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Fiore Dei Liberi
Sir Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco (ca. 1350s - 1420s), was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an extant[update] martial arts manual. His Flower of Battle is also the third oldest fighting manual yet discovered (after the MS I.33 and the HS.3227a), and the most extensive from the Medieval period. As such, he is one of the most significant figures in the Historical European Martial Arts.
Fiore dei Liberi records in his book that he was the son of Sir Benedetto delli Liberi of Premariacco, a minor noble from the Friuli region of modern-day Italy, and was born in Cividale del Friuli in the diocese of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. There are few records of his life beyond his own brief autobiographical account, but in 1383 a "Master Fiore" was recorded at Udine, where he was listed as a commander in the civil war on the side of the alliance of towns. In 1395 he can be placed at a duel fought in Padua, and in 1399 he was recorded in Pavia. At some point thereafter, he entered the court of Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, Modena, and Parma.[5]
Fiore dei Liberi wrote that he had a natural inclination to the martial arts and began at a young age. Later he studied under many masters of arms in both Italy and Germany. He named only one of these, a Master Johanes "called Suveno" (probably "the Swabian"),[6] who was a scholar of Master Nicholai of Toblem.[7] He offers an extensive list of his more famous students, including Piero del Verde, Nicolò Borialino, Galeazzo da Mantova, and Azzone Francesco di Castelbarco. He also mentions that on five separate occasions he was forced to fight lethal duels for his honor against other masters, who he described as envious because he refused to teach them, and survived each without taking any wounds.
He states that he began writing Flos Duellatorum (the Pisani-Dossi MS) on February 10, 1409,[9] and noted in its prologue that he had studied the arts of combat for more than 50 years. Given that the children of nobility would often begin training at ages as young as ten years old, it is believed that Fiore was born around 1350. His death date is an estimate as there are no known records of his life after he published his book.
Fiore's teachings heavily influenced all of the Italian masters who came after him, most notably Filippo Vadi, as well as certain of the later-period German masters, including Joachim Meyer and Ludwig von Eyb. There is some evidence to suggest that Johanes ditto Suveno was the German grand master Johannes Liechtenauer, which would both explain this influence and bring Fiore's tradition into the larger body of the German school of swordsmanship.