Aaron Miedma: The Duel; Context and Culture

The Art of Arms

About Aaron:

Aaron was introduced to swords as a participant in the first National Stage Combat Workshop run by Fight Directors Canada in 1993. In 1998, he traded the theatrical for the historical and took up Italian Rapier. In 2002 he began studying the Lichtenhauer tradition as one of the founding members of Anyhau (now Ironwood Sword School in Kingston, ON). In 2005 he also began dabbling in the study the Fiore’s system of Martial Arts. The next year Aaron began his intensive study of Imperial Close Combat techniques of the Great War, which formed the core of MA studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and the topic of his first book Bayonets and Blobsticks, the Canadian Experience of Close Combat 1915-18 (2011). His studies turned back to the Renaissance with the publication of a translation of Nicoletto Giganti’s first Rapier treatise in 2014. Since then, his eye has been cast back into the sixteenth century by his doctoral studies of the duel in sixteenth century Italy. As a consequence, he has begun dabbling in the Bolognese school of fighting arts.

About This Episode:

We had to hold off on releasing this one, because we brought up Joeli’s Liechtenauer research. This recording took place back in January.

If you're curious about the Bolognese Carnival celebrations, go check out the article that I finished after I was done researching the subject.

Carnival 1562

Don't mind our hypothetical posturing about our good friend Johannes Liechtenauer, we were having fun with some exclusive knowledge.

If you're interested in reading a great book that adds a lot of depth to this conversation, be sure to check out The Sixteenth Century Italian Duel by Fredrick R. Bryson {it's available on-line for free here, or on Amazon as a reprint}:

Link

Keep your eyes peeled for an epic breakdown about the brutal duel between Cristoforo Guasco and Niccolò Doria, by Stephen Fratus out in the next few weeks.