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A review by christinecc
Italian Rapier Combat: Ridolfo Capo Ferro by Jared Kirby, Capo Ferro
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Have you ever watched a swashbuckling period piece and wondered about the techniques of rapier fighting?
Ridolfo Capo Ferro's "Italian Rapier Combat" is a re-release of a 17th century rapier manual, complete with the original Italian and a modernized English translation (i.e, it's user-friendly for modern English speakers as opposed to contemporaneous English speakers, who would have used a lot of "thees" and "thous").
It's probably a dry read if you don't care about sword-fighting even a little bit, but anyone who's seen a cool sword fight will find this reprint fascinating. Not being sporty or familiar with rapiers, I can't opine on whether it's useful as a teaching tool. Maybe someone with more expertise could weigh in on that.
As things stand, it's a neat piece of history and an esteemed primary source, so if you're researching rapier combat for a paper, historical reenactment, or historical fiction writing purposes, this is a great resource to find those extra tidbits you won't see in the Three Musketeers or The Princess Bride.
Recommended for history research and generally curious minds. One warning: some of the illustrations are a little graphic with their depictions of sword injuries.
Thank you to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for granting me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Ridolfo Capo Ferro's "Italian Rapier Combat" is a re-release of a 17th century rapier manual, complete with the original Italian and a modernized English translation (i.e, it's user-friendly for modern English speakers as opposed to contemporaneous English speakers, who would have used a lot of "thees" and "thous").
It's probably a dry read if you don't care about sword-fighting even a little bit, but anyone who's seen a cool sword fight will find this reprint fascinating. Not being sporty or familiar with rapiers, I can't opine on whether it's useful as a teaching tool. Maybe someone with more expertise could weigh in on that.
As things stand, it's a neat piece of history and an esteemed primary source, so if you're researching rapier combat for a paper, historical reenactment, or historical fiction writing purposes, this is a great resource to find those extra tidbits you won't see in the Three Musketeers or The Princess Bride.
Recommended for history research and generally curious minds. One warning: some of the illustrations are a little graphic with their depictions of sword injuries.
Thank you to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for granting me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail