, 279×206 mm
Format Double-sided; four illustrations per
side, with text above
Script Bastarda
Other Catalog listing
Pisani Dossi Ms.
Private collection
Pisani Dossi Ms. 18v19r.png
Folia 18v–19r
Date 10 February 1409
Place of origin Venice, Italy
Language(s) Medieval Italian
Renaissance Latin
Scribe(s) Unknown
Author(s) Fiore dei Liberi
Illuminated by Altichiero da Zevio (?)
Dedicated to Niccolò III d'Este
Material Parchment, in a cardboard folder
Size 36 folia
Format Double-sided; four to six illustrations per
side, with text above
Script Bastarda
Mss. Latin 11269
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Mss. Latin 11269 14v15r.png
Folia 14v–15r
Date after 1409
Place of origin Paris, France (?)
Language(s) Renaissance Latin
Scribe(s) Unknown
Author(s) Fiore dei Liberi
Illuminated by Unknown
Material Parchment, with a pasteboard
leather cover
Size 44 folia, 255×195 mm
Format Double-sided; two illustrations per
side, with text above
Script Bastarda
Exemplar(s) Pisani Dossi Ms.
Other Catalog listing

Fiore Furlano de Cividale d'Austria, delli Liberi da Premariacco (Fiore dei Liberi, Fiore Furlano, Fiore de Cividale d'Austria; born ca. 1350; died after 1409) was a late 14th century knight, diplomat, and itinerant fencing master.

He is the earliest Italian master from whom we have an extantmartial arts manual. His Flower of Battle (Fior di Battaglia, Flos Duellatorum) is among the oldest surviving fencing manuals.

Fiore dei Liberi was born in Cividale del Friuli, a town in the Patriarchal State of Aquileia in the Friuli region of modern-day Italy, the son of Benedetto and scion of a Liberi house of Premariacco. The term Liberi, while potentially merely a surname, probably indicates that his family had imperial immediacy, either as part of the Edelfrei (nobili liberi, "free nobles"), the Germanic unindentured knightly class which formed the lower tier of nobility in the Middle Ages, or possibly of the rising class of Imperial Free Knights. It has been suggested by various historians that Fiore and Benedetto were descended from Cristallo dei Liberi of Premariacco, who was granted immediacy in 1110 by Emperor Henry V, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Fiore wrote that he had a natural inclination to the martial arts and began training at a young age, ultimately studying with "countless" masters from both the Italian and German parts of the Holy Roman Empire.

He also writes of meeting many "false" or unworthy masters who lacked even the limited skill he'd expect in a good student, and mentions that on five separate occasions he was forced to fight duels for his honor against certain of these masters whom he described as envious because he refused to teach them his art; the duels were all fought with sharp longswords, unarmored except for gambesons and chamois gloves, and he stated that he won each without injury.


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