Introduction
The story of Antonio Manciolino is best told from three perspectives; his printers, his patron, and a brief exploration of the contemporary politics. I went on a quest to learn more about Antonio Manciolino the man; to do so I examined all of the knowns about his life and followed those lines of historical narrative to see where they led and if any of these threads revealed a hidden fact about his life. So far I have failed, and the details of his life continue to remain a mystery. The insights I discovered about the peripheral figures in his life however, weave a vivid tapestry about the circles he might’ve frequented, and further studies of these characters could bring us closer to the discoveries I had originally set out to curate, so I decided to present them in various formats to encourage future exploration of the subject.
To frame this three part exploration of the world Manciolino lived in, let’s discuss what’s known. We know that in 1531, Niccolo de Aristotile d’Rossi, known as lo Zoppino, published Antonio Manciolino’s Opera Nova, in Venice. It was ‘newly revised and printed’ from a mysterious first run that we haven’t yet located. We know that Manciolino’s patron was Don Luis Fernandez de Cordoba Duke of Sessa and he was given the title, Ambassador of the most Serene Emperor Adrian VI (who would be Pope Adrian VI) at the time of publication. We also have a receipt from a print shop in Rome run by Stefano Guillery, from 1518, made out to Antonio Francesco Manciolino for the sale of one thousand copies of a book about the combat of arms, with the promise of repayment upon each sale, with a negotiated sale price of one ducat per copy, the modern equivalent of which can vary considerably between roughly $176 USD (based on the average wage earners yearly salary) to $26 USD (based on fungible goods). Those are the three known pieces of information; two benchmarks from his book and a receipt from 1518.
Now, there is a world of speculation we can dig into with these three details, and that’s naturally where we’re headed, but before we start pulling on the threads of this story, allow me to highlight the inconvenience of these corresponding points. In 1531, when Manciolino printed his text his patron Don Luis Fernandez de Cordoba, had been dead for almost five years. As a consequence it’s been widely argued that Manciolino’s first print run was between 1521 and 1522, when Don Luis Fernandez de Cordoba was the Papal Ambassador to Pope Adrian VI, due to the title accredited to the duke in Manciolino’s dedication, Ambassador of the most Serene Emperor Adrian VI. Alternatively we have a receipt from a print shop in Rome, dated to 1518–three years prior to Don Luis Fernandez de Cordoba’s first trip to Italy–for a print run of one thousand copies to produce a book on fencing made out to Antonio Francesco Manciolino.
The next three instalments of this series will explore each of these clues in detail, as well as tangential elements that help us better understand the context that surrounds these points. The world Manciolino traversed was one of monumental change. His benefactors were both paragons of a bygone age, and heralds of the tectonic shifts that would shape a new European landscape and change the course of western civilization—though one could argue that some of those monoliths just manifest themselves in the another form. Of his printers, one was a pioneer, an influencer, a counter culturalist, and an entrepreneur who was not afraid to challenge the narrative; while the other was a talented artisan, a family man who saw an opportunity and cut a formidable path for himself and did so by abiding the nuances of the existing structure; they will be the focus of part one, Stephano Guillery and Niccolo Aristotile d’Rossi known as lo Zoppino. Both of these men were the benefactors of a little-appreciated event that set off the tidal wave of changes that would define the current that carries this story, the Mainz Diocesan Feud; it too will be discussed. All of these elements will constitute part one. Part two will discuss the life of his patron, Don Luis Fernandez de Cordoba, an interesting and influential man in his day with deep pockets, and deep political connections. Part three will cover the politics that would’ve been impactful to Manciolino’s life; primarily focusing on crime, justice, and weapons laws in key Italian cities related to his life. Through this lens of contemporary politics I hope to bring Manciolino’s view of his own work into focus, and draw the threads of this enterprise tight to the warp to reveal the image within.
On behalf of both the Triangle Sword Guild and the Art of Arms Podcast, we hope you enjoy.