Marozzo in English

Jherek Swanger has recently published a high-quality English translation of Achille Marozzo's 1536 Opera Nova(opens in a new tab). This heroic undertaking means that there is now an English translation available for each of the main sources for Bolognese fencing.

The translation includes an introduction to Bolognese fencing and explanation of much of the terminology. The translation covers all parts of the book that relate to fencing and self-defense, omitting only Marozzo's final book on the duel that is largely a copy of other texts on the subject from the period.

For a non-native reader of Italian this translation makes working with Marozzo's assalti and other plays much easier. The translation simplifies some of Marozzo's unnecessarily verbose explanations while maintaining the tone of the original.