Plate 42

Modo di saper ben valersi della rotella…

Way of knowing how to avail oneself well of the rotella, finding oneself confronted with another rotella.

As it often happens that one’s own weapons wage war against one who does not know how to avail himself well thereof, accordingly I have judged it to not be out of place to give an inkling of some details of the rotella, as a weapon most dangerous to those who have not had some practice with the same; and in consideration of such, it is to be advised that the rotella must be embraced with the left arm somewhat curved, in a way such that it faces somewhat toward your left side, but not so curved that it impedes the vision so that one could not discern any part of the enemy whatsoever; and having done thus, wanting to go to strike, the enemy lying with his sword extended forward in guardia stretta, it will be necessary first to stringer the enemy’s sword on the inside or the outside according to the occasion, and then advancing with the left foot, to hit his already gained sword with your rotella, and strike him vigorously in terza with a rising thrust. But if it occurred that the enemy lay in guardia larga, and that he threw a dritto or riverso to your leg, you would have to parry it with the falso, the dritto as well as the riverso, and then respond with a cut to the adversary in the leg; but if perchance he threw a thrust or a cut toward your face or head you could parry with the rotella when the cut or the thrust came not as a feint. But in order to protect yourself from the feint, being that the rotella is heavy so that it could not be of such quickness to parry as could be done with a targa or brocchiero, accordingly you will be careful not to parry in such a case with the rotella; then, the same figure wanting to parry a thrust which the adversary has thrown to the outside of his rotella, the same wishing to parry it will of course necessarily block his vision, and thus impeded, in that instant the enemy will have convenient opportunity to pass forward with his left foot and strike, without the motion of his sword being seen, into the breast or to the base of the body, as the figures show. But the same is to be parried in seconda or quarta with the sword, according to the occasion, and then advancing with the left foot, hitting the enemy’s sword with the rotella, one will strike with a rising thrust in terza, and thus will be safer.

Plate 43

Figura che ferisce sotto la rotella...

Figure that strikes under the rotella, while the adversary seeks to parry with the same rotella, in order to strike with a thrust in the chest.
Considering the deceptions and feints that are found in arms, it is necessary to pay great attention when one comes to blows with his enemy, so through presentation of the following figures I show to you how parrying is most often harmful when one parries and does not respond in the same tempo; so I will demonstrate it to you in this action of the rotella, being that one of them lies in quinta with his arm sloping and with the point of his sword low, with the rotella forward of his breast, and the enemy lies in sesta with his rotella arm extended forward, and with his sword somewhat back, so that the same, if he will be accosted at measure, will throw a thrust outside the rotella to the face; and he raising his rotella to parry, the view will be obscured, and the same, falsing his sword under the rotella, strikes him in quarta in the way that the figure shows. But if he had been an experienced person, when the adversary threw a thrust at his face, he would have parried, stretching out his rotella arm, and passing forward with his left foot, instantly bending his body and head toward his right side, giving him a thrust in the chest; alternately, when the adversary threw the thrust, he could have parried with the sword in quarta, and passing forward in an instant with his left foot, and hitting the enemy’s sword with his rotella, he would strike him in terza with a rising thrust to the body, and thus he would have been safe.