IGX 2014 Lecture: The Flower of Battle, by Michael Chidester

The Flower of Battle: Building a Bigger Picture of the Italic and Germanin Manuscripts, by Michael Chidester. At the turn of the fifteenth century, Fiore dei Liberi composed an impressive fencing treatise offering a look at the most comprehensive Medieval fencing system known. This work survives to the present in four well-known manuscripts, but other than a treatise from the 1480s by an admirer of his, it was generally thought to be unique. However, in the past several years a number of other manuscripts have come to light from the same tradition, offering us new perspectives on both Fiore's work and the tradition that produced it. This lecture will offer some historical background on the tradition and its masters and also offer a breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of the different treatises that make it up. Part of the 2014 Dinner Lecture Series at Iron Gate Exhibition (IGX) in Boston, MA.