Dr. Guy Windsor is a world-renowned instructor and a pioneering researcher of medieval and renaissance martial arts. He has been teaching the Art of Arms full-time since founding The School of European Swordsmanship in Helsinki, Finland, in 2001. His day job is finding and analysing historical swordsmanship treatises, figuring out the systems they represent, creating a syllabus from the treatises for his students to train with, and teaching the system to his students all over the world. Guy is the author of numerous classic books about the art of swordsmanship and has consulted on swordfighting game design and stage combat. He developed the card game, Audatia, based on Fiore dei Liberi's Art of Arms, his primary field of study. In 2018 Edinburgh University awarded him a PhD by Research Publications for his work recreating historical combat systems. When not studying medieval and renaissance swordsmanship or writing books Guy can be found in his shed woodworking or spending time with his family.
Finally! Fiore returns, in Italian and English
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Hi! Hallelujah! At last! After three months of back and forth with the printers (and setting up to print with someone else at twice the price), the Fiore Facsimile with translation is now working properly. Everyone who bought it in December has had their order re-run yesterday, so new copies are being printed and shipped. Now that they have been taken care of, we can open it up for new orders! This book reproduces the Getty manuscript in its entirety, in full colour, and as close as possible to the size of the original. But that's not all: The second half of this volume is a second reproduction of the manuscript with the original Italian text replaced by my English translation. This recreates the experience of reading the original Italian as closely as possible. The book also includes an introduction to Fiore and his life and times, the provenance of the manuscript, and suggestions for further study. This way, you get the original, and the translation, in one volume… for the same price as the original facsimile-only edition. The excellent Katie Mackenzie has done a gorgeous job on the cover and layout: The translation section includes tags on the pages so you can find the section you want from the page edges. You can find it here:
If you buy the facsimile you will get a free ebook copy of the companion volume, which includes a complete transcription of the manuscript. Or you can order it as a paperback too (with a discount if you get them both together). It has been a long slog to get this to work, for reasons that don't really matter (six defective proofs before we got a good one. The previous record is one). It started with the awful cold-water shock of embarrassment when I realised we had shipped defective books, and ended with an eye-watering bill for reprinting and shipping new ones. But I've done my best to keep everyone informed, and to make good on the trust placed in me by everyone who buys from my store. yours, Guy |
Guy Windsor's Swordschool
Dr. Guy Windsor is a world-renowned instructor and a pioneering researcher of medieval and renaissance martial arts. He has been teaching the Art of Arms full-time since founding The School of European Swordsmanship in Helsinki, Finland, in 2001. His day job is finding and analysing historical swordsmanship treatises, figuring out the systems they represent, creating a syllabus from the treatises for his students to train with, and teaching the system to his students all over the world. Guy is the author of numerous classic books about the art of swordsmanship and has consulted on swordfighting game design and stage combat. He developed the card game, Audatia, based on Fiore dei Liberi's Art of Arms, his primary field of study. In 2018 Edinburgh University awarded him a PhD by Research Publications for his work recreating historical combat systems. When not studying medieval and renaissance swordsmanship or writing books Guy can be found in his shed woodworking or spending time with his family.
Hi! I’ve been mad about smallsword since the nineties, and for the last five months I’ve been returned to my first historical fencing love, Domenico Angelo’s School of Fencing (1787), transcribing the text and preparing it for modern students. Every martial art is a way of moving and a set of tactical preferences. The tactical preferences require safety equipment and a training partner, but you can train the way of moving alone, with little or no gear. So I’ve decided to teach a live online...
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi, Did a book launch ever go smoothly? I don’t think so. And the latest is no exception. There will be a few customer service emails going out in due course… but the Companion Volume to the Vadi Facsimile is now out, in the world, and hopefully making readers and Vadi practitioners happy as we speak. And looky-look! it’s #1 in New Releases on the US Amazon store. New Releases in the Fencing category, not the entire store, because who can compete with gay...
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi, Want to teach in Germany? My friends running Swords of the Renaissance, which I’ll be teaching at in August, are looking for a range of teachers to do short classes. If you’re just starting out as a teacher this is a good opportunity to get some experience. Here’s what they say: For the first time, we are launching an open call for Swords of the Renaissance on August 29–30, 2026 in Potsdam. We are looking for instructors for our break-out sessions. Do...